How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. The former option can help ensure that the usb drive is made fully compatible with your mac, since most usb drives are preformatted for windows computers by default. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. All external usb disks can be formatted to work on mac osx, but not always straight out of the box. For apple mac users, there are two ways to format a usb flash drive to fat32, including disk utility and. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
On os x, linux, or any environment with bash, you can use the open source formatudf as a onestop udf formatting tool. Open terminal, which is in the utilities folder of your applications folder. Oct 25, 2015 how to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive with windows 10 7. Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. Make sure that it has at least 12gb of available storage and is formatted as mac os extended. In this tutorial we look at formatting disks via the gui app called disk utility and its equivalent command line tool diskutil. May 01, 2020 how to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. A working recovery volume on your operating system startup drive this is the source where you will create a copy of the volume. Nov 17, 2019 bootable macos catalina usb on windows 10. If this is the case, chances are that its using a mbr partition, and the usb drive needs a gpt partition to. Wait as the os x utilities window appears on the screen. If you only use a mac computer, you can format your thumb drive so it can work on windows systems. To create a bootable usb drive from a dmg file on windows, you will need to have the right utility. How to quickly create a macos bootable usb on windows 10.
Jan, 2014 how to create a mac os x usb boot drive on windows duration. How to create a bootable installer for macos apple support. If the hard drive is formatted in the windows ntsf format, it will mount on the desktop when you plug it into the mac, but you wont be able to copy files to it. Mar 12, 2020 connect the usb flash drive or other volume that youre using for the bootable installer. Jan 15, 2019 better still, it can be read from and written to on any mac running mac os x snow leopard or later and on windows. Mac os x dmg iso files and a usb pen drive with minimum. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. Click on the usb drive in the sidebar in disk utility. Next, its best to format your usb device as mac os extended journaled. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. Sharing a hardflash drive across windows, os x, and linux. Windows 10 boot drive changed to x stuck in windows.
The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. Open up your my computer or computer in vista from the start menu and look for the drive that has a removable disk icon. Type or paste one of the following commands in terminal. For example, in windows xp my computer is equivalent to this pc on windows 10.
To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. Macs and pcs use different file systems, which can make it tricky to put data from your mac on a flash or hard drive and give it to a windows. Apr 14, 2020 however, when we connect a ntfs formatted disk to mac, mac os x doesnt allow us to write files to the drive neither edit files, though it can read a ntfs drive. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. So, if users anticipate using the flash drive with more than one operating system, they will definitely benefit from the fat32 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. For apple mac users, the easier way to format usb flash drive to fat32 is using the disk utility. Mar 30, 2020 on the left, rightclick the usb flash drive, select the format disk for mac option.
Im here to use a windows 10 based hp laptop to format my lexar drive. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. On the left, rightclick the usb flash drive, select the format disk for mac option. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility mac os x. Select mac os extended journaled, or your preferred format type. How to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive with windows 10 7. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks. It is the mac equivalent of an iso file that has been in use since apple transitioned from the img format with mac os x. Whether you want to format a flash drive on your mac or convert a. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the drive click cancel.
Aug 16, 2019 on windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. However, os x and windows both can read and write to a format called fat32, which used to be used for windows all the way back into the msdos. Guid partition once you do this, open the macos sierra installer. On windows 10, the ability to format a usb flash drive can come in handy in a number of scenarios. Oct 15, 2019 select mac os extended journaled, or your preferred format type. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos. Read on our sidebystep guide to help you create os x recovery usb drive with disk assistant on a usb stick.
How to quickly make a mac os x bootable usb on windows. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk. One thing you need took care of that the usb drive needs in gpt partition in order to work on a mac computer otherwise it wont boot. How to create macos bootable usb on windows 10 uubyte. Create bootable usb from dmg file on windows mac install usb. This is usually assigned to the last drive letter and may show multiple drives if multiple devices are plugged in.
Whilst the process of downloading and installing an os through the mac app store is straightforward enough, its painful for people with a slower internet connection, or if theyve multiple macs in their home. By default, they format disks with the maconly os x extended file system. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. You can format a hard drive or usb flash disk specifically so that it will be compatible with both mac os x and windows pc computers. Jul 15, 2009 however, os x and windows both can read and write to a format called fat32, which used to be used for windows all the way back into the msdos days. First of all, use the mac app store installer for macos sierra, which you can get here.
Download hp usb disk storage format tool on mac, install it on emulated windows. However, fat32 can be only used for installing os with legacy biso, which doesnt work for macos. Use the restore disk image to drive dialog box to browse for the dmg file with the installation files for mac os x yosemite in this case, and click the ok button to create a bootable usb of the operating system. This cnet tv video gives you stepbystep instructions on how to set up your external hard drive so it can be used on a windows machine and on your mac. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac.
