If your flash drive s file system is msdos or exfat you can use it as it is without further formatting. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. But, if you plan on using an external drive with both macs and pcs, you should format the disk with the exfat file system instead. This video will guide you on how to format your pendrive or hard drive in mac so that you can use it. Usb c flash drive, disain 64gb type c flash driveusba 3.
Deleting files on a cruzer usb flash drive using a mac. I need to be able to save my homework on my flash drive at home and bring it into class and open it up on the pc. Your flash drive should be listed in the left menu. This is because of the pendrive or hard drive has been formatted in windows as ntfs. Many storage devices such as usb drives and external hard disk drives come pre formatted in ntfs because a larger number of consumers are using them on pcs. I tried using the disk utility, but it only sees the drive. In todays technology, if you buy a usb hard drive, you can just simply use it directly using your mac. First of all extract all the files on to your desktop and thats solves some of. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive.
You can also open a finder window, select applications in the sidebar, and head to utilities disk utility. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Click the erase button or tab, then complete these fields. Macbook pro, imac, macbook air, macbook, macbook retina display, macbook retina display 2, mac pro, imac retina 5k display, mac mini,apple laptop. Now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with apple macos, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want. How to format a flash drive on macos erase usb macmetric. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos.
The volume representing your startup disk is macintosh hd, unless you renamed it. In your applications folder there is a folder called utilities. Your rating has been submitted, please tell us how we can make this. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x. In the application windows look for the utilities folder. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats.
Compare with the other commonly used ntfs file system on a flash drive, fat32 has a compatibility advantage across many operating systems. How to format a flash drive on my mac boo apple community. How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. However, making your storage device mac compatible, and even cross compatible with macs and pcs, is as simple as reformatting the drive. It is quite simple, one of the reason i love apple. Though i no longer want the usb software reinstall drive to contain the 10. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. And they will continue to be handy for bringing files to and from work, sharing between friends, and for bringing files along with you away from your mac.
A factory resets also a necessary process if youre looking to sell your macbook air, in order to remove any and all user data left on the computer. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage. So, it doesnt matter if you want a clean slate on a secondhand macbook or if you replaced the drive in your ageold machine, weve got you covered. How to open a flash drive on a macbook air computer quora.
Couple things to note 1 i love how flush the card is when inserted 2 dont forget to format your card not sure why they this isnt done when you purchase it. 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. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. If you purchased one of apples macbook air laptops back when it came with a flash drive for restoration purposes, that drive is now a little obsolete with the release of lion should you decide. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows. If your integral usb has a security or zip software preloaded integral splash, secure. How to format a flash drive on mac top 2 methods crazy. When your usb flash drive is not showing up on your mac, the reasons might be the usb port, or usb contains errors that make the drive undetectable. They have also included this with their latest laptops and their imacs. Because the settings and app access on mac are a little bit of difficulty thats why it becomes very tuff to format a flash drive on mac. Mar 28, 2019 flag as inappropriate i want to plug a usb flash drive into my macbook air is this the cable i would use. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files.
This was an easy storage upgrade for my 2014 macbook air so i love it. Do i have to plug this into my macbook air then put my flash drive into that. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. For apple mac users, the easier way to format usb flash drive to fat32 is using the disk utility. When you have a flash drive, the first thing you may need to do is format it in such a way so it can be read by both mac and windows machines. The latest trend with computers is not including a cddvd drive. How to erase and install you can use os x recovery to erase your computer using disk utility. If you have a usb flash drive inserted in your mac, you can see it under the external in the disk utility. 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. The main reason for formatting a usb drive as fat32 on a mac is that you want to be able to use. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. Turn your macbook airs restore drive into a regular flash. The days of floppy disks are long past, and while cdroms are still around very few people use them for anything besides the occasional mixtape or digital photo album.
Macos has a builtin recovery disk utility to help you erase and reinstall the operating system, which you can redownload from inside the boot display on your mac. Once the formatting process is finished, youll get an empty new usb flash drive to use on mac. How do i unlock my apple macbook air with my pen drive. Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. But if it is ntfs, format your flash drive to make it completely compatible with macos. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. How to format a flash dr ive on my mac book pro i have a mac book pro, but at school they just use pcs. Recently photographers have switched from using cddvds to usb flash drives. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. See this stepbystep tutorial for how to format your usb drive for mac machine macos and pc windows 10. So your first move is to make usb can be recognized again, and then you can use mac hard drive data recovery software to recover files if the usb becomes inaccessible. Are you formatting the disk that came built into your mac. Not every flash drive out there can be used with a mac computer right out of. Most of the mac users dont know that how to format a flash drive on mac.
If you havent already plugged in your usb flash drive in to your mac. Double click on the finder icon that is located in the dock. Transferring data to or from these devices is quick and easy. However, there are instances that not unless that your flash drive is build to use for your mac, you will not be able to format it. Simply follow the instructions below to install the latest compatible version of macos or os x on your new hard drive. It helps if you know how to set your finder preferences. A memory stick also known as a flash drive or thumb drive is used to store data in a convenient, portable way. Usb c flash drive, disain 64gb type c flash drive usba 3. You can then double click any external drive that shows up on your desktop, in order to open it. So, i just received my new macbook air 11 and love it. Whats a good compact or miniusb flash drive for a macbook air. Your mac computer comes with a handy utility appropriately called disk utility, which can be used to. How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. I want to plug a usb flash drive into my macbook air is.
Connecting to the mac leads to the recognition of the device which can then be used for file transfer and sharing. Therefore, its perfect for a usb flash drive or external disk, especially when you need to save files. Disk utility application in macos is the best option to format a flash drive on macos. How to partition erase format a usb flash drive on mac. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x.
Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. Most of mac users found that the pendrive or hard drive is readable but not writeable in mac. Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd. Go to open disk utility, which is located under applications in the finder menu. Select the upper level of the drive you would like to format and click the erase button. Plug the drive into a usb socket if you have a recent macbook or macbook pro that only has usbc connectors, youll need a usbc to usba adaptor.
Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. Many computer users who use a removable flash drive have the demand for formatting it to the fat32 file system. To format a drive on a mac, youll need the builtin disk utility application. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. Usb ports are on all macs and user should connect the usb flash drive as seen in the picture below. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. Mac os extended journaled this is the default file system format for mac os x drives.
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