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One Methods:Format an External Drive to FAT32 in Mac OS X

FAT32 is a common file system format used on computers of all types. FAT32 has several benefits over other common file systems; it can be read and written to from nearly any operating system and it has no built-in security, which makes it easier to work with. While FAT32 is widely supported, it is not often implemented as the default format on most machines. Windows machines generally default to the NTFS system, Linux systems generally use the Ext4 system, and Apple machines use the HFS Plus system. When sharing external drives between different computers, it can be advantageous to format the drive using the FAT32 file system. Learning how to format FAT32 drives is a fairly straightforward process. However if you buy an external hard drive its format will originally be NTFS but it is easy to change.



  1. 1
    Back up all the data you want to keep on the drive. Formatting a drive to a new file system will completely clear all the data stored on it. Move important files from the drive to another drive, such as your computer's hard drive.
  2. 2
    Open a command prompt. Reformatting a drive must be done through the Windows command prompt. To open one, hold the "Start" key and the "r" key or click the "Start" button, and then click on "Run." In the dialog box that appears, type "cmd." This will open the command prompt.
  3. 3
    Enter the command line for reformatting the drive. With the command prompt open, type "format /FS:FAT32 X:" replacing the letter "X" with the letter of your external hard drive (you can find this letter by looking at the drive's icon in "My Computer").
  4. 4
    Enter current volume label for drive. You can find this by typing in "vol (drive letter):" into command prompt. This will tell you the current label for the selected drive.
  5. 5
    Confirm the command line. Windows will warn you that reformatting the drive will erase all its data. Type "Y" to confirm that you want to proceed. Wait for the formatting operation to finish before removing the external drive; the time required will vary based on the size of the drive.

Format an External Drive to FAT32 in Mac OS X

  1. 1
    Open the Disk Utility application. Start by opening a Finder window, and then click on "Applications" in the left panel. Scroll down until you see the "Disk Utility" icon and double-click it to open the application.
  2. 2
    Select the external hard drive you want to reformat. In the left panel, select your external drive by clicking on it. Click the "Erase" button in the right panel to open a dialog box with options for reformatting.
  3. 3
    Reformat the drive to FAT32. In the drop-down box that appears, select "FAT32." Click the "Erase" button to begin reformatting the drive. Wait until the process is finished before removing the drive or attempting to read or write to it.



  • If you have trouble formatting a large volume to FAT32 using the default utility, you can download and install a free program called SwissKnife that allows you to format larger volumes more easily.
  • Note that most operating system will format USB sticks using FAT32 by default. Because USB sticks are commonly used to quickly share data between computers, the widely supported FAT32 system is best.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • External hard drive

Article Info

Categories: Maintenance and Repair | System Maintenance and Repair

In other languages:

Español: formatear FAT32, Deutsch: Ein Laufwerk mit FAT32 formatieren, 中文: 格式化FAT32系统格式, Português: Formatar FAT32, Русский: отформатировать диск в FAT32, Français: formater en FAT32, Nederlands: FAT32 formatteren, Italiano: Formattare in FAT32, Bahasa Indonesia: Memformat FAT32


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