Can I format a thumb drive to work on a mac?

I have a number of thumb drives that are formatted for windows (dos I suppose), is it possible to reformat them to work with my intel imac?

No need to format unless the Mac can't read/write to it.
Most thumb drives are already formatted FAT32 (MSDOS) and Mac's can read and write to them no problem just like PC's can.
It's when you need to boot from one (or not allow most PC's to read it as it will need extra paid software) that it has to be GUID/OS X ext J (HFS+) formatted.

Similar Messages

  • Can't format a thumb drive

    I bought an 8GB HP thumb drive to move some files from one Mac to another. I plug it in a powered port, it shows up in Disk Utility, I erase/format in HFS/Journaled, but when finished "Get Info" says the drive has zero capacity. I can't transfer a single file to it. Why, after formatting the drive, does it register as zero capacity?

    Try partitioning it in GUID Partition Table format. Create a single HFS partition.

  • How do i format a thumb drive to work with tiger and a pc

    i want to transfer a video file from a pc to tiger but a pc formatted thumb drive isnt recognized in my ibook g4. how should i format my thumb drive

    Perhaps the beginnings of an answer to your prob could be found in this thread, PD:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1731284&tstart=0
    Personally, I have never had any probs at all with my G4/10.4.11 Powerbook (USB 1.1) seeing any USB drive, even those advertised as working with only 2.0 USB.
    IMO, either your USB drive's FAT32 file structure is goofy (run Windows Scandisk & maybe even Defrag on the USB drive), or your Mac OS's USB systemfilestuff is gunked. Or your i's actual USB port(s) aren't working.
    Do other USB drives work on your i? If so, the prob's your particular USB drive in question. If not, the prob's your Mac.
    My 2 cents........

  • Can I use Lion Thumb Drive as normal USB pen drive?

    I have Thumb Drive OS X Lion, the question is:
    Can I format this Thumb Drive and use if as a normal pen drive in Mac and windows PC?
    If yes, how do i format the Thumb Drive?
    thx! =)

    Yes; as a Microsoft FAT-format volume.  It's probably already in that format as most external storage devices such as traditional hard disk drives, flash disks or key drives or USB sticks arrive that way, and OS X can use FAT directly.  Plug it in, and you're good to go. 
    If you want to erase and start over with a particular storage device – to reformat the storage as FAT – then use Disk Utility, in the Applications > Utilities folder, and select the formatting option.
    But if you're not going to use the storage on Windows (without having to reformat it back to FAT) and if want to use it to best advantage, I'd reformat Windows FAT or NTFS volumes over into the HFS+ volume structure; to reformat the storage using the native file system of OS X.
    As for how to reformat as FAT...  From the Disk Utility help:
    "You can use Disk Utility to format a disk to use with a Windows computer.
    Notice: Formatting a disk erases all the files on it. Copy any files you want to save to another disk before formatting the disk.
    Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in Launchpad.
    Select the disk you want to format for use with Windows computers.
    Click Erase, and choose one of the following from the Format pop-up menu:
    If the size of the disk is 32 GB or less, choose MS-DOS (FAT).
    If the size of the disk is over 32 GB, choose ExFAT.
    Type a name for the disk.
    The name’s maximum length is 11 characters.
    Click the Erase button, and then click Erase again."

  • Can't open disk utility at startup, can't format new hard drive

    My hard drive on my 2011 macbook pro recently went out, so I purchased a new one. I plugged it in internally and brought up disk utility in internet recovery, but it didn't recognize the drive. So I tried using an external hard drive reader, but now recovery mode can't be accessed at all, whether I press option or command r after startup, it still gives me the same gray folder with a question mark icon. Is my recovery mode damaged, and is that possible to fix?

