Best Format For Flash Drive For Mac And Pc

Jon shows you how to (re)format a flash drive for use on both Mac and PC systems. This particular format will allow files bigger than 4 gigabytes! The overwhelming majority of USB flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats: FAT32 or NTFS. The first format, FAT32, is fully compatible with Mac OS X, though with some drawbacks. To format USB for Mac and Windows, there are two disk formats to choose from: exFAT and FAT32. The other formats – Microsoft's NTFS and Apple's Mac OS Extended – don't work well on the other operating system. There are a few subtle differences between exFAT and FAT32, but most of these are only an issue if you are using a drive on a server. Luckily, there is a file system (exFAT) that allows you to format your flash drive to be completely Mac and PC compatible. Meanwhile, exFAT is the only file system that works for both Windows and macOS versions and has no overall file space or partition space restrictions. The best ways to format an external drive for Windows and Mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with Windows and Mac. And, no: the answer isn't always FAT32.

Best Format For Flash Drive For Mac And Pc Computers
Best Format For Flash Drive For Mac And Pc Games

You can format the external hard drive or USB drive to make it compatible with both Mac and Windows machines. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesn’t worry it’s not complex.

If you are tech savvy and use Windows and Mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between Mac and PC. Windows and macOS filesystems are different and you might need to format the drive every time to use on both platforms. You don’t need to format the hard drive every time you can choose a filesystem while formatting the drive so the hard drive or USB drive work on both Mac and PC

So to get rid of these situations we bring here a guide that will help you to format your drive which works on both platforms and you don’t need to format and backup data every time. After cross-compatible formatting, simply unplug the drive from one machine and then plug it into another. Sounds good to you right? So let’s started, how this works.

Understand file systems for Mac and Windows

There are three common file system types to format an external USB or hard drive, SSD drive, SD card and etc. FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT let’s have a look what’s the difference between these formats.

FAT 32 Format

This format is pretty old but supported and it’s not efficient as compared to NTFS. It doesn’t support big features but offers great compatibility which means it’s compatible with all versions of Windows. It can only support 4GB file size and up to 8TB hard drivers. It’s not capable to store files larger than 4GB.

NTFS Format

NTFS is a modern format system and Windows also uses this format for itself and for other non-removable drives by default. This format is also compatible with all versions of Windows but limited to none Windows OS as FAT32.

exFAT Format

exFAT drives are faster at reading and writing as compared to FAT32. This format can store large files and it’s also lightweight. It’s compatible with all versions of Windows and the best thing it’s along with Windows it’s also compatible with macOS, Linux, and Android, etc.

Best Format For Flash Drive For Mac And Pc Computers

If your drive is formatted as Windows default format NTFS then it’s only readable to macOS. You can’t do more than that or you have to install a separate app on Mac to read write the drive.
Drive with macOS format HFS+ cant readable to Windows.
FAT32 format works on both Windows and Mac but the problem is you can only work with files with a maximum size of 4GB.

Learn more: Copy data on NTFS drive in macOS

FAT32 is much better than NTFS and HFS+ becuase it works on both operating systems. You can also install drivers on each OS to make work your drive. So exFAT is much better than all of these formats and a simple option but this will not work on Leopard.

Format a USB Drive on Mac

Time needed: 5 minutes.

First, let’s see how to format an external hard drive or USB drive in macOS which works with both Mac and PC platforms, first plug-in your drive into a macOS machine.

Disk Utility
Open Disk Utility on your macOS, press cmd + spacebar keys, and type Disk Utility in the spotlight search. Open Disk Utility from the search results.
Erase Drive
On the Disk Utility interface, select an external drive click on the Erase button from the top of the window (make sure and backup your drive before erasing it).
Drive format
Now enter the name for the external drive which will be used after formatting and also select the exFAT for Format option and click on the Erase. This will format the drive as exFAT format and your drive is now compatible with both platforms.

Format USB Drive in Windows

The below steps for formatting external drive is for Windows 10 and also works the same with an old version of Windows. To format your external drive hard drive in Windows to use on Mac and PC platforms, first plug-in your drive with a Windows machine.

