Windows' default NTFS is read-only on OS X, not read-and-write, and Windows computers can't even read Mac-formatted HFS+ drives. FAT32 works for both OSes, but has a. But FAT32 is distinctly out of date. Designed for an earlier time, it can't handle files larger than 4GB. Instead, pick ExFAT, its replacement (and still quite old), best used on drives of 32GB. The USB was working well on both Windows and Mac until it stopped working on Mac suddenly (it's working well on Windows though). I reformatted it as FAT32 and tried other formats too (ExFAT.etc) but, still facing the same issue. Under 'sharing and permissions', I find 'you can only read' and it is greyed out so, I can't change it.
There are many file types available when you format a USB drive on Mac, such as exFAT, FAT32, JHFS+, etc. For a complete description and compatibility list (as not all formats are compatible with all operating systems), see this article. For reference purposes, exFAT and FAT32 are compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. Format to FAT32 If you have an NTFS drive you can use macOS' Disk Utility to reformat it to FAT32. This is simple to do and means the data on your drive/USB stick can be read and written on both.
Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
But why?
Let us go in detail to find the answer.
Suppose you are using a vehicle but don't go for routine service. What will happen? After some time, it starts giving problems. So what is the solution?
Obviously, we need to take it to a professional mechanic.
The same thing is with your SD card, Now how to Format the SD card to FAT32 on MAC?
Well! Find out the solution yourself in this resolute dossier.
How to format the SD card to FAT32 on Mac?
Are you tired of applying several older techniques that are not able to format your SD card to fat32 on MAC? No worries anymore, we are here for you, just follow these simple steps and get what you want.
Before that, you are advised to take a backup of data on your Mac device, before the beginning of the process. There are two ways to format USB flash drive to FAT32, including Disk Utility and Terminal command line, but here we discuss the former one.
Once SD or micro SD card has been backed up, you will be ready to format the storage device. Here are the steps to make it happen:
- Insert the SD card into the slot on your Mac.
- Navigate to Finder > Applications > Utilities.
- Open Disk Utility.
- In the sidebar, select the SD card that you are trying to format.
- At the top of Disk Utility, press Erase.
That's it! Your task is completed successfully.
Reasons for the Formatting SD card to FAT32
The Default memory card file systems:
A file system is a way of organizing a drive efficiently to access files with ease, later on. It defines the stored data on your drive. There are many types of file systems among which some common and more usable are:
- Choose FAT32(File Allocation Table 32) if SD card is <=32GB
- Choose exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) if SD card is >=64GB
- NTFS (NT File System)
- APFS (Apple File System)
What's the FAT32 system on Mac?
The configuration of hard drives in MAC is different From Windows. Mac basically uses HFS+ but also supports FAT32. This FAT32 system on MAC is used for storage media, such as memory cards, flash drives, and also external hard drives. One simple technique to convert FAT32 to HFS+ is by using disk utility feature that comes with OS X. If this technique doesn't work for you, No worries! Here we provide you step by step solutions in an easy way with the help of images.
- Reasons for changing the SD card format on MAC:
It is always beneficial to go for a little spring cleaning in your room, in order to keep your room clean from dust, as well from certain mites. But if, under certain circumstances, this process is not carried out then what will happen?
Obviously, you can't live there properly. The same thing is with your SD card.
- If proper cleaning is not carried out at regular intervals of time, the performance of your SD card will degrade.
- One of the main reasons to format SD cards on MAC to FAT32 is to generate a bootable startup disk, that exactly contains the same Operating System version, that's with your MAC. This further helps to deal with troubleshooting problems and restoring files later.
- Another reason is to change from one format to another, in order to increase the speed of writing data in the SD card.
Steps to format SD card to FAT32 MAC
Formatting is essential for your SD card to run properly. When the size of your SD card is 64 GB or above the best way is, to go with FAT32 format. This will help you to experience the feel of using a new card.
Note: It is advisable to backup your data from the SD card, it is very important to protect for any loss of crucial information, which on later stages will be hard to recover.
