May 17, 2017 for mac users who also need to use a pc at work, home or just with specific applications, there is a solution. To format a drive on a mac, youll need the builtin disk utility application. To format a usb flash drive using file explorer, use these steps. To boot ubuntu from usb media, the process is very similar to the windows instructions above. After that, format your windows partition and finish windows. You can also open a finder window, select applications in the sidebar, and head to utilities disk utility. If you want to make your drive compatible with mac and windows, you need to format it with a common file system for mac and windows. With the windows 7 dvd removed, your mac will automatically boot back into windows 7, and the installation will continue. How make a windows 10 usb using your mac build a bootable. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility.
To do this on windows 8 or windows 7, press the windows key once, type. Follow these simple steps in order to create a bootable usb drive from your mac computer. The disk utility window will open and display onscreen. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the driveclick cancel.
Under the devices and drivers section, rightclick the flash drive and. How to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive on windows 10. Format external hard drive or usb drive for mac easeus. To share a usb drive between a mac and a windows pc, there are two disk formats to choose from. How to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive with windows 10 7. The main function is to help the user to quickly select options and format the usb flash drive on the computer by pressing a format button. 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. How to format a flash drive for mac and pc compatibility in macos. You can do this in disk utility on your mac, where it is called msdos fat format, but it is probably easier to just reformat the drive on your windows machine. The app is just over 1mb in size and is notably faster than similar competitor apps such as the windows 7 usb utility, universal usb installer, and unetbootin.
How to log into windows 7 if you forgot your password without cd or. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os. Jun 20, 2019 for mac, the mac os extension is the file system included in mac os 10. How to quickly make a mac os x bootable usb on windows. You can format a hard drive or usb flash disk specifically so that it will be. Choose this format if the size of the disk is 32 gb or less. How to format bootable usb flash drive to normal in windows 7. Can we format bootable usb drive in windows 108 7 xp. Macs and pcs use different file systems, which can make it tricky to put data from your mac on a flash or hard drive and give it to a windows.
How does one use windows 7 to reformat a mac usb drive for. How to format a usb drive for mac and pc compatibility youtube. Nov 30, 2010 this video will show you how to install windows 7 via bootcamp on you macbook air with out a dvd drive. It also briefly introduces exfat allocation unit size that you may care about.
As a relatively newer file system format, exfat isnt supported in older versions of mac os x anything prior to 10. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmaclinux. I dont have my superdrive in my macbook so im trying to install windows 7 using bootcamp and the usb stick. All options, including format, is greyed out except to delete volume. This wikihow teaches you how to change your flash drives default file format. Unetbootin is a windows 10 usb tool mac that is completely free to use and can be used in a scenario wherein you have to make bootable usb windows 10 on mac system.
In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. If youre mac sierra users then you must notice that apple has stripped the function to create windows 108 7 bootable usb dvd from iso on mac sierra and macbook air. Click on the name of your usb drive in the left window pane in disk utility. Before you install windows, install all macos updates. Why can win 7 not read mac formatted external disks. So, i have a pc that does not have an optical drive, but i do have a windows 7 dvd and my macbook pro. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. How do i go about creating a bootable windows 7 usb stick in mac os x ive tried a ton of things so far including. Now, you can follow these two solutions to format any hard drive, flash drive, usb drive, ssd or any other external storage drive so as to make them work on your mac now. How to format a usb flash drive on windows 10 windows. When you connect a macformatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x.
Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. How to create a windows 10 installer usb drive from a mac windows. It is very simple to format usb flash drive on windows pc. If you only use a mac computer, you can format your thumb drive so it can work on windows systems. Hp usb storage format tool is available for free, the installer can be downloaded for windows 10, 7, 8, etc. Fat32 and exfat can be compatible with mac and windows and you can choose one after realizing their respective merits and defects based on your demands. Moving from windows to mac transferring your documents. Click on the erase tab displayed at the top of the disk utility window. Aug 16, 2019 in this guide, we show you virtually every method to format a usb flash drive and quickly erase its contents or fix data corruption and other issues using windows 10s builtin tools. Be careful using these instructions to ensure you are formatting the correct disk. Mar 15, 2018 windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead.
