May 06,2020 • Filed to: Mac Recovery • Proven solutions
The latest MacBook Pro or MacBook Air have only USB-C type connectors, so if you have the recent Mac’s, you will require an adaptor to convert from USB-C to USB-A. Click the fresh Finder window. Then select the drive. Note: – Formatting will wipe the entire data, so make sure the drive contains no important data on it.
'Is it possible to format FAT32 and NTFS drives on Mac by myself?' A user asked us about this question.
☞ The partition need formatting to FAT32 is not the first primary partition on removable disk. Windows recognizes only the first primary partition on removable device like USB flash drive, thus you can’t format the partition except the first one on USB flash drive or SD card. Put the memory stick into your computer(duh!) open command prompt ( start all programs accesories command promt. Or start run cmd) type: format x: /fs:FAT PLEASE NOTE X IS WHERE YOU MEMORY STICK IS LOCATED WHERE THE X IS YOU SHOULD PUT THE LETTER OF YOU MEMORY STICK IN MY CASE E; AND PLEASE DO NOT ACCIDENTLY FORMAT YOUR HARD DRIVE ITS NOT MY FAULT IF YOU FORMAT YOUR HARDDRIVE SO BE. Here are top 5 USB flash drive formatting software tools for Mac to help in formatting, reformatting, erasing USB flash drive under OS X or macOS. Best 5 USB flash drive formatting software for Mac. USB flash drive formatting software for Mac can help us format, reformat or erase USB flash drive on Mac.
Certainly you can format the drives yourself by directly setting in the 'Application' on Mac. Many people think it is hard to format the windows drive on Macintosh. No worry, actually it is not impossible to realize it no matter you use an external or internal drive of your windows system. We here will show you the full guides on how to format FAT32 and NTFS drives on Mac as an example.
Part 1: Format FAT32 Drive on Mac
First, let us look on how to format FAT32 drive on Mac (macOS Sierra). You could be wondering what FAT32 is. It is a file system in Windows 95, 98, and windows Millennium Edition.
One major advantage about this file system is that nearly all the operating systems can read and write from it. On the contrary, it just accommodates files less than 4GB. So if you have a drive that you want to format ensure it is smaller size. Nevertheless, if you have a drive that is more than 4GB, you can download software known as Swissknife. After installing it, it will be much easier to format large files.
How to format FAT32 drive on Mac
Step 1. Now here is how to format your FAT32 external drive on Mac. Go finder window on you Mac then click on Applications the image right.
Step 2. From there, you need to open disk utility. Therefore, scroll down until you see a folder Utilities Double click on it.
Step 3. What you have to do is scroll down through the icons until you find an icon labelled Disk Utility again double click on it.
Step 4. When it opens at the centre, it will command you to select a disk, volume, image that you want to format.
Step 5. From there, you need to open disk utility. Therefore, scroll down until you see a folder Utilities Double click on it.
Step 6. Move the cursor to the top left and choose the disk you want to format. To achieve this you have to double click on your external drive and click the Erase icon, which is at the top of your Mac screen. After doing so, a command dialog box will be displayed that give you options of formatting your drive.
Step 7. Your problem is almost getting a solution if you still keeping track to these steps. Next, go to Format at the centre of the screen and select MS-DOS (Fat) file format system that allows compatibility with your windows drive.
Below that, you will see Name this allows you to change the name of your external drive if you wish to. From there, click Erase at the bottom of the screen. Immediately you will get a warning but go ahead and click, Erase.
When you here just relax and wait until the process is over before you remove the drive. When reformatting process is over your drive will beFAT32 and you can now use it.
Part 2: Format NTFS Drive on Mac
The second task is how to format NTFS drive on Mac. NTFS is built for windows operating system therefore it is not supported by Mac. For this case, it is advisable to install programs called NTFS 3G, which works in, handy with MacFuse. Both of these are first installed in the computer. It is easier and faster to install despite having using some cash to purchase these NTFS apps such as Tuxera or Paragon NTFS. When both are installed to the PC, they will enable the user to read and write on the drive that is after following these steps.