How to format 64 GB SD card to FAT32 on Mac
There are basically two general techniques to Format SD card to FAT 32 in Mac:
Formatting an SD card to FAT32 on Mac is an easy process to go with. It is due to the presence of a built-in utility application named 'disk utility'. It erases all the data from your SD card. Not only this after the process of formatting, but new directories and file systems are also generated, which further helps to increase the speed and functioning of the SD card. This can be done by following some of the basic steps as mentioned below:
1. Using Disk utility:
If you are using operating system X, a simple method to Format SD card is by using Disk utility.
Step 1: Open 'Disk Utility', by typing in the search box, available at the top right corner of the screen, and then click on it.
Step 2: Now look for an SD card on the left side of the window. It will be shown by the name of 'NO NAME' or 'UNTITLED'. Select it.
Step 3: Now click on the 'Erase' tab available in the window.
Step 4: Now click on the 'format' dropdown menu. This provides you with the available formats, from there select 'FAT32' option.
Step 5: A message will appear on your screen asking your permission for erasing partition. Give permission by clicking on the 'Erase' option. This will start the process of formatting for your SD card.
2. Using MAC command line:
In some of the cases, the above-mentioned process is not able to perform well. There may be certain reasons behind this among which some common are compatibility issues, errors, and viruses. Then under these circumstances, the use of the MAC command line is beneficial. Although this technique requires a bit of attention and hard work but here you are provided with step by step guide that makes the task to format sd card on mac to fat32 easy for you. One of the advantages of using this technique is it provides accurate results in most of the cases.
Step 1: Hit cmd + space for launching spotlight, a box will appear with an option of typing, type terminal in this box and press 'Enter' to open.
Step 2: Now insert your SD card.
There are also other cards or disk storages, so the next step will help you with this.
Step 3: For Identification of card Type 'diskutil list'
Now all the available storage will be presented to you in the form of a list
Step 4: Select your SD card.
Step 5: Now to format the SD card to FAT32 on MAC you need to type the command' sudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT 32 SDCARD MBRFormat /dev/disk2'
Note: In this case, the name of a card is 'SDCARD' and'/dev/disk2' is the location of the card.
- Here sudo provides you with superuser rights.
- diskutil will call the disk utility program.
- EraseDisk is the command given for formatting the card.
- FAT32 is used to set the file system.
- MBRFormat gives the information to the disk utility program for formatting a card with the Master Boot Record.
- After this process, your password (depends) will be demanded. Filling it right, will start the process of formatting.
Fix 'can't Format SD card on Mac'
Causes of Failing to change SD card to FAT32 on MAC: There are several reasons for an SD card, for not been formatted with the methods and techniques, that previously done the task for you. The common reason for this problem is an unsafe ejection, a virus attack that leads to corrupt the files, and in some uneven circumstances power failure.
Some of the other reasons behind this problem are:
- SD card is protected by rights, which don't allow you to make any changes..
- SD card is corrupted due to the introduction of bad sectors.
- SD card is corrupted due to file system error.
Steps to fix 'Can't format SD card to fat32 MAC':
There are several techniques to fix this problem. The most common and safe technique is to take the help of utility software available with OS X.
Step 1: The first step in this is to connect your SD card with your MAC. Some MACs are available with an option of a built-in SD slot. If you are using one among those, well for you and if not. No need to worry, we are having an alternate solution for you, in which you can use an external SD card cartridge. Still, if you can't able to make it then you can go with a USB SD card reader.
Step 2: Now open utility disk app which is inbuilt in the MAC OS X. For this go for Applications, then click on the utilities and there you will find the Disk utility option. You can directly open it from the top right side of your screen, in search option by typing 'Disk Utility'
Step 3: Now identify your SD card from the list of available drives on the left side of the Disk Utility screen. Then click on it, this will show you the available storage in your device. With this, you can also match the storage of your inserted card to the chosen one, for confirming that you had chosen the right card option. Generally, the name will be NO NAME or Untitled as shown in the image.
Step 4: Now choose Erase function from the functions list at the top.
