You can format a fat32 usb drive on a mac using disk utility. A window pops up to warn you that all data on the drive will be lost. Turn on your macintosh notebook computer or desktop system and login. H is the drive letter of your external hard drive in windows 10. It has been the standard format for hard drives and floppy disks so to maximize the compatibility across modern systems including mac, linux, and windows. Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd.
You may want to use the newer system called exfat instead, since it can store larger files than fat32, although some older machines may not support it. Formatting a large drive greater than 32gb with a fat32. Back to the main interface, click apply proceed to commit the pending operation. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. The maximum size of the file you can store in the hard drive with fat32 is 4 gb along with 8tb maximum partition size. I have other 4tb external drives already formatted as fat32 see. Since we are using the command prompt, you need to know its drive letter before formatting the drive. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac.
If you have made the mistake of buying a flash drive they runs on a fat32 file format you dont have to discard it altogether. Thus, the professional partition manager minitool partition wizard is recommended. How to share an external drive between a mac and a pc. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk. Next, drag the usb data to a safe location for backuprecovery measures before. How to format a flash drive with a mac to fat32 techwalla. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows.
Insert the target usb drive into mac and you should see the drive name on finder sidebar. In the fat32 format window, select the drive to format and type a volume label if you want to. Format an exfat external hard drive to fat32 with easeus. Compare with the other commonly used ntfs file system on a flash drive, fat32 has a compatibility advantage across many operating systems. Youre likely familiar with this utility if youve been using a windows 10 pc for quite some time. Go to finder window in your mac, and then click on applications at the left hand side of your screen. The easiest way to format the drive to fat32 or exfat is by using macoss built. Nov 26, 2011 in this video i go over how to format an external hard drive to fat 32 on a mac.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Click erase give the volume a name and select msdos fat as your. Windows 10 users can use powershell instead of command prompt to format the external hard drive to the fat32 format. Connect the usb fash drive to the mac os x computer. Practically, most usb drives are pre formatted with fat32. Please note the instructions do not differ when formatting different capacity. You can reformat disks in mac os x yosemite using the disk utility in the utilities folder. Feb 05, 2019 download verbatim hard drive formatter manage and maintain verbatim hard drives with this utility that can convert or re format external hddss and supports fat32 and ntfs formats. This is a complete process of formatting a usb drive on mac. May, 2019 fat32 works with all versions of windows, mac os x, and linux. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. If given a choice, the two common modes are ntfs and fat32. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer.
How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os atto digital. Select disk utility, and then choose the drive to format. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Oct 25, 2018 wd quick formatter, also known as wd advanced format drivers afds, is an external hard drive format utility for windows and mac, developed by western digital technologies, inc. It is a file system in windows 95, 98, and windows millennium edition. Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. However, if you want to use part of the drive for os xs time machine backups, you should do this from the mac, since theres an extra step to make the drive compatible for time machine. Includes tests and pc download for windows 32 and 64bit systems. In this video i go over how to format an external hard drive to fat 32 on a mac. External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool.
A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. A drive can be formatted with exfat using either a windows or a mac computer. This is because we need the drive letter to target the drive. Dec 04, 2017 format fat32 format partition hard disk formatter format formatter fat32 hard disk. I have a 4tb gpt external usb hard drive that i need to format as fat32. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. It just securely formats your mac hard drivedevice and permanently erases all the data.
You can also format the drive in a variety of other formats depending on your needs. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on windows. Now you are sure not to be formatting a wrong disk this way. However, when we connect a ntfs formatted disk to mac, mac os x doesnt allow us to write files to the drive neither edit files, though it can read a ntfs drive. This will make it readable by both macs and microsoft windows computers. Though this format has some limitations, it enjoys nearly universal support from active platforms, including mac. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x admfactory. From what i understand, windows doesnt always like the way mac s do the formatting on some larger drives, though, so give it a try and if your windows machines dont like it, just format the drive with windows. To format the storage area you can use fat32 formatter. I was able to use fat32 formatter program to format the 2tb external hard drive to fat32.