How to format NTFS drive on Mac
Step 1. Follow the similar procedure that is used in formatting the FAT32 above. Go to finder window in your Mac, and then click on Applications at the left hand side of your screen.
Step 2. Then double click on Utilities icon, which will appear at the screen along other applications you have installed in your computer.
Next, click on Disk Utility. As the NTFS 3G is free program most users have noted bugs despite of its success. Since you had inserted your external drive, hence it will pop up at the top right of your screen. Select that drive you want to format by first choosing the NTFS 3G format that will be displayed. You can also opt to rename your drive if you wish. Once again at the bottom of your screen to the right you will see Erase option. Click it. A warning will be displayed to you that require you simply click Erase .Be patient as the drive is formatted when it is done you are good to go. Things 2 8 10 download free. You can now read and copy paste items on your drive. Another alternative to Tuxera is Paragon NTFS. This program gives a user a room for modification and deletion of items on windows NTFS. As you have seen the NTFS formatted drives should not worry since you have a way out.
You may have encountered a case where you insert an external drive in your Mac and you cannot copy items on your Mac but you can read them. It is because your drive is using the NTFS windows system. Therefore, this leads to our third point of discussion on how to format any drive on your Mac. Disk utility is the vital application in Apple product. It makes the Mac world to be easy and interesting to use as it removes the obstacles between NTFS and HFS+. As usual, insert the drive let us say the hard disk or USB drive.
Step 3. In the finder window click Applications, go to Utilities, scroll down the screen and double click on Disk Utility. Click on the drive that you want to format. At the centre, you click on the icon Erase. A dialog box will be seen at the bottom of it with a round four commands. Movist 2 2 15. Select an option in which you want to format your drive. For instance, if you select an option MS DOS FAT, it will well suit with windows as well as Mac. On the other hand, if you choose MAC OS Extended (Journaled) your drive will only harmonize with Mac.
Anyway, that is not the case since everyone has his or her own preferences. Whichever option you want to choose you will still format your drive to suit your desires. From there, you click Erase and upon completion of that process, your drive will be formatted successfully.
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Oct 13, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions
USB drives are something of daily use for a modern-day person. From listening to music to transferring important files from pc to pc, we use flash drives for a variety of reasons. These flash drives are plugged into several different devices and hence are at risk of corruption or malfunctioning and might require to be formatted at times. The USB flash drive can be formatted in a variety of ways like depending upon the operating system and other features.
Sometimes, certain devices may only read specific USB file systems. So learning how to format your USB to a new file system is something that will come in handy.
Part 1: What is FAT32 Format?
FAT32 is an improved version of the FAT system which was introduced in 1996 by Microsoft with its Window95 OSR2 system. The purpose of its development was to be a better version of the FAT16 in terms of speed, performance, robustness, flexibility, and to support larger volumes.
Part 2: What Should You Do before Formatting a USB Drive?
A USB drive may contain songs, videos, documents, important files, etc. depending on the person who uses it. So most people don’t prefer formatting unless they want to get rid of those files. Formatting can also be done on faulty USB drives in which case, the user should move all the data in it before deletion.
If a device is not being detected or faulty, formatting is the last step. The user should try all the options to make it visible whether it is a Windows or Mac. Even then if it doesn’t work trying to repair and recover the files is the next option.
Part 3: How to Format USB to FAT32 on Windows 10?
In some cases, the USB flash drives need to be formatted to FAT32 as it is one of the most preferred and compatible file systems for both mac and windows. But, while trying to format a flash drive in the usual manner, problems may arise or the FAT32 option might not be available. In such cases, we can resort to alternative as well as simple methods to achieve the goal.
Let us have a look at how a USB flash drive can be formatted to FAT32 via file explorer as well as via disk management.
Method 1: Format USB to FAT32 via File Explorer
A common and easy way to format a USB drive to FAT32 is to make use of the File Explorer.
Step 1: Connect the USB drive or the desired external hard drive to the Windows 10 computer
Step 2: Launch the File Explorer and from it find the USB drive. Right-click on the drive and select Format
Step 3: Select the FAT32 type as the target file system and select the box beside Quick Format. Tap on Start to start the formatting process.
