If you are on an earlier operating system like windows 7, xp, etc. Apr 30, 2016 now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. To share a usb drive between a mac and a windows pc, there are two disk formats to choose from. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. Select your drive from the list and rightclick on it.
After that, rightclick the usb drive and select restore with disk image. Use disk utility follow the steps to format fat32 with disk utility. And if you format it to ntfs, it will not be fully supported in mac operating system. A window will pop up where you can choose the format ntfs, fat32, or exfat. May 08, 2020 15 best bootable usb tools for windows, linux and mac os. For example, in the screenshot below, the macformatted drive is disk 2. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Mar 15, 2018 to format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Use unetbootin on mac unetbootin is free to use and allows you to make a bootable usb drive for windows 10 using your mac. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7. 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. Insert the usb flash drive into the usb port of the computer. How to format internal and or external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers.
U disk is a commonly used mobile storage tool in daily life. Best usb format tools pen drive stick formatters for. Hp usb disk storage format tool free download and software. In the sidebar, select the disk you want to format to use with. Everything was fine until i took my flash drive to work and plugged it on a windows xp computer and it appeared as drive e i think and when i tried to open it it asked me to format it. 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. Locate your usb stick under this pc, rightclick on it and select the format option. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. This will take you to the startup disk manager, where you should be able to see the usb drive.
Step 1 open file explorer to find the usb drive, rightclick on it and select format. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. So you might want to use other applications to format your external storage devices. You can make this your client name or your company name. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows central. 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. 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. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window.
Nov 01, 2011 format a flash drive for both mac os x and windows. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. 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. How to format a flash drive to fat32exfatext4 in windows. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. 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. 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. 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. Again, like the first method, you will need a usb drive with a capacity of 16gb as a minimum recommendation and you will also need to download the. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in a volume label. How to format and create a usb drive or pen drive that is compatible with windows 10, 8, 7 or mac or linux. 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. Its below the file system heading near the top of the page. You can also make the disk bootable by specifying a.
See this stepbystep tutorial for how to format your usb drive for mac machine macos and pc windows 10. Dec 29, 2015 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. It will not affect the performance of the flash drive. You can also make the disk bootable by specifying a file location. Better still, it can be read from and written to on any mac running mac os x snow leopard or later and on windows. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac.
Format a flash drive for both mac os x and windows. The file allocation table 32 fat32 was the standard windows file system before ntfs. You will see output like this note your macs terminal may be black text on a white background if you havent customized it. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. This is the easiest way format usb flash drive to fat32, exfat or ntfs.
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. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. Right click on your usb drive option in transmac and select format disk for mac. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. As a matter of fact, in windows os for example, there are many accessible ways for users to format a disk. Remember, this will erase all the files on the drive. If youve been a windows user for even a small amount of time, youd know how to format usb drive on windows. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks.
There are a few subtle differences between exfat and fat32, but most of these are only an issue if you are using a. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Rightclick your flash drive and then select format. Now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. 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. Then do a right click with your mouse to pull up a menu. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. However, you can format the drive to work with both. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format.
In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in. Format usb for mac and pc on windows quickly and securely. No matter its a newly bought flash drive or a used one, you can directly use a capable usb format tool to format the usb drive to fat32 or ntfs. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other.
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. Download transmacs latest version for windows from this link. Right click on the flash drive and click on format option. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. To do so you can either use the disk utility or the terminal command line. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Be absolutely sure you have your files off the drive and that youve selected the correct drive you want to format. So make sure that we keep the partition of the usb disk to have an appropriate scheme. Here is a list of the best programs with which we can create bootable usb drives from different operating systems, either in windows 10 or gnulinux or macos. To find it, type disk management or format disk in windows search and select create and format hard disk partitions. All the steps except the last one are done on a windows 10 machine.
How to create macos high sierra bootable usb on windows. Dec 05, 2019 download transmacs latest version for windows from this link. Therefore, now your usb drive is ready to boot macos high sierra and you can install macos high sierra from your usb flash drive. 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. Partition usb disk on windows to make it bootable on mac.
Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. Insert the usb drive into an open port on your windows computer and then launch the windows disk management utility. How to make a windows 10 usb using your mac build a. For example, in windows xp my computer is equivalent to this pc on windows 10. The program is able to format and repair usb flash drives under windows 7, windows 10 and earlier versions of the os. Aug 16, 2019 on windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. Sometimes we need to format the u disk, then how to format it, here will tell you a way 1. After the usb flash drive is inserted into the usb port, press the power button for your machine or restart if.
So, now go to your usb flash drive and check the macos high sierra files. The other formats microsofts ntfs and apples mac os extended dont work well on the other operating system. Windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. Whilst the process of downloading and installing an os through the mac app store is straightforward enough, its painful for people with a slower internet connection, or if theyve multiple macs in their home. How to create macos bootable usb on windows 10 uubyte. You get to select a new file system for the drive before you click the start button and thats it. Oct 15, 2019 select mac os extended journaled, or your preferred format type. A dropdown menu will appear with the following options. 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. For example, you might want to reformat a new or used removable storage device to make sure it. I risked it and clicked ok and it said that i didnt have sufficient rights or something.
On windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. This option is near the middle of the dropdown menu. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows. Here we are creating a ubs installer for mac on windows. How to quickly make a mac os x bootable usb on windows. 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. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. This works with any hard drive, flash drive, ssd, usb drive, or just about any other. Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Make sure the allocation unit size is set to default and type in a volume label. Jun 14, 2018 format usb drive for both mac and pc use. How to create a bootable mac os usb on windows isoriver. Select mac os extended journaled, or your preferred format type.
You can view the current file system of the usb drive. The above command will format the usb drive in the fat32 format which is ideal for usb drives. This opens a new window, where you can set file system, allocation unit size, and change volume label for the. 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. You can use fsntfs instead to format the drive as ntfs which will then only work on a windows pc. To format drives using this software, you need to first locate the drive in this pc for windows 8 and later versions or my computer for windows 7 and older versions folder. How to format usb drives on windows 10 make tech easier.
Developers of the program claim that the fat is the best format for usb drive to avoid conflicts with other operating systems. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. 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. Go ahead and plug your usb disk to a pc which is running windows so that it can be recognized by system. If you want to format a hard drive or usb flash drive on your computer, disk formatting tool is the best choice. In our example, we have fat32 file system which is compatible on windows. Converting the usb disk to have a guid partition table gtp is recommended for this method work effectively. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. The release date of usb disk storage format tool for mac is unknown and we cannot say for sure if it will be released at all.
For example, in the screenshot below, the mac formatted drive is disk 2. Usb disk storage format tool by authorsoft corporation is a free utility that allows you to easily format your usb flash drives. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. 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. Next format your usb drive to windows fat32 format. To boot ubuntu from usb media, the process is very similar to the windows instructions above. 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.
How to create a bootable usb drive for macos sierra. Click on the usb drive in the sidebar in disk utility. This also allows you to restore time machine backups on windows. To boot from the disk, you need to hold down the option key when you hear the boot chime. You need to erase and format the usb to be compatible with your mac. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. Save any files you need to another volume before formatting. Its fairly straightforward and all you have to do is rightclick on it and select format. Hp usb disk storage format tool utility will format any usb flash drive, with your choice of fat, fat32, or ntfs partition types. How to format a usb drive for mac and pc compatibility youtube. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats.
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. 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. Go to applicationsutilities and launch disk utility. Jan 04, 2012 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. In the disk utility app on your mac, choose view show all devices. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os.
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