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Format Usb On Mac For Windows

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Since the PC and Mac are two different operating systems, they use different file systems. By default, Macs use HFS, while PCs use NTFS, which are not compatible with each other. If you plan on using an external drive with both Macs and PCs, you should format the disk with the exFAT file system instead.

Format Usb For Mac And Windows Disk Utility


Priscilla font character map for mac. You can format the drive on your Mac or Windows computer.


Oct 27, 2011  Is there a way to retrieve data from a MAC formatted USB stick on a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista? Aug 10, 2018  Besides, you can format an external hard drive for Mac and Windows by converting HFS+ to FAT32 or exFAT without losing any data. Step 1: Backup Data in HFS+ Partition on Mac Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on Mac.

How to format a USB drive as exFAT on Mac

So how do you know if your USB drive is in the correct format? You do not need to do anything special on the 'Disk Utility' - simply insert the USB drive and open Finder. Right-click the drive icon in the Finder sidebar (or on the desktop) and select Get Info. You will see the drive's file system shown on the right “Format”.

Formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. To format a drive on a Mac, you'll need the built-in Disk Utility application.

Go to Open Disk Utility, which is located under Applications in the Finder menu. If you have a USB flash drive inserted in your Mac, you can see it under the External in the Disk Utility. Select your flash drive from the list. Go to the Erase tab. You will be asked to provide the disk name and then select the file system as exFAT.

Then select the default GUID Partition Map (GPT) scheme. Click the Erase button when you are done and the Disk Utility will format your disk with the settings you specified. This will erase all the files on the drive.

You're now done. Be sure to eject the disk before you remove it from your Mac.

How to format a USB flash drive as exFAT on Windows PC

There are several ways to format drive in Windows PC, you can do that in This PC or in Disk Management.

Note: If you have important data on your USB flash drive, you should backup your drive before formatting it.

Option 1: Format a USB drive as EexFAT in This PC.

Press Windows logo key + E to open File Explorer. Right-click on the drive you want to format, click on Format. Under File system box, select exFAT for this drive. Then click Start button to go on.

Option 2: Format a USB drive as EexFAT in Disk Management.

Press Win+X, then hit K key to open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

For

Right-click on the drive you want to format, select Format to see the list of configurations including file system. Select exFAT for this drive. Then click OK button to go on.

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If you’re still using a Mac OS X the time will come when your computer won’t boot, or a problem may arise where you can’t take control of the device, and booting from an OS X installation media will be required.

This is why it’s recommended that you make a Mac OS X bootable USB when your Mac is in working conditions. However, if you find yourself on a scenario where your device (iMac, MacBook Pro, Air, Mac Pro or Mini) is not responding and you happen to have a Windows device, then you can still be able to make a USB bootable installation media for your Mac OS X to reinstall the operating system using the Recovery Assistant.

These instructions will also work for Windows users, who are running Mac OS X on a virtual machine and need to upgrade to the latest version. For instance, to OS X Yosemite.

Things to know before proceeding

Before you dive into this guide, you’ll need a few things:

  • A broken Mac computer with Mac OS X.
  • A trial copy of the TransMac software.
  • One high quality USB flash drive with 16GB of storage.
  • A copy of Apple’s macOS (DMG file).

Now that you have all the necessary ingredients, you’re ready to make a Mac OS X bootable USB using the DMG file of the operating system with the steps below.

How to create Mac OS X bootable USB installation media

Before you can use TransMac, you may first need to partition your USB flash drive with a GPT partition, as a normal MBR partition may not work. To do this, you’ll need to use the Diskpart command-line utility on Windows.

Setting up GPT partition

Use these steps to set up a USB drive with a GPT partition:

  1. Open Start on Windows 10.

  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result and select the Run as Administrator option.

  3. Type the following command to open Diskpart and press Enter:

  4. Type the following command to determine the USB flash drive and press Enter:

  5. Type the following command to select the storage and press Enter:

    Quick tip: The select disk 1 command as an example, but you have to replace 1 with the number of the flash drive you want to use.

  6. Type the following commands to delete everything from the USB thumb drive and press Enter:

  7. Type the following command to convert the drive into a GPT partition and press Enter:

  8. Type the following command to select the new partition and press Enter:

After you complete the steps, the USB flash drive from MBR to GPT format, you can use the steps below to create a bootable USB installation media to install Mac OS X.

Creating USB install media

Use these steps to create a bootable media to install Mac OS X:

  1. Download and install a copy of TransMac.

    Quick note: TransMac is a paid software, but it has a 15-day trial solution, that give us more than enough time to move the DMG files to the USB drive from Windows. (If you want to support the developer, you can purchase the full version.)

  2. Insert the USB drive that you’ll use to fix your installation of OS X. (Remember that all the data in the USB will be erased. Make sure you take off any important documents.)

  3. Right-click the TransMac software icon and Run as administrator. (You’ll be prompted to Enter Key or Run, because we’ll be using it once, click the Run option.)

  4. On the left pane, you’ll see all the Windows PC drives listed, right-click the USB drive that you’re intending to use to reinstall Apple’s OS X and select the Restore with Disk Image option.

  5. In the warning dialog box, click the Yes button.

  6. 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.

    Now, you’ll have to wait a long time. No kidding. It could take one or two hours to complete the process depending on your computer and other variables.

Once your bootable USB installation media is ready, remove it and insert it into your Mac, power it on, holding down the Option key, and select the USB you just created to reinstall Mac OS X.

If you’re having issues trying to create a bootable media, you can get a USB flash drive that comes with Mac OSX ready to install.

  • macOS flash drive See at Amazon
  • OS X 10.12 Sierra flash drive See at Amazon
  • macOS Sierra flash drive See at eBay

    • Update September 23, 2019: This guide has been revised to make sure it includes the latest changes.

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    How To Format Usb On Mac For Windows

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