How To Format And Use a USB Flash Drive On Your Mac

[@jerrypuckett7303]

As a 70 year old male and PC user up to now, I want to THANK YOU!! I'm subscribed and will watch more of your videos.

[@Doug-lr1wm]

Gary I am a new MACBOOK owner today was day one. After setting up this new MacBook I spent several hours watching your videos. Wow what a lifesaver you were for me I believe I am security wise now! As others have said I will continue watching your great content!

[@macmost]

Glad to help

[@gamite7509]

This is my first video, yesterday I bought a Mac, I wanted to create a recovery USB drive, I searched how to format a drive and I saw this complete guide. Thank you so much dude! You earnt a sub and a like!!

[@DeanBothaMusic]

Thank you so much!!! I must have watched 10 videos now and none of them actually explained how to format the drive.

[@Kazyman]

One instructional directive from you & hurdle cleared. MUCH THX! Major props!

[@bernarditu]

Good explanation because you covered the possibilities when things don`t work smoothly and the various options you have. Thanks so much!!

[@_birdy_birdy]

format starts from here 4:50

[@BigNix83]

Bless you!

[@sebastiantaylor8671]

TYSM you have helped me so much with everything and if I ever have a problem with my MAC I always go to you

[@HeartASMRofficial]

That was the clearest most straight forward no fluff video ever! Thank you so much!!! Xxx

[@javtimestwo]

Gary-great video and just what I needed. bought my 1st USB flash drive this month and it works with A and C, just like yours. I never knew the drive could be formatted. Seems easy to use EXFAT so that it supports both. Thank you!

[@carlisclinton6062]

Great help, a lot more than just how to format. All I needed was the format, but very helpful, thank you.

[@alberta4941]

Very informative. I was very surprised on how you made the video with all the information. Thank you

[@mama2LA]

Excellent video, Gary! Thank you! You answered all my questions in this video. It’s been ages since I’ve used a flash drive and needed a nice calm, thorough tutorial, just like you provided. New subscriber! 🤓

[@lindalarrowebergersen7132]

After viewing 5 other videos you did it! My flashes now show up. thanks

[@jameskypros1978]

Great explanation buddy, not to fast and showed me options i didn't know look forward to watch the other video's

[@ladypeg]

Thank you so much for the lesson.... You just taught this old dog new tricks in a way that it was easy to understand..... I'll be watching from now on. Peggy

[@francineeubanks9327]

Thank you for your basic information on flash drives 101. It’s been too many years since I messed with one. I had to have a refresher course. My Mac is old but it still works. Thank you for telling us that things have changed 😮. I really hate electronics, I have a negative charge. 😂

[@JohnWilliams-du8ol]

Very helpful.. Thank you - this told me stuff that I should have known for years!

[@JoshConnectMedia]

Nice straight and straight forward even though it was in 2020.

[@alexroman-j3g]

Great video.. can I still fortmat my flash drive if I have video files in it? I have some videos that do not open in my Mac and Macbook pro, and believe it's because of its formatting.. will I lose my files if I format it?

[@macmost]

Formatting a drive erases it. Move the files elsewhere first, format, then move them back.

[@venuvenkateshbabu4219]

can you please show me amazon link for the USB flash drive that you have showed in the video?

[@macmost]

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XC1WGQR

[@HerbieMac]

Thanks for this video. I'm still trying to figure this stuff out.

[@Nicolas_G.]

Sooo clear and useful. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

[@GeorgeHzMusic]

Sir, You are the best

[@lisas1928]

Hi, I recently got a Macbook Air M1. I got USB C-type compatible to Mac OS and tried on the Mac but it doesn’t recognize the USB nor a way to format the Mac for USB. Could you please help? Your videos are very educational. Thank you so much!

[@macmost]

Do you mean a USB drive? So when you look in Disk Utility you don't see the drive at all?

