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FORMAT A USB DRIVE FOR BOTH MAC AND WINDOWS HOW TO

But let’s go through the important steps you need to know to quickly partition the drive while working on Windows.

FORMAT A USB DRIVE FOR BOTH MAC AND WINDOWS HOW TO

We have a full guide on how to complete the process from Windows 10 here. Partition the drive on Windows 10 Bill Roberson/Digital Trends We have guides for Windows and MacOS in case you need a helping hand. Make sure you back up anything important before beginning the formatting process. It’s not the ideal solution - we get it - but it works nonetheless.īefore digging in, select a primary format you’ll use the most: MacOS Extended if you primarily use Mac with a secondary exFAT partition, or NTFS if you mainly use Windows 10 with a secondary exFAT partition.įinally, formatting deletes all data stored on the drive. That said, our guide splits the external drive in half: One primary section capable of storing files larger than 4GB, and a secondary section capable of sharing files between MacOS and Windows 10. If you want to save larger files, you’ll need to create a second, dedicated space using a format optimized for MacOS (Extended) or Windows 10 (NTFS). That puts you in a peculiar pickle, limiting any shared file between the two platforms at 4GB or smaller. Meanwhile, the NTFS system used by Windows 10 supports large files, but this format can’t be read natively by MacOS. However, this format doesn’t support larger files, which can be problematic for transferring 4K videos and so on between Macs and Windows 10 PCs. It’s a simpler, universal method if every file you store is less than 4GB in size.

It’s a split, niche scenarioĪ quick Google search may lead you to believe you’re on the right path by formatting the entire drive with Extensible File Allocation Table, or exFAT. Both computers have the necessary tools to help you partition a new drive once you have it connected. In this case, you can partition your drive so that part of it works properly with MacOS and part of it works properly with Windows. You can “partition” your hard drive, or divide it into different sections with different rules and functions. Today, if you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between the two is an often demoralizing task.įortunately, there is a solution. Fitbit Versa 3Ĭompatibility issues between Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s MacOS have diminished sharply over the years, but that doesn’t mean those issues have completely disappeared. The USB Flash Drive will now begin formatting, which may take up to a minute or so.

Click the drop down box for for format, and select "MS-DOS (FAT)".

An easy way to make sure you are selecting the correct drive and not formatting and deleting on the wrong drive, is to unplug and then re-insert the USB Flash into the computer when "Disk Utility" is open, and watching for which drive disappears and then reappears, and selecting that one. There may be other drives listed, depending on how many drives are installed in your computer, or if you have other drives plugged into it.

You should see the USB Flash Drive listed as an external drive, on the left hand side of the window.

Instructions on how to format a USB Flash Drive into FAT32(MS-DOS FAT) in MacOS:

Click the "Erase" button on the right-bottom of the window.

Click the drop down box for for format, and select "exFAT".

Type in what you would like the drive to be called in the "Name" field.

Click the button on the top middle of the window called, "Erase".

Open up the Application named "Disk Utility", by going to your Applications Folder -> and select Disk Utility, or simply press command+space and type "Disk Utility", then press the enter key.

Insert USB Flash drive into one of the USB ports on your Mac computer.

Instructions on how to format a USB Flash Drive into exFAT in MacOS: ( Google Drive works well to easily back up data) PLEASE BACKUP IMPORTANT DATA ELSEWHERE BEFORE PROCEEDING.

**WARNING** THE PROCESS OF FORMATTING A USB DRIVE WILL PERMANENTLY ERASE ALL DATA ON THE ENTIRE USB FLASH DRIVE. In order to copy files to a USB Flash drive on a Mac computer, and then open them on an APU Classroom or Lab computer, (or vice versa) the Flash drive must be formatted in either exFAT, or FAT32(MS-DOS FAT). It's important to make sure that your USB Flash drive is configured into a file system format that is usable across multiple computer operating systems.