Format A Flash Drive From Mac To Pc

Just like most storage mediums, partitioning a flash drive is also possible. There may be a number of reasons why you would want to partition a flash drive. If you have never partitioned a flash drive before, then don't worry; this article will help you. Read on to find how to partition a flash drive..

  1. Format A Flash Drive From Mac To Pc Hard Drive
  2. How To Format Flash Drive
    • Partition with Diskpart

    • Partition with an USB Flash Drive Partition Tool

  • Bonus Tip 1. Best Way to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format

Yes, you can use almost any format with Leopard. (PS, good job going for Mac!!!:-)) you should format it with your XP computer. After you have installed the (stupid windows) drivers for your flash drive, open 'my computer' and find your flash drive. RIGHT click on the icon, and go down to 'format' or 'erase' or whatever it is. Photos saved to a flash drive from a MAC won't open on my Windows PC I'm posting for a friend - and they are having issues opening photos from a flash drive their daughter gave them. Daughter loaded them from her camera onto her mac - and then transferred to a flash drive. They are using a windows based pc - but the photos are not showing up. Jan 09, 2020 Connect the flash drive that you want to format. Go to Applications and Utilities and launch Disk Utility. The application will appear on the screen, and you will see the main window, with a list of available storage devices on the left and various disk management options on the right. If you need to use your drive on both Mac and PC then it’s best to format exFAT. If you are not sure which one is best for you the File System Format Comparisions highlights the main difference between file systems. Seagate internal drives must be formatted before use.

1How to Partition Flash Drive on Windows10/8.1/8/7?

Although it is possible to create multiple partitions on a flash drive via third-party tools, Windows will only read and show the first/primary partition. If you want the Windows to read a certain partition of the flash drive, then you will need a third-party tool to set that partition as primary.

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Backup Your Data

Partitioning a flash drive will erase all data stored on it. That's why it is highly recommended that you back up all the important data before proceeding. The backup process is quite easy as all you need to do is connect the flash drive to your computer and copy the desired data to a location of your choice. Follow these instructions:

  • 1. Connect your flash drive to your computer. Then open This PC on your Windows and find your flash drive.

  • 2. Double-click on it to see its contents. Select the files that you want to back up and right-click on them and click Copy.

  • 3. After that, navigate to the folder on your computer's hard drive where you want to store those files, right-click and select the Paste option. The transfer process will begin and your selected files will be copied to that folder.

Now that you have backed up your data, you can proceed to partition your flash drive. Following are some methods to do this:

1Partition a Flash Drive Using Diskpart

You can easily partition a flash drive via the Diskpart utility of Windows. The utility is run through Command Prompt. Follow these instructions:

Mac

Step 1. Press Windows and R key on your keyboard at the same time and type 'diskpart' in the Run pop-up window and then press Enter to launch it. A command prompt window will open.

Step 2. On that window, input 'list disk' to see which number your connected flash drive has.

Step 3. Next, input 'select disk X (X here is the number for your flash drive). It will be selected.

Step 4. Now input 'clean' and press enter to clean the device.

Step 5. Now enter 'list part' and then input 'create partition primary'. After that, input 'list part' and then input 'select partition 1'. Set this partition as active by inputting 'active'.

Step 6. Next, input 'format fs=fat32' to format the partition. After that, your newly created flash drive partition will be ready to use.

2Partition a Flash Drive with an USB Flash Drive Partition Tool

If the method to partition a flash drive via diskpart seems complicated, then there is another easier way to partition a flash drive. You can partition the USB flash drive via a flash drive partition tool called Bootit. Follow these instructions to partition a flash drive via Bootit:

Fist, you should install and launch Bootit software on your computer.

Step 1. Connect your flash drive to your computer and make sure it is detected by the operating system.

Step 2. Now open Disk Management on your computer. You can launch it from the Start Menu.

Step 3. Now select the current partition shown on the flash drive and delete it via the software.

Step 4. After that, right-click on the unallocated space of flash drive and click on New Simple Volume to create a partition. You can specify the size, label, etc. for the new partition according to your preferences.

Step 5. You can create multiple partitions on your flash drive by repeating the above step.

2How to Partition a Flash Drive on Mac?

If you want to partition your flash drive on your Mac, then you will be glad to know that it is possible. On Mac, you can do this via Disk Utility.

