To format a USB flash drive on a Windows 10/11 PC, you can follow the steps below. Related: How to Convert NTFS to APFS without Losing Data – 2 Steps How to Format USB Drive on Windows 10/11 PC After it finishes, your USB flash drive is ready to use again.

Click the Erase button to start formatting the USB flash drive to FAT32, exFAT, etc. If you need to use the USB flash drive with Windows systems or older Mac systems or that do not support GUID Partition Map, selecting MBR can ensure compatibility.Īpple Partition Map (APM): This scheme is primarily used for compatibility with older Macs using PowerPC processors and is not recommended for modern Intel-based Macs or cross-platform compatibility.

Master Boot Record (MBR): This scheme is primarily used for compatibility with older systems, including some Windows computers and legacy Mac systems using PowerPC processors. Windows 10 and Windows 11 also fully support GPT and can work with GPT-formatted drives without any problems. If you plan to use the USB flash drive primarily with Mac systems or want to boot from it, choosing the GUID Partition Map is a good option. It also allows for booting from the drive. It is compatible with all Intel-based Macs and Apple Silicon Macs. GUID Partition Map (recommended): This scheme is the default and generally works well with modern Mac computers. You can check the detailed introductions of the three available schemes below. GUID Partition Map scheme is recommended. The scheme you choose depends on the compatibility requirements of the systems. Choose a partition scheme to format the USB drive. Related post: NTFS vs exFAT vs FAT32 vs APFS – Differences. If you only intend to use the drive on Mac systems, you can choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If plan to use the drive on both Mac and Windows computers, you should select exFAT or MS-DOS (FAT) format.

Windows format disk for mac