    You can use an external USB disk/flash drive which has Recovery  (or a full OS - requires a 16GB disk space on a USB flash or a JHFS+ partition with the OSX) on it. Boot from that recovery USB drive. if Internet Recovery worked once, the MBP is already capable of repeating it. It requires an Ethernet or WiFi connection. If neither is available, or is spotty, Internet Recovery will not work. Can you try Internet recovery via Ethernet cable, if all your previous attempts have been via WiFi?
    If the drive is not recognized when plugged into the internal SATA bus, either a cable is not plugged in properly (the replacement drive never showed up successfully as per the OP even once, or the drive is DoA). It should be tested externally. Pulling the drive out and putting it back is fairly easy in the 2011/2012 MBPs. The cable could have been damaged during the replacement. The non-drive end of SATA/IR Sensor cable on the main logic board could be loose or damaged.
    If you have a external cable SATA-to-USB or SATA-to-FW (very unlikely), format the new drive using a different PC/MAC to make sure it is not DoA. What brand/model is this new drive? Is it an SSD? It may require a FW upgrade.
    If there is a second MAC available, a Target Disk Mode boot (press T while powering up the mac with the new drive) may allow the second working mac to format the new drive via Disk Utility.

  • Can I Use a network drive to work with Mac and Windows?

    Is it possible to introduce a network drive which can be accessed by both Mac and PC? I manipulate images in Photoshop on my Mac but the software I use to create slide shows is only available in PC format. This software is used more or less universally in the area of photography I am invo;ved with so changing is not an option. Can anyone advise me please.
    TC

    Yes sure. Any NAS type drive formatted in any way will work. Both Mac OS X and Windows communicate by Ethernet Packets to a Networked drive and it is up to the NAS device OS to translate those Ethernet Packets to the format used on the drive.
    Even if you are using a standard external drive connected to a Router or another computer, which is what a NAS is (A self contained computer with Operating System and hard drives), that router or NAS box does all the translating.

  • I have a new USB thumb drive that works in my 2010 iMac but not in my 2012 MacBook Pro

    Today I purchased an 'autodrive' usb thumbdrive at Staples.  The drive works fine on my mid 2010 iMac, and my Asus Netbook running Windows 7.  However, it is not recognized at all by System Information or Disk Utility on my mid 2012 Macbook Pro.  Both Macs are running Mountain Lion 10.8.2.
    If I connect my 2 year old SanDisk USB thumb drive to the same USB port on my Macbook Pro, it is immediately recognized and a finder window opens.  The SanDisk drive is also recognized properly by the iMac and the Netbook.
    Is there any way to further debug this issue to get a better idea of why the device is not being recognized by the Macbook Pro?
    Thanks,
    -Scott

    I am having this exact same problem with my New MBP 15" quad core 2.6GHz i7 on 10.8.2.  I have other thumb drives that work, but an older thumb drive that works on my prior MBP 15" 2.7GHz dual core i7 on 10.7 and XP and Windows 8 laptops isn't recognized at all by the newer MBP.   This thumbdrive is only 256MB and may be USB 1, but USB 1 stuff should work on a USB3 interface unless it's a bug.  I've freshly formatted the drive and tested it with disk utility on the older MBP, so it's an issue with the newer Mac's USB controller or MacOS 10.8.2
    I suspect a bug.

  • How do I figure out if I have usb 3.0?  I am trying to buy compatible external hard drive (western digital my passport for mac) and I can not figure out if it will work with my mac book.

    how do I figure out if I have usb 3.0?  I am trying to buy compatible external hard drive (western digital my passport for mac) and I can not figure out if it will work with my mac book.

    Dont buy a Western Digital, get a Hitachi or Seagate (Toshiba is made by Hitachi). These are the most reliable, and the HD used inside Macs.
    ALL HD can be made compatible with your MAC (including a WD if you already bought same), ......they just need to be formatted for the Mac platform, format them in Disk Utility as Mac OSX extended journaled. 

  • Why won't my secure thumb drive (FAT32) work with os lion?

    Why won't my secure thumb drive (FAT32) work with os lion?  I have used it ok with older mac operating systems.  When the thumb drive is inserted in the usb port, an error message appears stating that the disk was not ejected properly.  It shows as readonly in Finder.  When I try to eject it, the spinning wheel appears and I have to relaunch finder.

    Hi princessmonsta,
    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.  This article has some information on things to check if your sound is not working as expected that may help:
    OS X Mavericks: Adjust your computer’s sound output
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13908
    Cheers,
    - Ari

  • How can I access a thumb drive plugged into an airport with my iPad?

    how can I access a thumb drive plugged into an airport with my iPad? I am trying to set up an information point to serve weekly info over a NOT connected to the internet airport.

