#HOW TO FORMAT THUMB DRIVE FOR MAC AND WINDOWS SOFTWARE#

If you accidently choose the wrong disk you will not be able to recover the data without special software or even a data recovery specialist, which can be extremely expensive. Doing this will delete all the data on the disk. Note: From this step on please be careful. On my computer it displays as the G: Drive. Step 3: You should see your USB flash drive. Step 2: Go to the Window Start Menu, then Computer. Step 1: Plug your USB flash drive in an available USB port on your computer. Your USB flash drive is now ready to pictures. When you see this you can close the Disk Utility application. When it’s done it will automatically mount the drive with the name you gave it. Unfortunately there is no confirmation that the computer is done formatting your USB flash drive.

#HOW TO FORMAT THUMB DRIVE FOR MAC AND WINDOWS MAC#

Step 12: The formatting process is pretty quick depending on how old your Mac is. YOU WILL SEE THIS SELECTED ON THE LEFT SIDE.Ī confirmation window will pop up. IMPORTANT: AGAIN, PLEASE CONFIRM YOU ARE ERASING THE CORRECT DISK. Step 11: Now if everything looks right click on the Erase button. Step 10: Your screen should look like the screen example below. For this example I will be using my company name abbreviated: JSP. Don’t use any symbols or special characters. You only get 11 characters and spaces count as a character. Step 9: You will see Name: Input the name you would like to call it, for example your clients name or your business name. Step 8: You will see Format: Select ExFAT. Step 7: When you click on USB Disk you will see a few tabs. Mine displays as 2 GB SMI USB DISK Media, then underneath it you will see USB DISK.

If you accidentally choose the wrong disk you will not be able to recover the data without special software or even a data recovery specialist, which can be extremely expensive.

Step 5: Look for the Disk Utility icon and double click it. Step 4: If you haven’t already plugged in your USB flash drive in to your Mac, please do so now before going on to Step 5. Step 3: In the Application Windows look for the Utilities Folder. Click on Applications to open the Applications folder. On the left hand side of the finder window locate “Applications”. Step 2: A finder window should be open now. Step 1: Double Click on the Finder icon that is located in the Dock. (for Windows instructions please scroll down) (Be careful using these instructions to ensure you are formatting the correct disk.)

#HOW TO FORMAT THUMB DRIVE FOR MAC AND WINDOWS HOW TO#

This article will teach you how to format the USB flash drive so both Mac’s and PC’s can read them. However, some photographers have run into issues where clients are not able to read the USB flash drive, prompting the photographer to switch back to using CD/DVD’s. Recently photographers have switched from using CD/DVD’s to USB flash drives to deliver their digital pictures to their clients. They have also included this with their latest laptops and their iMac’s.

Apple has started doing this when the Macbook Air arrived on the scene. This helps the computers to be small and lighter. The latest trend with computers is not including a CD/DVD drive. By Jack Scicluna Photography, LLC - guest writer.

How to format thumb drive for mac and windows