Step 5: Now enter the name of your SD card that you want to assign from the name field option. This is an optional step.
Step 6: Now choose ExFAT, as a file system format from the Format drop-down menu as shown below.
Step 7: Now hit erase and the process of erasing data begins as shown below.
Step 8: Once the above process you will get a message of completion as shown below. Now your card is ready to use.
Recover Accidentally Formatted SD Card Files.
Sometimes there arise certain situations when you accidentally formatted your card and lose all of your data. Then you probably wonder what to do now? Or there arise certain circumstances when someone formats your SD card mistakenly?
Many times you tried a lot of software, but of no use at all. Also, you tried several techniques but still not able to recover your crucial information. What happens is, you lose hope and give it up.
If this is the situation, with you, don't worry we have a guaranteed solution for you with a detailed structure.
First of all, you need to know is, the data from your SD card is not gone permanently. It is just a temporary process that takes place and can be reversed easily. If a proper technique or software or a combination of both is used.
What you need to do is to simply install Recoverit for MAC that is available for download on Wondershare.com on your single click, and follow some of the easy steps as given below. Make sure these steps should be followed in the same order, as mentioned.
Talking about 'Recoverit', It is one of the best data recovery tools, that provides you the facility to recover your data from systems like systems and even crashed systems. Not only this Recoverit Data Recovery Ultimate provides you a facility to recover even fragmented videos and is also capable of fixing and repairing damaged or corrupt videos for you.
Launch 'Recoverit' on MAC: The first step you need to follow is to install 'Recoverit' on your MAC. After the successful installation of this software on your MAC, Double click on 'Recoverit icon' that is shown up. If you can't find it, then go for a finder, and then select applications, there you will find Recoverit easily. Now double click it to open.
Now you have to follow three simple steps to recover your crucial information from your SD card, as mentioned below:
- Initially, you need to select a target location
- Then you have to Scan the location
- Finally, go for a Preview and recover data
Got it!
If not, no worries. Let us discuss each step in detail that makes up easy for you.
- Select the SD card you want to format: For this, go for data scanning and searching option and then choose your SD card as a target location. You will find a dialogue box that appears before you as shown below.
- Scan the removable media: It is an All-round scan that usually takes a few minutes. During this process, you are provided with an option of the filter and locate files of your choice as shown below.
- Preview and recover files: After the above process, you are provided with a preview function in which a lot of files will be there that includes Pictures, videos, movies, images, audio, documents, and so on.
Here you need to select the files you want o recover. For this just click and select the required files and just simply click on 'Restore'. You can also opt for all files of if particular files are selected then these selected files will be restored. Finally, you get your data back.
Conclusion
Today we live in a digital world, where data is stored digitally. Digital data occupies less space, can be stored on cloud storage and, can be encrypted. But at the same time, it carries a lot of problems and one among them is the problem of erased data or accidental formatting. For these cases, precision is required, especially for your SD card. Here you are provided with a resolute dossier on how to format SD card to FAT32 on Mac that makes your task easy.
What's Wrong with Mac
- Recover Your Mac
- Fix Your Mac
- Delete Your Mac
- Learn Mac Hacks
By Adela D. Louie, Last updated: August 27, 2019
In today's technology, if you buy a USB hard drive, you can just simply use it directly using your Mac. However, there are instances that not unless that your flash drive is build to use for your Mac, you will not be able to format it.
- SD card is protected by rights, which don't allow you to make any changes..
- SD card is corrupted due to the introduction of bad sectors.
- SD card is corrupted due to file system error.
Steps to fix 'Can't format SD card to fat32 MAC':
There are several techniques to fix this problem. The most common and safe technique is to take the help of utility software available with OS X.
Step 1: The first step in this is to connect your SD card with your MAC. Some MACs are available with an option of a built-in SD slot. If you are using one among those, well for you and if not. No need to worry, we are having an alternate solution for you, in which you can use an external SD card cartridge. Still, if you can't able to make it then you can go with a USB SD card reader.
