Format Flash Drive On Mac

Format Flash Drive On Mac For Windows
Format Sandisk Flash Drive On Mac
Format Usb Flash Drive Windows
Format External Hard Drive Mac

Disk Utility application in MacOS is the best option to format a flash drive on MacOS. You can launch this app in two ways. Step 1: Press Space while holding your command button. A search box will open. Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose a file system format. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. But the drives formatted as FAT32 are read and written to Mac operating system but it is not right and you may end up into problems if you don’t use the native format of Mac OS. So, if you have a USB drive that needs formatting or has been formatted as FAT32, then here is the right way to format USB flash drive on Mac. If you have an old flash drive or one that was formatted to work with Windows or another operating system, you can still format your flash drive to work on a Mac. Volume Format Most manufacturers use the FAT 32 or MS-DOS (FAT) volume format.

Does your Mac not recognize a USB drive? Is the USB flash drive not showing up on Mac after inserting it in the USB port? Find solutions here. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac when you want to recover data from a USB drive not recognized.

Mac Won't Recognize USB, What Should You Do?

Commonly, when you insert a USB drive in the USB port on a Mac computer, the drive will soon appear on the desktop or hide in the Finder, letting you access, view, and manage data on it. Did you come across the situation that no matter how many times you try to connect the USB drive with a Mac computer, the USB drive is not showing up anywhere? Why this time Mac won't recognize a connected USB you may wonder. Though not a usual thing, the issue of an external hard drive or flash drive not showing up on Mac happens sometimes. What should you do in this circumstance? What are the effective solutions to make your USB drive show up again?

This page basically covers all the possible fixes for USB not showing up on Mac, which also applies to the similar issues of other storage devices like an external hard drive not showing up on Mac, flash drive not showing up on Mac, SD card not showing up on Mac, etc. Take a quick glance at the main content and directly jump to the part you're most interested in.

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1~4. Some basic check and change settings	1. Change the connection way 2. Change settings for desktop 3. Change settings for Finder 4. Check system information...Full steps
Fix 5~8. Repair corrupted USB drive	1. Reset USB ports 2. Repair in Disk Utility 3. Repair with the terminal 4. Reformat USB drive...Full steps
Fix 9~10. macOS troubleshooting and manual repair	1. update macOS and firmware 2. Manual repair service...Full steps

10 Fixes for USB Not Showing Up on Mac

The reasons behind the problem of a USB device not showing up are various, including the USB port is not working, USB drive corruption, virus infection, macOS faulty, etc. So, to figure out the effective solutions for your own case, you need to take time to have some basic check, exclude the irrelevant issues, identify the potential risk, and finally solve it!

Important: As losing the access to data is the most direct impact of Mac not detecting a USB drive, you might need to perform USB data recovery on Mac.

Fix 1. Change the USB-to-Mac connection way

Have you tried to restart your Mac once or twice? Before taking further measures, don't forget the most efficient way to tackle commonplace hardware glitches that arises from time to time. If this operating system restarting fails to solve the current problem, move on to check the physical connectivity issue step by step.

Step 1. Plug the USB drive out from the not working USB port and change to the other USB port. Try all the available USB ports on your Mac.

Step 2. Did you use a USB connection cable or a USB-C adapter? If yes, take the USB drive out, and directly plug it in the USB port.

Step 3. Is there the other Mac computer available to you? If yes, try to connect the USB drive to this computer. Is it showing up normally?

Step 4. For SD card owners, the common way to connect an SD card to a Mac needs a card reader. If changing the USB ports did not work, try to change a card reader for a new round of tests.

The four steps of troubleshooting a USB drive not showing up on Mac are very basic, however, quite helpful in most cases. Each step can help us exclude the issues of a bad/loose connection, a not working USB port, a lack of power, and other superficial phenomenons.

Fix 2. Change settings for Mac detecting an external hard disk on the desktop

Occasionally, your Mac has already recognized the USB flash drive but not shown it on the desktop. Thus, you should go to Finder > Preferences > General and make sure the 'External disks' option is ticked. Then you'll see the USB flash drive showing up on Mac desktop.

Fix 3. Change settings for Mac recognize an external hard disk in the Finder

Finder is the other access for us to check a connected external drive on Mac. If your flash drive or external hard drive is not showing up there, go to Finder > Preferences > Sidebar, and under Locations, you need to tick the option 'External disks'. By selecting this option, we can make sure that the connected external USB hard drive or flash drive will normally show up in the Finder.

Fix 4. Check the USB drive in System Information

When you cannot find the USB drive on the desktop or in the Finder, try to look for it in the System Information section, which is usually a hidden place for average Mac users.

Step 1. Go to Applications > Utilities > System Information.

Step 2. Check if the system detects the USB drive. Click 'USB' on the left panel, and you can also check the USB flash drive information.

Fix 5. Reset USB ports on Mac to detect a USB drive

Step 1. Restart Mac computer, press the Command +Option+P+R keys until the Apple logo appears.

Step 2. Press Command+Option+Esc keys to close all applications that are not responding.