[@lisasuk9504]

@@macmost Thanks for your reply. Yes, USB drive.Though I plugged it in to the Mac, does not appear either on the desktop nor Finder. After reading your response, I checked the Disk Utility. I see no "external storage" in the Disk Utility. Do you think something is wrong with the USB drive?

[@macmost]

@@lisasuk9504 Probably. If you don't see it appear at all in Disk Utility then it sounds like it may be broken.

[@lisas1928]

@@macmost Your saying of “it may be broken”… you mean the Mac is broken, right?, not the USB drive…

[@macmost]

@@lisas1928 I was suspecting that the USB drive is broken. Are you having other troubles with your Mac that you didn't mention?

[@UltimateTrackMom]

Thank you ,This Info helped me a lot. Just what I was looking for.

[@sameerkarimi6895]

Thanks, Buddy, It really works!

[@dmpag7000]

Thank You - You have the best instruction videos

[@jryan6178]

WOW! YOU have to be the most comprehensive HOW TO I have founfd .. and boy have I been looking! I do have a question ... I need to free up a ton of space on my macbook pro ... Is it possible to take ALL the photos on my mac onto a USBC? Then delete them from my mac? SAFELY? ...

[@marcosmartinez3060]

thanks so much for sharing your computing knowledge!

[@beverlymulhall6315]

Thank you for teaching me how to work with flash drives on my Mac. Now I have to figure out how to take the photos from the flash drive and play them on my tv like a pan digital frame! Lol

[@0819nutterbutter]

YOU ARE A GOD. THANKS MAN!! :D Been at this for over an hour.

[@womenswellness1577]

would you mind my asking what your preferences is Air or Pro and why?

[@alismith8508]

Thank you for this video. Finally I understand and have solved my problems.

[@kijuanadams5650]

thanks man i needed that

[@para7429]

Hello macmostvideo thanks for getting back so quickly, appreciate the advice. I use a USB to play movies on for my elderly mother. Is there a different format I could use perhaps?? I bought her a new Smart TV and usually with a 32GB USB no problem and it plays most formats. I just wanted to get something a little bit bigger so I did'nt have to erase it so many time. Really do appreciate your help Many thanks Para742

[@macmost]

Depends on the TV. You'll need to look up the documentation for the TV and see what formats it can use.

[@kingtahasin6098]

Really helpful. Thanks!

[@eslresources]

Thanks so much. This video really helped me!

[@SC-kq9zf]

Gary, Great video, I am seeing it second time since I need to do some related work. One point off the subject, if you can tell us which brand USB is good to have both USB A and C in two sides

[@tonyayork9976]

Good video. I'm trying to figure out how to download a large file directly to my external flash drive? I have minimal space left on my MacBook and so with to download a large file direct to flash drive. Really confused how to do this on a Mac, used to be a PC user....Can you assist?

[@macmost]

Control+click on the link to the file (AKA right click or two fingers on the trackpad) and then select the option to download to a location. Then select the folder on the external drive where you want it to go.

[@sophiakim2537]

when i took out my usb and put it back in for the second time of use i couldnt see the usb file on my screen but the first time i put it in it worked, what should i do? edit: i realised the light wasnt on my usb so i plugged it in again and it worked

[@amritanicolemarketing6684]

Gary, how do we access the Patreon discount you mentioned? It comes up as an insecure site and then on your macmost website there is nothing about the discount. Please specify, I was just yesterday contemplating their services! Thanks for this tutorial, I subscribed!

[@macmost]

To join Club MacMost on Patreon, go to patreon.com/macmost . Then you get a new coupon at the start of each month. See macmost.com/club-macmost-faq

[@zikamikakokoku]

Your videos helped me a lot!

[@herenowjal]

Thanks for this very informative and helpful video ...

[@brandonvalle2283]

Oh my God Gary! Astonishing work! You showed me what I needed to know and more. That command key tip is gonna go a long way for what I was trying to get done. Tysm! 🤙

[@womenswellness1577]

Will APFS effect ability to send to window computers or other devices?

