The further to the right you move the slider, the more ‘passes’ the erase tool will make and the more securely files will be deleted. Choose a security level using the slider. If you have previously stored sensitive data on the drive, click the Security tab.Ĩ. Choose a format from the dropdown menu.ħ. In the window that drops down type a name for the formatted drive in the box next to Name.Ħ. Click on the USB drive in the sidebar and then choose Erase from the toolbar at the top of the window.ĥ. Once you’ve copied any files you need from the USB drive to your Mac, go to Applications>Utilities and double-click on Disk Utility.Ĥ. The process of reformatting it will wipe all the data from it.ģ. Make sure it has no files on it that you need. Open a new Finder window and click on the drive.
Plug the drive into a USB socket (if you have a recent MacBook or MacBook Pro that only has USB-C connectors, you’ll need a USB-C to USB-A adaptor).Ģ. It’s exactly the same procedure if you need to reformat a flash drive on a Mac.
So, if you’ve bought a USB drive that’s formatted as Fat32, or any other format other than Mac OS Extended (also known as HFS+) or APFS, here’s how to format a USB drive on Mac. Drives formatted as Fat32 can be read from and written to by macOS, but it’s not optimal and you’re more likely to run into problems than if you use macOS’ native format. That’s because most of the computers in the world run Windows, and Windows uses a different file system, usually one known as Fat32.
However, unless it’s been designed for use with a Mac, it won’t be formatted using macOS’ preferred file system (either Mac OS Extended or APFS, depending on which version of macOS you’re running). Nowadays, when you buy a USB drive, you can use it right out of the box with your Mac. Test it out in a free version and head over to the tips below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X. This is our app that cleans old caches, system junk, and large hidden files.
NOTE: If the above steps do NOT resolve the problem, please back up your data and request a replacement using our online web form.If you want to erase all unwanted files from your macOS, download CleanMyMac X.
Some older operating systems must have a patch installed before they can use the exFAT file system. NOTE: MacOS 10.6.2 or higher is required for exFAT file system. NOTE: exFAT can be used on flash drives or memory cards to transfer files larger than 4GB. NOTE: exFAT is used on SDXC card (64GB and higher). When finished, the drive will be formatted and repartitioned successfully.
Select this capacity.Ħ. Verify Volume Format is set to MS-DOS file system or exFAT, Scheme is set to “Master Boot Record” ( Do NOT select GUID Partition Map) then click Erase. Select the capacity of the drive respective to the one containing the device you wish to format then click the Erase tab.Įxample: If the drive is called "NO NAME", directly above that, you should see the drive capacity of "XXXX". On the left side of the window are the drives connected to the computer. Click the Applications folder - if using a Finder Window Applications will be in the left side menu.ĥ. Double-click on Macintosh HD - or in the Finder menu click File > New Finder WindowĢ. Instructions below are for 10.11.x (El Capitan) and 10.12.x (Sierra)ġ. WARNING: Formatting will erase all data on the device.