Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions
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. 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. 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. From then on, that drive should work fantastically between Mac and Windows machines. It won't work with Linux unless you install Linux's exFAT drivers, but for most people, exFAT is just about.
If you work in an environment where you constantly use a flash drive between a Windows and Mac computer, you may find that you constantly have to format USB drive. One way to permanently solve this problem is to format usb flash drive to exFAT, a platform-independent file system.
Which Format to Choose? FAT32, NTFS, or exFAT?
- Whether you’re formatting an internal drive, external drive, or USB flash drive, Windows makes it possible to choose between NTFS and exFAT formats. In this guide, we’ll go over the simple steps to formatting a USB drive and which format is best for certain situations. ExFAT is a file system optimized specifically for flash drives.
- Note: exFAT format USB flash drives do not work with ClonerAlliance products. Click Erase, then click Erase when prompted. This will begin the formatting process. Once the formatting is complete, you’ll see an icon for your flash drive appear on your Mac’s desktop.
Before we get into the actual process of formatting USB drive to exFAT, we need to understand exFAT and other files systems, specifically, FAT32 and NTFS.
- FAT32: FAT32 is the oldest file system. FAT is an acronym for File Allocation Table. FAT32 was introduced way back in Windows 95 and was the successor to the older FAT16 that was used on Dos and Windows 3. It currently works on all Windows versions, Mac and Linux. This is the reason it is also one of the most ubiquitous file systems and comes pre-installed on almost all USB you buy at a store. Unfortunately, FAT32 comes with limitations. One of the biggest drawbacks is a maximum file limit size of 4GB. In today's world where video files can often be larger than that, FAT32 is often impractical. FAT32 also limits partition sizes to 8TB.
- NTFS: NTFS or NT file system is the default file system used by Windows. NTFS has a huge file size and partition limits that are theoretically impossible to surpass. It originally debuted in Windows NT and later in Windows XP. NTFS is compatible with Windows but files can only be opened in read-only mode in Mac and some Linux distributions.
- exFAT: exFAT is an acronym for the Extended File Allocation Table. It was created by Microsoft to replace FAT32 and address its limitations. The system has a file limit size of approximately 16 exabytes (over 1 billion gigabytes!) and is compatible with both Windows and Mac. exFAT formatted USB drive has no realistic partition size limits.
From the above descriptions of the three of the main file systems, it becomes immediately apparent why you would need to format a flash drive to exFAT. The most common reasons include:
- Store large files. As already mentioned, the FAT32 file system has a file limit size of 4GB. In such a situation, you need to format the USB to exFAT to accommodate large file sizes.
- You continuously use a flash drive between Windows and Mac. In such a situation, your USB drives need to use a file system that is compatible with both operating systems. ExFAT formatted USB drive solves this problem beautifully.
- The nature of your work requires you to have large partitions for different types of data. For example, you may want to create a different partition for media such as images and videos.
How to Format flash drive to exFAT?
As mentioned earlier, the exFAT system is ideal for large files and partitions. If your USB is small, for example, 4GB, it may not make sense to format it to exFAT because you will never be able to store files larger than 4GB, unless you have the need to transfer files between macOS and Windows devices. For small USB drives of under 32 GB, you can format flash drive to either FAT32 or exFAT.
Method 1: Using the File Explorer
Step 1: Plug in the USB into the computer and wait for it to be detected.
Step 2: Once it's recognized, open Windows File Explorer and navigate to the disk location. Locate the USB drive under This PC. Right-click and select Format.
Step 3: Click on File System and select exFAT from the dropdown. Check the Quick Format checkbox if it isn't already ticked.
Step 4: Click Start to begin the process. You will get a pop-up warning you that, 'Formatting will erase ALL data on this disk. To format the disk, click OK. To quit, click CANCEL.' Click 'OK' and wait for the progress bar to finalize. If the format is successful, you will get prompt as shown below. Click 'OK' and begin using the drive or eject it safely.
Method 2: Using Disk Management
Disk Management is a Windows utility tool that helps you manage all your drives from one area. It is packed with several features that allow you to format thumb drive, change drive letters and paths, add mirrors, extend, shrink and delete volumes, and much more.
Step 1: Plug in your USB drive and wait for it to be detected. Once detected, type Disk Management in the Windows Search bar and click 'Create and format hard disk partitions' to launch the Disk Management Utility.
Step 2: Right-click the flash drive and select the Format option.
Step 3: Type a name in the Volume Label field to help you quickly identify the drive in File Explorer.
Step 4: In the File System drop-down menu, select NTFS, FAT32， or exFAT, and tick the Perform a quick format option.
