Usb Format For Mac And Pc

How to format internal and/or external drive to work properly on Mac and Windows computers?

• Usb Format For Mac And Pc Windows 10
• Format Usb Stick For Mac And Pc Use
• Usb Key Format For Mac And Pc
• Best Usb Format For Mac

By default, USB flash drives and external storage are formatted with the NTFS file system - this works flawlessly on PCs, while Mac computers are able to read data in the format, but struggle to write using this type of storage.

External data storage devices such as USB flash drives, external Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), and Solid State Drives (SSDs) provide one of the easiest ways to transfer files between separate computers without accessing the Internet. This option is often used when attempting to move very large files. The method is also chosen by people who work with media data that imposes various limitations and automatic optimizations when transferring via Internet. Despite the advantages of using external data storage to transfer content, some experienced users encounter problems caused by the difference between operating systems. This article addresses these issues.

A common issue discussed by users within various technical support forums is that of USB flash drives not working on their computers. This is a cross-platform problem that Windows and macOS users often experience. For example, a photographer may provide you with a USB flash drive with stored photos and videos from your birthday party, but you cannot access them on your system. This is the result of differences between operating systems on computers. Windows and macOS use separate file system formats. PCs with Windows operating systems use New Technology File System (NTFS) while Macs with macOS operating systems use Hierarchical File System (HFS+). By default, USB flash drives and external storage are formatted with the NTFS file system - this works flawlessly on PCs, while Mac computers are able to read data in the format, but struggle to write using this type of storage. Fortunately, there is a simple solution: format your external storage with the File Allocation Table (FAT32) or Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) file system. In this article, we describe the differences between these two file systems and how to format external storage using a Mac computer.

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Which file system to choose - FAT32 or exFAT?

As mentioned above, both file systems are compatible with Windows or macOS/OS X operating systems. Naturally, the question is: which should you choose? To make the choice easier, we describe both file systems and their features below.

Starting with FAT32 [on a Mac, known as MS-DOS (FAT)], this file system is fully compatible with all versions of Windows and Mac operating systems. Therefore, even the oldest versions of operating systems such as Windows XP SP1 and OS x 10.5 Leopard are compatible. As well as computers, the FAT32 file system is supported by PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and most cameras. This particular file system does contain file size restrictions. For example, the maximum size of supported files is 4GB (you cannot write files larger than 4GB). Also, you cannot create a startup drive for Mac computers within storage media that uses the FAT32 file system. If, however, you are not planning to use external storage to transfer large files or create any executable partitions (such as a Mac startup drive) the FAT32 file system might be an option, since this format is supported in all versions of the operating system.

exFAT is a newer file system format and has the biggest advantage when compared with FAT32: there are no restrictions on file or partition sizes stored. Therefore, you can write a file of, for example, 1TB size and create partitions of 5TB within the device. Despite this improvement of available data size, some older versions of operating systems are no longer compatible with this file system format. The oldest versions of operating systems compatible with exFAT are listed below:

• Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.5 or later
• OS X Lion
• Windows XP SP2 or later (with an additional update for exFAT support)
• Windows Vista SP1 or later
• Windows 7

Usb Format For Mac And Pc Windows 10

Unfortunately, as well as some old versions of operating systems, the exFAT file system format is not supported by various cameras, video games consoles, and other devices able to read and/or write to external storage. If you will be using a USB flash drive or external storage device with any of these, the required format is FAT32. Otherwise, if the device is to be used only with computers with modern versions of operating systems, the recommended format is exFAT.

Format the drive with Mac computer

Firstly, bear in mind that formatting the drive will erase all content stored on it. Mac computers are capable of formatting any storage device (internal or external) such as HDD/SSD, USB flash drive, and external storage. Even if the Mac is unable to mount the storage, following this method will enable you to format the storage. Begin by connecting the storage device to your Mac, and then launch Disk Utility using Spotlight. Simply use the keyboard shortcut of Command and Spacebar, type Disk Utility, and then press return. Alternatively, open Finder and go to Applications, open Utilities, and then launch Disk Utility. Select the drive you wish to format from the list in the left sidebar of the Disk Utility window.

Then click the Erase button at the top of the window, in the new pop-up window, and type the name of drive. Then click the drop-down menu beside Format and select MS-DOS (FAT) - the FAT32 file format - or exFAT. These formats are described above.

If you are not planning to use this drive as the Windows startup disk or use it with the oldest version of the operating system, do not change the Scheme. Select Master Boot Record.

Finally, when all preferences are set, click the Erase button. The formatting process duration depends on size and type of the drive. A hard disk drive will take longer to format than a flash drive. NOTE: formatting will erase all existing data on the drive.

Video Showing how to format drive for Mac and Windows computers

Format Usb Stick For Mac And Pc Use

A macOS USB installer saves much time when you want to install the OS offline on two or more Macs. Also, it helps in recovering a system after a startup failure. It is easy to make a macOS USB disk from the full installer downloaded from the App store; Apple provides clear-cut instructions for the same. However, people use this feature only when they have a problem with their computer, mainly when their system is not booting up. In this post, we explore the ways to make a bootable macOS USB for Catalina 10.15 and others from Windows PC and Mac.

Make macOS Catalina 10.15 USB installer on Windows PC

TimeMachine is the safest option to recover a broken Mac in the offline mode. If a backup is not there, you have to go for a clean installation either from a bootable USB/DVD drive or the Internet. In my case, I lost the boot partition of my iMac and didn’t have a TimeMachine backup. Internet recovery was showing up, but it kept on failing to download the OS files from the servers. As it is my only Mac, I had no option left, until I found the method to use a Windows PC to create a Mac OS bootable USB installer. I did this for making a macOS High Sierra USB drive, and later I was successful in reinstating my iMac. As of now, the OS is Mojave, but the process given below is compatible with all editions of macOS including the upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.

