how to format usb drive as exfat or ntfs

A full formatting should be done to the new USB disk so that it can check whether there are bad sectors. Will you perform formatting to the USB flash drive you just bought? The answer should be Yes.

If you want to permanently erase data, you can perform a full formatting. Since it causes data loss, be sure files are backed up before formatting. Quick formatting is the best way to wipe data from storage media with ease and speed. This section sums up what formatting can do for you.

In fact, some underlying benefits of flash drive formatting are ignored. In many cases we format a drive in order to prepare it to be used by operating system or erase all data. Do you really know formatting? Let's take a close look at it now. Many users count on formatting to fix any errors on storage devices. In this guide, you can find multiple methods to format USB disks and you can choose one based on actual situation and needs.įormatting USB drive, volume or HDD is common operation to all computer users. Formatting a USB drive can repair corrupt partition as well as change file system format, thus we may need to format USB flash drive from time to time. For example, macOS will read from NTFS file systems, but it will offer full read-write access to those with exFAT.This article mainly talks about how to format / reformat USB flash drive to FAT32, exFAT, NTFS or EXT4 file system in Windows 10/8/7/XP. It's better supported much more widely across OSs like macOS, Linux, and Android.

Use exFAT for external storage on other OSs: If you're planning to use your (presumably external) storage with other operating systems, you should opt for exFAT.

Reliability features such as journaling help to protect your data in case of a crash, and you may be able to take advantage of its built-in file compression to make the most of your space.

Use NTFS for external storage on Windows: If it's external media (such as a portable hard drive or microSD card), and you're planning on using that media only with Windows, you can again opt for NTFS.

This is especially true if you're planning on installing programs to it, as the security/permissions features of NTFS will help to protect your system against some malicious software. Use NTFS for internal drives: If this is an internal drive for a Windows machine, you should use NTFS.

How to format usb drive as exfat or ntfs