Step 5: Click OK and wait for the process to complete. Once complete the drive has been formatted to exFAT. You can now use it or unplug it safely from the PC.
The process to format larger drives, that is, above 32 GB is more or less the same. You can use both methods outlined above. But, to ensure you don't encounter any errors, the additional two methods below are recommended for larger flash drives.
Method 3: Using the Command Prompt
The Windows Command Prompt takes much longer but is the best way to format flash drive, and deal with any problems such as 'Windows was unable to complete the format'.
Step 1: As with Method 1, plug in the flash drive and wait for it to be detected.
Step 2: Once detected, type 'CMD' in the Windows search bar and launch the Command Prompt.
Step 3: All drives on a Windows computer usually have letters assigned to them. For example, the hard disk is almost always C. Any additional drives connected to the computer are allocated subsequent letters. For example, D, F, and so on. E is usually reserved for the optical drive (CD/DVD) if the computer has one. For this example, our flash drive is letter D. You can find out the letter allocated to your USB by navigating to This PC and taking note of the letter in brackets.
Step 4: Type 'format D: /fs:EXFAT' and press enter. Remember to make sure the letter you type corresponds to the letter allocated to the USB drive plugged into your PC.
Step 5: Press Enter when ready and the process begins. When complete, you will be asked to enter a Volume Label to identify the drive. Enter a name and press Enter to complete. Begin using the flash drive or eject safely.
Do you know that Command Prompt can even help you recover deleted files! ⬅ Learn more about this cool trick!
Method 4: Using Windows PowerShell
The Windows PowerShell is similar to the command prompt and is effective at quickly formatting large USB drives to exFAT. It also has an extra feature to force a full format.
Step 1: Plug in your flash drive and ensure it has been detected.
Step 2: Launch Windows PowerShell by typing PowerShell in the Windows search bar. Launch the Windows PowerShell application by clicking on it.
Step 3: To perform a quick format, type in the following command 'Format-Volume -DriveLetter DRIVE-LETTER -FileSystem exFAT'. Replace 'DRIVE-LETTER' with the drive letter allocated to your flash drive by the PC. For this example, the command looks like this, 'Format-Volume -DriveLetter D -FileSystem exFAT'. To perform a full format, type 'Format-Volume -DriveLetter D -FileSystem exFAT -Full -Force'. Once again ensure the drive letter corresponds with your system.
Step 4: Press Enter. Once the process is complete begin using the USB or eject safely.
Part 3. Recover Lost Files from Formatted USB Drives
Finally, we need to address a common problem that you may encounter while format flash drive to exFAT. You may experience a situation where the format fails, the USB drive is accidentally ejected or there is an unexpected power shutdown. One of the things that may happen is that the disk may become corrupted and you lose your data. You may also format a flash drive and forget to make a backup or, mistakenly assume you have a copy of the files in some other place. The only to recover lost files from formatted USB drives is by using Wondershare Recoverit.
Wondershare Recoverit is a nifty data recovery tool that is compatible with both Windows and Mac. With Wondershare Recoverit, you can recover lost and deleted files in a few minutes from flash drives and all other types of external media, internal hard disks, recycle bins, and even crashed computers.
Step 1: Plug in the Flash Drive
Connect the flash drive that contains the data you want to recover. Ensure that the device is detectable. If Windows offers to scan and repair the device, proceed and do so until the device is detectable.
Step 2: Launch Wondershare Recoverit on Windows
Next, launch the Wondershare Recoverit app on Windows. Click the Desktop icon or type 'Wondershare Recoverit' in the Windows Search box, and click Open to launch it.
Step 3: Select the USB Drive
Next, select the USB drive from the External Devices section as shown below, and click the Start button to begin recovery.
Step 4: Scan the USB Drive
An all-around scan initiates on the USB drive. Give it a few minutes to complete. You can pause and continue the scan at any point. Once the process terminates, check the button against the files you want to recover. You can also select all files if needed by checking the box adjacent to the Name field.
Step 5: Preview and Recover
You can preview each file before clicking Recover. Once you click the Recover, you have the option of saving the files in another location on your computer.
Part 4. Common Errors That Lead to Format Failure
Before we explain how to format flash drive to exFAT, let's examine some of the reasons a flash drive will not format to exFAT on Windows. Understanding this will save you the unnecessary headache of having to troubleshoot later on.
Depending on the Windows operating system you are using, some of the most common errors you get when you can't format a thumb drive to USB exFAT include:
- 'There is a problem with this drive, scan the drive to fix it' – this usually happens if there was a problem due to unexpected power shutdown or removing the disk before it was safe to do so. A simple Windows scan usually fixes this problem. Simply follow the prompts to scan and repair if necessary, then proceed with the formatting instructions below.