Step 1: Download macOS Catalina [DMG] for Windows

As said in the beginning, a Mac is must for creating bootable macOS USB disk. If you think about doing it from Windows, the options are limited. The cross-compatibility of extensions for the two OS are entirely different. Luckily some Windows applications support a bootable macOS disk format, DMG. Hence, If we can download macOS DMG file, then it possible build the USB installer from Windows environment.

Most of the sites talking about the bootable macOS USB installer on Windows is not guiding on how to download the required DMG files for the method. Check our page to download macOS Catalina installer installer in DMG format for Catalina, Mojave and High Sierra.

Step 2: Partition USB disk on Windows to make it bootable on Mac

Here we are creating a UBS installer for Mac on Windows. So make sure that we keep the partition of the USB disk to have an appropriate scheme. Converting the USB disk to have a GUID partition table (GTP) is recommended for this method work effectively.

Connect the USB disk to Windows and run the above-given commands in the correct order. It cleans and converts the USB disk to GUID partition table if it is using MBR or something else.

Step 3: Make bootable macOS Catalina USB installer on Windows 10

When the Internet recovery is stuck and fails to download the OS files, you could use Windows to make a bootable macOS USB installer. Out of the two or three software for handling macOS installer [dmg] in Windows, Transmac is the best one. Transmac is not free, but the developers offer a 15-day trial period, and that is sufficient for one-time use. Now let’s move on to the steps to create macOS Catalina USB disk on Windows.

1. I already have the macOS Catalina 10.15 dmg file on my Windows desktop.
2. Install the Transmac 12.4 trial for Windows; download here.
3. Right-click on Transmac icon, and select to run it with Admin privileges.
4. As shown in the screenshot, right-click on your USB disk and pick the option Restore with Disk Image.
5. Point the Windows Explorer to the location where you have the bootable macOS DMG file.
6. Wait until the software completes restoring the USB disk with Install macOS Catalina app.
7. The disk is ready when you see the message “Restore Complete”.
8. If you click on the just-made USB installer on Transmac, you could see the macOS Catalina 10.15 files present in the drive.
9. Now safely remove the USB and connect it it the Mac you would like to recover.

Here we focus on preparing macOS Catalina 10.5 USB installer on Windows. But this method is same and applicable for Mojave, High Sierra and all previous versions up-to OS X Lion.

How to boot to macOS Catalina from USB Installer made on Windows

Check the image below for macOS Catalina USB installer showing up in the boot options. In this way you could recover and restore a Mac without Internet. Some models of Macs show a prohibitory symbol when you boot from macOS Catalina recovery USB made on Windows. In that case, you need to Install Mojave or High Sierra first and then upgrade to Catalina 10.15 using the in-built software updater.

While restarting, Press the Option key on your Magic keyboard or MacBook see the boot choices. However, if you use a Windows keyboard for Mac, press the Alt key. When you see the boot menu, click on Install macOS Catalina (10.15), and proceed to the recovery process.

Alternative: Make a bootable Catalina USB installer on macOS

The recovery partition in a Mac helps in restoring it from TimeMachine or the Internet when there is a system failure. It keeps the essential apps like Disk Utility, which aids in re-installing a fresh copy of macOS. However, this partition gets deleted when you change your Macs hard disk to SSD or like. A bootable macOS USB installer comes helpful in such situations. It is also useful when you want to install macOS on a couple of offline systems without wasting bandwidth and time.

You need a macOS DMG files for making a USB recovery disk in Windows but that not the case when you have a Mac. The only thing is that you have a copy of the Install macOS app, the offline installer downloaded from the App Store. Check out the most reliable ways to macOS USB recovery disk for Catalina, Mojave and High Sierra.

Method 1: Using Terminal to make macOS Catalina USB disk

1. 1. Maintain a copy of macOS Catalina full installer in the Applications folder.
   2. Use Disk Utility to erase the target USB to have macOS Extended format and GUID partition scheme.
   3. Now, copy the command for macOS Catalina 10.15 from Apple website, here and paste it to the Terminal app.
   4. In the code lines, there is a string “WINYTIPS.” Change it with the name of your USB.
   5. Open the Terminal app in Mac and copy-paste the edited code.
   6. Press the ENTER key and provide Admin password.
   7. Wait for a minute for the system to copy macOS Catalina installer and boot files to the USB.

Method 2: Using a third-party app to make booatble macOS USB disk.

If you are not familiar in dealing with the Terminal app and command-line interface, consider a freeware macOS app to create the bootable macOS installer. Among the many applications out there, we prefer Diskmaker as it supports Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, and all other macOS builds after Lion.

The latest version DiskMaker 9 compatible with macOS Catalina 10.15.

Also, you may consider an alternative, macOS Catalina Patcher by Collin, here. The best thing about the patcher app is that it can make bootable MacOS ISO, and USB disk by downloading Catalina from the Internet, which DiskMaker do not support.

Download and create macOS Catalina USB bootable disk

• Download the latest version of the app from dosdude’s portal and mount the dmg file on your Mac.
• Click continue until you see the window shown in the screenshot.
• Here you may select an existing copy or macOS Catalina or download one from the Internet.
• Click on “Browse for a Copy” If you already have macOS 10.15 in your Applications folder.

Now, select the installation method as “Create a Bootable Installer,” and then pick the target USB disk in the next screen. Your macOS USB installer will be ready in a few minutes.

Usb Key Format For Mac And Pc

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Best Usb Format For Mac

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