Open the Disk Management tool by right-clicking on the start menu icon and then select Disk Management. Now right click on the external drive and click on the format option (double-check the drive name and capacity to make sure you are going to format the right drive.)

Now enter the Volume label as you need and change the File system for exFat and click OK. Now you are done.

Share your experience, how do you use an external hard drive on both Mac and PC. Did you format the drive as exFAT ? or use any utility that helps the system to read another type of file system. Please leave a comment below.

Part 1: How To Format Flash Drive On Mac

Here are the steps that you need to follow. Do these steps and you will then be able to format your flash drive on your Mac.

Step 1: Go ahead and plug in your flash drive in the USB port on your Mac.

Step 2: After that, go ahead and launch the Finder and click on your flash drive detected by your Mac.

Step 3: See to it that there are no files saved on your flash drive that you no longer need. This is because formatting your flash drive will remove all the data that is stored in it. If there are some files that you want to remain, simply copy these files to your Mac.

Step 4: After getting all the files that you need from your flash drive, go ahead and click on “Applications” and then click “Utilities” and then choose “Disk Utility”.

Step 5: And then, go ahead and click on your flash drive from the sidebar.

Step 6: Once that you have chosen your flash drive, go ahead and click on the “Erase” button located at the toolbar at the top of the window.

Step 7: On the next window that will appear on your screen, go ahead and key in a name for the flash drive that you are formatting from the box next to the “Name” option.

Step 8: And then select a format that you want from the drop-down menu.

Step 9: No, if you have previously stored a data on your flash drive that is highly sensitive, just go ahead and click on the Security Tab.

Step 10: From the security tab, go ahead and choose the level of the security that you want. The more that you move to your right, then the more “passes” the deleted tool will be but it will securely delete your files. However, doing to so will take more of your time to format your flash drive.

Step 11: After that, go ahead and click on the “OK” button and then click on the “Erase” button.

Part 2: Choosing the Right Format

There are formats that you need to choose from depending on the Mac that you are using. If you are using the macOS Sierra or a later version, then you have to options to choose from. One is the AFPS and the other one is the Mac OS Extended. The question now here is that which one should you choose.

You have to keep in mind that once you have formatted your flash drive into AFPS, then those Macs that are running on macOS that is older than the High Sierra will not be able to recognize it.

So, if you would want to use your flash drive on Macs that are running on High Sierra, then you have to choose the Mac OS Extended format.

However, you also have to know that AFPS is actually optimized for SSD or “solid state drive” and it includes flash drives.

That is why if you are going to reformat a flash drive on your Mac, then you should definitely choose the AFPS format as it is known to be the most reliable and faster than the Mac OS Extended. But again, that is if you do not have any plans in using it on a pre-High Sierra course.

And lastly, if in case that you would want to use your flash drive as one of your backup options in Time Machine, then you should definitely have it formatted in Mac OS Extended.

This is because Time Machine does not have the ability yet to backup flash drives that are formatted in AFPS. So, if you are using an AFPS formatted flash drive on Time Machine, it will just ask you to format your flash drive into Mac OS Extended.

Part 3: How To Format Flash Drive To Fat32 On Your Mac

Once that you have a flash drive, then what you would need to do is to have it formatted into Fat32. Why? This is because once that you have formatted your flash drive into Fat32, then you will be able to use it on both Windows and Mac PC when you want to save or transfer files with either of the two.

The Fat32 format can be used – read or write – with both Mac and Windows PC and because of this, it makes the device more versatile.

However, there are some limitations that you should need to know such as an individual file should only have a maximum size of 4GB. But do not worry because there is still something you can do about it and that is by formatting it to exFAT.

The exFAT format will not give any limitations on the file size that you are going to store on your flash drive and you can still use it on both Windows and Macs that are running in Mac OS X Snow Leopard or later version. For you to be able to format your flash drive into Fat32, here is what you need to do.

Step 1: Go ahead and connect your flash drive to your Mac.

Step 2: And then, go to Application and then click on Utilities.

Step 3: After that, go ahead and launch Disk Utility.

Step 4: And then, go ahead and click on your flash drive located at the sidebar in Disk Utility.

