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By default, they format disks with the Mac-only OS X Extended file system. 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. How to Erase and Format a USB Drive on Your Mac. Chris Hoffman @chrisbhoffman Updated July 5, 2017, 6:19pm EDT.
Nowadays, when you buy a USB drive, you can use it right out of the box with your Mac. However, unless it’s been designed for use with a Mac, it won’t be formatted using macOS’ preferred file system (either Mac OS Extended or APFS, depending on which version of macOS you’re running). That’s because most of the computers in the world run Windows, and Windows uses a different file system, usually one known as Fat32.
Drives formatted as Fat32 can be read from and written to by macOS, but it’s not optimal and you’re more likely to run into problems than if you use macOS’ native format. So, if you’ve bought a USB drive that’s formatted as Fat32, or any other format other than Mac OS Extended (also known as HFS+) or APFS, here’s how to format a USB drive on Mac. It’s exactly the same procedure if you need to reformat a flash drive on a Mac. How to format a USB drive on a Mac 1. Plug the drive into a USB socket (if you have a recent MacBook or MacBook Pro that only has USB-C connectors, you’ll need a USB-C to USB-A adaptor). Open a new Finder window and click on the drive.
Make sure it has no files on it that you need. The process of reformatting it will wipe all the data from it. Once you’ve copied any files you need from the USB drive to your Mac, go to ApplicationsUtilities and double-click on Disk Utility. Click on the USB drive in the sidebar and then choose Erase from the toolbar at the top of the window. In the window that drops down type a name for the formatted drive in the box next to Name. Choose a format from the dropdown menu.
If you have previously stored sensitive data on the drive, click the Security tab. Choose a security level using the slider. The further to the right you move the slider, the more ‘passes’ the erase tool will make and the more securely files will be deleted. However, it also increases the time it takes to format the drive quite considerably. Click Ok then click Erase. Tip: You don’t need to erase a whole drive to delete files securely.
If you have confidential files or sensitive data you need to remove from your Mac completely, you should use File Shredder. It’s specifically designed to securely delete sensitive data and will render it unrecoverable.
You can download CleanMyMac X for free. Which format to choose? If your Mac is running macOS High Sierra or later, you have two options for file formats: APFS and Mac OS Extended. Which should you choose? The key point is that disks formatted as APFS won’t be recognized by Macs running versions of macOS older than High Sierra. So if you think you might need to plug the USB drive into a Mac running an older version of macOS, format it as Mac OS Extended. APFS is optimized for SSD (solid state drive) such as flash drives, so if you reformat a flash drive on a Mac, you should definitely choose APFS (unless you plan to use it with a pre-High Sierra Mac, of course).
Even on hard drives, however, APFS is faster and more reliable than Mac OS Extended. Finally, if you plan to use the USB drive as a destination for Time Machine backups, choose Mac OS Extended.
Time Machine can’t currently back up to an APFS disk and if you select one for use with Time Machine, it will offer to reformat it as Mac OS Extended. You can, however, backup an APFS formatted disk to a Mac OS Extended Time Machine drive.
How to format a USB drive to FAT32 on a Mac The main reason for formatting a USB drive as Fat32 on a Mac is that you want to be able to use the drive on a Windows PC, as well as a Mac — perhaps to transfer files between the two machines. You may also be preparing the drive for use as, say, a storage device for a media player or to record TV programmes on a TV with a USB port.
The fact that Fat32 can be read from and written to on both Mac and Windows makes it very versatile. However, there is a significant limitation — individual files have a maximum size of 4GB. So, if you’re using the USB drive to store large video files, you may run into trouble.
There is a solution, however, exFAT. Unlike FAT32, exFAT doesn’t have a maximum file limit. Better still, it can be read from and written to on any Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or later and on Windows. To format a USB drive in FAT32 or exFAT: 1. Plug the USB drive into your Mac. Go to ApplicationsUtilities and launch Disk Utility.
Click on the USB drive in the sidebar in Disk Utility. Click Erase in the Disk Utility toolbar. Type in a name for the formatted disk. Click on the Format menu and choose either MS-DOS (FAT32) or ExFAT. Your USB drive will now be erased and re-formatted as either FAT32 or ExFAT, depending on the format you chose in step 6. How to manage your drives easily If you look for a quick and easy way to manage your drives, try using.
With its help, you can drag-and-drop files directly to any drive, clean hidden junk from external drives, and check disk stats. It works for all drives, including USB drives, SSD, SD cards, external hard drives. All the drives will be at hand in the menu bar, so you can get to see types of drives you have and manage them easily. CleanMyDrive is absolutely free to use, so download it on the Mac App Store and enjoy!
