

When Do You Need to Format a USB Drive on Mac?įormatting a USB drive on your Mac computer is a basic and simple operation.
#REFORMAT USB ON MAC FOR WINDOWS 10 HOW TO#
How to Recover Data from a Formatted USB Drive on Mac?.How to Format a USB Device on Your Mac Computer?.Which Is the Best Format for a USB on Mac?.When Do You Need to Format a USB Drive on Mac?.You can view the contents by opening File Explorer and selecting your USB drive from the list in the left-hand panel. If the USB flash drive was formatted for a Mac (AFS+) but you want to use it on a PC, you must format it into the exFAT, FAT32 or NTFS file system, but note that any data on the drive will be erased.Īfter you have formatted the USB drive it should be ready to go. Then right click your USB drive and select format and NTFS but note that any data on the drive will be erased, so make sure you already have another copy. To format to NTFS open File Explorer and click on ‘This PC’ from the left pane. You might want to keep the drive in exFAT or FAT32 so they will work with a Mac, however you can also format them into the NTFS file system. NTFS is the standard format for a Windows boot drive but external Windows exFAT or FAT32 allows you to use the USB drive on both Mac and Windows computers. Then right click your USB drive and select rename. You can rename the drive by opening File Explorer and clicking on ‘This PC’ from the left pane.

FAT32 is limited to a maximum of a 32GB storage volume, so it will not have the option to format it in this file system on any storage drives larger than this.Īfter you plug your USB flash drive into your computer you are ready to copy and move files, format, or rename the drive.

If they are larger than 32GB (for Kingston’s USB flash drive capacity groups, this would be our 64GB capacities or higher) they will be in the exFAT file system. If the drive is 32GB or less they will be in the FAT32 file system. Most USB flash drives will be preformatted.

How do you format a USB drive on Windows 10? Select ‘Open folder to view files.’ If a dialog box does not appear, it can be fixed by inserting the USB drive again or by opening File Explorer and selecting your USB drive.
#REFORMAT USB ON MAC FOR WINDOWS 10 INSTALL#
The first time you insert the USB drive, Windows will install the necessary driver software in order to use the USB drive. If you are using a USB-A, please make sure you insert the USB drive the correct way to prevent any damages to your computer. The ports will typically be located on the side of a laptop and either the front or back of a desktop. Once you have a USB drive that is compatible with your Windows computer, you can now insert the drive into a USB port. If your Windows computer only has a USB-C port, but your USB drive is a USB-A type drive, then you can either purchase a USB-A to USB-C adapter, or for a small expense, you could buy a new USB-C drive. However, the latest Windows computers are starting to replace the USB-A port with a smaller, slimmer alternative USB-C port. Most people would recognise the USB-A, the large, square-shaped USB drive which can only be plugged in one way. If you are using your USB drive for the first time, it’s important to check that your USB drive is compatible with the USB ports on your computer. Is my USB drive compatible with my computer?