- 'Windows was unable to complete the format' – there are several reasons you may run into such an error message. But, the main reason is usually that the thumb drive needs to be scanned and repaired.
- 'The disk is write-protected' – Some USD drives come with the option to write-protect the device. On some devices, this could be via a button, switch, or lever on the device. If your device doesn't have such a feature, you need to disable write-protect using the registry editor. Simply type 'CMD' on the windows search bar and open the command prompt. Type 'diskpart' and press enter. You should get a new window similar to the one shown below.
Next, type 'list disk' and press enter. This will list all the active disks on the computer. Note the flash drive number then type 'select disk' and select your flash drive. Type 'attr disk clear readonly' to remove the write-protect settings. You should get a confirmation message stating, 'Disk Attributes Cleared Successfully' as shown below. Type 'exit' to exit Diskpart.
Closing Words
All the methods described above assume you have administrator rights on the PC. If you don't, you will need to log in with an administrator user account or know the administrator password. We hope you learned how to format the flash drive to exFAT and recover any data in case the process doesn't run smoothly for you. Please do not hesitate to send us your comments or questions.
People Also Ask
- It depends on the file size that the SD card will hold. If your SD card is less than 4GB in size, you don't need to use exFAT. But if it is greater than 4GB then you may need exFAT formatted USB drive to store a single file of 4GB or greater.
- Yes, USB exFAT is the newer version of FAT32. It was created to address the file size limit problems of FAT32 without the bulkiness of NTFS.
- exFAT is the best file system for external media. NTFS is best suited for Windows internal hard disks.
4. Can Wondershare Recoverit recover lost data from USB on Mac?
Yes, Wondershare Recoverit works on both Windows and Mac.
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Summary :
When you get a new USB drive and want to format it, you may wonder: what is the best format for USB drive? Well, the best format for USB drive is different for different operating systems and devices. This article will show you how to choose the best format for USB flash drive.
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Nowadays, USB flash drive is widely used on various electronic devices due to its portability. Before you use a new USB drive, you need to first format it. Well, what is the best format for USB drive? How to choose the best format for USB drive?
Before you try to choose the best format for your USB drive, you need to know what file system it is in.
What Is File System?
What is file system?
In computing, a file system or filesystem controls how data is stored and retrieved. With a file system, the information placed in a storage medium will be separated into pieces and each piece will have a name, so the information is easily isolated and identified this way. Each group of data is called a file.
File system is the structure and logic rules used to manage groups of information.
File systems can be used on a numerous variety of storage devices and media types. There are many different types of file systems; each of them has different storage devices that they are the most suitable for.
What is the best format for USB drive? Well, it depends on how you plan to use your USB drive.
How to Choose the Best Format for USB drive
Basically, to choose the best format for USB flash drive. The two most important things you need to consider are the operating systems you plan to use it with and the sizes of the files that you are most likely to transfer and store.
The following contents list some commonly used file systems. To better understand which one is the best file system for USB drive according to your needs, you can view the compatibility, pros and cons of these file systems one by one.
When you get a new USB drive, you can follow this guide to choose the best thumb drive file system for your portable drive.
NTFS vs HFS+ vs FAT32 vs exFAT vs Ext 2,3,4
1. NTFS: The New Technology File System (NTFS), a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft, is the default file system of the Windows NT family.
- Compatibility: Windows XP/7/8/10, Linux (read-only for some distributions), MacOS(read-only), Xbox One
- Pros: journaling, no realistic file size limitations; support for file compression, high security
- Cons: can be read-only for Mac OS, or be written by Mac with the help of third-party software
2. HFS+: The Hierarchical File System (HFS+) is the file system modern MacOS versions use by default. If you want to use your USB drive on Mac devices, you can format USB to HFS+.
- Compatibility: MacOS, Linux(readonly), Xbox 360/One
- Pros: journaling, encrypt or compress files or folders
- Cons: cannot be read by the Window unless using third-party software
3. FAT32: The File Allocation Table 32 (FAT32) was the standard Windows file system before NTFS. And it is widely recognized by almost all operating systems. Most portable devices also support FAT32.
- Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, Chrome OS, Android, Xbox 360/One, PS3, PS4, printers, projectors…
- Pros: compatible with almost all versions of Windows, Mac, Linux and practically any device with a USB port
- Cons: cannot store a single file which is larger than 4GB; cannot create a FAT32 partition that is larger than 8 TB (Windows only recognizes 2TB)
4. exFAT: The extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) is similar to FAT32, but does not have the limits of FAT32 file system. It can be used where NTFS is not a feasible solution, but a greater file-size limit than the standard FAT32 file system is required.