When you are notified about the completion of the process tap OK. Your USB is now is FAT32.
Method 2: Format USB to FAT32 via Disk Management
Disk management is a built-in utility of Windows which is made to help users with the disk partition related problems or works. It is also one of the most preferred choices when it comes to formatting USB to FAT32.
Step 1: Right-click on My Computer and select the Manage option Instabeauty pro 2 2 patch notes.
Step 2: Under Storage tap the Disk Management option
Step 3: from the volume list select the thumb drive
Step 4: Right-click on it and then tap Format
Step 5: Select FAT32 format from the file system: list box
Step 6: tap OK
Part 4: Format USB to FAT32 on Mac - macOS 10.15 Catalina
Formatting a USB flash drive to FAT32 on Mac is easy as windows. To do so you can either use the disk utility or the terminal command line.
Method 1: Use Disk Utility
Follow the steps to format FAT32 with Disk Utility:
Step 1: Plug the USB drive that needs to be formatted to the Mac computer.
Step 2: Navigate to Applications and then to Utilities. Tap it twice to open.
Step 3: Choose the drive that needs to be formatted and tap on Erase.
Step 4: You can rename the USB drive if needed. Choose the MS-DOS(FAT) to format.
Step 5: Select the Master Boot Record for the scheme and then tap Erase.
Step 6: When the process is complete the USB drive is converted to the FAT32 file system.
Method 2: Use Terminal Command Line
The command line also works in the same way as the disk utility to format the USB drive.
Follow the steps to format FAT32 with the Terminal command line:
Step 1: Plug the USB flash drive that needs to be formatted to a Mac computer.
Step 2: To run Spotlight press cmd + space and type: terminal and press Enter
Step 3: Type diskutil list and then find the drive that is acting as your USB
Step 4: Type sudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 MBRFormat /dev/disk2
- Sudo - grants you the user right.
- Diskutil – calls the disk utility program.
- erase disk – to command to format the drive
- FAT32 - selects the file system
- MBRFormat – pass information to disk utility commanding to format with a Master Boot Record
- /dev/disk2 - it is the USB drive location
The process may take some time to complete. Wait patiently. On completion type diskutil list in command box if you want to check whether the formatting had been successful
Part 5: How to Recover Lost Data after Formatting a USB Drive to FAT32?
The formatting USB drive is an easy task. But before formatting, some might be worried about the files or data in the USB drive. There may be irrelevant as well as very important files that can’t be replaced in a USB drive. But what to do if the drive is a corrupt one or malfunctioning in some ways?
You need not worry as there are varieties of applications available in the market for recovering such files. An application like Recoverit helps you to recover almost all data, ranging from documents to big size videos from a USB drive even after formatting to FAT32.
Recoverit Data Recovery is one of the best and preferred applications in the market and the steps for data recovery are pretty simple and the same whether it be a Windows or a Mac. the recovery of data from an external drive can be done in these three simple steps
- Select a location
- Scan the location
- Preview and recover data
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Recoverit allows the user to recover any lost data regardless of the model and type of the external device. There is a high success rate in the recovery of files using Recoverit whether it be memory cards, external hard disks, cameras, USB flash drives, music players, etc.
Step 1: Select the external device/drive
To recover deleted or lost files from an external device, it needs to be selected as the target location for data searching and scanning
Step 2: Scan the removable media
A complete scanning will be initiated once you select Start. The scanning usually takes some time depending on the size of the USB drive In between the process, the desired files can be located and filtered.
Step 3: Preview of files and recovery
Format Usb Drive Fat32 Mac
After the whole scanning process, Recoverit allows the user to preview the located files. All the files including photos, videos, documents, videos, audios, etc. can be previewed.
Then, select the files that you need to recover and tap the Recover bar.
All the files will be recovered and saved for your use.
Mac Reformat Usb Drive
Conclusion
The loss of files from a USB drive or the drive itself malfunctioning is a common issue in today’s world. The loss of important files and data can have a huge impact on our domestic life as well as work. But, applications like Recoverit helps us to tackle these issues and move forward.
USB Topic
- Recover USB Drive
- Format USB Drive
- Fix/Repair USB Drive
- Know USB Drive