How to Fix “Mac Disk Utility Can’t Erase External Hard Drive”?

Sarabjeet Kaur | data wipe fix How to's mac os Software Technology Windows | 4 minutes read | Last updated on March 3rd, 2023,

If necessary, Mac systems offer Disk Utility to delete the Mac hard disc. Disk Utility can sometimes fail to erase the disk on a Mac for a variety of reasons. The different ways to erase Mac’s hard drive are covered in this blog. Additionally, it makes mention of a Data Erasure Tool which enables you to permanently erase data from Mac hard drives.

User’s Queries

  • How to fix the “Disk Utility erase process has failed” issue?
  • How do I force my Mac to erase a hard drive?
  • How do I fix Macintosh HD grayed out in Disk Utility?

The native Mac app Disk Utility is the simplest way to erase a Mac hard drive. When Mac Disk Utility can’t erase an external hard drive, what should be done? It can happen for a variety of causes. This post will assist you in fixing the problem if you find that Mac Disk Utility is unable to erase a hard drive.

Multiple Ways to Fix the “Disk Utility Can’t Wipe Mac Hard Drive” Error

When the Erase button on your Mac turns gray, you cannot wipe or reformat the hard drive. In this case, adhere to the instructions below:

#Method 1- ‘Show All Devices’ can be enabled to erase the Mac hard drive

Instead of displaying the entire hard drive, the Disk Utility app for Mac displays the partitions or volumes on your machine. The volumes or partitions are distinct areas of the same parent hard drive designed to help with structured data storage. The steps listed below can be used to view and clean up the Mac hard drive:

Start Finder, click Application in the Sidebar, and then select Utilities.

Launch the Disk Utility application from the Utilities folder.

Press View on the top-left and choose the Show All Devices option.

Choose the parent folder of the drive you want to wipe from the list of drives that appears in the Sidebar and then, press Erase.

Important Note– A hard disk’s parent folder can be deleted to completely erase all of the data contained in folders and subfolders on the drive. In the case of an accidental data loss, keep the DIY tool CubexSoft Data Recovery Tool close at hand.

#Method 2- Utilize the First Aid to Fix the Drive before Erasing

There is a way to deal with problems with the hard drive on Mac systems. Disk Utility’s First Aid function can repair problems with the hard drive including slow performance, corrupt files, etc. First Aid checks the hard drive for any errors already there and notifies you if it can’t fix any of the problems it finds. How to repair and clean the Mac hard disc is described below:

Open Disk Utility by picking it in the Application folder.

Choose the drive which you want to erase.

On the Disk Utility window, select the First Aid tab at the top.

Hit Run in the confirmation box.

Important Note– First Aid’s processing time is affected by a variety of factors, including the size of the drive, the quantity and size of corrupt files, the extent of the drive’s problems, and so on.

Once the problem has been resolved, erase the Mac hard disc by following the instructions in the first approach.

#Method 3- Wipe Mac Hard Drive Using Recovery Mode

The system may be using the hard drive when the Disk Utility tries to wipe it. Recovery mode just uses the very minimum of the hard drive when it is booted into it. To boot your Mac into recovery mode and wipe the hard disk, follow these steps:

Start your Mac again.

As soon as your Mac begins to boot, hit and hold Command + R.

Hold the keys down until you see and hear the Apple logo.

The macOS Utilities window will appear. To continue, pick Disk Utility and then press click.

Try to wipe the hard drive when the Disk Utility has opened.

#Method 4- Use CubexSoft Data Erasure Tool to Erase Data

If you think that the above solutions require too much work and you want to save time and effort, you can utilize Data Wipe Software for Mac & Win OS to erase or wipe data from the Mac hard drive. Data Wipe Tool is one of the safest and most effective data eraser tools which erases data on the drive by overwriting it various times. It makes data recovery difficult by using widely accepted erasure methods. It’s one of the brilliant program for both technical and home users. The user interface of this utility is simple and easy-to-use. Moreover, the software supports all the editions of Windows OS, Windows Server, and Mac OS.

Bottom Lines!

It’s simple to erase data from a Mac hard drive. With the built-in Disk Utility tool, you may simply erase the hard drive on a Mac. But, there are situations when you have trouble doing so for various reasons. You can use the procedures outlined above to wipe the Mac hard drive in such circumstances.