Bootable usb drive is no different than normal usb drive except for the starting programs and windows preinstalled environment. The overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Follow these easy steps to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp. Otherwise you should have another mac for creating a bootable usb. I followed the instructions for the windows tool in order to create a bootable stick, and it said that the iso. Best usb format tools pen drive stick formatters for. How to create bootable usb from windows 1087 iso on mac. How does one use windows 7 to reformat a mac usb drive for use with windows 7. Rufus is a standalone app designed to format and create a bootable usb drive for a large variety of isos. Formatting or reformatting is the efficient and secure way to remove all data on the usb flash drive. If you are not able to login to your mac, you need to use time machine backup disk. Format usb for mac and pc on windows quickly and securely. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. Making windows bootable usb drive from iso file is a common task in our daily if you owns a mac.
Once the drive is formatted it will be compatible to be read and written to on both a mac and pc, and the resulting fat file system is compatible with all versions of mac os x, windows 95, 98, windows xp, vista, 7, windows 8, even windows 10, its one of. Confirm the bios boot sequence lists the usb drive first, or make that change as needed. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. If you want to use a different file system on your usb drive, youll need to format it. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. Actually, if we want to format a usb flash drive under mac os, we should find usb flash drive formatting software at. A very simple utility for the correct flash stick formatting in fat32 or ntfs formats. Well show you to create a bootable usb flash drive with the windows 10 installer from a mac. Learn steps on how to format usb drive with exfat using cmd, file explorer and free exfat format tool in windows 7.
Ntfs is the default file system for windows operating system and hfs for mac operating system. It may even already be formatted fat32 if you just brought it home from the store. The latest trend with computers is not including a cddvd drive. Dont worry, the following part will show you the solution for windows and mac os users. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. Format usb or external hard drive for mac using mac disk utility. In this tutorial, we will show you 3 ways to create bootable windows 108 7 usb on mac. Create bootable windows 10 usb on mac using terminal.
However, if you find yourself on a scenario where your device imac, macbook pro, air, mac pro or mini is not responding and you happen to have a windows device, then you can still be able to make a usb bootable installation media for your mac os x to reinstall the operating system using the recovery assistant. The first step for both methods requires to format your usb device to exfat. How to format your usb drive with exfat in windows 7 810. If you want the storage device to only show up on mac systems, then format your storage device with apfs. This video will show you how to install windows 7 via bootcamp on you macbook air with out a dvd drive. The process for formatting a drive is different depending on the system youre using. After the usb flash drive is inserted into the usb port, press the power button for your machine or restart if. Free tool to format usb to exfat from fat32 or ntfs in windows 7810 aomei partition assistant standard is free usb exfat format tool that will assist you format usb flash drive, usb hard drive, thumb drive, pen drive, and sd card from fat32 or ntfs to exfat. It is recommended to choose the compatible format that the system lists. Connect the drive to a usb port on your windows machine. Sep 19, 2011 the overwhelming majority of usb flash drives you buy are going to come in one of two formats. Yes, connecting an external hard drive or usb flash key to a mac will generally read and work fine as is because the mac can easily read other filesystem formats, including windows msdos, fat, fat32, exfat, and ntfs formats, but unless you intend on using the drive between a windows and mac machine, formatting it to be entirely mac compatible. Click on the usb drive in the sidebar in disk utility. Create a bootable windows 108 7 usb on mac with bootcamp.
Hello, i followed these instructions for my macbook 5,1 to make a bootable usb of windows 7. It can be done so save you money and dont buy a dvd drive for this. Formatting your flash drive will typically remove any files or folders on the drive, so make sure you back up your files before. How to create a windows 10 installer usb drive from a mac. The main reason for formatting a usb drive as fat32 on a mac is that you want to be able to use the drive on a windows pc, as well as a mac perhaps to transfer files between the two machines. Jun 09, 2017 the reason is that i was only using unetbootin to create the bootable usb, i will leave guide as a second method since it still working, and i will explain to you how you can create the bootable windows usb without extra software. This is why its recommended that you make a mac os x bootable usb when your mac is in working conditions. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. On windows alone, there are two bootable usb drive. How to open mac format usb devce in windows youtube. After making sure that i had a network connection, i left all three checkboxes checked. The quickest way is to search on spotlight and click the result under top hit.
