Formatting a hard drive will help with the compatibility of computers operating systems. And USB is a perfect option for storing or backing up data, and it works wonders for transferring data between devices. To enable the computer to read the USB drive it needs to be formatted properly. External hard drives or USB drives can be formatted in many different file systems. Check the guide below.
In This Article
Format an external hard drive or USB pen drive on Windows OS:
The first reminder before formatting is to make sure you have not stored any data on the hard drive or USB pen drive since everything will be deleted. You can format a hard drive or USB pen drive using these file systems: NTFS, FAT, HFS APFS, EXT, etc. Follow the guide below to format an external hard drive or USB drive on Windows OS.
- Connect the external drive or USB drive to your computers.
- Click the Windows icon and open File Explorer.
- Go to This PC>Select the external hard drive or USB.
- Now find the option “Manage” on the top bar menu next to view>Tap on it.
- From the drop-down menu>Select Format.
- Now when the open-up window comes up>Select File system.
- Select NTFS which is for Windows formatting.
- Now press start> Click OK.
Read more: How to install Windows 10 using a pen drive
Formatting an external hard drive or USB pen drive on Mac OS:
Mac OS comes with some complications when inserting an external hard drive or USB pen drive. Some of the external hard drives or pen drives need to be formatted before you want to transfer files on them. The disk utility tools that come with Mac helps in formatting any external drive. Here are the steps you have to perform to format your external hard drive or USB pen drive on Mac OS.
- Plugin your hard drive or pen drive on the Mac computer.
- Open the Finder app from the taskbar below the screen.
- From the top menu click on Go.
- And from the drop-down menu>Scroll down to Utilities and click on it.
- From the Disk Utility which has an icon of a hard disk>Double click>Open it.
- On the left side panel, find your external hard drive or your USB pen drive.
- Click on it>From the right-side panel>Select Erase from the top menu.
- Go to Format>Click on MS-DOS (FAT).
- Select Erase>Click on it.
Read also: 5 best ways to fix if your external HDD not showing up on Windows 10
Hope the above guide helps you format your external hard drive or USB pen drive easier and faster.
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