Wiki

External drives

  1. Choosing an external drive

    Storage Studio works best with a fast external SSD connected directly to your Mac and formatted as APFS. It checks any drive you pick — its format, its connection and, if you run the speed test, its read and write speed.

  2. Drive formats: APFS, Mac OS Extended and exFAT

    APFS is the recommended format for a Storage Studio drive. Mac OS Extended also works, exFAT works with warnings, and FAT32 and network drives are refused.

  3. What to know about exFAT drives

    exFAT drives work with Storage Studio, with warnings. exFAT can't hold some things Macs rely on, so access lists and some file flags are left out when you move folders there. For a drive you use only with your Mac, APFS is the better choice.

  4. Setting up your drive

    Choose your external drive in the Setup Wizard or in Choose External Drive. Storage Studio checks the drive, optionally tests its speed, then creates one folder on it for this Mac. Verify Setup confirms everything is in place.

  5. Ejecting your drive safely

    Use Eject Drive in Storage Studio's More menu before unplugging. It pauses automatic actions, asks developer apps that commonly hold files on the drive to quit, then ejects. If something still has files open, the eject fails safely and tells you.

  6. When your drive is disconnected

    While your external drive is unplugged, relocated folders and moved apps can't be opened and automatic moves are skipped. Moves in progress wait, and everything carries on when the same drive is plugged back in.

  7. Switching to a new drive: Transfer Drive and Backup Drive

    Transfer to a New Drive copies everything Storage Studio keeps on your drive to another drive, checks the copy, then switches over so your moved folders and apps use the new one. Back Up to Another Drive makes the same checked copy but keeps using the current drive. The old drive is never changed.

  8. Checking your drive's health and setup

    Three places tell you whether your external drive is set up and working - the Inspect window, Verify Setup, and the speed test in Choose External Drive. They check the drive is connected, recognised and fast enough; they don't test the drive's hardware.

  9. File ownership on external drives

    Every file on your Mac belongs to a user account, but macOS usually ignores ownership on external drives. That's why moved files show you as their owner, and why Storage Studio's moves don't keep ownership — while they do keep permissions, dates and the rest.