Your connected drives will appear under 'External' in the Disk Utility's sidebar. Select the drive by clicking its name. Click the 'Erase' button after selecting the entire drive to erase the entire drive and create a single partition on it. Then select your external hard drive in the left pane and then click the button Delete in the right pane, now click OK to format the disk.; Note: When your delete or format your internal hard drive, the data is not completely deleted but it only erase the the information where those data are allocated. If you want to erase any other type of storage device: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Choose View Show All Devices. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. Click the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. Some Mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on Mac OS, a task which is typically performed through the Disk Utility application from the GUI. The command line approach to disk erasure in macOS is a bit different and it requires precise syntax to insure that you are erasing the proper disk, making this method of erasing any disk only appropriate for advanced Mac users. Whenever an external storage device gets infected, it is highly recommended to format the device to make it operable. In this post, let's talk about how to erase and format external hard drives on Mac and Windows. Erase and Format External Hard Drive on Mac. Step 1: Open your Mac and connect your external hard drive.
- 1. Recover Mac Data
- 2. Recover Data from Dead Mac
- 3. Recover Documents from Mac
- 4. Recover Data from External Devices on Mac
by Jenefey AaronUpdated on 2019-11-16 / Update for Mac OS
'I have a few video files on my USB drive but I can't delete files from flash drive on Mac. I am a Windows user but recently I did transition to a Mac. But it seems there are a few new things I need to know. So, do you have any idea how can I change the permissions of the files in order to delete them?'
Well, being one of the most advanced Operating Systems on the planet, Apple designed the macOS quite differently in order to make it stand apart. But being different didn't always helped the users, there are quite a few things that are unnecessarily complicated. Although, users wish to change them but sadly, there is no way around.
So, how to delete files off a flash drive on a Mac? It is a bit complicated task, you are required to use specific steps. So, read the article below in order to learn all the tricks and tips to delete files off of a Mac USB drive.
Part 1. Why You Can't Delete Files from Flash Drive on Mac
One of the widely asked question among the Mac users is how to delete hidden files off a flash on a Mac?
It is very frustrating if you are unable to delete files from an external drive as you are trying to clean it. Well, on Mac it is basically the issue of permission. You simply have to change a few things and then you will be able to erase the files successfully. They are discussed below.
Part 2. How to Erase Files from Flash Drive on Mac
Well, the question how to delete files off a flash drive on Mac? On a Mac, users are capable of removing frills from a flash drive, multiple ways.
So, take a look at all the methods one at a time, in details.
1. Directly Delete Files from Flash Drive to Empty Trash on Mac
This is the easiest way to get rid of those files from your flash drive. Dragging the files into the trash is the most convenient way and almost all the macOS users prefers this method.
So, here's how to delete files from thumb drive on Mac,
Step 1: Simply, open your Mac and connect the flash drive.
Graphpad prism 6 crackeado. Step 2: Then, open it and drag the files and drop them into the ‘Trash' icon at the ‘Dock'.
You can also make a right-click on the selected files and choose ‘Move to Trash' from the drop menu. But dragging them to the trash is the most convenient for the users.
2. Erase Files from Flash Drive on Mac in Disk Utility
Now, we have Mac's Disk Utility which can be used to erase files from a flash drive, effectively. The steps are pretty simple. Here's how to delete files from USB flash drive on Mac,
Malware fox for mac. Step 1: So, connect the flash drive to the Mac. Then, run ‘Finder' from the Dock.
Step 2:Then, navigate to the ‘Applications' folder and click on ‘Applications' on the left side of the dock. Now, click on ‘Disk Utilities' under ‘Utilities'.
Step 3:In the Disk Utility, choose your flash drive from the left side of the panel. Then, click ‘Erase'. Then choose a format. The ‘OS X Extended (Journaled)' is the desired option. After that, click on the ‘Erase' button at bottom right corner of the panel.
After you click on the ‘Erase' button, all the files from the said USB drive will be erased completely.
