#Format external drive for mac use windows#

#Format external drive for mac use windows#

You'll use Windows Disk Management to do this on a PC, while you can use. While drives are sold as plug-and-play, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and compatibility with your Mac. You can choose either the FAT32 or exFAT format. Using external drives to save space on your Mac Format them first.

To get around that problem, hold down the Command + R keys when you turn on your Mac and let go when the logo appears. You have a few options when you need to format USB for Mac and Windows. Step 3: As you click on the Erase button, you will see several fields in the section. Step 2: From the left side panel, pick the volume or the drive that you want to format and switch to the Erase tab. If you want to format your Mac's system drive, you can't do that when the Mac is running normally because the drive is in use by the operating system. Everyone these days has an external media like a flash drive or an external hard drive which they use to expand their storage space, or transfer files and foldeEveryone these days has an external. Step 1: Connect the USB drive or external drive to Mac and launch the Disk Utility from Applications. Usually, you'll want ExFAT, which is the default for the MacOS. Select the drive you want to format and then choose “Erase.”Ĥ. At the top of the window, click 'Erase.'ĥ. In the pop-up window, choose the file system you want to use.