How to format usb drives on windows 10 by ayo isaiah posted on apr 30, 2016 apr 28, 2016 in windows if you have a malfunctioning or corrupted usb drive, formatting it may be the best way to get it back to its original working state. Windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be able to use the drive on both windows and mac. External data storage devices such as usb flash drives, external hard disk drives hdds, and solid state drives ssds provide one of the easiest ways to transfer files between separate computers without accessing the. The file allocation table 32 fat32 was the standard windows file system before ntfs. If you have a usb flash drive inserted in your mac, you can see it under the external in the disk utility. This is the easiest way and simply requires you to plug in your usb drive, open the windows file explorer and right click your drive to view a number of actions that you can perform. At the bottom of the main window are storage device details, including disk description, connection. Mar 15, 2018 rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats.
How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in. How to format flash drive on win7 when it was formatted on. Disk drill, a premium data recovery solution for mac os x with support for all popular file formats and common storage devices, is here to help you recover deleted files from usb flash drive. It recognizes the drive, installs the drivers, yet never shows up as an active. Compare with the other commonly used ntfs file system on a flash drive, fat32 has a compatibility advantage across many operating systems. So, if it needs to be formatted at all, you need to format it as fat32. The latest trend with computers is not including a cddvd drive.
You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. Go to open disk utility, which is located under applications in the finder menu. How to format a flash drive on macos erase usb macmetric. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Usb drive format tool is a tiny freeware utility designed for formatting any usb storage devices usb flash drive, usb stick, usb pen drive, usb portable drive, and sdcard in fat, fat32, exfat. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac.
Unlike windows in file explorer, mac os x and macos do not include a format drive option in the finder. Make sure you have right files and know how to do it. Follow these easy steps to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os. Yes, connecting an external hard drive or usb flash key to a mac will generally read and work fine as is because the mac can easily read other filesystem formats, including windows msdos, fat, fat32, exfat, and ntfs formats, but unless you intend on using the drive between a windows and mac machine, formatting it to be entirely mac compatible. Rather than use a mac formatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. Jul 22, 2019 how to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Save any files you need to another volume before formatting.
Usb drives can be formatted on your mac using the disk utility application. Apr 30, 2016 now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility. The other formats microsofts ntfs and apples mac os extended dont work well on the other operating system. Thankfully, exfat a strict upgrade over fat32, is a file system optimized for usb flash drives. Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. Many computer users who use a removable flash drive have the demand for formatting it to the fat32 file system. Dec 29, 2015 how to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Most external hard drives and usb drives are compatible for use on mac computers as long as you format the devices for use with mac os x. To learn how to format write protected usb drive via the registry editor, follow these steps. Jul 29, 2019 formatting usb flash drive means emptying all files in the drive and returning to the initial state. We all make mistakes, and you wouldnt be the first person in the world to accidentally format a usb flash drive. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support.
Therefore, it is advisable to format your external. In this article, we will introduce 5 disk formatting tools for windows and mac to help you securely format hard drive usb flash drive or memory card on a pc or a mac. Fat32 and exfat can be compatible with mac and windows and you can choose one after realizing their respective merits and defects based on your demands. Macs and pcs use different file systems, which can make it tricky to put data from your mac on a flash or hard drive and give it to a windows. For apple mac users, the easier way to format usb flash drive to fat32 is using the disk utility. Once the drive is formatted it will be compatible to be read and written to on both a mac and pc, and the resulting fat file system is compatible with all versions of mac os x, windows 95, 98, windows xp, vista, 7, windows 8, even windows 10, its one of. By the way, we will talk about production usb and nonproduction usb.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. If you have an old flash drive or one that was formatted to work with windows or another operating system, you can still format your flash drive to work on a mac. Have you ever ran into a problem where youre trying to use a flash drive on both windows and mac. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. Connect the usb fash drive to the mac os x computer. I put it in my win 7 pro machine to format it for win7. Windows cannot read a mac formatted disk, but macs can read a windows formatted one. With mac os extended journaled format, you can setup os x startup drive. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos high sierra.
Learn how to format usb flash drive using cmd in windows 10, 8 and 7. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. I use the exfat format so you can go between the two of them. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos easeus. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Heres how to format a new flash drive thumb drive usb stick on a mac for both pc and mac. May 29, 2018 if you want to make your drive compatible with mac and windows, you need to format it with a common file system for mac and windows. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. Feb 17, 2020 creating a windows 10 boot drive is easy peasy. Format a flash drive for both mac os x and windows youtube. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Is there a way you can format the flash drive using mac os x an. But sometimes, when you connect the ixpand flash drive to one of those devices, it reports some errors because the file system is corrupted, become raw or just.
Gpt is a newer format supporting larger capacities, but isnt compatible with. On your mac, log in as an administrator, quit all open apps, then log out any other users. By using the command prompt, you can format any usb flash drive, pen drive or memory stick that is write protected, corrupted, damaged, unreadable, unrecognized by pc and mobile. Formatting usb flash drive means emptying all files in the drive and returning to the initial state. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Jan 15, 2019 so if you think you might need to plug the usb drive into a mac running an older version of macos, format it as mac os extended. Mar 20, 2020 here are three proven methods on how to format usb flash drive to ntfs. Jun 14, 2019 unlike windows in file explorer, mac os x and macos do not include a format drive option in the finder. Mar 12, 2020 the first technique to format write protected usb drive is by using the registry editor on windows. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos high sierra july 20, 2018 dennis sellers macs and pcs use different file systems, which can make it tricky to put data from your mac on a flash or hard drive and give it to a windows user. Formatting your flash drive will typically remove any files or folders on the drive, so make sure you back up your files before. The quickest way is to search on spotlight and click.