3. Format The Flash Drive on A Mac
Just like there is an option to format the flash drives on the Windows platform, macOS is also equipped with a similar option. This procedure is pretty easy to execute. Here's how to erase files from flash drive on Mac,
Step 1: You have to execute this procedure via ‘Disk Utility. So, press ‘Command + Space' on the keyboard and launch ‘Spotlight'.
Step 2:Type ‘Disk Utility' on the dialog box and hit ‘Enter' to run the app.
Step 3:The connected USB drive will appear as ‘External'. Choose your flash drive by clicking on its name.
Step 4: Choose the drive and click ‘Erase'.
The flash drive will be erased completely and you will also be asked to provide a name for it.
Part 3: How to Recover Deleted Files from Flash Drive
Now, it is possible that you have deleted some important files accidentally while erasing files from the USB drive. If you have done that, don't worry.
Just stop using the drive immediately and use a professional data recovery software to recover those files successfully. Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Data Recovery is one of the best options to recover deleted files from flash drive Mac free.
After you click on the ‘Erase' button, all the files from the said USB drive will be erased completely.
3. Format The Flash Drive on A Mac
Just like there is an option to format the flash drives on the Windows platform, macOS is also equipped with a similar option. This procedure is pretty easy to execute. Here's how to erase files from flash drive on Mac,
Step 1: You have to execute this procedure via ‘Disk Utility. So, press ‘Command + Space' on the keyboard and launch ‘Spotlight'.
Step 2:Type ‘Disk Utility' on the dialog box and hit ‘Enter' to run the app.
Step 3:The connected USB drive will appear as ‘External'. Choose your flash drive by clicking on its name.
Step 4: Choose the drive and click ‘Erase'.
The flash drive will be erased completely and you will also be asked to provide a name for it.
Part 3: How to Recover Deleted Files from Flash Drive
Now, it is possible that you have deleted some important files accidentally while erasing files from the USB drive. If you have done that, don't worry.
Just stop using the drive immediately and use a professional data recovery software to recover those files successfully. Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Data Recovery is one of the best options to recover deleted files from flash drive Mac free.
UltData- Mac Data Recovery is effective with close to 100% recovery rate. Take a look at the steps below,
Step 1Step 1: You are required to download and install the program and choose the USB drive, then click ‘Scan' to proceed.
Step 2Step 2: The scan will take a few minutes. After the scan, all the recoverable files will be listed categorically and displayed on the screen.
Step 3Step 3: Now, choose the desired files from the preview and click ‘Recover' to restore those files, effectively.
Just be sure not to restore the files on the USB drive. How to install windows 10 on mac os high sierra. Save them on the Mac's hard drive; otherwise due to permanent data loss those files will be lost forever.
Conclusion
Therefore, Windows users will have difficulty to erase files from a USB drive that is effectively connected to the Mac. This is nothing more than a change to system. Mac operates is different way. But we have disclosed all the effective ways you can erase files on a Mac external drive, take a look. But for accidental deletion, you can make the recovery with Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Data Recovery which is a very effective program.
Most users use Disk Utility to erase a disk or hard drive. Mac os 10 5 update download. But some Mac users might need to erase them from the command line on Mac OS. To do that, the only thing you need is a bit of precise syntax to make sure that you are erasing the proper disk.
Mac Hard Drive Not Detected
Here I'll show you how you can erase and format a disk using the command line.
Working with TerminalStart off by running the following command in the command line: Diskutil list
This is going to list all the mounted drives on your Mac.
Once you have found the proper drive to erase, just copy its identifier so you can use it for the next command. Then pick a name and a system format type. This is the syntax we need: Diskutil eraseDisk FILESYSTEM DISKNAME DISKIDENTIFIER
Let's say the disk I want to erase has '/dev/disk5s2' as its identifier and I'm going to use Mac OS Extended Journaled (JHFS+) as the system format type and name it 'Empty'. The syntax is going to look like this: Diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ Empty /dev/disk5s2
It's important to keep in mind that if you run the eraseDisk command, the target disk is going to lose all its data, so make sure you are erasing the proper disk.
If you need different system format types, here are a few references you could use instead of JHFS+:
Mac Won't Read External Hard Drive
- Mac OS Extended: HFS+
- MS-DOS fat32: FAT32
- ExFAT: ExFAT