[@MF-kv8cn]

awesome video. any videos made by you on formatting external drives like Lacie or G Technology? Thank you

[@macmost]

Nothing recent. It is pretty straight-forward though. Use Disk Utility. For Mac-only, format as APFS.

[@MF-kv8cn]

@@macmost ok thank you.

[@MF-kv8cn]

@@macmost hey sir, what's the best external hardware to save movies or tv shows on? is a SanDisk USB good or should I go with a Lacie or G Technology external SSD?

[@macmost]

@@MF-kv8cn SanDisk is a big company with a lot of USB devices. Not sure which one you mean. If you want speed and reliability, get a real drive, not a "USB Flash Drive" though. SSD is probably overkill if you are just storing media on them.

[@MF-kv8cn]

@@macmost hello again. thank you for your replies and help. For the Sandisk USB I was referring to the Cruzer Glide 128Gb, and what do you mean by a "real drive"? Could you please give me an example. Thank you.

[@johnknapp86]

Thank you Gary!!! Huge help!!!!

[@Expresscuisine]

Thanks, it was so useful 💯👍🏼

[@seanzappulla71]

This is very easy. I do it all the time.

[@mercyshere2366]

Thank you so much! Worked perfectly!

[@Nixxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Thanks much saved my day

[@ləxical]

How do you drag around files and folders, and still keep them in the same position that you put them in when you put the USB back in? It automatically puts them in rows and columns again when I unplug it and put it back in, versus the custom positions I need them in to organize them.

[@jimloader3920]

Thanks for the excellent video. I would like to know how to save .jpg photo files to print at Walmart? I have Mac OS X Catalina and Kingston USB. I've tried 2 different Walmarts and another drug store and the photos are not recognized. I formatted as MSDOS fat and EXFAT, believing that Walmart is more friendly to Windows. Should I be saving in a Mac format? Any help would be appreciated.

[@macmost]

Sorry, I don't know. I would think that FAT would work. You'd have to ask them.

[@jimloader3920]

@@macmost Thanks, I haven't found any employee at Walmart that can answer that question. I'll try somewhere else.

[@joshuaespinoza534]

You're the best! Just subbed. Thanks brother.

[@thesuprari]

Thanks!

[@pineappleroad]

ive known some people on windows to just remove the drive while a file is still being written to the drive (I remember when i was at school x number of years ago the teacher asked us to save a copy of our work to the USB, and when the USB was passed to me, when i put a copy of my work on the drive i noticed that there were some corrupted files on the drive)

[@sjacksonharris8290]

Thank you!! 😭

[@vadimluhovoi9586]

Thanks a lot, you saved my time! :)

[@namibiacodegeek]

Thank you Well said Sir .

[@wassup102]

Thanks sir

[@SugaHoneyIceTea36]

Will try reformatting. Stood in one of those express photo print stands and it wouldn’t recognize the photos. from my MacBook

[@miguelcortez7808]

thank you kind sir

[@mrmaramind]

Great video. What is the difference from a fish drive to an external SSD? Not sure which to get.

[@sofiaposadac]

Can you do the same thing but on a windows? I need to format my flash disk as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) so that I can use it as scratch disk on photoshop but I have a windows computer and cant find any videos on how to do so. Please and thank you.

[@macmost]

I don't think you can. Even if you could, what would be the point? If you have Windows, you wouldn't be able to access it if it was Mac OS Extended.

[@DarylSkinner]

You can buy a converter for the mac

[@JerryAyon-jo4ts]

Can I keep adding new files to the same USB flash drive stick?

[@macmost]

As long as there is space for them, of course. It works just like any other external drive.

[@andyturner7963]

Just came across your channel and info what format is ok to use I am copying music from a cd unit to the usb but need r To format it as it has old music on it any help

[@macmost]

Depends on what you will be plugging the drive into. Consult the docs for that device to see what it requires.