    You can't. There are a couple of devices such as AirStash and the GoFlex drive that you can access over WiFi. They are limited, as I understand it, though.

  • I published a website using iWeb.  I began using iWeb to create a second site and now I can't find my original site's work on my Mac.

    I published a website using iWeb.  I began using iWeb to create a second site and now I can't find my original site's work on my Mac.

    If you're publishing directly from iWeb 3 to your FTP server then you'll have the following in your accounts root directory:
    Site 1 folder
    Site 2 folder
    Site 3 folder
    index.html file from last published site directling to the last published site.
    If you want to keep Site 1 as the primary site you'll need to publish it one more time to the server so you get it's index.html file uploaded.
    Now you'll have to publish Sites 2 and 3 to a folder on the hard drive and use a 3rd party FTP client like Cyberduck, YummyLite or Transmit  to upload only the site folder (and not its external index.html file with it).
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    http://doman_name.com/Site 2
    http://doman_name.com/Site 3
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  • How to format a USB drive to FAT 16 on Mac OS X 10.7?

    How to format a USB drive to FAT 16 on Mac OS X 10.7? Disk utility does only FAT32 formatting.

    I assuming you really need FAT16 for some external requirement, otherwise why not FAT32??
    See this for formatting an SD card to FAT16 via Terminal commands.
    The same procedure should work for any USB drive. YMMV.
    iPartition will also format FAT16.
    I don't know if the free version wiill do it.
    Steve

  • Hi can you help the sound is not working on my Mac I have went into settings and there are no option for interal speaker help

    Hi can you help the sound is not working on my Mac I have went into settings and there are no option for interal speaker help

    Read the documentation at the links.  They won't hurt your data. 
    Basically smc reset is shutdown, pull your plug for 15 seconds, plug it back in, wait 5 seconds, and reboot.  Harmless to you.  Resets the smc.
    Pram reset is similar but you need to push commnd-option-P-R after the boot chime.  Read what does.
    smc and pram reset

  • Can I get Seagate Backup Plus to work on my Mac (OSX 10.8.4)?

    Can I get Seagate Buckup Plus to work on my Mac (OSX 10.8.4)?

    Yes.
    http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/214531en

  • How can I re-format a thumb drive back to MS-DOS(FAT)

    I bought a kingston 16gb thumb drive today, and formatted it to Mac OS X Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) using the disk utility. I was unaware that it will not work with a PC now, only Mac. Is there a way to covert it back to MS-DOS or am I going to have to partion it? I tried to re-format it, but MS-DOS is no longer an option from the drop down menu. Any input is appreciated.

    I also had similar problems and just figured it out this afternoon. This is what you're going to do. Open Terminal. It's under Applications>Utilities>Terminal and then type in:
    diskutil cs list
    This will bring up something like this
    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
    |
    +-- Logical Volume Group 109FC023-5F18-438A-AF3D-14FF60334A0C
       =========================================================
       Name: Le Disque
       Size: 68375502848 B (68.4 GB)
       Free Space: 0 B (0 B)
       |
    You will want to find the name of the device (Whatever you named your kingston 16gb thumb drive) and copy the Logical Volume Group ID code. An example from above would be coping the code:
    109FC023-5F18-438A-AF3D-14FF60334A0C
    That is called the UUID.
    Warning The next command will erase the disk specified by the UUID you enter. Make sure you've copied the correct Logical Volume Group UUID for the disk you want to erase, especially if you have more than one encrypted disk connected.
    After you have that code, you will then want to type into Terminal
    diskutil cs delete copiedUUID
    Remember to replace the "copiedUUID" part with the code you copied earlier.Using the example above, it would be
    diskutil cs delete 109FC023-5F18-438A-AF3D-14FF60334A0C
    Let it run.
    After that, the device will now be called "Untitled" and you will be able to format it back to MS-DOT(FAT) using the Disk Utilities application.
    Hope this helps.
    Reference:
    http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/26259/lost-password-on-mac-os-extended- journaled-encrypted-drive-want-to-reformat

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