However, it is not easy to format the usb flash drive under mac os. Oct 25, 2016 usb devices,that are formatted in mac format. Jan 06, 20 so, i have a pc that does not have an optical drive, but i do have a windows 7 dvd and my macbook pro. On your mac, log in as an administrator, quit all open apps, then log out any other users. Format usb or external hard drive for mac on windows pc using thirdparty usb format tool. Windows cannot read mac formatted disks because of the method in which they are formatted.
How do i format a usb drive on a pc that was formatted on a mac. Jan 15, 2019 better still, it can be read from and written to on any mac running mac os x snow leopard or later and on windows. How can i format this drive in windows 7 home premium. Lets see how to format usb drive on a windows pc first. Click the format popup menu, then choose one of the following. You may also be preparing the drive for use as, say, a storage device for a media player or to record tv programmes on a tv with a usb port.
May 29, 2018 two file systems compatible with mac and windows. This also allows you to restore time machine backups on windows. You can also open a finder window, select applications in. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7 by jack scicluna photography, llc guest writer. As this is only compatible with older versions of mac os, it is recommended that you use an alternative method. How to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive on windows. Find out how to format an external drive or usb disk making the drive work with both windows pc and mac can read and write. How to format your usb drive with exfat in windows 7810.
Use disk utility on mac if you are running an older version of mac, you can use the builtin disk utility app to create a windows 10 bootable usb drive. With exfat, you can write and read on both mac and windows pcs and is our recommended option for an ultraportable usb device. If you are on an earlier operating system like windows 7, xp, etc. Learn how to format usb flash drive using cmd in windows 10, 8 and 7. As a dualboot booting tool, boot camp assistant is highly regarded in the field of creating windows 7 810 bootable usb since it was released, it provides the ability to download drivers, repartition, and add new partition on your mac. Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. Using boot camp assistant, you can install windows 7 on your intelbased mac computer in its own partition. Format usb flash drives to work with both mac and windows 7. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Install windows on your older mac using boot camp apple. Oct 25, 2015 how to create mac os x bootable usb pen drive with windows 10 7. If you want to use the usb devices in windows you have to know how to do it.
How to create a bootable usbdvd on mac os for windows 10. Under the external tab, highlight your flash drive. Installing windows 7 with usb flash drive on macbook air. Installing bootcamp windows 7 iso from usb apple community. How to create a windows 1087 bootable usb or dvd on mac os. The first format, fat32, is fully compatible with mac os x, though with some drawbacks. Windows 7 will begin to install, during the installation your system will reboot, when this happens, youll need to remove the windows 7 dvd.
Therefore, you can format bootable flash drive as usual in some cases. If not, you can download windows iso from microsoft and use rufus to create a bootable usb drive. You will learn the easiest way to format drive on mac and windows as exfat. By using the command prompt, you can format any usb flash drive, pen drive or memory stick that is write protected, corrupted, damaged, unreadable, unrecognized by pc and mobile.
Go to applicationsutilities and launch disk utility. Install windows on your older mac using boot camp apple support. How to create windows 1087 bootable usb on mac with or. Open boot camp from the utilities folder inside the applications folder and it will guide you through installing windows on your mac. Download windows 7 disc images iso files if you need to install or reinstall windows 7 you can use this page to download a disc image iso file to create your own installation media using either a usb flash drive or a dvd. External hard drive for both mac and windows macrumors. In the sidebar, select the disk you want to format to use with windows computers. Hey i bought an external hard drive in 25 for my both computers macbook air and pc i heard about compatibility issue. Sep 23, 2019 if youre still using a mac os x the time will come when your computer wont boot, or a problem may arise where you cant take control of the device, and booting from an os x installation media will be required. Learn how to format your usb flash drive or usb external drive so you can use it on both mac os x and windows computers. And apfs takes the advantages of strong encryption, space sharing, disk snapshots and is compatible with ssd on new mac. How to format a usb flash drive on mac wondershare. Create a windows 7 8 bootable usb drive with mac complete. Click the scheme popup menu, then choose master boot record.