[@hmaustips9742]

Thanks Gary. We're trying to format a bunch of USB A/C 3.0 drives for our Mac club. We want them to also be able to read on an iPad. Would ExFAT GUID be the best format? Do we format both the partition and the main thumbdrive levels the same? We're having problem with very slow transfer (30 - 40 min for 9 GB) or running First aid on the partition and coming up with Unable to unmount. Sometimes drive doesn't show on desktop. Is it how we're formatting or the drives? Thank you. We're so confused!

[@macmost]

ExFAT is for Windows. iPad should be OK with them, but why use a Windows format? If these are for iPad, use APFS. See support.apple.com/guide/ipad/external-storage-devices-ipad75b7b23f/ipados It sounds to me like these are poor Flash drives. These cheap drives are handy, but they slow down a ton when they get hot, and they get hot almost immediately. Then sometimes they stop working completely. Sounds like a bad batch or just a poorly-made device.

[@hmaustips9742]

@@macmost We're realizing that and had paid extra for 3.0. Thanks Gary.

[@aliciabonneville5210]

Helpful!

[@TheSingingCelebrant]

trying to boot from my USB as I'm using old Mac Pro but cannot get it to boot from USB ANY suggestions please?

[@_spectaecular6625]

Um Question. I brought a PNY attaché USB 2.0 flags drive and I wanna only use it for extra storage... So will the same instructions help? (I just immediately found I needed space on my Macbook Air so this is new for me).

[@salamecas5293]

thanks

[@larrysimassr7492]

Thanks Gary :-) I've yet to see a video that I've not learned something!! Shalom :-)

[@galeelraglen]

Thank you :)

[@ramonmustapha8240]

Thank You !

[@crying_hippy]

I’m new to Mac and what a trip, I do t know what I’m doing and thought I need a special usb drive or sd card for Mac and I just spent cash on iCloud storage So I can just use any usb thumb drive and I’m good to go? I have a usb external flash drive 2 TB but it won’t let me drag files over from Mac, that’s why I thought I needed a special drive If I use the external drive I have now it tells me to format it but I’ll loose all the data on it now and don’t have enough cloud space to transfer before I do, I think there’s over 500gigs on it So only option is another external flash drive or a usb one and I saw a 128 gig istick for $80 What ya think I should do? Thanks man

[@macmost]

If the drive is formatted something Windows-specific, like NTFS, then you can't write to it. Can't advise you on what you should do. That depends on a lot of factors I don't know about.

[@crying_hippy]

@@macmost Just want to know how to free up space as cheeps possible, so a usb drive is the way to go I guess or external hard drive thats compatible with Mac. Thought I'd just ask the expert in case there was something I missed and this 2 TB hard drive doesn't go to waste, it will allow me to format it, but I have no where to put over 500G of videos, its all for court too in future once I pick through them and decide on what to keep and what to check out. Maybe someone else know? Or is that it, USB, External HD or iCloud?

[@macmost]

@@crying_hippy If money isn't a factor, get another drive and format it for Mac before transferring data there. If money is a factor then borrow a drive some someone, carefully move your data to that drive, reformat your drive for Mac, then move your data back. Stick with an actual drive as a Flash drive or SD card will be much slower. Another option is to take it to an expert who can first access what you really need, and if it is the problem then transfer the data to a temporary location, reformat your drive, and then transfer it back for you.

[@crying_hippy]

@@macmost Thanks Brother and I Midas well get a 2nd drive and have it just for Mac and other for windows, the boxing day sales are coming soon too after Christmas to save some cash with a sale. Do you recommend a drive for Mac maybe from best buy? Thanks again and be Blessed

[@macmost]

​@@crying_hippy I don't have a recommendation since I don't review products.

