How to Format a USB Drive for Both PC and Mac

How to format a USB drive? Can I format a thumb drive for both Mac and Windows compatibility? This post explains which USB flash drive format works best on both Mac and PC. Also, you'll get a full guide on how to format a USB drive on Windows and Mac.

The reasons for formatting a USB drive can vary, such as cross-platform compatibility, file system corruption, quick erasure of data, performance optimization, or specific device needs (gaming or large file transfers). Is it possible to format a USB drive for both PC and Mac compatibility? Sure, yes. Follow this guide, and you'll learn the respective guidelines to teach you how to format a USB drive on Windows and Mac without losing any data.

Which Format to Choose for USB Flash Drive

• Goal: To set a proper format for a USB drive for different purposes

So how do I know which file systems work the best for both Windows and macOS? Check this file system platform support table, you'll be able to learn which format to choose for your USB drive then. 

Conclusion:

• FAT32 and exFAT are two of the best file systems that provide you with complete cross-platform compatibility with both Mac and Windows. (To dive deeper, refer to FAT32 vs exFAT.)
• FAT32 is good for 32GB or smaller USB drives on most Windows and Mac computers.
• exFAT is good for any-sized USB drives. Plus, exFAT is also the most common and recommended format for gaming Consoles.

Read also: How to Fix "The Item Can't Be Copied Because It Is Too Large for The Volume's Format" Error.

How to Format a USB Flash Drive on Windows

If you are a Windows user and want to learn how to format a USB drive for PC or Mac, follow and refer to the provided methods below:

• Free USB formatter
• File Explorer
• Disk Management
• DiskPart

Note: non-tech users and Windows beginners are advised to try Method 1 and Method 2 to format your USB drive to the desired file system.

1. Using Free USB Formatter Tool

EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition provides all levels of Windows users with a beginner's interface that anyone can apply this free USB formatter to switch USB format for free. It also offers you an NTFS to FAT32 conversion feature that you can switch a USB from NTFS to FAT32 without formatting, and without data loss.  

Guide 1: Convert USB from NTFS to FAT32, No Data Loss

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master, navigate to "Partition Manager," right-click target NTFS partition and select "Format."

Step 2. Click and change the File System from NTFS to FAT32.

Step 3. Click "OK" and the warning message will prompt, click "Yes" to confirm.

Step 4. Select "Execute 1 disk" and "Apply" to keep all the changes.

If you like this seamless method, feel free to share it online to help your friends change their disk drive format with ease. 

Guide 2: How to Format USB Drive to FAT32

Step 1. Select the USB drive to format.

Connect the USB drive or pen drive to your computer. Launch EaseUS partition software, right-click the USB drive you intend to format and choose "Format".

Step 2. Set the drive letter and file system on USB.

Assign a new partition label if you want to change the drive letter of your USB, set the desired file system -NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT to your USB, then click "OK".

Step 3. Check "Yes" to confirm formatting USB.

Click "Yes" if you see the Warning window. If you have important data on it, back up the data in advance.

Step 4. Apply the changes.

Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button first, and then click "Apply" to format the USB drive.

More than a USB formatter, EaseUS Partition Master also works as a reliable Windows 10 disk management software that offers you with a set of complete partition management features. The partition management tool can be your best bet, irrespective of whether you are a beginner or an expert.

2. Using File Explorer

Windows File Explorer is designed for most Windows beginners to take a basic level of control over their storage devices, such as opening a disk drive, copying and pasting data, adding BitLocker encryption, formatting and changing the device's file system, etc.

Here are the steps for Windows users to follow and format USB drive:

Step 1. Go to the File Explorer and then locate your flash drive. Insert it into your PC if it hasn't been inserted as yet. 

Step 2. Right-click on the flash drive and choose "Properties".

Step 3. Choose the option for "Format".

Step 4. Under the file system, pick exFAT or FAT32 from the drop-down list. 

Step 5. Click on "Start" when you are done.

Wait till the flash drive is formatted. It may take a while, based on the size of your drive.

Read Also: Format A USB Drive That Doesn't Show Up

3. Using Disk Management

Using Disk Management utility to format a flash drive can be a little complex than File Explorer. But it can be an assured solution for formatting your drive USB.

Check the steps here to reformat your USB drive:

Step 1. Open the Windows Search and look for Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions.

Step 2. Right-click on the flash drive and click on "Format".

Step 3. Pick the file system as either FAT32 or exFAT under the file system dropdown. You can also provide a label to the drive.  

Step 4. Click on "OK" and wait till the drive is formatted.