Yet when you connect a mac formatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. How to format 2tb or 1tb hard drive to fat32 successfully in. 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. Easeus partition master free is more than just a disk formatting tool. Then your hard drivemac computerdevice is able to reuse, resold, recycled or can be safely donated or lent to other people. Practically, most usb drives are preformatted with fat32. Right click the 2tb hard drive and select format partition. Jul 16, 20 when you have a new hard drive, or when youre reinstalling windows, the os may ask you to format the drive. Disk utility is a smart hard drive format tool built in mac system.
For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Fat32format gui is a disk formatting utility designed to format discs larger than 32 gb with the venerable fat32 file system this is the gui version of the popular fat32format commandline utility thats also available. Format fat32 drive on mac first, let us look on how to format fat32 drive on mac macos sierra.
Dec 27, 2019 minitool partition wizard free edition is a reputable allinone disk partition manager, which can help you not only format hard drive windows 10 but also enable users to resize partition, check file system, convert fat to ntfs without data loss, convert mbr to gpt, copy disk, or migrate windows os to an ssd etc. Using powershell in windows 10 to format an external hard drive to fat32. When you have a new hard drive, or when youre reinstalling windows, the os may ask you to format the drive. How to format hard drive to fat32 file system up to 2tb. Unfortunately, windows 10 does not allow users to format usb or hard disk drives larger than 32gb in fat32.
To format the usb drive to fat32, follow the next steps. You can have a drive format to fat32 on an apple mac computer using apples disk utility, which comes with macos. With a single line command, you can format large drives in fat32 format. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. If your drive is an apfs format or a mac os format you can format your drive easily but if it is a fat32 format this may be a problem. User interface version of free and easy tool that formats hard disk drives, large or small, into fat32 as opposed to the nowdefault ntfs format. Wd quick formatter, also known as wd advanced format drivers afds, is an external hard drive format utility for windows and mac, developed by western digital technologies, inc. Apr 16, 2020 to format a hard drive, you can take advantage of a piece of thirdparty software. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. Although other forums suggest starting in os9 and formating to fat32, this option is not listed in the format window.
How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac easily. Select the external hard drive on the lefthand side. Tutorial to format an external hard drive usbtoshibaseagate to be compatible with apple mac and windows computers. It lets you create, delete, and clone partitions in addition to formatting hard drives to chosen formats. Select the drive you want to format and click on erase. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the drive click cancel. Finally, format our new partition with the fat32 filesystem using 4k sectors and 64k cluster size. Sep 05, 2011 very easy way to format an external hard drive into fat32 with a mac using the disk utility. Now, you can follow the steps to be highlighted below to get it successfully formatted.
Formatting your usb flash drive this way will give you full. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Formats hard drives larger than 4gb to a fat32 filesystem. A small, yet effective disk formatter with few features. Maxone 2tb ultra slim portable external hard drive hdd usb 3. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. The free specific utility format fat32 drives beyond.
Dec 11, 2019 fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing files on disks and drives. Many computer users who use a removable flash drive have the demand for formatting it to the fat32 file system. Format your removable flash drive to fat32 with your mac if you anticipate using the drive with more than one operating system. So if you are formatting a drive that has already been used, be sure to copy any files you will ever want to see again onto a computer or backup drive. The reason why msdos fat32 is greyed out on your mac could be that the option is unavailable for the usb drive you are formatting. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on.
Fat32 has a limit that files larger than 4gb cant be stored on a fat32 drive. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. It has many powerful features, such as migrate os to ssd, clone disk and so on. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. Formatting large hard drive in fat32 is no longer a problem by using the features of format volume and convert to fat32 partition in macrorit partition expert, the former format feature could assist you to reach the format the large drive in fat32 without size limit this feature will erase all data that stored in the target drive, so the. It merits using just for the detailed information it gives you about your computers hard drive. How to format a hard drive on windows or mac avast. And most game consoles, such as playstation, require external usb drive with the fat32 format. Windows 10 will go ahead and begin formatting the drive in fat32. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and.
Fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing. Navigate to applications utilities, and click it twice to open it. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. Creates fat32 formatted drives including hdd, sdd, sd and memory cards. Select the drive you want to format and click erase button. Then double click on utilities icon, which will appear at the screen along other applications you have installed in your computer. Msdos fat is mac s name for the fat file system, including fat32, fat16, so when msdos fat32 is greyed out, you can just format a usb drive to fat32 with the msdos fat option on mac.
Apr 16, 2020 there are several reasons to format a hard drive to fat32 in windows 10. How to format hard drive for windows and mac bearappblog. Fat32 works with all versions of windows, mac os x, and linux. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. How to format external hard drive to fat32 in windows. To format usb to fat32 with disk utility will erase all data on the flash drive, so before you doing so. To format a hard drive on your mac, follow these instructions.
For apple mac users, the easier way to format usb flash drive to fat32 is using the disk utility. I am formatting a new 1 tb western digital hard drive. Format my 6tb my book studio edition ii to fat32 external. This lee sapara with a 30 second short video on formatting a usb drive to fat32 on your mac. The ps3 will not read more than one partition i believe. How to format a drive in fat32 in windows 10 make tech easier. Feb 21, 2020 how to format a usb flash drive with mac to fat32. Further read and know more complete details on formatting external hard drive for mac. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos easeus. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Id recommend both verbatim fat32 tool and fat32 formatter.
Select the quick format option, and then click the start button. Hard drive formatters software downloads for windows. Fat stands for file allocation table, and it is a computer file system architecture. The good news is that formatting usb on mac is also as easy as on windows 10. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos.
No matter whats your reason to format your hard drive to fat32, youve landed in the right place. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Fat32 is an improvement over original fat and uses bits to locate clusters stored on the disk. So i hooked it up to my vaio pc, running xp and formated it with powerquest partition magic to fat32. Miniaide fat32 formatter lets you format or create fully customizable partitions in any hard drive. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac.
How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Miniaide fat32 formatter free download and software. Please follow this procedure to format a large drive greater than 32gb with a fat32 file system using seagate discwizard. Fat32 is a versatile file system that has been around for decades. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. It is professional partition magic which is designed to optimize partition and disk use. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. You can also change cluster size, and partition label on this window. For instance, you want to make your drive faster when writing large files to it or make the drive works with nonwindows operating systems. It is worth using the fat32 formatter in macrorit free partition software and other advanced editions. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. You have to format the drive to exfat or fat32 if the burning process failed due to the wrong partition scheme.
Go to applications utilities double click and open disk utility. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. Fat32 has several limitations, including a 4 gb perfile limit. Such fat32 formatter download is available on the web and reading the best six downloads can help you take an informed decision in selecting the right. This lee sapara with a 30 second short video on formatting a usb drive to fat 32 on your mac.
You can format the drive from either the mac or the windows machine. Jul 24, 2017 in the fat32 format window, select the drive to format and type a volume label if you want to. As earlier stated, you need to first back up your usb drive before formatting the drive as you may not be able to recover the contents again. How to format usb to fat32ntfsexfat on windows and mac. One major advantage about this file system is that nearly all the operating systems can read and write from it. But if you are not using such brand hard drive, in that case, you might turn some 3rd party programs for help which will allow you to format an external hard drive with the larger size. Select your usb flash drive on the sidebar, choose erase. 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.
Follow the similar procedure that is used in formatting the fat32 above. Format fat32 format partition hard disk formatter format formatter fat32 hard disk. Format external hard drive in fat32 using professional format tool. I am not able to do anything with my hard drive because it is 6tb and not.
Jan 22, 2019 the alternative solution is to use a free program. 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. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. Select your external drive in the list on the left of the disk utility window. The best way to do it is with a drive formatted as fat32. Rename the usb flash drive, choose the format as msdos fat for format, master boot record for scheme. Fat32 is a universal format that is compatible with mac os x, windows, linux and dos systems. Formatting with this tool is much quicker than the command.
1056 1578 165 245 1332 456 14 329 1062 464 1060 1149 949 1128 1531 1217 1062 1051 458 1424 1572 1246 1179 82 1163 1578 1123 19 1232 770 1051 1338 1161 1324 63 1555 365 499 419 1465 1175 454 229