[@jeffhenderson3184]

Please HELP! Tried reformatting brand new 2T thumb drive on my new Mac (big Sur) per your instructions. Only have ExFat, Mac OS extended options (besides DOS of course). I first chose ExFat, thinking it would be more versatile, in case I need to access files via a windows machine one day. The "Scheme" default was Master Boot Record. Hit "erase" and Operation FAILED. ??? Now, I've tried same steps with Mac OS Extended, still a big FAIL. So now I'm wondering if I need to change partitian to GUID or APPLE rather than MASTER BOOT??? Thanks!

[@macmost]

GUID is the best to use, but in this case it simply seems like the drive is bad.

[@jeffhenderson3184]

@@macmost thanks for your reply! Will order new one. Do you recommend any particular 2T thumb drive for Mac? Or even something larger if there is one (thumb)? Ty

[@macmost]

@@jeffhenderson3184 In general I stay away from thumb drives. Maybe small ones for a specific use. They are slow and overheat often, making them slower. I'd get a simple portable HDD or SSD. Both are much more reliable. It really depends on what you are using it for.

[@burn1nfinite]

I’m bummed I can’t format it to ntfs

[@KSA21Geladettor]

Thank u Gary

[@actcitynewsvijayawada7537]

THANQ its working

[@Farish14]

I have a question: What would happen if you change your USB to Exfat and use it on a school windows computer?

[@macmost]

Not sure what you mean by "what would happen." Changing the format would mean erasing the drive, for one. But once it was ExFAT you could use it on Windows, and you can use it on Mac too, though only for basic file storage.

[@skiptaylor437]

Got a new car that has only a USB port to enter music and especially audio books from CDs. The car user group says, to formata drisk drive to FAT32. But isnt a FAT32 drive limited to file size and limited name? But the new xFat has no restrictions. What would you recommend? Plus, do you have recommendations on how to rip the audio CD on to the flash drive. I enjoyed your video about the USB. Did not know some USB drives have the USB-C and USB connectors, saving all those pig tails. Thanks, Skip

[@pineappleroad]

Im not sure about on mac, but windows wont allow a drive larger than 32GB to be formated it as FAT32, and the max file size is 4GB (the maximum partition size of FAT32 is apparently 8TB) exFAT does have file size and capacity restrictions, but the maximum file size is larger than the largest SSD that a mac can have in it (the largest file size appears to be larger than any storage drive that consumers would be able to get their hands on, and the maximum partition size is a value so large i dont think i would be able to type it out in bytes)

[@j.j4090]

If the flash drive is already formatted as FAT32 from a windows Pc with stuff on it, would it work on a Mac? Or should it be reformatted to exFAT?

[@macmost]

You can use it, but not everything will work well and there are limitations. If you plan on using it only for your Mac from now on, I would copy the data off of the drive, erase it and format as APFS, and then put the files back on it after.

[@j.j4090]

@@macmost would I be able to plug the F32 drive in the Mac, and put a second drive in and format it to APFS, and just drag/copy everything from the FAT32 drive to the APFS one?

[@macmost]

@@j.j4090 Sure.

[@LensaHobi]

Thankyou

[@para7429]

Hello there, I have a 2TB USB and I have changed the settings to MS-DOS Fat32 so I can play movies on my TV, however, the drive only takes a certain amount and then other folders I put across appear empty and no files can be shown or seen (but space is taken up??) I never have issues with other smaller size USB's at this setting. I got the larger size to lessen the amount of times I have to erase the smaller sizes. Can you offer any advice on how to fix this issue please. I have searched everywhere on youtube and I have come up blank. By the way, this is for a mac computer. Many Thanks

[@macmost]

I think FAT32 only supports 32GB in size. If your TV only works with FAT32, then you are limited. Why not get a streaming device like Apple TV so you can just stream directly to the TV without messing about with drives that need to be physically connected?

[@stevelaursen1691]

Can I put files from my windows PC to a external. then pit them back on a Mac. Thanks

[@macmost]

Yes. Format it something that both can read and write, like FAT or ExFAT.