Step 2: Now open utility disk app which is inbuilt in the MAC OS X. For this go for Applications, then click on the utilities and there you will find the Disk utility option. You can directly open it from the top right side of your screen, in search option by typing 'Disk Utility'
Step 3: Now identify your SD card from the list of available drives on the left side of the Disk Utility screen. Then click on it, this will show you the available storage in your device. With this, you can also match the storage of your inserted card to the chosen one, for confirming that you had chosen the right card option. Generally, the name will be NO NAME or Untitled as shown in the image.
Step 4: Now choose Erase function from the functions list at the top.
Step 5: Now enter the name of your SD card that you want to assign from the name field option. This is an optional step.
Step 6: Now choose ExFAT, as a file system format from the Format drop-down menu as shown below.
Step 7: Now hit erase and the process of erasing data begins as shown below.
Step 8: Once the above process you will get a message of completion as shown below. Now your card is ready to use.
Recover Accidentally Formatted SD Card Files.
Sometimes there arise certain situations when you accidentally formatted your card and lose all of your data. Then you probably wonder what to do now? Or there arise certain circumstances when someone formats your SD card mistakenly?
Many times you tried a lot of software, but of no use at all. Also, you tried several techniques but still not able to recover your crucial information. What happens is, you lose hope and give it up.
If this is the situation, with you, don't worry we have a guaranteed solution for you with a detailed structure.
First of all, you need to know is, the data from your SD card is not gone permanently. It is just a temporary process that takes place and can be reversed easily. If a proper technique or software or a combination of both is used.
What you need to do is to simply install Recoverit for MAC that is available for download on Wondershare.com on your single click, and follow some of the easy steps as given below. Make sure these steps should be followed in the same order, as mentioned.
Talking about 'Recoverit', It is one of the best data recovery tools, that provides you the facility to recover your data from systems like systems and even crashed systems. Not only this Recoverit Data Recovery Ultimate provides you a facility to recover even fragmented videos and is also capable of fixing and repairing damaged or corrupt videos for you.
Launch 'Recoverit' on MAC: The first step you need to follow is to install 'Recoverit' on your MAC. After the successful installation of this software on your MAC, Double click on 'Recoverit icon' that is shown up. If you can't find it, then go for a finder, and then select applications, there you will find Recoverit easily. Now double click it to open.
Now you have to follow three simple steps to recover your crucial information from your SD card, as mentioned below:
- Initially, you need to select a target location
- Then you have to Scan the location
- Finally, go for a Preview and recover data
Got it!
If not, no worries. Let us discuss each step in detail that makes up easy for you.
- Select the SD card you want to format: For this, go for data scanning and searching option and then choose your SD card as a target location. You will find a dialogue box that appears before you as shown below.
- Scan the removable media: It is an All-round scan that usually takes a few minutes. During this process, you are provided with an option of the filter and locate files of your choice as shown below.
- Preview and recover files: After the above process, you are provided with a preview function in which a lot of files will be there that includes Pictures, videos, movies, images, audio, documents, and so on.
Here you need to select the files you want o recover. For this just click and select the required files and just simply click on 'Restore'. You can also opt for all files of if particular files are selected then these selected files will be restored. Finally, you get your data back.
Conclusion
Today we live in a digital world, where data is stored digitally. Digital data occupies less space, can be stored on cloud storage and, can be encrypted. But at the same time, it carries a lot of problems and one among them is the problem of erased data or accidental formatting. For these cases, precision is required, especially for your SD card. Here you are provided with a resolute dossier on how to format SD card to FAT32 on Mac that makes your task easy.
What's Wrong with Mac
- Recover Your Mac
- Fix Your Mac
- Delete Your Mac
- Learn Mac Hacks
By Adela D. Louie, Last updated: August 27, 2019
In today's technology, if you buy a USB hard drive, you can just simply use it directly using your Mac. However, there are instances that not unless that your flash drive is build to use for your Mac, you will not be able to format it.
Why is this so? The answer to this is because most of the computers actually run on Windows and they actually use a different file format which is known to be the Fat32.
Those drives that are formatted in Fat32 can be used in your Mac for reading and writing but there might be an instance that you might experience some trouble once that you use your macOS native format.