Step 5: After that, click on 'Erase' in the Disk Utility window.

Step 6: After that, go ahead and enter the name for the flash drive that you formatted.

Step 7: And then, choose the Format menu and then select MS-DOS (FAT32) or the ExFAT.

Step 8: After that, go ahead and click on the 'Erase' button.

Once that you are done with the provided steps for you, your flash drive will then completely wipe out all the data stored and it is re-formatted into either an ExFAT or FAT32 depending on what you have chosen on the previous steps.

Part 4: Getting Your Mac System Run Fast

Now that you have known with how you can format your flash drive on your Mac, now it is time for you to get your Mac cleaned up.

Getting your Mac clean on a regular basis after doing tasks can help your Mac maintain its speed and will also give you more space for your storage.

There is one great option for you to clean up your Mac in no time and this is by using the software called the FoneDog Mac Cleaner.

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The FoneDog Mac Cleaner will help you to speed up your Mac with just a few simple clicks. This software can also help you in scanning your Mac faster and find all of your junk files on your Mac.

It also has the capability of checking your Mac's system status which includes your CPU status, your memory usage and more. This way, you will have an idea of what is the data that is actually eating up a lot of storage space on your Mac and which is causing it to perform slower than the usual.

The FoneDog Mac Cleaner will not only help you in removing all of the junk files that you have on your Mac. It can also help you to completely uninstall applications that you no longer use together with all the files that are associated with that app. It can also serve as a Similar Image Finder, an Extension Manager, a Duplicate Finder, and more.

For you to start cleaning up your Mac, all you have to do is to follow all the steps that we are going to provide to you. Do not worry, this is really simple and easy to follow and it will not consume a lot of your time. In addition, the screenshots below are shown under the dark mode on Mac.

Step 1: Download and Install

Have the FoneDog Mac Cleaner downloaded from our official website at https://www.fonedog.com/mac-cleaner/. Once that you have completely downloaded the program, go ahead and have the program installed on your Mac.

Step 2: Launch the Program

After that installation process is complete, go ahead and run the program on your Mac. Once that the program is up and running, you will be able to see on your screen the system status of your Mac. With that information, you will have an idea which files are taking up a lot of space on your Mac.

Step 3: Select Cleaner

Cleaner provides you with the cleaning function for the system, photo, email, files, apps and other fields on your Mac.

Step 4: Choose iTunes Junk

Here, take iTunes Junk as an example to show you how to clean junks on your Mac to make your Mac run faster.
Note: As for the other tools like 'System Junk' and 'Email Junk', the steps to clean up them is the same as that in 'iTunes Junk' tool.

Step 5. Scan iTunes Files

After clicking into the page of iTunes Junk, press the Scan button to start scan all the iTunes backups, Cache, updates and downloads on your Mac.

Step 6: Review and Select Items

After that scanning process is completely done, you will be able to see on the left side of your window screen a list of category folders of all the junk files of iTunes that you have on your Mac. If you click each folder, you will see on the right side of your screen all the items that each folder contains.

Review each item on each folder for you to make sure that all the junk files shown on your screen are unnecessary any more.

Once that you are satisfied with the result, you can go ahead and simply click on the 'Clean' button to clean up all your junk files.

Step 7: Confirm Your Choice

There would be a pop-up window called Confirmation turning up. Please press the 'Confirm' button if you are sure to delete the selected files; otherwise, please press the Cancel button and return to the previous page.

Step 8: Cleaning Done

Once that the cleaning process is done, all those unnecessary files that you have there will all be deleted from your Mac.

Part 5: Conclusion

Now, as you can see, formatting your flash drive on your Mac is a very easy thing to do. All you need to have is the knowledge on how you can do.

And keep in mind that if you are going to format your flash drive, make sure that you choose the right format so that you can use it in any PC.

Formatting is easy, just like in cleaning up your Mac. Getting your Mac tidy is one of the best things that you should do for you to be able to maintain the speed of your Mac and of course for you to get more space on your storage. And the best way for you to clean up your Mac is by using the FoneDog Mac Cleaner.

>Clean up Mac >How to Format A Flash Drive on Mac?

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