Jun 14, 2018 format usb drive for both mac and pc use. Choose the name as untitled, format as os x extended journaled and select scheme as guid partition map. Oct 25, 2016 usb devices,that are formatted in mac format. To do this, you can take the assistance of disk utility, which is a dedicated system component in mac. Oct 06, 20 hp usb disk storage format tool utility will format any usb flash drive, with your choice of fat, fat32, or ntfs partition types. Oct 10, 2018 how to format a write protected usb on pc or mac. Jan 15, 2019 better still, it can be read from and written to on any mac running mac os x snow leopard or later and on windows.
Sometimes we need to format the u disk, then how to format it, here will tell you a way 1. If you want to have a clean installation of macos high sierra whether on mac, windows, or any other virtualization software then this is the best way to create macos high sierra bootable usb on windows without mac. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc. How to create bootable usb for mac on windows 10 in 4 ways. Save any files you need to another volume before formatting. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. 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. So, if it needs to be formatted at all, you need to format it as fat32. If you want to format a hard drive or usb flash drive on your computer, disk formatting tool is the best choice. 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. Next format your usb drive to windows fat32 format. Now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10.
Windows cannot read a mac formatted disk, but macs can read a windows formatted one. 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. 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. How to format usb drives on windows 10 make tech easier. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. All you need to do is format the drive on a windows machine and you. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. Format external hard drive or usb drive for mac easeus. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. The first step for both methods requires to format your usb device to exfat.
Then click the second partition, name it mac, and change its format to mac os extended journaled. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7 by jack scicluna photography, llc guest writer. Now, you can follow these two solutions to format any hard drive, flash drive, usb drive, ssd or any other external storage drive so as to make them work on your mac now. Developers of the program claim that the fat is the best format for usb drive to avoid conflicts with other operating systems. How make a windows 10 usb using your mac build a bootable. Dont worry, the following part will show you the solution for windows and mac os users. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Input the name you would like to call it, for example your clients name or your business name. To find it, type disk management or format disk in windows search and select create and format hard disk partitions. Dec 16, 2018 though you can mount the drive to view and copy the content, you cant write on the drive.
This article explains how to format a device or disk e. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. How to format a usb drive for mac and pc compatibility youtube. This article will introduce how to format usb drive for mac and pc on widows with diskpart tool and aomei partition assistant. Format usb drive for mac and pc via freeware aomei partition assistant, a free powerful format tool, is specially designed for windows operating systems.
This works with any hard drive, flash drive, ssd, usb drive, or just about any other. You can use it to format usb drive quickly and securely. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. The finished flash drive in exfat format will be recognized by both a windows pc and any mac. As this is only compatible with older versions of mac os, it is recommended that you use an alternative method. Lets see how to format usb drive on a windows pc first. How to format flash drive for pcmac with large file sizes. 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. U disk is a commonly used mobile storage tool in daily life.
The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. Hp usb disk storage format tool free download and software. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows by tyler lacoma march 31, 2020 compatibility issues between microsofts windows and. Jul 22, 2019 have you ever ran into a problem where youre trying to use a flash drive on both windows and mac. Select your usb flash drive on the sidebar, choose erase. Apr 30, 2016 now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. Jul 24, 2018 if youve been a windows user for even a small amount of time, youd know how to format usb drive on windows. Give your settings a final lookover and click apply. You can view the current file system of the usb drive.
Insert the usb flash drive into the usb port of the computer. Run this command using the correct disk number for your usb. This app lets you create a bootable usb drive in a matter of minutes. Click on the usb drive in the sidebar in disk utility. Youll see the drives file system displayed to the right of format under the general heading. 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. Jan 04, 2012 smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. Therefore, its perfect for a usb flash drive or external disk, especially when you need to save files more than 4gb in size. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos. With boot camp, you can install microsoft windows 10 on your mac, then switch between macos and windows when restarting your mac. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. How to create macos high sierra bootable usb on windows. Insert the usb drive into an open port on your windows computer and then launch the windows disk management utility.
How to quickly make a mac os x bootable usb on windows. In the screenshot below, the drive is formatted with the exfat file system. 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 internet. You can do this in disk utility on your mac, where it is called msdos fat format, but it is probably easier to just reformat the drive on your windows. Create bootable usb for mac on windows 10, mac and windows file system is completely different, so you are not able to create bootable usb for mac with powershell, cmd or rufus. Though you can mount the drive to view and copy the content, you cant write on the drive. Click the scheme popup menu, then choose master boot record.
How to open mac format usb devce in windows youtube. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Format your western digital my passport external hard drive to fat32 or exfat format so to transfer the data between a mac and windows system conveniently. If only with mac and other apple device, choose mac os extended journaled. In some cases, the usb flash drives need to be formatted to fat32 as it is one of the most preferred and compatible file systems for both mac and windows. 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. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. If your mac restarts after installing an update, open software update again to install any additional updates. This article shows you how to download a macos dmg file, format a usb drive using a guid partition table, burn the dmg to the drive and boot your mac from the usb. This option is used for all intelbased mac computers. 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. The quickest way is to search on spotlight and click.
In the sidebar, select the disk you want to format to use with windows computers. How to format and create a usb drive or pen drive that is compatible with windows 10, 8, 7 or mac or linux. Usb drives can be formatted on your mac using the disk utility application. The process for formatting a drive is different depending on the system youre using. So, if you want to use an external hard drive on both windows and mac, you need to format it to a filesystem that is compatible with windows pc and mac. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. In macos, choose apple menu system preferences, click software update, then install all available windows support software updates.
