But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. Both fat32 and exfat have advantages and disadvantages. For example, you might want to reformat a new or used removable storage device to make sure it. It normally uses a usbc cable, but if your computer doesnt yet support this, a standard usba cable is also provided. Step 9 once format is complete you can access the drive in windows. Its a universal format that is compatible with mac os xmacos, windows, linux and dos systems. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. Then do a right click with your mouse to pull up a menu. Gpt is a newer format supporting larger capacities, but isnt compatible with older versions of windows.
Select the partition style and click the ok button to continue. And fat32 is the format that both mac and windows pc support. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. In most cases the default settings should be selected. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os. And we can use it to format the usb on mac as well.
How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. However, when you format your hard drive with super eraser for mac, all your data will be permanently lost. External hard drive compatible with mac and pc without. Rightclick your flash drive and then select format. To erase the disk, open disk utility applications utilities folder, select the usb drive in the sidebar, go to erase tab and select exfat on format. If you are on an earlier operating system like windows 7, xp, etc. How to open mac format usb devce in windows youtube. In this video tutorial, i show you how to easily format an external hard drive to work on both a mac and a pc. Here is a list of alternatives to format usb or flash drive software for. How to quickly make a mac os x bootable usb on windows. Aug 16, 2019 on windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. You can make this your client name or your company name.
Now make bootable usb using the transmac software follow instructions that are given above. For example, in windows xp my computer is equivalent to this pc on windows 10. If you want to format a hard drive or usb flash drive on your computer, disk formatting tool is the best choice. Let us go through the exact steps in formatting your usb drive to fat32 on mac using the command line. How do i format a usb flash drive to work apple community.
Dec 29, 2015 windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Examples of the increased compatibility include boot camp software for running windows on a mac and the microsoft office productivity suite. 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. Automatic backup software warranty slim for mac portable 500 gb hard drive stcf500100 3year limited warranty. To share a usb drive between a mac and a windows pc, there are two disk.
Format usb for mac and pc on windows quickly and securely. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. If you get an alert that the software hasnt passed windows logo testing, click continue anyway. To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. Right click on the partition and select delete volume this will remove the partition. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by.
Now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. As always, having a backup option will save you when plan a fails for some reason. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos. Even though format usb or flash drive software for mac is not available for download, there are plenty of alternative apps to format a flash drive on mac. However, whenever you buy new hardware or software it is always advisable to check the hardware manufacturers websites e. Now connect the usb and power on your mac computer while holding the option key and then select the usb flash media to run the installation. Step 6 right click the removable disk and select format step 7 the following warning will appear.
Im here to use a windows 10 based hp laptop to format my lexar drive. Then i would suggest you to search for a third party software which directly converts the to ntfs format for windows operating system. Format external hard drive or usb drive for mac easeus. How to create windowscompatible iso image from cd dvd. So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. From file explorer, open the usb flash drive, then open setup or setup. And if you format it to ntfs, it will not be fully supported in mac operating system. If you are not comfortable with the previous method. Apr 30, 2016 now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. Format usb key on mac os mac os users can format their usb keys into the fat format in a few simple steps. Western digital, seagate, buffalo for specific compatibility information email the companys tech support if youre not clear. This method can be used when you are unable to format the usb device through disk utility. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to create mac os x bootable usb installation media.
How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. A variety of storage options makes it easy to find the right size for you. How to format a hard drive to work on mac and pc youtube. This software will allow you to create partitions in the fat16, fat32, or ntfs format. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by using the exfat filesystem. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. If you want to use a usb drive on both mac and windows, then you need to format the drive to the format supported by both systems. Convert formatted drive from mac to windows remo software. The most common external hard drives are usb ones and you should find that most current product lines will be compatible. If you wish to boot the drive on a pc or use it with older versions of windows, you may also need to set the partition scheme to master boot record mbr for full windows compatibility. Learn using usb on mac apple support page learn more about making bootable usb. Terminal command line in mac can be used to format usb devices. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs.
Format usb or flash drive software by sobolsoft is a piece of software that allows you to format your usb flash drive. On windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. 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. One high quality usb flash drive with 16gb of storage. Formatting a device using disk management in windows 8. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. May 21, 2018 in this video tutorial, i show you how to easily format an external hard drive to work on both a mac and a pc. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window. Best external drives for mac and pc interchangeable 2020. Select the mac drive from the list of drives make sure this is the drive you want to work on, if you do it for the windows formatted drive in the list, it may cost you a lot of important data. When youre asked to allow boot camp to make changes to your device, click yes. Rightclick on windows icon, select disk management. For example, in the screenshot below, the mac formatted drive is disk 2.
If you want to use the usb devices in windows you have to know how to do it. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7. We also have a command line disk utility interface in mac. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Most of the external hard disks and flash drives are formatted for microsoft windows operating systems. As long as we format the external hard drive to one of these 2 file systems, it can be shared between mac and windows. 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. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks. You can format a hard drive or usb flash disk specifically so that it will be.
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. Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Download and install windows support software on your mac. How to format a usb drive for mac and pc compatibility youtube. Apple mac machines support a different file system. Formatted to work on mac and windows and even android. Apr 14, 2020 as long as we format the external hard drive to one of these 2 file systems, it can be shared between mac and windows. Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. This article will introduce how to format usb drive for mac and pc on widows with diskpart tool and aomei partition assistant. Either way there is a solution to having an existing external hard drive for mac and pc. However, single files on a fat32 drive cant be larger than 4gb. I hope you enjoyed my article on how to make an external hard drive compatible with mac and pc without reformatting. Failsafe operability across compatible hardware and software systems for both generalpurpose and specialized applications.
Jan 23, 2020 i hope you enjoyed my article on how to make an external hard drive compatible with mac and pc without reformatting. Mar 15, 2018 to use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. If you run into the issue of not having enough space format it to be the ex fat as. Jun 14, 2018 format usb drive for both mac and pc use. Connect the hdd to a mac and format the drive as fat32 and then connect the same mac hdd to windows and convert it to ntfs. So, if users anticipate using the flash drive with more than one operating system, they will definitely benefit from the fat32 file system.
Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows central. 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. Click ok step 8 create your volume label, select your file system, and ensure perform quick format is checked.
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. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. In other words, you can read and write fat32 file format on both the operating system. Aug, 2019 from file explorer, open the usb flash drive, then open setup or setup. Alternatively, you can also can also use a gparted live cd to format your usb key. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows. Oct 29, 2019 terminal command line in mac can be used to format usb devices. Now that you have all the necessary ingredients, youre ready to make a mac os x bootable usb using the dmg file of the operating system with the steps below. Apr 12, 2016 this software will allow you to create partitions in the fat16, fat32, or ntfs format. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. Some drives are even sold as macformatted drives this just means they come with the. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos.
So please back up your important files before you run super eraser for mac to format. Fat32 works with all versions of windows, mac os, linux, game consoles, etc. 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. For apple mac users, there are two ways to format a usb flash drive to fat32, including disk utility and. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. Download disk formatting software for mac doyourdata. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. In disk utility on your mac, format a disk that can be used with both windows.