Jul 22, 2019 If you only use a Mac computer, you can format your thumb drive so it can work on Windows systems. Connect the thumb drive to your Mac. Launch Disk Utility, press Command+Space then type: disk. See full list on iboysoft.com. Jul 20, 2018 Insert the flash drive or hard drive you want to format for Windows compatibility. Go to the Applications folder on your Mac’s hard drive, then go to the Utilities folder, and launch Disk Utility. Select the drive you want to format. Warning: the following steps will delete any info you currently have on the drive. If you want to use your USB stick with an Apple Mac, you will need to restart or power-on the Mac with the USB stick inserted while the Option/alt (⌥) key is pressed. This will launch Apple’s ‘Startup Manager’ which shows bootable devices connected to the machine.
For Apple Mac users, there are two ways to format USB flash drive to FAT32, including Disk Utility and Terminal command line. Refer to detailed steps of using both tools for FAT32 format. Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. Otherwise, you can only use data recovery software to recover data from a formatted USB drive.
Are you looking for a secure way to format USB flash drive to FAT32 on Mac? You are at the right place. Follow here, you will find two methods that will assist you in doing so on your storage device and if you lost data due formatting, reliable Mac file recovery software is ready to help anytime:
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Method 1. Use Disk Utility | Connect USB to Mac > Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility > Select USB and click 'Erase'...Full steps |
| Method 2. Use Terminal Command | Connect USB to Mac > Hit cmd + space keys > Type terminal and hit Enter...Full steps |
| Bonus Tip. Recover Formatted Data | If you lost data due to formatting, run EaseUS file recovery software > Scan and recover formatted data...Full steps |
How to Format a USB Flash Drive with Mac to FAT32
Many computer users who use a removable flash drive have the demand for formatting it to the FAT32 file system. Compare with the other commonly used NTFS file system on a flash drive, FAT32 has a compatibility advantage across many operating systems.
It's a universal format that is compatible with Mac OS X/macOS, Windows, Linux and DOS systems. So, if users anticipate using the flash drive with more than one operating system, they will definitely benefit from the FAT32 file system. For Apple Mac users, there are two ways to format a USB flash drive to FAT32, including Disk Utility and Terminal command line. Refer to detailed steps of using both tools for FAT32 format.
Method 1. Format FAT32 on Mac [Disk Utility]
To format USB to FAT32 with Disk Utility will erase all data on the flash drive, so before you doing so, please do remember to check whether you have saved useful data to another secure device in advance.
To format the USB drive to FAT32, follow the next steps:
Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.
Step 2.Go to Applications > Utilities > Double click and open Disk Utility.
Step 3. Select your USB flash drive on the sidebar, choose Erase.
Step 4. Rename the USB flash drive, choose the format as MS-DOS (FAT) for Format, Master Boot Record for Scheme. Then click Erase.
Wait for the process to complete, then you’ll get an empty new USB flash drive with FAT32 as the file system. You can reuse it for saving data again.
Method 2. Format FAT32 on Mac [Terminal Command Line]
The command-line behavior does the same way to erase data with the Disk Utility. Again, create a backup before taking this action.
To format FAT32 with Terminal, follow the next steps:
Step 1. Connect your USB flash drive to your Mac computer.
Step 2. Hit cmd + space to run Spotlight, type: terminal and hit Enter.
3. Type:diskutil list and find out which disk is your USB drive. (In the below picture, you can see that /dev/disk2 is the USB drive)
4. Type: sudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 MBRFormat /dev/disk2.
- sudo gives you user right.
- Diskutil calls disk utility program.
- eraseDisk commands to format.
- FAT32 sets the file system.
- MBRFormat tells disk utility to format with a Master Boot Record.
- /dev/disk2 is the location of the USB drive.
Wait for the process to complete. After this, you can type: diskutil list in command again to check if the formatting has been successful.
Complementary Data Recovery Tip
Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. Otherwise, you can only use data recovery software to recover data from a formatted USB drive.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard has both Windows and Mac versions, so it's the optimal choice for data recovery, no matter you're using a PC or Mac. If you're a Mac user, for example, it takes only a few clicks for the software to scan and display your formatted data. To guarantee an effective data recovery without spending money to no avail, you can install the Mac data recovery free version for the first trial. You can preview all the found data before the final recovery.
To recover data from a formatted FAT32 USB flash drive on Mac, follow the next steps:
Step 1. Correctly connect your USB flash drive to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. Start selecting the flash drive and click 'Scan' to let the software search lost files on it.
Step 2. After a quick scan and deep scan, all files will be presented in the left panel in the scan results.
Step 3. Select files you want to recover and click the 'Recover Now' button. Don't save the recoverable files to the USB drive itself in case of data overwriting.
by Shirly Chen, updated on 2019-05-10 to Mac Data Wipe
Before we recycle, lend, sell or abandon a USB flash drive, we should remove all the personal data on the USB flash drive. Formatting or reformatting is the efficient and secure way to remove all data on the USB flash drive. It is very simple to format USB flash drive on Windows PC. However, it is not easy to format the USB flash drive under Mac OS. Actually, if we want to format a USB flash drive under Mac OS, we should find USB flash drive formatting software at first. Here are top 5 USB flash drive formatting software tools for Mac to help in formatting, reformatting, erasing USB flash drive under OS X or macOS.
Best 5 USB flash drive formatting software for Mac
USB flash drive formatting software for Mac can help us format, reformat or erase USB flash drive on Mac. Here are top 5 USB flash drive formatting software for Mac on the market to help us securely & efficiently format USB flash drive under Mac OS.
NO.1 USB drive formatting software for Mac – DoYourData Super Eraser
DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac is a powerful & easy-to-use data erasure software. It will quickly format the USB flash drive on Mac and permanently erase all data on the USB flash drive. Once the USB flash drive is formatted by DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac, all data will be lost forever. You will get a brand new USB flash drive. It is strongly recommended to format USB flash drive on Mac with DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac before you sell, donate, lend, give away your USB flash drive. Free download DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac >>
NO.2 USB drive formatting software for Mac – Disk Utility
If you only want to format the USB flash drive on Mac, Disk Utility is the best choice. Just run this built-in application on your Mac, and use it to erase the USB flash drive. However, the data on the formatted USB flash drive could be recovered by data recovery software.
NO.3 USB drive formatting software for Mac – Start Menu for Mac
This start menu for Mac allows Mac users to format hard drive or external device on Mac. Download and install it on your Mac. Launch it from Launchpad, 'Disk Manager' can help you format USB flash drive on Mac. The formatted data also can be recovered by data recovery software.
NO.4 USB drive formatting software for Mac – Disk Wiper for Mac
Disk Wiper for Mac is another data erasure application. It will format USB flash drive under Mac OS and remove all data information on the USB flash drive permanently.
NO.5 USB formatting software for Mac – MacClean360
Flash Disk For Mac Installer
MacClean360 is all-in-one Mac cleaner and manager. It offers a tool “Disk Manager”. It can help Mac users securely and quickly format USB flash drive under Mac OS. Very easy to use and 100% safe.
Flash Drive For Macbook
The top 5 USB flash drive formatting software for Mac can help us easily and securely format USB flash drive under Mac OS. Just select one of them to format USB flash drive under Mac OS. DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac is the best USB flash drive formatting software for Mac. It is strongly recommended to use this data formatting software to format USB flash drive under Mac OS. Then the USB flash drive could be able to securely reused, recycled, resold, donated, etc. Free download DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac here:
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