In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. Fat32 is the older version of fat and cant handle file sizes larger than 4gb. You can also open a finder window, select applications in the sidebar, and head to utilities. How to use a usb drive with files on ios cult of mac. Every newer file system handily whips fat32 in the file size department, allowing for sometimes ridiculously large files. Disk drill, a premium data recovery solution for mac os x with support for all popular file formats and common storage devices, is here to help you recover deleted files from usb flash drive. Here is the difference, apfs format is not compatible with macos versions older than high sierra. Besides, most flash drive come preformatted for use with both mac and pc anyway. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac.
To format a usb flash drive using file explorer, use these steps. Select your external hard drive or usb flash drive from the list on the left. Fat32 is popular but the 4gb file size limit makes it inconvenient, for instance, when you want to make a bootable macos sierra usb drive which the system file takes about 8gb of storage space according to apple. And when you look at volume size limits, fat32 still lets you format volumes up to 8 tb, which is more than enough for a usb drive.
Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. How to transfer files from a usb flash drive to a pc on. Due to the smallest userbased percentage worldwide, mac os x users are the ones who might run into these file format problems. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it.
If a usb device connected to the tv is not recognized, the list of files on the device is corrupted or a file in the list is not played, please connect the usb device to a pc, format the device and check the connection. How to transfer files from a mac desktop to an external. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. If you want to share your files with the most devices and none of the files are larger than 4 gb, choose fat32. How to format usb flash drive on mac recoverit wondershare.
Need winmac compatible hd format with support for large. Thankfully, exfat a strict upgrade over fat32, is a file system optimized for usb flash drives. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Ive already written about how, if your external usb drive is not recognized by windows, you might have to use the exfat file format, which both windows and mac support, however, this requires formatting the drive and copying all the data back on. When you format a disk, the file system you choose essentially. Moving files from macformatted external hard drive to pc. In disk utility on your mac, format disks or volumes using apple file system apfs, mac os extended, msdos fat, and exfat. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility.
By default, they format disks with the maconly os x extended file system. Mac os x and macos both come with a builtin compression system that can zip and unzip files. Well, that might not be as easy as you think, especially if you are more familiar with windows. The file system is what tells the drive how to store the data that is to be written to, read or deleted from it. This is the file system you will need if you want to be able to easily transfer files back and forth between your mac and your my passport drive. Once youve copied any files you need from the usb drive to your mac. In the screenshot below, the drive is formatted with the exfat file system.
How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. How to format usb flash drive using fatfat32ntfsexfat. Youll see the drives file system displayed to the right of format under the general heading. Plug the drive into a usb socket if you have a recent macbook or macbook pro. Which file format to choose when formatting usb drive on mac for pcs operating on macos high sierra or newer version, you can select from two options of file formats. A quick look at the mac app store reveals more than 50 apps for zipping and unzipping files. To format a drive on a mac, youll need the builtin disk utility application. All usb drive, including sd memory card, set fat32 as the default system. Find out how to format an external drive or usb disk making the drive work with both windows pc and mac can read and write.
Format usb hard drive to exfat to transfer large files mac. Disk utility on mac supports several file system formats. How to format usb to fat fat32 ntfs exfat using windows explorer. Transferring a 4gb or larger file to a usb flash drive or. If you choose to format using fat32 then keep in mind that fa. You will learn the easiest way to format drive on mac and windows as exfat. This format can be used for almost all operating system, such as windows, mac, linux, and android. I cant transfer big files to usb with over 4 gb in size. Your overwhelming video files are not all created in the best mac video formats like mov, mp4 and m4v, then video conversion process from the mac unsupported videos to the video format that mac can best recognize seems to be of top priority. When done, quit disk utility to return to the utilities window.
How to transfer files from pc to mac via usb quora. If you have files larger than 4 gb and mostly share with windows pcs, choose ntfs. There is no need to reformat the usb flash drive since you will only be using the mac to read the files. How to format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility since the pc and mac are two different operating systems, they use different file systems.
Fat or fat 32 file system is the option selected by default for formatting a usb flash drive on windows xp. How to transfer files from a mac desktop to an external hard drive. If you need to share a file with someone who does not have office for mac or who has an older version, you can save your document in a file format that a different or older application can read. If you have files larger than 4 gb, but still want pretty good support across devices, choose exfat. Formatting is the process that erases all existing data on a usb drive and sets up the file system it will use. This integrated system is relatively basic, which is why many thirdparty apps are also available. The type of file system that is needed on a usb drive varies depending on the type of device it. Under file system, choose the file system you want to use.
File system formats available in disk utility on mac apple support. Some flash drives have to be formatted first before you can store files on them. Mac os extended journaled this is the default file system format for mac os x drives. However, unless its been designed for use with a mac, it wont be formatted using macos preferred file system either mac os extended or apfs, depending on which version of macos youre running. After choosing the best format for usb drive according to your needs, you might start to wonder. Transferring files from your mac desktop to a usb flash drive or an external hard disk seems to be a simple task, right.
File system formats available in disk utility on mac. Rightclick on the flash drive or memory card, then select format. Fat 32 doesnt work because its limited to file sizes below 4 gb, and ntfs isnt supported by mac os x i need to share an. By default, macs use hfs, while pcs use ntfs, which are not compatible with each other. We all make mistakes, and you wouldnt be the first person in the world to accidentally format a usb flash drive. Under the devices and drivers section, rightclick the flash drive and.
How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. How to format usb drives on windows 10 by ayo isaiah posted on apr 30, 2016 apr 28, 2016 in windows if you have a malfunctioning or corrupted usb drive, formatting it may be the best way to get it back to its original working state. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. 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. In this article, we are taking a closer look at the disk utility, which. Is there a possibility to format an external usb harddrive in order to support larger files than 4 gb, and keep its compatibility with mac os x and windows vista.
If you are not able to login to your mac, you need to use time machine backup disk. If you are a mac user, here is an overview of different file system systems and how to choose the format to use for the usb drive to. How to view mac files on a windows pc online tech tips. Choose format type select extended mac os journaled.
Exfat is not compatible with computers older than windows vista or mac os x 10. Otherwise you should have another mac for creating a bootable usb. The format is also what makes the drive compatible with time machine for backup on your mac. Nowadays, when you buy a usb drive, you can use it right out of the box with your mac. Fat or fat32 is also the default file system most music players in cars recognise. Ntfs is the default file system for windows operating system and hfs for mac operating system. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. It is required to format the usb drive to mac os file system to make it fully compatible with the platform. How to format usb drives on windows 10 make tech easier. How to open mac format usb devce in windows youtube. Meanwhile, the fat32 format has one major disadvantage. Fortunately, there is a file system actually two, ill explain that you can format your flash. Usb devices that use highpower input should be connect to the usb 5v, 1a port.
Finally, although an external hard drive is a good way to move files from a mac to a pc, there are other ways to do it. If you want to use a different file system on your usb drive, youll need to format it. 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. Disk utility shows the recommended mac format by default. On windows 10, you can quickly transfer virtually any file format and folders from a usb flash drive thumb drive to your computer, and you can export files to. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks.
You can also export a document as a pdf file or an html file, among other choices. If you want to make your drive compatible with mac and windows, you need to format it with a common file system for mac. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. However, unless its been designed for use with a mac, it wont be formatted using macos preferred file system either mac os extended or.
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