Steps to Partition Flash Drive on Mac

Follow these instructions to partition flash drive on Mac:

Format A Flash Drive From Mac To Pc

Step 1. On your Mac, open Disk Utility. And connect your flash drive to your Mac.

Step 2. Once the Disk Utility is opened, select your flash drive from the sidebar and click the Erase button.

Step 3. On the newly opened window, select OS X Extended (Journaled) from the Format menu.

Step 4. Make sure to click on Scheme > GUID Partition Map. Next, format the drive via the Erase option.

Step 5. After formatting, click the Partition button and then use the '+' button to create and add additional partitions. Add as many partitions as you like.

Step 6. After setting the sizes, labels, etc. to partitions, click Apply to confirm your action. Partitions will be created.

Bonus Tip 1. Best Way to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format

It's wise to backup the data on your flash drive before partitioning or formatting it. So, what to do if you forgot this or some important files were left when made a backup? Don't worry, a powerful data recovery tool can help you find them back!

iMyFone AnyRecover is one of such popular data recovery tools. It can help you find all your lost files no matter how you lost them. Files recovery at a formatted or partitioned USB flash drive is easy as 1-2-3 with AnyRecover.

Key Features
  • Recover lost files from different data loss scenarios, including formatted data recovery, deleted files recovery, formatted device recovery, etc.

  • Recover over 1000 type of files, including photos, videos, audios, emails, documents, archives and more.

  • Recover files from various storage mediums, such as USB flash drive, hard drive, SD card, digital camera, computer, etc.

  • Differing from other recovery tools, AnyRecover is 100% safe to use, it won't do any damage to your existing data.

  • One of the most reliable data recovery software with high data recovery rate - Up to 98%.

Steps to Recover Files from Flash Drive after Partition or Format

Step 1. Open AnyRecover on your computer, then connect your Flash Drive to your computer, select it.

Step 2. After selecting the location, hit “Start” button to start the process.

Step 3. After scanning, preview and select the files, then click on Recover button to get the lost files back.

Bonus Tip 2. Best USB Flash Drive for Windows & Mac

Among many quality flash drives, SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB Drive is considered the most popular USB flash drive for Windows and Mac. Following are the top features of this USB flash drive:

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  • Blistering speeds: 380 MB/s write, 420 MB/s read.

  • Durable, sleek, and eye-catching aluminum casing design.

  • AES, 128-bit file encryption for excellent security for sensitive files.

  • USB 3.0 as well as backward compatibility with USB 2.0.

  • Lifetime warranty.

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 use data recovery software to recover data from a formatted USB drive.

Are you looking for a secure way to format USB to FAT32 on Mac? You are at the right place. Follow here, you can find two methods that will assist you in doing so on your storage device. And if you lost data during the formatting, reliable Mac file recovery software is ready to help anytime:

Workable SolutionsStep-by-step Troubleshooting
Method 1. Use Disk UtilityConnect USB to Mac > Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility > Select USB and click 'Erase'...Full steps
Method 2. Use Terminal CommandConnect USB to Mac > Hit cmd + space keys > Type terminal and hit Enter...Full steps
Bonus Tip. Recover Formatted DataIf 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

Computer users who use a USB might 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, namely Disk Utility and Terminal command line. Below are the detailed steps of the FAT32 format with both methods.

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.

Format A Flash Drive From Mac To Pc

Step 4. Rename the USB flash drive (optional).

Step 5. 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 use 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 on Mac with Terminal, follow the next steps:

Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.

Step 2. Hit cmd + space to run Spotlight, type: terminal, and hit Enter.

Step 3. Type: diskutil list and find out which disk is your USB drive.

Step 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 the command again to check if the formatting has been successful.

Bonus Tip: How to Recover Data from Formatted USB

Formatting the USB would erase the data on it completely, so please make sure that you have a backup. If you don't, you can count on data recovery software to retrieve the lost data.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard has both Windows and Mac versions, so it's a good choice for data recovery, no matter you're using a PC or Mac. For Mac users, it only takes a few clicks for the software to scan and display the 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.

Format A Flash Drive From Mac To Pc Hard Drive

To recover data from a formatted USB flash drive on Mac, follow the next steps:

How To Format Flash Drive

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.