It’s very easy to format a USB drive on a Mac using Disk Utility. There are a couple of things you should keep in mind, however. The first is that when you format and disk, you will erase all the data currently on it.
So if you need that data, make sure you copy it onto another disk before you start. Secondly, there are several formats to choose from, each with advantages and disadvantage. Use the guide above to help you decide which is right for you. These might also interest you:.
'How do I format my hard disk on MacBook Pro? Do I need to go to Apple? Please help!' There are various reasons behind formatting hard drives. Maybe due to space issues or you want to sell your Mac or privacy issues, or simply you want to refresh everything for a better experience. Formatting hard drive for Mac has been very difficult for the users, though Disk utility lets you perform the task smoothly, mostly you will need some help if you are a first time user.
So, before you take any decision or run to the nearest Apple store, read the steps below to understand the process. Then you may not have to ask for help every time you are in need of formatting your hard drive.
Part 1: How to Format a Hard Drive for Mac If you are wondering how to wipe a hard drive or format disk terminal Mac you are just at the right place. Although the erasure process is a bit difficult, the tool to format the hard drives is built-into the MacOS. It is called Disk Utility. It's easy to use only if you know the right way to do it. The process below shows how to format a hard drive for Mac easily: 1. Open your Mac, navigate to 'Applications' and launch'Disk Utility'.
Open your Mac or restart the device if you were already using it. The left side of the Disk Utility panel will show all the drives and partitions connected to your Mac. Select the drive you want to format. The moment you select that particular drive, all of the drive information including a partition map, its capacity, and the S.M.A.R.T. Status will be displayed. Now, the panel will go and new warning messages will pop-up.
It will warn you that formatting that drive will erase all of its contents. You will also be given the option to name the new partition. A new panel will open, it is called 'Erase panel'. Type the name of the new partition in the Erase panel. In the Erase panel, there is a drop-down file system list; you have to select one among them. OS X Extended (Journaled) is the default choice. There is also a partition map in the Erase panel, choose 'GUID Partition Map'.
This is also the default choice and works on every Mac. There are also two other options available, but they are designed for specific needs. Finally, you have completed all the selections, now click on the 'Erase' button. After that Disk Utility will start its work and erase the drive and then format it. Lastly, a new partition will be created on your Mac.
After you are finished click on the 'Done' button. So, now you know how to reformat a hard drive for Mac.
This is the easiest way to format a Mac drive. Just remember that the format options on the Erase panel change with time. In case you want to format an external hard drive or you want to know how to format flash drive on Mac 1. Connect the external drive or USB to the Mac. Run the Disk utility app on Mac. Find the name of that drive on the left side of the Disk Utility panel. Then click on the 'Erase' tab on the top.
Now, just beside format click on the MacOS Extended (Journaled) as the system. If you want to change the name of the drive you can do it. Finally, click on 'Erase' button to confirm the command. You can format any small hard drives, SSD's and USB or flash drives very quickly but bigger hard drives will take longer to format. Extra Tip: How to Recover Data from Formatted Hard Drive Often many users forget to back up their hard drive and they carelessly format the Mac and in the end, the entire drive gets deleted.
Usually, it would be impossible to recover those lost files but Tenorshare Any Data Recovery has the capability to complete that impossible task. Is designed for both Mac and Windows. It is a very powerful data recovery app, which is able to recover anything from lost/ deleted data or files, regardless of data type. You can recover photos, videos, documents, audio etc. It can even recover call history, contact information, and messages. It also works on other iOS devices like iPhone, iPad etc.
The user guide to use this app on Mac is mentioned below. You are going to use the app in 'Lost File Recovery' mode. It will allow you to recover deleted files even after you have formatted the hard drive. You can also recover data from external drives and USB drives as well. Download, install and run the app on Mac. Now, on the main panel, all the volumes of Mac are visible. You need to select the one where you lost the data and then click on 'Scan'to begin scanning.
After the scanning is complete, all salvageable files will be displayed. Select the ones you need and then click 'Recover' to get the files. All your selected data will be recovered in minutes. So, basically, you do not have to worry about anything anymore if you have accidentally deleted some files or documents or formatted the hard drive. You can recover them easily with the help of Tenorshare Any Data Recovery.
Overall, formatting a Mac hard drive is significantly difficult if compared to Windows drive formatting. But still, it is not so difficult that every time you are in need to erase a drive, you have to rush to your nearest Apple service center. This article has widely discussed the formatting process of your Mac hard drive as well as how to format a USB on a Mac or any other external hard drives so that you can do it on your own easily. So, before you do anything just go through the article, it will surely help you a lot. And just in case, you format the drive without backup, you know what to do, go for Any Data Recovery app and you will be covered!