How to repairfix unreadable usb flash drives on mac. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. More less 17 imac 2ghz intel core 2 duo, 2gb ram, 250gb hard drive, mac os x 10. In case the usb flash drive is formatted with the ntfs file system which isnt compatible with macos. Mar 15, 2018 to use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. How to format usb flash drive to ntfs, exfat or fat32.
This problem often occurs when you format a flash drive that has capacity less than 32gb. 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. Select the usb drive from the sidebar and then click the erase tab. Ntfs or new technology file system is the current standard in windows machines. After launching the program, youll see various options on the home page. In the new properties window, check general file system and youll see what type of file system your flash drive is currently with. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. If drivers are out of date, the mac operating system and your applications on the computer will fail to interact with all. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. Rightclick on usb drive you want to replace its system. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. Jun 14, 2019 here is how to check the current drives file system. You may ask can i change file system without formatting in. Since changing the usb chips system requires formatting, this means all data will be erased.
In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in. Rightclick the removable drive and select the format option. It is the recommended file format for windows computers, however, they are not suited for mac os. Incompatibility issues between the file systems of both flash drive and the mac computer. When you attempt to format a fat32 flash drive on your computer, you may find that there is no option for ntfs file system show as the image below. Now that the flash drive not recognized problem is solved on your windows or mac computer, make sure you had backup all important document in the flash drive. In this article, we are taking a closer look at the disk utility, which comes with all recent versions of the mac os x operating system and how you can use it to format usb drive on mac. While apfs is optimized for the flash ssd storage used in recent mac computers, it can also be used with older systems with traditional hard disk drives hdd and external, directattached storage. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and.
Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. Rightclick on the flash drive or memory card, then select format. But dont worry, this page talks about the reasons for this issue, and how to fix usb flash drive not mounting on mac without data loss. The compromise solution will be the exfat file system. While apfs is optimized for the flashssd storage used in recent mac computers, it can also be used with older systems with. May 04, 2020 a usb flash drive stores all the data in its memory cells and keeps a track of it through a file system similar to a hard drive.
Mac using a usb flash drive to back up your data files. You try to figure out whats taking up your disk space by clicking the apple logo on the topleft of the screen, selecting about this mac, and hitting the storage tab. Its a replacement for apples mac os extended file system. Feb 03, 2020 so, your mac is running out of storage. Make sure that it has at least 12gb of available storage and is formatted as mac os extended. I returned it to staples and asked for my money back but again, according to my receipt, it was beyond their warranty period. This means you can store files that are larger than 4 gb apiece on a flash drive or. Change file system between ntfs and fat32 without formatting. Volume format most manufacturers use the fat 32 or msdos fat volume format. While this file system is readable on macs because os x can rearrange the data as it is reading it, the way that ntfs writes the files to the storage device is not. If you have an old flash drive or one that was formatted to work with windows or another operating system, you can still format your flash drive to work on a mac. If the data lost from the ntfs external hard drive, and you only have macos computer next to you, how to recover data from the usb flash drive with a readonly file system on mac. Once data from the corrupt usb drive is rescued by using the stellar data recovery tool, open disk utility to erase the drive with apfs or hsf file system format and resolve drive corruption.
The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. Open terminal, which is in the utilities folder of your applications folder. File system formats available in disk utility on mac. Thus, the exfat file system is optimal for usb flash drives formatting. Difference between usb drive file systems ntfs vs fat32. If you have a usb drive, and you plan to use it on both a mac and pc, things can get a bit tricky here. Its exactly the same procedure if you need to reformat a flash drive on a mac. Which mac file system is best for an external drive. Flash drive not recognized issue on windows and mac.
How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. However, the usb flash drive with the ntfs file system is readonly on the mac. Transferring a 4gb or larger file to a usb flash drive or. Also keep in mind that xp is a 15 year old operating system at the time of this post and microsoft no longer supports the os. How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. Connect the usb flash drive or other volume that youre using for the bootable installer. Difference between usb drive file systems ntfs vs fat32 vs. Here is how to check the current drives file system. I did tell them that i would alert the mac community about the problem and suggest mac users avoid pny flash drives or other drives. Make sure format is mac os extended journaled and ensure that the scheme is set to guid partition map 6. Fixrepair corrupted usb drive without formatting easeus. The volume does not contain a recognized file system in. You may ask can i change file system without formatting in windows. The easiest way to add storage to your mac is to buy an external hard drive.
Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Jul 28, 20 i did tell them that i would alert the mac community about the problem and suggest mac users avoid pny flash drives or other drives. Select your external hard drive or usb flash drive from the list on the left. May 01, 2020 how to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. How to clear mac system storage that takes huge space. Jan 15, 2019 its exactly the same procedure if you need to reformat a flash drive on a mac. The nt file system ntfs is the file system that modern windows versions use by default. Apple file system apfs is a proprietary file system for macos high sierra 10. Formatting will delete all the data in your device. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. Jan 25, 2019 the easiest way to add storage to your mac is to buy an external hard drive.