4. Using DiskPart

DiskPart, known as CMD or Command Prompt, is another disk management utility that experienced users and Windows administrators can apply to execute some advanced operations on disk drives at a rapid speed. 

Check the steps here to learn how to format USB using CMD or DiskPart:

• Connect the USB to your Windows computer.
• Open DiskPart by right-clicking on the Windows icon and selecting "Search".
• Type: cmd and right-click on Command Prompt, select "Run as an Administrator".
• Type the following command lines to format your USB, and hit Enter each time:

• Type exit to close the DiskPart window.

How to Format USB Flash Drive on Mac

If you are a Mac user, you can use Disk Utility to format your USB flash drive on Mac. Also, make sure you'll backup all precious data in advance before you take the formatting steps.

Check the steps on how to utinize Disk Utility to format your USB on Mac: 

Step 1. Insert the USB Drive you want to format. The Mac device should detect your drive and show it on the desktop

Step 2. Launch the Disk Utility. You can search for the disk utility and launch it.

Step 3. Pick your drive from the left list.

Step 4. Click the "Erase" option from the top menu.

Step 5. Enter the name for the disk and pick the file system, like exFAT, that you want to use.

Step 6. Select the option for Erase, and your USB drive will be formatted.

See, that's the complete process you can format a USB drive for PC and Mac.

Still, if you prefer a USB drive that works for transferring files between Windows and Mac computers, set FAT32 or exFAT as the format. Don't forget to share the method that works the best for you online to help more USB owners change the file system format for free:

FAT32 vs ExFAT: Which Is Better for USB on PC and Mac

FAT32, as one of the oldest file systems, was first introduced in Windows 95 to replace FAT16 on Windows PCs. FAT32 has ideally become the standard format for most computer systems. Most flash drives available today use the FAT32 file system as their default format, offering high compatibility across Mac and Windows.

However, the FAT32 file system is limited to support a maximum file size of 4GB on Windows 10 and older systems. If you tend to transfer or save files larger than that, exFAT would be an ideal file system format.

The exFAT or Extended FAT file system was introduced in 2006 with Windows XP and was planned as a great means of overcoming the limitations of the FAT32 system. The exFAT file system is optimized for flash drives and works great for both internal and flash drives.

Key differences between ExFAT and FAT32:

Obviously, according to the comparison table, the exFAT file system should be the right choice when compared to the FAT32 for a wider range of reasons that have already been outlined above. 

In a word, we'd suggest you take exFAT as the default file system format of your USB if you take your USB drive for multiple uses.

Advanced Tips for Formatting USB on Windows and Mac

On this page, we have collected several effective ways to help Windows and Mac users format their USB drives with an efficient file system. If you are one of them, here are some advanced USB formatting tips you can't miss:

• ✅Always remember to create a backup of valuable files in your USB drive.
• ✅For large external USB drives, exFAT is the best for cross-platform compatibility on Windows and Mac.
• ✅For smaller-sized USB drives, FAT32 is the best format to work on both Windows and Mac computers.
• ✅For a seamless file system switching from FAT32 to exFAT, turn to reliable partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master for help.

Its simple interface, ease of use, and high-end functionality provide you with full-fledged disk management features to master and improve your USB performance like an expert.

FAQs About Formatting USB Flash Drive for Mac and PC

If you have more questions about how to format a USB flash drive for Mac and PC, follow this part to find answers here.

1. How do I make my flash drive compatible with Mac and PC?

To make your flash drive compatible with Mac and PC, you'll need to set the file system format to FAT32 instead of NTFS or APFS. FAT32 is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers.

2. Is exFAT compatible with Mac and Windows?

Yes, exFAT is compatible with both Mac and Windows computers. You can set this file system format to an external hard drive so as to use it for data transferring between Mac and Windows without any read or write issues.

3. Is FAT32 or exFAT better for Mac?

For data reading and writing speed, FAT32 and exFAT perform almost the same on Mac computers. The only difference is the limit of partition size on FAT32. When the storage capacity on your devices is 64GB or larger, you can only set it to exFAT on a Windows computer.

Fortunately, this limit doesn't exist on Mac computers. So you can use either FAT32 or exFAT on your devices for Mac usage.

4. How to fix a USB drive that won't format?

The reasons your USB drive won't format could be various, such as file system corruption, bad sectors, virus infections, physical damage, or even write-protection or encryption.

To fix this issue, the complete process could be like this:

• Fix the corrupted file system or bad sectors via CHKDSK or Diskpart clean and create partition command
• Remove write protection via Diskpart or a write-protection removal tool.
• Clear viruses or malware via anti-virus software.
• Reset and format USB to the correct file system, such as 32GB or smaller - FAT32, 64GB or largert - exFAT.