So, in case that you have a flash drive that is formatted into Fat32 or any type of format rather than having a Mac OS Extended or AFPS, then we are going to show you in this article how you could possibly format your flash drive using your Mac.
Part 1: How To Format Flash Drive On Mac
Here are the steps that you need to follow. Do these steps and you will then be able to format your flash drive on your Mac.
Step 1: Go ahead and plug in your flash drive in the USB port on your Mac.
Step 2: After that, go ahead and launch the Finder and click on your flash drive detected by your Mac.
Step 3: See to it that there are no files saved on your flash drive that you no longer need. This is because formatting your flash drive will remove all the data that is stored in it. If there are some files that you want to remain, simply copy these files to your Mac.
Step 4: After getting all the files that you need from your flash drive, go ahead and click on 'Applications' and then click 'Utilities' and then choose 'Disk Utility'.
Step 5: And then, go ahead and click on your flash drive from the sidebar.
Step 6: Once that you have chosen your flash drive, go ahead and click on the 'Erase' button located at the toolbar at the top of the window.
Step 7: On the next window that will appear on your screen, go ahead and key in a name for the flash drive that you are formatting from the box next to the 'Name' option.
Step 8: And then select a format that you want from the drop-down menu.
Step 9: No, if you have previously stored a data on your flash drive that is highly sensitive, just go ahead and click on the Security Tab.
Step 10: From the security tab, go ahead and choose the level of the security that you want. The more that you move to your right, then the more 'passes' the deleted tool will be but it will securely delete your files. However, doing to so will take more of your time to format your flash drive.
Step 11: After that, go ahead and click on the 'OK' button and then click on the 'Erase' button.
Part 2: Choosing the Right Format
There are formats that you need to choose from depending on the Mac that you are using. If you are using the macOS Sierra or a later version, then you have to options to choose from. One is the AFPS and the other one is the Mac OS Extended. The question now here is that which one should you choose.
You have to keep in mind that once you have formatted your flash drive into AFPS, then those Macs that are running on macOS that is older than the High Sierra will not be able to recognize it.
So, if you would want to use your flash drive on Macs that are running on High Sierra, then you have to choose the Mac OS Extended format.
However, you also have to know that AFPS is actually optimized for SSD or 'solid state drive' and it includes flash drives.
That is why if you are going to reformat a flash drive on your Mac, then you should definitely choose the AFPS format as it is known to be the most reliable and faster than the Mac OS Extended. But again, that is if you do not have any plans in using it on a pre-High Sierra course.
And lastly, if in case that you would want to use your flash drive as one of your backup options in Time Machine, then you should definitely have it formatted in Mac OS Extended.
This is because Time Machine does not have the ability yet to backup flash drives that are formatted in AFPS. So, if you are using an AFPS formatted flash drive on Time Machine, it will just ask you to format your flash drive into Mac OS Extended.
Part 3: How To Format Flash Drive To Fat32 On Your Mac
Once that you have a flash drive, then what you would need to do is to have it formatted into Fat32. Why? This is because once that you have formatted your flash drive into Fat32, then you will be able to use it on both Windows and Mac PC when you want to save or transfer files with either of the two.
The Fat32 format can be used – read or write – with both Mac and Windows PC and because of this, it makes the device more versatile.
However, there are some limitations that you should need to know such as an individual file should only have a maximum size of 4GB. But do not worry because there is still something you can do about it and that is by formatting it to exFAT.
The exFAT format will not give any limitations on the file size that you are going to store on your flash drive and you can still use it on both Windows and Macs that are running in Mac OS X Snow Leopard or later version. For you to be able to format your flash drive into Fat32, here is what you need to do.
Step 1: Go ahead and connect your flash drive to your Mac.
Step 2: And then, go to Application and then click on Utilities.
Step 3: After that, go ahead and launch Disk Utility.
Step 4: And then, go ahead and click on your flash drive located at the sidebar in Disk Utility.
Step 5: After that, click on 'Erase' in the Disk Utility window.