- Compatibility: Windows, Mac OSX 10.6.5 and above, PlayStation 4 (with MBR, not GUID), Xbox One, Android
- Pros: good for larger file sizes and drives, compatible with both Windows and Mac OS
- Cons: Microsoft restricts its usage by license obligations.
5. Ext 2/3/4: The extended file system (Ext) was the first file system created specifically for Linux. If you plan to use the USB drive on Linux computers, you can format it to this file system.
Format Usb Drive To Exfat
- Compatibility: Linux, Xbox 360/One
- Pros: support for large file sizes and large drives
- Cons: cannot be read and written by Windows unless with third-party software, Ext 2 lacks journaling.
After the comparison, have you picked your best format for USB drive?
All in all, FAT32 is actually compatible for the most types of systems. It’s practically compatible with any device with a USB port, while NTFS and exFAT are not so much. HFS+ is specially used on MacOS, and Ext 2, 3, 4 file systems are created by Linux.
FAT32 - The Best Format for USB Drive
As you can see from above, FAT32 is supported on almost all devices, which makes it the choice of file system format selected by the most people for USB drive.
As long as you don't use it to transfer a single file larger than 4 GB, FAT32 is perfect and can be the best portable file system for USB drive due to its compatibility.
So we draw the conclusion that although FAT32 has its limits, it’s the best file system to use for most portable drives like USB drive, SD card, etc. Besides, most USB drives have small capacity because they are hardly ever used as the main data storage. Therefore, they will not be used to store large files. The limit will not affect you too much.
How to Format USB Drive in Windows or Mac
After choosing the best format for USB drive according to your needs, you might start to wonder: how do I format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ in Windows operating system or Mac? Well, don't worry. if you need to format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ file system, please follow the steps as below.
Well then, how to format USB drive to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ if you have the need. Don't worry, the following part will show you the solution for Windows and Mac OS users.
The process for formatting a drive is different depending on the system you’re using. Let’s see how to format USB drive on a Windows PC first.
Format USB drive on Windows Operating System
To format USB drive in Windows operating system, it is recommended to use the free USB formatter MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition.
MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition is a free partition manager & USB formatter. It can help you resize partition, extend partition, format partition, convert FAT32 to NTFS, check file system, copy partition, migrate OS to HD/SSD and so on. As a free partition manager, it is equipped with many advanced features that cannot be found in Disk Management.
With its user-friendly interface, this free partition manager is worth trying.
First, you need to connect the USB drive to your Windows PC. Then you can follow the steps as below to format USB drive for Mac and Windows on a Windows PC.
Step 1. Download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition by clicking the following button. Install and launch it to get its main interface.
Step 2. Right-click the drive you want to format and select Format Partition from the left action panel.
Step 3. At this page, specify the partition label, file system as well as cluster size. The cluster size is set by default.
Step 4. After resetting these parameters, you can click OK.
Step 5. Click Apply button on the upper left corner to allow the pending operations.
If you need to format USB drive to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition can be your best USB formatter. You can also change your USB format with this tool at ease. Try it now!
Format USB Drive in Mac
If you want to use the USB drive on your Mac computer only, formatting it to be entirely Mac compatible file system is highly recommended, such as HFS+ file system. If you want to use the drive between a Windows and Mac machine, you can format it to FAT32.
Oxford vst crack. You can follow the steps as below to format USB drive to HFS+ or FAT32 in Mac. Here I will format the drive to FAT32 for demonstration.
Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.
Step 2. Go to Applications and then click Utilities.
Step 3, Double click Disk Utility to open it.
Step 4. Select your USB flash drive on the sidebar, choose Erase.
Format Drive Exfat Windows 10
Step 5. Name the USB drive, choose the MS-DOS (FAT) for Format, Master Boot Record for Scheme. Then click Erase. Pioneer cdj 2000 nexus skin for virtual dj free.
Step 6. When it is finished, your USB drive will be formatted to FAT32 as the file system.
Wrapping Things Up
If you don't know how to choose the best format for USB drive, this article could be a big help. If you don't know how to format USB drive to the best file system, this article can also resolve this issue for you.
Format Flash Drive Mac Fat32
If you have a different opinion about the best format for USB drive, please don't hesitate to share it with us. If you need any help formatting USB drive in Windows, you may leave it in the following comment zone. And we will reply you as soon as possible. You may also contact us via [email protected] if you need help.