how to format usb drive on mac to work on windows

In fact, make two backups, and keep one on a remote service like Google Drive or Dropbox.įormatting a drive will delete all of the data that's currently on it. Important note: Before you format a drive, make sure that you backup all of your important files. If you're sure you want to go with FAT32, here's how to format a storage drive on Windows 10. But you'd need to be sure that none of those files are greater than 4 GB. Expand the folder to read Mac drive files on a Windows 10 PC. Choose the files & folders you want to view in the HFS+ drive. For example, if you need to boot up an old computer, maybe with a different operating system, and backup some of its files. Click Autodetect to load the connected hard drive. These days, the only reason why you'd choose to format a drive to FAT32 is for compatibility. Also, it's a little more difficult to format a drive larger than 32 GB to FAT32 on Windows 10. On the other hand, FAT32's max file size of 4 GB is almost nothing now that phones can record 4K videos.

(But it would be nice to have a 128 PB USB drive, wouldn't it?) Note that the maximum drive and file size of NTFS and ExFAT is so large that there's basically no limit.

** 1 exabyte is about 1 million terabytes * 1 petabyte is about 1 thousand terabytes However, though FAT32 is well supported, its maximum drive and file size is severely limited when compared to newer formats like NTFS and ExFAT: Meanwhile, macOS can only read NTFS drives, and you would need to install third-party software to write back to the drive. Every major operating system will allow you to read and write from a USB flash drive that's formatted to FAT32. Of those three common formats, FAT32 is the oldest and most widely supported. Once OS X Fuse and NTFS-3G are installed, your Mac should be able to read and write to NTFS disks just fine.ADVERTISEMENT FAT32 compared to other formats

Follow the instructions to download NTFS-3G for Mac OS X, whose development seems stopped right now but still works in Yosemite. Follow the directions on the OS X Fuse website to download and configure the software. NativeNTFS isn't for rookies: It's a bash script that needs to run from the Terminal command line and requires you to have root (administrator) access to your computer.Īn easier way to go is to download OS X Fuse, a third-party software tool that extends the Mac's file system capabilities. If you're a DIYer and you'd like to go the free route, you'll find a Sourceforge project called NativeNTFS-OSX that gets the job done. It includes several additional utilities for people who need to tinker or repair, to enable you to format drives with NTFS, check NTFS partition integrity, fix errors, and more. Paragon Software's NTFS for Mac 12 (opens in new tab) is another excellent choice.

How to format usb drive on mac to work on windows