By the way, we will talk about production usb and nonproduction usb. 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. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. In this article, we will introduce 5 disk formatting tools for windows and mac to help you securely format hard driveusb flash drive or memory card on a pc or a mac. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or flash. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by using the exfat filesystem. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in a volume label if you want, and then click start. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. However, once in a while, windows was unable to format flash. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. Rightclick your flash drive and then select format. Click here for instructions to format with mac solution 2 format in ntfs warning. But luckily, there are file systems well supported by both mac and windows pc, and they are fat32 it might be called msdos on mac and exfat. You may also be preparing the drive for use as, say, a storage device for a media player or to record tv programmes on a tv with a usb port.
Click the file menu and select load file system from device. Follow these instructions to partition flash drive on mac. 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. May 29, 2018 to format external drive to file system compatible with mac and pc, connect the drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps given below take formatting hard drive to exfat in windows 7 for example. When you click on usb disk you will see a few tabs. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. If your flash drives file system is msdos or exfat you can use it as it is without further formatting. The file allocation table 32 fat32 was the standard windows file system before ntfs.
So, whether you wish to format the internal hard drive, external drive, or a usb flash drive, the procedure is the same for all. How to format usb drives on windows 10 make tech easier. Generally, the formatting process can go smoothly via file explorer, disk management or diskpart command. Input the name you would like to call it, for example your clients name or your business name. Is it possible to format the inaccessible usb flash drive on the mac to fix the issue. Jan 15, 2019 the main reason for formatting a usb drive as fat32 on a mac is that you want to be able to use the drive on a windows pc, as well as a mac perhaps to transfer files between the two machines. 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. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in a volume label.
Go to the applications folder on your mac s hard drive, then go to the utilities folder, and launch disk utility. In the windows format program, the first drop down menu has only 200mb option. In addition, it is important to take note when formatting a flash drive as ntfs. Format a flash drive on mac and make it compatible with windows computers connect the usb to your mac and open applications utilities disk utility. All commands given below should be entered without quotes. Formatting flash drive on mac so it can be used also on. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Dec 29, 2015 windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Then, click on the delete tab and select the mac os plus with registrations or mac os plus uppercase lowercase with registration and click on the delete button. Then do a right click with your mouse to pull up a menu. If you plan to use the drive only for your mac, then you can easily reformat it in mac os extended format using disk utility.
This confuses me by usb flash drive, you mean those little memory sticks you can use to transport info from one computer to another, right. If you format a flash drive that has files on it, the files will be deleted. Connect the drive you wish to format for dual compatibility to the mac click the drive name on the left side list in disk utility, and then click the erase tab click the pulldown menu alongside format and select msdos fat optionally, give the drive a name. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. When i plug the same usb to a windows, the os tells me that the drive must be formatted.
To format a driveon a mac, youll need the builtin disk utility application. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for macos sierra select the guid partition map if you are creating a bootable install disk or going to use with time machine backup. Ive seen claims on the internet that formatting these drives in the mac os extended. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or. Transferring a 4gb or larger file to a usb flash drive or.
To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. Formatting usb flash drives for mac when you buy a usb flash drive, also called a jump drive, thumb drive, usb stick or one of many other names, it usually comes formatted for windows computers. Click the partition tab, if you want to use more than one partition in the drive. Tesla dashcam flash drive formatting and setup on a mac. But if it is ntfs, format your flash drive to make it completely compatible with macos. Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Rightclick on the flash drive or memory card, then select format. Mar 15, 2018 to use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. Formatting flash drive on mac so it can be used also on windows. Go ahead and plug in your flash drive in the usb port on your mac.
Now, when you are formatting a usb drive on mac, you have an important decision to make. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Ive seen claims on the internet that formatting these drives in. On my mac i can see the usb mounted and empty in the finder. Flash drive formatting and setup on a mac pure tesla. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Rightclick the command prompt icon and select run as administrator.
Formatting usb flash drive means emptying all files in the drive and returning to the initial state. 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 format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows central. If you have a usb flash drive inserted in your mac, you can see it under the external in the disk utility. Go to the applications folder on your macs hard drive, then go to the utilities folder, and launch disk utility. Nov, 2018 get your flash drive formatted and set up for dashcam on v9 of tesla incar software. Get your flash drive formatted and set up for dashcam on v9 of tesla incar software. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. Search for the command prompt on the start menu or just type cmd.
How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. Formatting was completed successfulno errorswarnings. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. Apr 30, 2016 another method of formatting your usb drive is by using diskpart, a command prompt utility. To format a usb flash drive using powershell commands, use these steps. Do these steps and you will then be able to format your flash drive on your mac. Formatting the device as ntfs will make it unwriteable on a mac computer. After that, go ahead and launch the finder and click on your flash drive detected by your mac. Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. 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.
Jun 14, 2019 unlike windows in file explorer, mac os x and macos do not include a format drive option in the finder. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. If you need further assistance, please reply and we will be happy to help you. The main reason for formatting a usb drive as fat32 on a mac is that you want to be able to use the drive on a windows pc, as well as a mac perhaps to transfer files between the two machines. How to format usb flash drive on windows or mac os. If you want to format a hard drive or usb flash drive on your computer, disk formatting tool is the best choice. Mar 19, 2005 this confuses me by usb flash drive, you mean those little memory sticks you can use to transport info from one computer to another, right. To format external drive to file system compatible with mac and pc, connect the drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps given below take formatting hard drive to exfat in windows 7 for example. Unlike windows in file explorer, mac os x and macos do not include a format drive option in the finder. My usb is a 16gb corsair, so 200mb is no where near the truth. Your mac computer comes with a handy utility appropriately called disk utility, which can be used to format any.
Select the capacity of the drive respective to the one containing the device you wish to format then click the erase tab. There are many ways to make a usb flash drive inaccessible or dismantled, the most common are. If the drive is called no name, directly above that, you should see the drive capacity of xxxx. Once the disk utility is opened, select your flash drive from the sidebar and click the erase button. Whether the usb should be readable by windows machines and mac machines or just by mac and not readable in windows. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. 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. Volume format most manufacturers use the fat 32 or msdos fat volume format. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks. Sometimes, you might have to format your usb flash drive to either wipe it or fix errors, etc. You only get 11 characters and spaces count as a character. Of course, if you have a backup already, ignore this step.
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. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. Click ok to the format warning and wait until the process is complete. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in. Disk utility application in macos is the best option to format a flash drive on macos. 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. How to clear a flash drive on pc or mac with pictures wikihow. On the left side of the window are the drives connected to the computer. You can make this your client name or your company name.
How to format a usb flash drive on a mac techwalla. Formatting is a very simple procedure which is operated in a similar way for all sorts of storage media. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Only use this option if your flash drive has been previously formatted and you are sure that your flash drive is not damaged. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac.
Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on mac. How to format flash drive on win7 when it was formatted on. Search for powershell, rightclick the top result, and select the run as administrator. Go to open disk utility, which is located under applications in the finder menu. If you want the usb device to be readable by the both mac and windows devices, then you have three options ntfs, fat or exfat. And then click on erase to erase and format the external disk or flash drive. I mounted the usb drive on mac, ran diskutililty and erased using msdos.
To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in thefile explorer window and select format. How to format inaccessible or unmounted usb flash drive on. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows. Nov 11, 2009 formatting was completed successfulno errorswarnings.
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