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Click on the USB drive in the sidebar in Disk Utility. Go to Applications>Utilities and launch Disk Utility. You can either do this by searching for it from Spotlight or by navigating to Applications -> Utilities and opening Disk Utility. To format a USB drive in FAT32 or exFAT: 1. Next, I will show you how you can do that, using the Disk Utility, a tool that comes installed with your Mac OS X. To format a disk using Apple’s Disk Utility, simply follow the steps below. Therefore, if you want to use a NTFS formatted external drive on your Mac, you might want to change the format to FAT32, because it is a file system that is compatible with all types of computers (Windows, Mac or Linux-based). Normally, hard drives used on Windows-based systems are formatted using the NTFS file system and, while Mac computers can read and copy data from this type of hard drive, they can't write it on them. Nowadays, external hard drives are a common solution for storing and transferring large amounts of data from one computer to another. But, if you want to use an external hard drive on your Mac that was mainly used on a Windows computer, you might encounter a problem. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only.
#How to format an external drive for mac osx for free
How to Convert External Hard Drive to FAT32 on Mac OS X for Free Using Disk Utility Question: Q: How to format WD external drive for Mac More Less.