Step 3. Plug the USB which is not showing up to your Mac computer. If it doesn't show up, click Apple icon and select 'Sleep'.

Step 4. Wake up the computer after a few seconds by pressing any key.

Step 5. Shut down the Mac, unplug the power cord, reattach it after 15 seconds.

If this doesn't work, we should suspect the corruption issue at this moment. Don't give up and try to do some repair by yourself.

Fix 6. Repair USB flash drive with First Aid if it doesn't show up

Step 1. Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.

Step 2. Select USB flash drive on the left panel of Disk Utility, and click 'First Aid' at the top toolbar and click 'Run'. Disk Utility will repair any errors on the drive automatically.

Step 3. Select the USB drive and click 'Unmount' at the top toolbar, unplug the USB and plug it back in 10-15 seconds.

Fix 7. Check and fix errors in a not recognized USB with Terminal

Step 1. Open Terminal in Utilities, type:diskutil list and press Return.

Step 2. Find the disk number of your USB flash drive, type: diskutil info disk2 and press Return. (Replace 2 with the disk number of your USB flash drive.)

Step 3. Type: diskutil eject disk 2 and press Return.

Step 4. Type: diskutil list and press Return.When the USB disappear from the Terminal list, close the window.

Step 5. Close Terminal and open Console to inspect your drive errors.

Step 6. Click 'Errors and Faults' to check if there are any errors.

Step 7. Reconnect your USB flash drive back to Mac, if no error shows up, your USB flash drive is safe.

Fix 8. Save data and reformat the not showing USB drive

Disk reformatting basically solves many hard drive issues, including the not showing up USB, particularly the time when you are able to see the USB icon but files are not showing. USB drive showing empty makes no sense, so you have to reformat the disk and make it usable again.

Note that reformatting will erase data. As long as the data matters, you need to follow the standard procedure to ensure zero data loss. [1] Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, the professional Mac data recovery software, to perform a full USB drive data recovery. [2] Reformat the USB drive in Disk Utility.

To format the USB drive in Disk Utility:

Step 1. Go to Utilities and open Disk Utility.

Step 2. Select the not showing up USB flash drive in the Disk Utility sidebar.

Step 3. Click Erase on the top.

Step 4. Finish the necessary information (name, format, and scheme) to format the USB flash drive.

Fix 9. Update your macOS and firmware

Did your Mac's OS keep updating all the time? Chances are that your Mac won't recognize a USB drive, especially after a macOS update. This time, take a close look at the settings whether your Mac is up-to-date. Equally, firmware updates address a variety of hardware issues and the functionality of the USB ports could well be one of them. So, keep your software and firmware up to date will likely make the USB drive show up as normal again.

Fix 10. Send the USB drive to a repair center

Nowadays even the branded USB flash drives are not expensive. If you've tried all the suggested troubleshooting methods, the USB drive is still not showing up on Mac, you have to accept the truth that it's severely damaged and beyond your ability to repair it.

Mac won't recognize a badly damaged flash drive or external hard drive since there is no way to show it up, even temporarily, which makes the data recovery difficult. The last chance for you to rescue data is to send the broken USB drive to a specialized data recovery service center nearby, and let the professionals try their best. You need to prepare for the manual data recovery cost, which is noticeably higher than the software data recovery. Hence, always try the cost-effective plan of using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to scan the USB drive for the first attempt.

Step 1. Correctly connect your USB flash drive to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. Start selecting the flash drive and click 'Scan' to let the software search lost files on it.

Step 2. After a quick scan and deep scan, all files will be presented in the left panel in the scan results.

Step 3. Select files you want to recover and click the 'Recover Now' button. Don't save the recoverable files to the USB drive itself in case of data overwriting.

/File Shredder /How to Format A Flash Drive on Mac

I just bought a flash drive, and it seems to be working really slowly on my Mac. What should I do?

You need to format your flash drive on Mac to make it compatible with your Mac. We’ll teach you how in this article. Read away!

Here are the tactics you’ll learn about in this post.

Article GuidePart 1. Why Format Your Flash Drive?Part 2. How to Format a Flash Drive on MacPart 3. Use PowerMyMac File Shredder to Delete Files on Your Flash DrivePart 4. Conclusion

Part 1. Why Format Your Flash Drive?

There are various reasons why you have to format your flash drive on Mac. Here are the three common ones:

Ensure the flash drive’s full compatibility with Mac. Most flash drives are pre-formatted for use with Windows.

The difference between macOS and Windows is that they make use of different file systems. Mac uses either Mac OS Extended or AFPS as the file system, while Windows usually uses FAT32.

Drives that are formatted as FAT32 can still be used with macOS, but there is a bigger chance that you’ll encounter issues along the way.

Aside from that, Time Machine doesn’t work with drives that are not fully compatible with Mac. Time Machine is a built-in feature of Mac that backs up your files to an external storage device such as your flash drive.

Free up space in your flash drive. USB drives have limited memory space. Sometimes, deleting unnecessary files or transferring a few of them to your PC is enough.