[@stevelaursen1691]

@@macmost thanks. can I put pc files on then Mac then

[@macmost]

@@stevelaursen1691 Files are files. You can put them on any system you want. It is usually easier to transfer files from one computer to another using a cloud system (iCloud, Google, DropBox, etc) or file sharing. But you can use an external drive if you like.

[@stevelaursen1691]

Yes but will windows files be read by Mac computer

[@macmost]

@@stevelaursen1691 Any files can be "read" by any computer. But what I think you are asking is how to open them and view or edit them in an app. You need to have the appropriate app to view or edit a file. For instance, and image file, like a jpeg, can be opened in many image viewing and editing apps. A Microsoft Word file can be edited in Word, and also a few other apps that handle that type of file. It is all about having the app to handle the type of file.

[@gusttavoo]

To eject, I’m able to click and drag to the “trash”. It changes the icon to eject. Is this still safe to do?

[@macmost]

Yes. That ways has been around for a long time. Usually it is easier to use the little eject button in the Finder sidebar.

[@ryanpeters3289]

Adapter, USB Hub, Convertor

[@angelajolie1626]

hi! i can not see my usb on finder. does that mean my usb is broken? is there a way to fix this?

[@macmost]

Perhaps. Look in Disk Utility to see if you see it there and can use the Mount button with it selected. Also try a different USB port too.

[@accentontheoff]

Hi Gary can’t find a logical place to post this, hence asking here. Just wondering if it’s okay to rename one’s main Mac Hard Disk from the default Macintosh HD to anything else (just alphabets and spaces). And is there any time when it’s not okay to do so. Say, while reformatting one’s machine. Or otherwise. I suspect it is ok to do so but I wonder what the official (and correct) stance is. Thanks for everything!

[@macmost]

You can always ask me questions at macmost.com/forum -- that's what it is for. As far as naming your drive something else, sure. I see it all the time. I don't see any point to having it be something else, but you can name it what you like. Apple even says so: support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/rename-files-folders-and-disks-on-mac-mchlp1144/mac

[@accentontheoff]

macmostvideo Will do on the forum and thanks for the reply!

[@mahaanrblx668]

What format should I use of I am using high seria

[@macmost]

For old High Sierra, you should be using HFS+ (Apple Extended).

[@mahaanrblx668]

@@macmost thank u 😀

[@guyazulay]

What about iPad? How i can format ?Start videos on ipad as well it will be very successful

[@macmost]

I did a bunch of tutorials on the iPad back when iPadOS came out -- to covert the new stuff -- back in October. I also came out with a while iPadOS course at that time. I've never tried to format or erase a drive on the iPad though. That may not be a feature yet.

[@denhamk]

Wow just the video I was looking for. Now I did the whole dragging and dropping this afternoon and all I got was a 🚫 symbol against my files. And I was not able to transfer anything. Quite a nightmare. I have no idea what I was doing wrong. I couldn’t even copy the files. It didn’t give me the paste option when I right clicked. The drive was a 1TB external hard drive .. I had a presentation to get out and I was in a real fix today!

[@CanadianOptionsTrader]

You didn't say which Partition Scheme to use!!!?

[@macmost]

Don't change it from the default. For instance, for Mac use, GUID.

[@CosmicChild1111]

This was really helpful...I was able to reformat my MOJO. I should have moved the files to the desktop before I erased it. It is okay because I did not have a ton of stuff on there and I can get what I need from my produce next time I am in the studio. I was having trouble moving files from my Mac to the MOJO. He had no problem as he works on Windows. So now it will work for me! Thank you!

[@audacityfilmsproductions5334]

THANK YOUUU

[@jimjohnston7688]

My god this is complicated! I'm more lost now than I was before.

[@gazog1]

Can I use Scandisk usb on Mac?

[@macmost]

Is that a brand of USB drives? The brand shouldn't matter.

[@womenswellness1577]

What are the OTHER 960 GB ~ this has always been my issue with Mac!! How does Other get filled up and how do you get rid of it? Apple has not been able to help me with this question! thank you