#Mac usb drive format how to
#Mac usb drive format windows 10

Windows will format the drive with the exFAT file system. Make sure that the USB drive is either blank or that you already have a backup first. If youвЂ™re ready, click вЂњOK.вЂќ Warning: YouвЂ™re about to lose all of the data on the drive. Next, youвЂ™ll see a warning that reminds you that youвЂ™re about to lose all of the data on the disk that youвЂ™re going to format. In the вЂњFormatвЂќ window that appears, click the drop-down box labeled вЂњFile SystemвЂќ and select вЂњexFAT.вЂќ Then, type in a name for the drive in the вЂњVolume LabelвЂќ box (if youвЂ™d like) and click вЂњStart.вЂќ Warning: Make sure that you pick the right drive, or you could end up accidentally erasing important data.

If Windows recognizes the drive, open File Explorer and navigate to вЂњThis PC.вЂќ In your вЂњDevices and DrivesвЂќ list, right-click the USB drive that you want to use as a universal drive and select вЂњFormatвЂќ from the list. Warning: The contents of the drive will be erased when you click вЂњFormat Disk.вЂќВ Make sure that youвЂ™ve backed up your important files first. If Windows says that it doesnвЂ™t recognize the drive (and youвЂ™ve already backed up any data on it), click вЂњFormat Disk,вЂќ and then skip the next step.

#Mac usb drive format how to

RELATED: What's the Best Way to Back Up My Computer? How to Format a USB Drive as exFAT on WindowsДЇirst, plug the USB drive that youвЂ™d like to format as a universal Mac/Windows drive into your Windows machine. If the USB drive is formatted as a Windows drive, itвЂ™s probably best to back it up with a Windows Machine. If the USB drive is formatted with the Mac file system, youвЂ™ll need to use a Mac to transfer the data off of the drive. Formatting a drive always erases all of the data on the drive. If the USB drive that you want to use as a universal transfer drive contains any data that you want to keep, youвЂ™ll need to back up that data onto another disk or a cloud backup service first.

RELATED: Why Does Windows Want to Format My Mac Drives? Before You Get Started: Back Up the USB Drive First This disk preparation setup process is called вЂњ formatting.вЂќ Below, weвЂ™ll show you how to set up a USB drive as exFAT for both Windows and Mac. That file system is called exFAT, and itвЂ™s designed for flash media cross-platform compatibility. If youвЂ™re frequently using both Macs and PCs with the same drive, the ideal solution is to configure a USB drive with a file system that both operating systems can read. And likewise, if you format a USB drive as NTFS on Windows, Macs can read it but not write to it (although there are some ways around it).

#Mac usb drive format windows 10

So hereвЂ™s the problem: If you format a USB drive as APFS on a Mac, Windows 10 wonвЂ™t read it without third-party tools (and will actually ask to format it).