A working recovery volume on your operating system startup drive this is the source where you. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. External data storage devices such as usb flash drives, external hard disk drives hdds, and solid state drives ssds provide one of the easiest ways to transfer files between separate computers without accessing the. However, os x and windows both can read and write to a format called fat32, which used to be used for windows all the way back into the msdos days. However, when we connect a ntfs formatted disk to mac, mac os x doesnt allow us to write files to the drive neither edit files, though it can read a ntfs drive. By default, they format disks with the mac only os x extended file system. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. However, for this you need to follow the next steps. This cnet tv video gives you stepbystep instructions on how to set up your external hard drive so it can. It is better than os x recovery as you dont have to download the 5gb installer data, first, to reinstall the os or installer disk for macs that does not support os x recovery.
Jul 05, 2017 macs support a variety of file systems. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Exfat is not compatible with computers older than windows vista or mac os x 10. How to install mac os x lion from usb flash drive duration. How to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive on windows. The extended file system ext was the first file system created specifically for linux. If the drive comes formatted in ntfs, which is the default file system for windows, youre going to want to reformat the drive because mac os x. Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x.
How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos easeus. Yet when you connect a mac formatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. Rightclick on the device you wish to format and select format. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. In order to create an os x recovery usb drive, you will need a few things. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Create bootable usb for mac on windows 10, mac and windows file system is completely different, so you are not able to create bootable usb for mac with powershell, cmd or rufus. This will work in all modern versions of apple mac osx including 10. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Feb 21, 2020 its a universal format that is compatible with mac os xmacos, windows, linux and dos systems. Have you ever ran into a problem where youre trying to use a flash drive on both windows and mac. Learn how to format your usb flash drive or usb external drive so you can use it on both mac os x and windows computers. Disk drill, a premium data recovery solution for mac os x with support for all popular file formats and common storage devices, is here to help you recover deleted files from usb flash drive. How to format usb flash drive on mac free mac data.
Sep 05, 2009 format a drive for mac os x and windows. Sep 23, 2019 use the restore disk image to drive dialog box to browse for the dmg file with the installation files for mac os x yosemite in this case, and click the ok button to create a bootable usb of the operating system. How to create a mac os x usb boot drive on windows duration. For example, you might want to reformat a new or used removable storage device to make sure it.
Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Mar 16, 2020 when you erase a hard drive, you basically format ntfs on mac and change the format to a compatible one like afps or mac os x extended journaled. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os. How to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive on windows 10.
You want to do this before creating the bootable media because there is a good chance that the drive was formatted using a windows device. Os x can default read ntfs disks, but not write to them. We all make mistakes, and you wouldnt be the first person in the world to accidentally format a usb flash drive. Feb 20, 2015 on os x, linux, or any environment with bash, you can use the open source formatudf as a onestop udf formatting tool. A dmg file, like iso, can be used to install macos operating system or mac apps. When the driver is installed, you format your ntfs disks with disk utility where you select windows nt filesystem as the format.
How to format a usb drive for mac and pc compatibility youtube. External data storage devices such as usb flash drives, external hard disk drives hdds, and solid state drives ssds provide one of the easiest ways to transfer files between separate computers without accessing the internet. How to format a disk to ntfs using mac os x ask different. Save and restore image files to disk and usb flash. Install the parallels desktop emulator on your mac os. Best usb format tools pen drive stick formatters for. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. Use your usb drive rightclick on it and select format disk format this will format the usb drive so that it can be used to store the mac os operating system. How to create bootable usb for mac on windows 10 in 4 ways.
If you remembered, till macos sierra the apple file system was hackintosh, but macos 10. Mostly, the usb drive was formmated to fat32 in default when being shipped out from the factory. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. The mac os x image is required in order to proceeding further steps i. So the next step is to format your usb drive in the gpt partition style in order to burn installation files to the. Its a universal format that is compatible with mac os xmacos, windows, linux and dos systems. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. Go to applicationsutilities and launch disk utility. Regardless of whether your block device is a hard drive or flash drive, and regardless of its logical block size, formatudf will produce a udf drive that can be recognized automatically on windows, os x, and linux. You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. The hp usb format tool allows you to format the usb flash drive in the mac os x. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc.
How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. If you plan to use the usb drive on linux computers, you can format it to this file system. In this tutorial, ill show you two ways to install macos sierra onto a bootable usb drive. How to create a bootable usb drive for macos sierra. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. It could take one or two hours to complete the process depending on your computer. Apples msdos fat is just a different name for microsofts fat32. Burn your iso file and dmg file directly to cddvd bluray. If you are on an earlier operating system like windows 7, xp, etc. Better still, it can be read from and written to on any mac running mac os x snow leopard or later and on windows. Connect the usb flash drive or other volume that youre using for the bootable installer.