how to use flash drive for mac os install

Use Flash Drive PS3 Compatible With

Use Flash Drive PS3 Compatible With

Save 90 Local Sports Things to Do Business Travel Politics Opinions Homes Subscribe Archives Nation Jobs More Cars Video Apartments Shopping Classifieds Insider azcentral tickets Lottery Obituaries E-Newspaper Investigations Comics Buy Photos Apps Giving Back New Home Central Monsoons Business Directory Member Guide Traffic Moonlighting Advertise with Us USA TODAY NETWORK Public Notices Subscribe Home Local Sports Things to Do Nation Now Business Travel Explore Politics Opinion Investigations Marketplace Insider Advertise with Us Obituaries Archives Weather Subscribe How to Reformat a Jump Drive on a Mac I Cant Edit External Hard Drives on Macs Can I Use Any Flash Drive on a Mac by Jocelyn Kerr Related Articles How to Reformat a Jump Drive on a Mac I Cant Edit External Hard Drives on Macs How to Make Your PS3 Compatible With Your External Hard Drive OS X Doesnt See an External USB Hard Drive Segmenting a Hard Drive How to Force Format an XP Hard Drive Share on Facebook You can use any USB flash drive on a Mac computer provided that it has been formatted.

Most flash drives are preformatted by the manufacturer and are ready to use upon purchase.

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.

These are Windows volume formats, but they can be read by Mac OS X.

If your flash drive states that it was formatted with one of these volume types, you should be able to plug it into your Mac and use it without a problem.

If you plug in your drive and your Mac wont read it, you need to format it.

Formatting To format a flash drive on a Mac, plug in the drive and open the Applications folder, the Utilities folder and then Disk Utility.

When you see the volume format types listed, choose MS-DOS (FAT).

Some older flash drives may only have the options FAT 16 or FAT 32.

Choose the highest number available if MS-DOS (FAT) doesnt appear.

Warning Formatting a flash drive erases all data currently stored on it.

To back up your data, insert the USB drive into the computer you used with the drive and copy the contents of the drive to the desktop or a folder on the computer.

To copy, just drag and drop the files from the flash drive menu to the desktop or desired folder.

Faulty Drives Occasionally, a faulty flash drive becomes unreadable after its been used for a while.

If you have an older USB flash drive thats been beaten around, it may not work even if you reformat it.

While most flash drives are made to withstand years of use, take the age and previous use of the drive into consideration if you have a flash drive that cant be read anymore.

References Apple Support: How to Format a Flash Drive on My Mac Book Pro SanDisK Support: Formatting on a Mac Computer Writer Bio Aubrey Kerr is a writer and photographer.

With a B.A. in media arts and public relations, she has helped small business owners design and implement online marketing campaigns since 2004.

Her work appears on several websites including Salon.com and the Houston Chronicle.

How To Use Flash Drive For Mac Os Install