Your flash drive should be listed in the left menu. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. How to choose a filesystem for your usb drive make tech. You can backup usb drive simply by copying all files to the computer. The ntfs file system is a system specifically optimized for windows in the way that it organizes the data on the drive. Its not the fastest but as most things are download then its good for that transfer or file out though because if your going to be using it for a bios flash or windows install it wont work because you can only use a maximum 32gb flash drive for thati found out the hard way. Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32.
Feb 25, 2019 exfat extended file allocation table is the file system optimized for flash drives. Windows operating system fetches this data by using the file system of the storage drive, as and when you require to access it. Using apples free disk utility app, you can easily format the drive, give it a label, or even partiti. While apfs is optimized for the flash ssd storage used in recent mac computers, it can also be used with older systems with. On a pc, when you delete a file off a usb flash drive, it is totally deleted, and doesnt go into any sort of trashrecycle bin, which frees up space on the usb flash drive. Whether youre formatting an internal drive, external drive, usb flash drive. How to erase a flash drive from disk utility on a mac.
By default, windows uses nfts and macs to use hfs and apfs. Like ntfs, exfat has very large file size and partition size limits. Type or paste one of the following commands in terminal. To format a flash drive on a mac, plug in the drive and open the applications folder, the utilities folder and then disk utility. How to choose a filesystem for your usb drive make tech easier. Formatting the flash drive as exfat or ntfs will resolve this issue. 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. Each time you finish using your flash drive and want to unplug it from your computer to take it with you, it should be ejected. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Solution 1 format in exfat exfat file system that allows a single file larger than 4gb to be stored on the device. You can see drives file system displayed next to format, in the general section exfat, msdosfat, os x extended. Meaning information can be writing to the flash drive at times in which you think the usb is idle. To your surprise, you see a yellow bar representing system that seems to occupy way more space than you think it should.
Apple file system apfs, the default file system for mac computers using macos 10. Talked about too much on file system and why you want to change. Eject stop use of your flash drive when you have finished using it. See this stepbystep tutorial for how to format your usb drive for mac machine macos and pc windows 10. How to recover data from usb drive with readonly file. Formatting the device as ntfs will make it unwriteable on a mac computer. How to create a bootable installer for macos apple support. If you only use a mac computer, you can format your thumb drive so it can. Ntfs is the default file system for windows operating system and hfs for mac operating system. Thus, converting file system is a mustdo event when you have large file say dvd iso files on fat32 partition to read, especially on usb flash drive. How do you know your mac, xbox, and windows pc can read your files. Once you have it, your first task is to pick a suitable file system for that drive depending on your intended usage. Because it was a 64g flash drive i paid a handsome price for it from staples. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os.
Its designed to be a lightweight file system as fat32 but with certain advantages over ntfs. 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. Recover files after usb flash drive becomes corrupt or. Mac os extended journaled this is the default file system format for mac os x drives. But dont worry, this page talks about the reasons for this issue, and how to fix usb flash drive not mounting on mac without data loss even if the external drive is greyed out in disk utility.
The best way to fix flash drive not recognized on windows and mac. Due to the peculiarities of the file system, ntfs is not recommended for flash drives, even if their capacity is 32gb. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in a volume label. If you plan to use the usb drive on linux computers, you can format it to this file system.
If you want to make your drive compatible with mac and windows, you need to format it with a common file system for mac and windows. The extended file system ext was the first file system created specifically for linux. Feb 17, 2007 on a pc, when you delete a file off a usb flash drive, it is totally deleted, and doesnt go into any sort of trashrecycle bin, which frees up space on the usb flash drive. A file system that has been in business from the early 1980s. Right click on that partition of the drive untitled or no name 8. Now click on load dmg to add the file to the program, and insert a usb flash drive. To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. Converting external drive to apple file system apfs format. Rightclick your flash drive and then select format. However, if the usb flash drive is not mounted on mac, you will lose access to the usb flash drive as well as to the data stored on it. They were once the goto file system for formatting windows based devices. In the volume label field, type a label to quickly identify the flash drive in file explorer. Your mac computer comes with a handy utility appropriately called disk utility, which can be used to format any.
This is to ensure that you will be able to access the files stored in the flash drive should it happens again. If you are going to use your usb drive on mac devices mainly, choose this file system. A usb flash drive stores all the data in its memory cells and keeps a track of it through a file system similar to a hard drive. Apple file system is optimized for use with solid state drives ssds and flash storage, but you can also use it with traditional mechanical hard disk drives hdds too. 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. Mar 03, 2020 go to this pc, under devices and drives, highlight the disk that represents your usb flash drive, rightclick and select properties. It combines the essential advantages of fat and ntfs large file sizes are supported. How to recover data from usb drive with readonly file system. The drive will be automatically detected by the software, so all thats left is to click on burn and wait for. To share a usb drive between a mac and a windows pc, there are two disk formats to choose from. File system formats available in disk utility on mac apple.
How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. By default, mac os x can only read ntfs drives, not write to them. Format fat32 flash drive to ntfs when there is no option for ntfs file system. You try to figure out whats taking up your disk space by clicking the apple logo on the topleft of the screen, selecting about this mac, and hitting the storage tab to your surprise, you see a yellow bar representing system that seems to occupy way more space than you think it should.
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