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. Step 2: Search for your flash drive on the sidebar of the Disk Utility app and select it by clicking on its name. Step 3: Now Click the “Erase” button which is located just below the title bar of the window which says “Disk Utility”. This will erase your whole drive and make it a single partition.
By - guest writer.The latest trend with computers is not including a CD/DVD drive.This helps the computers to be small and lighter. Apple has started doing this when the Macbook Air arrived on the scene. They have also included this with their latest laptops and their iMac’s.Recently photographers have switched from using CD/DVD’s to USB flash drives to deliver their digital pictures to their clients.However, some photographers have run into issues where clients are not able to read the USB flash drive, prompting the photographer to switch back to using CD/DVD’s.
But don't worry. We've got the solution!This article will teach you how to format the USB flash drive so both Mac’s and PC’s can read them.There are two parts to this tutorial. One for Mac and the other for Windows 7.
(Be careful using these instructions to ensure you are formatting the correct disk.)(for Windows instructions please scroll down)MAC INSTRUCTIONSStep 1: Double Click on the Finder icon that is located in the Dock. It looks like the Apple smiley face. Here’s a picture.Step 2: A finder window should be open now.
On the left hand side of the finder window locate “Applications”. Click on Applications to open the Applications folder.Step 3: In the Application Windows look for the Utilities Folder.
Double click on the Utilities folder.Step 4: If you haven’t already plugged in your USB flash drive in to your Mac, please do so now before going on to Step 5.Step 5: Look for the Disk Utility icon and double click it.Note: From this step on please be careful. You don’t want to erase the wrong disk. Doing this will delete all the data on the disk. If you accidentally choose the wrong disk you will not be able to recover the data without special software or even a data recovery specialist, which can be extremely expensive.Step 6: Locate your USB flash drive.
Mine displays as 2 GB SMI USB DISK Media, then underneath it you will see USB DISK. Click on USB Disk.Step 7: When you click on USB Disk you will see a few tabs.
Click on the Erase tab.Step 8: You will see Format: Select ExFAT.Step 9: You will see Name: Input the name you would like to call it, for example your clients name or your business name. You only get 11 characters and spaces count as a character. Don’t use any symbols or special characters. For this example I will be using my company name abbreviated: JSP.Step 10: Your screen should look like the screen example below.Step 11: Now if everything looks right click on the Erase button.
IMPORTANT: AGAIN, PLEASE CONFIRM YOU ARE ERASING THE CORRECT DISK. YOU WILL SEE THIS SELECTED ON THE LEFT SIDE.A confirmation window will pop up. Click on the Erase Button.Step 12: The formatting process is pretty quick depending on how old your Mac is. Unfortunately there is no confirmation that the computer is done formatting your USB flash drive. When it’s done it will automatically mount the drive with the name you gave it. When you see this you can close the Disk Utility application.You are done.
Your USB flash drive is now ready to pictures.Windows 7 InstructionsStep 1: Plug your USB flash drive in an available USB port on your computer.Step 2: Go to the Window Start Menu, then Computer.Step 3: You should see your USB flash drive. On my computer it displays as the G: Drive.Note: From this step on please be careful. You don’t want to erase the wrong disk. Doing this will delete all the data on the disk.
If you accidently choose the wrong disk you will not be able to recover the data without special software or even a data recovery specialist, which can be extremely expensive.Step 4: Click on the USB Disk once. Then do a right click with your mouse to pull up a menu. Click on Format.Step 5: You will want to change the File System to: exFAT and then enter a Volume Label. You can make this your client name or your company name. I picked JSP, no special characters allowed.Step 6: Click the Start Button (Make sure you keep the Quick Format Checked. This will speed up the process).
IMPORTANT: DOUBLE CHECK THAT THE TITLE ON THIS NOTICE STATES YOUR USB DISK AND NOT ANY OTHER DISK BEFORE PROCEEDING!.Step 7: Click the OK button.Step 8: You should see a message Format Complete.You are done. Your USB flash drive is now ready to pictures.
For whatever reason, the option to format USB drives larger than 32GB with the FAT32 file system isn’t present in. Here’s how to get around that.RELATED:FAT32 is a, so long as you don’t plan to use files over 4GB in size. If you do need those larger file sizes, you’ll need to stick with something like. The advantage to using FAT32 is portability. Every major operating system and most devices support it, making it great for drives you need to access from different systems.
Specifications put out by manufacturers on file systems as they pertain to drive size created the myth that FAT32 can only be used to format drives between 2 GB and 32 GB, and that is likely why native tools on Windows—and other systems—have that limit. The truth is that FAT32 has a theoretical volume size limit of 16 TB, with a current practical limit of about 8 TB—plenty for most USB drives. We’re going to show you two ways to format larger USB drives with FAT32.
One method uses PowerShell (or the Command Prompt), the other a free, third-party tool. Format Large USB Drives with FAT32 by Using FAT32 FormatRELATED:The easiest way to format larger USB drives with FAT32—if you’re willing to download a free, third party app—is to use the by Ridgecrop Consultants (click the screenshot on that page to download the app). It’s a, so you won’t need to install anything. Just run the executable file.In the “FAT32 Format” window, select the drive to format and type a volume label if you want to.
Select the “” option, and then click the “Start” button.A window pops up to warn you that all data on the drive will be lost. Click “OK” to format the drive.Formatting with this tool is much quicker than the command line method described in the next section. This tool took a few seconds to format our 64GB USB drive that took us over an hour in PowerShell.One thing to note here: you’ll need to close any open File Explorer windows before you format the drive. If you don’t, the tool will interpret the drive as being used by another app and formatting will fail. If this happens to you, just close the File Explorer windows and try again. No need to relaunch the tool or anything. Format Large USB Drives with FAT32 by Using PowerShellYou can format USB drives larger than 32GB with FAT32 by using the format command in PowerShell or Command Prompt—the command uses the same syntax in both tools.
The downside to doing this is that it can take a long time. Formatting our 64GB USB drive took almost over an hour, and we’ve heard some people complain that it can take many hours for bigger drives. Aside from the length of time, you also won’t know if formatting failed—unlikely but possible—until the process is done.Still, if you don’t want to—or can’t—download a third-party app, using the format command is pretty straightforward. Open PowerShell with administrative privileges by hitting Windows+X on your keyboard, and then selecting “PowerShell (Admin)” from the Power User menu.At the PowerShell prompt, type the following command (replacing X: with whatever drive letter you want to format), and then hit Enter: format /FS:FAT32 X:Like we said, it can take a long time to format a drive this way, so if you can use the third-party download we described in the last section, you should.
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March 2023
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