Step 6: After that, go ahead and enter the name for the flash drive that you formatted.
Step 7: And then, choose the Format menu and then select MS-DOS (FAT32) or the ExFAT.
Step 8: After that, go ahead and click on the 'Erase' button.
Once that you are done with the provided steps for you, your flash drive will then completely wipe out all the data stored and it is re-formatted into either an ExFAT or FAT32 depending on what you have chosen on the previous steps.
Part 4: Getting Your Mac System Run Fast
Now that you have known with how you can format your flash drive on your Mac, now it is time for you to get your Mac cleaned up.
Getting your Mac clean on a regular basis after doing tasks can help your Mac maintain its speed and will also give you more space for your storage.
There is one great option for you to clean up your Mac in no time and this is by using the software called the FoneDog Mac Cleaner.
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The FoneDog Mac Cleaner will help you to speed up your Mac with just a few simple clicks. This software can also help you in scanning your Mac faster and find all of your junk files on your Mac.
It also has the capability of checking your Mac's system status which includes your CPU status, your memory usage and more. This way, you will have an idea of what is the data that is actually eating up a lot of storage space on your Mac and which is causing it to perform slower than the usual.
The FoneDog Mac Cleaner will not only help you in removing all of the junk files that you have on your Mac. It can also help you to completely uninstall applications that you no longer use together with all the files that are associated with that app. It can also serve as a Similar Image Finder, an Extension Manager, a Duplicate Finder, and more.
For you to start cleaning up your Mac, all you have to do is to follow all the steps that we are going to provide to you. Do not worry, this is really simple and easy to follow and it will not consume a lot of your time. In addition, the screenshots below are shown under the dark mode on Mac.
Step 1: Download and Install
Have the FoneDog Mac Cleaner downloaded from our official website at https://www.fonedog.com/mac-cleaner/. Once that you have completely downloaded the program, go ahead and have the program installed on your Mac.
Step 2: Launch the Program
After that installation process is complete, go ahead and run the program on your Mac. Once that the program is up and running, you will be able to see on your screen the system status of your Mac. With that information, you will have an idea which files are taking up a lot of space on your Mac.
Step 3: Select Cleaner
Cleaner provides you with the cleaning function for the system, photo, email, files, apps and other fields on your Mac.
Step 4: Choose iTunes Junk
Here, take iTunes Junk as an example to show you how to clean junks on your Mac to make your Mac run faster.
Note: As for the other tools like 'System Junk' and 'Email Junk', the steps to clean up them is the same as that in 'iTunes Junk' tool.
Step 5. Scan iTunes Files
After clicking into the page of iTunes Junk, press the Scan button to start scan all the iTunes backups, Cache, updates and downloads on your Mac.
Step 6: Review and Select Items
How To Format Fat32 Mac
After that scanning process is completely done, you will be able to see on the left side of your window screen a list of category folders of all the junk files of iTunes that you have on your Mac. If you click each folder, you will see on the right side of your screen all the items that each folder contains.
Review each item on each folder for you to make sure that all the junk files shown on your screen are unnecessary any more.
Once that you are satisfied with the result, you can go ahead and simply click on the 'Clean' button to clean up all your junk files.
Step 7: Confirm Your Choice
There would be a pop-up window called Confirmation turning up. Please press the 'Confirm' button if you are sure to delete the selected files; otherwise, please press the Cancel button and return to the previous page.
Step 8: Cleaning Done
Once that the cleaning process is done, all those unnecessary files that you have there will all be deleted from your Mac.
Part 5: Conclusion
Read Fat32 On Mac
Now, as you can see, formatting your flash drive on your Mac is a very easy thing to do. All you need to have is the knowledge on how you can do.
And keep in mind that if you are going to format your flash drive, make sure that you choose the right format so that you can use it in any PC.
Formatting is easy, just like in cleaning up your Mac. Getting your Mac tidy is one of the best things that you should do for you to be able to maintain the speed of your Mac and of course for you to get more space on your storage. And the best way for you to clean up your Mac is by using the FoneDog Mac Cleaner.