If installing windows on your mac for the first time, this must be a full version of windows, not an upgrade. How to format usb drive on windows 10 using command prompt. Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. Format usb or external hard drive for mac on windows pc using thirdparty usb format tool. How to create macos bootable usb on windows 10 uubyte. How to format pen drive on mac just like windows, mac also allows a seamless solution to do pen drive format. If you want to use a different file system on your usb drive, youll need to format it. A file system is a method and structure of data used by an operating system, called windows, linux or mac os, for reading media files such as disks, removable drives, etc. 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. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. There are specific thirdparty systems, like digital camcorders, and sony playstation 3, which need the drives to be formatted in either fat32 or exfat format to perform read from and. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac.
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. Format usb for mac and pc on windows quickly and securely. 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. How to format a write protected usb on pc or mac with pictures. Install windows on your older mac using boot camp apple support. I have tried two different windows 10 laptops and they both do not recognize the fat usb disk and says that it needs to be formatted. Sep 26, 2018 windows pc and mac use different filesystems. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Use disk utility on mac if you are running an older version of mac, you can use the builtin disk utility app to create a windows 10 bootable usb drive.
Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Best usb format tools pen drive stick formatters for. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. In this situation, the best way to ensure that both a mac and a windows pc can access the videos from the same external device is to make sure the device is in the correct disk format. Which video format for viewing on mac and apple community. Creating windows 10 bootable usb on mac is a common task for people who have multiple computers at home. How to create a bootable usb drive for macos sierra. Moving from windows to mac transferring your documents. However, i was disappointed to find that the stock filesystem, msdos fat, does not support transferring large files. 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. Go to applicationsutilities and launch disk utility. On windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios.
You should go ahead and format your storage drive with exfat. Have you ever ran into a problem where youre trying to use a flash drive on both windows and mac. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. You need to erase and format the usb to be compatible with your mac. Thankfully, exfat a strict upgrade over fat32, is a file system optimized for usb flash drives. It can support almost all file systems including ext2, ext3, ntfs, fat32,exfat, etc. Click the format popup menu, then choose one of the following.
Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7. In the disk utility app on your mac, choose view show all devices. If you only use a mac computer, you can format your thumb drive so it can work on windows systems. You have to format the drive to exfat or fat32 if the burning process failed due to the wrong partition scheme. Similar to windows 10, you can format usb drives on mac using disk utility app. Heres how to correctly format the drive to work on both. Would it be possible to format it in a way that they. Dec 29, 2015 how to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Like i said, if you want to use the device for both. The good news is that formatting usb on mac is also as easy as on windows 10.
To share a usb drive between a mac and a windows pc, there are two disk formats to choose from. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. Select your thumb drive in the disk utility window then click the erase tab. Usb flash drive, external hard drive into the proper format that is accessible by both mac and. When you click on usb disk you will see a few tabs. The file allocation table 32 fat32 was the standard windows file system before ntfs. If you move a hard drive between the two operating systems, heres what you need to know. 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. 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. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. If you want to use the usb devices in windows you have to know how to do it. This wikihow teaches you how to remove write protection from a usb drive so you can format it in windows or macos. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Although we know its limitation of 4gb file size only.
But, while trying to format a flash drive in the usual manner, problems may arise or the fat32 option might not be available. Jul 05, 2017 youll see the drives file system displayed to the right of format under the general heading. Mac can format drives to fat32 but windows 10 os does not seem to be able to read fat formatted disks. In order to write on the usb drive on mac, you need to format the device into apple supported file systems like apfs or mac os extended. Note that you should replace the disk2 with the name of the your drive from step 3 if it wasnt disk2. Mar 15, 2018 windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. You will learn the easiest way to format drive on mac and windows as exfat. The other formats microsofts ntfs and apples mac os extended dont work well on the other operating system.
To format a hard drive for compatibility of both mac and windows you can use fat32 format which has both readwrite capability on winmac respectively. Install windows 10 on your mac with boot camp assistant. Mar 03, 2020 as you can see, exfat is the only file system that works with all versions of windows and macos and does not have any max filesize or partitionsize limits. Essentially, its a file system thats both readable and writable on any modern mac or windows machine sorry, leopard users. 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. All the steps except the last one are done on a windows 10 machine. Choose this format if the size of the disk is 32 gb or less. The program is able to format and repair usb flash drives under windows 7, windows 10 and earlier versions of the os. Now, click on the top partition, name it windows, and change its format to msdos. Want to use one external drive for both your windows pc and your mac. In our example, we have fat32 file system which is compatible on windows.
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. You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Format a flash drive for both mac os x and windows cult of mac. Its fairly straightforward and all you have to do is rightclick on it and select format. Sep 23, 2019 once your bootable usb installation media is ready, remove it and insert it into your mac, power it on, holding down the option key, and select the usb you just created to reinstall mac os x. Format usb or external hard drive for mac using mac disk utility. How to format internal and or external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers.
But if you want to use usb drives in crossplatform mode, i strongly recommend you using exfat file system. If you remembered, till macos sierra the apple file system was hackintosh, but macos 10. If youre having issues trying to create a bootable media, you can get a usb flash drive that comes with mac osx ready to install. It will not affect the performance of the flash drive.