How to format a USB drive for use on both Mac and Windows

Description: This article will show how to format a USB drive so that it will work on both Mac and PC computers.

  1. Click the Finder Icon to open Finder and select Applications from the left-hand side.
    Finder Icon
    Applications
  2. Scroll down and click on the triangle next to Utilities.
    Expand Utilities
  3. Double-click on Disk Utility to open the application.
    Open Disk Utility
  4. Insert USB Drive and select the drive on left-hand side. Then select Erase from the menu on top.
    Select Drive and Erase
  5. Enter any name for the drive and select either MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT for the Format.
    NOTE: MS-DOS (FAT) will work with all systems but has file size limit of 4GB whereas ExFat will only work with Windows Vista and later but has no size limit.
    Name and Format
  6. Select Master Boot Record.
    Scheme is Master Boot Record
  7. After selecting format, simply click Erase and your USB will now be compatible with both Mac and Windows.
    Erase

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