Open Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Connect the USB device to your Mac or MacBook. Back up the USB device before proceeding with this process.

If the Security Options button is not available, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device. How to Format a USB Drive to FAT32 on a Mac Use the following steps to use your Mac to format a USB drive to FAT32. Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. Hold the Command and R keys down for a few seconds until the Utilities window appears. If the Scheme pop-up menu isn’t available, make sure you selected the storage device you want to erase-it’s at the top of the hierarchy.Ĭlick the Format pop-up menu, then choose a file system format. Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. For example, to prepare disk2 in HFS+ format, type diskutil eraseDisk HFS+ DISK disk2 and hit the back symbol. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. If you want to erase any other type of storage device: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Click the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. Locate Disk Utility in Applications > Utilities and open it. Note: If you want to get your Mac ready to trade in, sell, or give away, and your computer is a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel-based Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, use Erase Assistant. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. You’ll use OS X’s Disk Utility app to format the drive.

Formatting disk on mac