How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. If you have made the mistake of buying a flash drive they runs on a fat32 file format you dont have to discard it altogether. Mac devices on the other hand run on either mac os extended or apfs. Hi, i formated my flash drive on my mac, and now it will not open my files in windows. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. If you only use a mac computer, you can format your thumb drive so it can work on windows systems. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Learn how to format your usb flash drive or usb external drive so you can use it on both mac os x and windows computers. How to format a usb flash drive on a mac techwalla.
Erase drive but consider consulting an expert first. This wikihow teaches you how to change your flash drives default file format. If you want to format a hard drive or usb flash drive on your computer, disk formatting tool is the best choice. Some flash drives have to be formatted first before you can store files on them.
How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac easily. Lets see how to format usb drive on a windows pc first. Like i said, if you want to use the device for both. The exfat format will not give any limitations on the file size that you are going to store on your flash drive and you can still use it on both windows and macs that are running in mac os x snow leopard or later version. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. When you have a flash drive, the first thing you may need to do is format it in such a way so it can be read by both mac and windows machines. So, if you want to format a flash drive connected to a usb, firewire, or thunderbolt usb type c or not on a mac you need do the following procedure. Use microsofts media creation tool to ensure you have a windows 10 boot drive handy should you ever run into issues with your current pc. Dont worry, the following part will show you the solution for windows and mac os users. Apfs is optimized for ssd solid state drive such as flash drives, so if you reformat a flash drive on a mac, you should definitely choose apfs unless you plan to use it with a prehigh sierra mac, of course.
Hi there, i have a usb flash drive which was formatted for a mac. Under the devices and drivers section, rightclick the flash drive and. So if you think you might need to plug the usb drive into a mac running an older version of macos, format it as mac os extended. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at the same time and type in disk utility to find the program. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. Aug 27, 2019 in todays technology, if you buy a usb hard drive, you can just simply use it directly using your mac.
How to format a usb drive for mac and pc compatibility youtube. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. This format is considered as default file system format of the mac os x drives. How to format usb flash drive to ntfs in windows 10. To share a usb drive between a mac and a windows pc, there are two disk formats to choose from. Format a flash drive for both mac os x and windows cult of mac. On windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos.
How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. Find out how to format an external drive or usb disk making the drive work with both windows pc and mac can read and write. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac you will be presented with a dropped down panel where you need to type a name for the volume and select the format type as mac os extended journaled and partition map scheme as guid. It is a dedicated system utility tool that stores all the vital details and parameters related to windows settings. To format a driveon a mac, youll need the builtin disk utility application. The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x admfactory. Volume format most manufacturers use the fat 32 or msdos fat volume format. To format a usb flash drive using file explorer, use these steps. Aug 16, 2019 in this guide, we show you virtually every method to format a usb flash drive and quickly erase its contents or fix data corruption and other issues using windows 10s builtin tools. The first technique to format write protected usb drive is by using the registry editor on windows.
With it, you have the freedom to write, copy and edit files ssd, hdd and flash drives formatted with mac os extented. I think i will take dtravis7 advice and format it using fat. Install windows on your older mac using boot camp apple support. However, there are instances that not unless that your flash drive is build to use for your mac, you will not be able to format it. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility posted by ant on march 11th, 2012 43 comments if you have an external hard drive or usb flash drive that youd like to use on both macs and windows pcs, choosing the right file system to format the drive can be confusing. How to format flash drive on win7 when it was formatted on a mac. You will learn the easiest way to format drive on mac and windows as exfat. The process for formatting a drive is different depending on the system youre using.
The nt file system ntfs is the file system that modern windows versions use by default. How to format usb drives on windows 10 make tech easier. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac.
Before you install windows, install all macos updates. Feb 21, 2020 how to format a usb flash drive with mac to fat32. In the essay, we will talk about how to format usb flash drive on windows and on mac os and how to recover usb data. Formatting your flash drive will remove all files or folders on the drive, so make sure you back up your files before formatting your drive. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. This format will allow you to use your flash drive on mac without any limitations. You can format a hard drive or usb flash disk specifically so that it will be compatible with both mac os x and windows pc computers. In device manager, look for your usb drive in disk drives tab.
In this article, we are taking a closer look at the disk utility, which comes with all recent versions of the mac os x operating system and how you can use it to format usb drive on mac. Find my computer in the start menu or by typing it in the search bar. A drive with two partitions, for example can have one partitioned in exfat and another in a mac os extended format, so you can use the same drive on a mac and a windows computer. Go to the applications folder on your macs hard drive, then. Select your usb flash drive on the sidebar, choose erase. Format usb or flash drive software for windows free. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wifi menu in the menu bar. Select your thumb drive in the disk utility window then click the erase tab. Nov 01, 2011 choosing the best format to work between macs and pcs with a flash drive. If the drive comes formatted in ntfs, which is the default file system for windows, youre going to want to reformat the drive because mac os x. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks. Usb flash drive format tool free download and software. Insert the flash drive or hard drive you want to format for windows compatibility.
Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. How to format usb flash drive on windows or mac os. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7 by jack scicluna photography, llc guest writer. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. Go to the applications folder on your macs hard drive, then go to the utilities folder, and launch disk utility. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. If your drive is an apfs format or a mac os format you can format your drive easily but if it is a fat32 format this may be a problem. Moving from windows to mac transferring your documents.
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