Sometimes, it isn’t. That is when formatting your USB drive becomes the best solution.

Get rid of viruses and other issues. Flash drives are popular for their portability, but they can also carry viruses that can spread to other computers.

Formatting a flash drive on Mac is an easy yet effective way to remove them. Although macOS is generally much safer and more secure than Windows, this doesn’t mean that your Mac can’t be affected by viruses.

Part 2. How to Format a Flash Drive on Mac

Before you proceed with formatting your flash drive, you should first consider which format you are going to use. Selecting the correct format is crucial as it will have an impact on its compatibility with your Mac.

Certain formats work better on specific versions of macOS. The format that you set is something you’ll have to stick with for a long time, so it’s best if you make the right decision from the very start.

Below are the available formats and when best to use them.

APFS. Short for Apple File System, APFS only works with Mac running on High Sierra or later.

It is optimized for solid state drives (SSD) like flash drives, and this guarantees a faster performance than Mac OS Extended.

If you intend to use your USB drive only with a new Mac, APFS is highly recommended. The downside to it is that it isn’t Time Machine-compatible.

This means you cannot set the flash drive as the destination of your backup.

Mac OS Extended. If your Mac is running on macOS Sierra or below, this format is the way to go. Nevertheless, Mac OS Extended works with High Sierra and up as well.

This would work well if you think you would need to use your drive in an old Mac. It has some catching up to do in terms of speed, though.

On the bright side, you can use your flash drive to create backups via Time Machine.

FAT32. The most versatile in the list, FAT32 will allow you to use your USB drive on Windows as well as a Mac. In fact, it is the most widely compatible file system.

It works on most video game consoles, media players, and other devices. However, it can only support individual files up to 4GB in size.

We don’t suggest using this format if you plan to store large files like videos.

exFAT. This is closely similar to FAT32 in terms of compatibility. It works on both Windows and macOS too.

However, it is not supported by as many consoles and devices as FAT32. The great thing here is that it doesn’t have a file size limit.

If you want full compatibility with Mac, choose between APFS and Mac OS Extended. If you expect to transfer files between a Windows computer and a Mac, you should decide on either FAT32 or exFAT.

If you are merely freeing up space or getting rid of viruses in your flash drive, simply select the previous format.

Now, have you decided which format would best suit you and your Mac? If you have, refer to our step-by-step guide on how to format a flash drive on Mac.

Step 1: Plug the flash drive into the USB port.

Newer models of MacBook and MacBook Pro only come with USB-C ports. You will need to connect a USB-C adaptor on the port before you can connect your flash drive.

Step 2: Launch a Finder window.

Format Flash Drive On Mac For Windows

Open a Finder window. You should see your flash drive listed below the Devices section.

Click on it. If you have files in your drive, make sure to transfer them to your Mac or another external storage device. Formatting your flash drive will wipe off all files in it.

Step 3: Run Disk Utility.

Now, go to Applications and select Utilities. Click Disk Utility to open it and press on your flash drive’s name from the sidebar. Click on the Erase tab at the top of the window.

Step 4. Choose a format for your flash drive.

From the drop-down list next to Format, select the format that you want to use for the flash drive. You may also set a name for your drive. Simply enter it in the field beside Name.

Step 5. Format your flash drive.

Click Erase. A dialog box will appear. Hit Erase to confirm and wait for your Mac to complete the formatting.

Part 3. Use PowerMyMac File Shredder to Delete Files on Your Flash Drive

Every time you want to permanently delete files on your USB drive, you don’t have to format it again. You can just use a reliable file shredder to conveniently erase files in a secure way.

PowerMyMac File Shredder does just that. You can use it to delete confidential files on your Mac, external hard drives, and SD cards as well. It comes with a 30-day free trial, so grab the opportunity while it lasts!

Step 1. Download, Launch iMyMac PowerMyMac and Choose File Shredder Option

Download and install the software on your Mac. Launch it once installation is complete. Connect your flash drive to the USB port.

From the left tab of the software, click Toolkit module and select Shredder. Hit Select Files.

Step 2. Choose File to Destroy

A Finder window will appear. On the sidebar, you will see a list of folders and your connected USB drive. Look for your flash drive below the Devices section and click on it.

Select the files that you want to delete and press Open. If you want to add more files for deletion, simply click on the Add Files button on the upper-left corner of the window.

Step 3. Permanently Shred Private Files

Before you continue, make sure that you’re certain that you wish to delete your files.

Once you have selected all files that you wish to delete, hit Clean.

People Also Read:How to Securely Delete Files on MacThe Best Mac File Shredder in 2021

Part 4. Conclusion

Formatting is useful for making the most out of your flash drive. Choosing the format that matches the Mac you’re using as well as your data storage needs are very important.

So is deleting unwanted and confidential files as safely and securely as possible. This is made possible with iMyMac PowerMyMac File Shredder.

You should use it with caution, though. Once files are wiped off by iMyMac PowerMyMac File Shredder, you will no longer be able to recover them!

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