It’s no surprise that PCs and Macs do not work well with each other, due to differences between the two operating systems (Windows vs. MacOS).One main difference is the file system.
This is an utility to easily list USB devices in Mac OS X, just like the lsusb command in Linux. It leverages the data from the systemprofiler SPUSBDataType built-in command available in Mac. You can type lsusb -v to get the unmodified output of systemprofiler SPUSBDataType.
By default, Macs are with HFS+ (since 2017 there’s new Apple File System, optimized for flash storage), while PCs are with NTFS.If you have a USB drive, and you plan to use it on both a Mac and PC, things can get a bit tricky here. What do I mean?If your disk was initially formatted to NTFS on a PC (or HFS+ on a Mac), most likely you’ll suffer limitations, for example, the data on your drive can’t be read or written on one of your computers.Fortunately, there is a file system (actually two, I’ll explain) that you can format your flash drive to be fully compatible with Mac and PC. In other words, you can access the drive and transfer data without any hassles.That file system is — exFAT.
Note that there is another file system called FAT32 that pretty much does the same thing but with one major flaw. See the table below for more info. Table of Contents.Major File System ComparisonCompatible with macOS?Compatible with Windows?Max. File sizeMax.
Partition sizeHFS+YesNoNo limitNo limitNTFSPartiallyYesNo limitNo limitFAT32YesYes4GB8GBexFATYesYesNo limitNo limitAs you can see, exFAT is the only file system that works with all versions of Windows and macOS and does not have any max file-size or partition-size limits. Therefore, it’s perfect for a USB flash drive or external disk, especially when you need to save files more than 4GB in size.
You should go ahead and format your storage drive with exFAT instead of FAT32, assuming that all devices you want to use the drive support exFAT.You may notice that in NTFS is marked “Partially” under the Compatible with macOS column. This is because an NTFS-based drive can be read by macOS but you can’t write data to the drive.Now that you’ve learned exFAT is the ideal file system to go. How to know what current file system your flash drive is with, and how to format it to exFAT?Read on for step by step instructions How to Check a USB Drive’s File System?First of all, plug your flash drive into the USB port on your computer.
Make sure your device can be detected and recognized. I’m here to use a 32GB Lexar USB key as an example.If you are on a MacOnce the Lexar disk shows up on the desktop, right-click on the drive icon and select “Get Info.”Alternatively (in case the disk does not show up on your desktop), open Finder, on the sidebar menu locate your USB drive under Devices, right-click and select “Get Info.”In the new dialogue, pay attention to General Format, where it says “MS-DOS (FAT32)”. That means my Lexar disk is currently with the FAT32 file system.If you are on a Windows PCGo to This PC, under “Devices and drives,” highlight the disk that represents your USB flash drive, right-click and select Properties.In the new Properties window, check General File system and you’ll see what type of file system your flash drive is currently with. Note: since I’ve formatted my Lexar drive on my Mac, now it shows exFAT.How to Format USB Drive to ExFAT?Important: make sure you have at least one backup of all the data stored on the device before you proceed.
Because the process of reformatting a disk drive will very likely erase all content and make recovery impossible. Read for more information.Also, since I don’t know whether you are on a PC or Mac to perform this operation, I’m here to break down this guide into two parts. The first part is for Mac users, and the second part is for PC users (Windows 10 based). In no particular order. Part 1: Formatting USB Drive On MacPlease note: since OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Apple made a few changes to Disk Utility (see details from ).
The app now has a new user interface that looks slightly different on Yosemite or earlier OS X versions.Step 1: Open Disk Utility. The quickest way is to search on Spotlight and click the result under “TOP HIT.” Alternatively, you can access it via Finder Applications Utilities Disk Utility.Step 2: Under the External tab, highlight your flash drive.
Note: right below your device name, it also shows information about the drive e.g. Size, file system, etc. In my case, I can see it’s a 32GB volume in MS-DOS(FAT) file system.Step 3: Now click the Erase button at the top. In the new pop-up window, choose the format to be ExFAT. You may also change the device name if you want. Then hit the “Erase” button to continue. Kind reminder: make sure you have backed up the data before you do this.Step 4: Wait until the erasing process to complete.
It should be very quick (only a few seconds to format my 32GB Lexar drive).Step 5: This step is optional. I’m showing this to verify that the USB drive has been reformatted to the file system I wanted. I saved several files to the disk, and open Disk Utility again.
And yes it’s now with the exFAT file system.Part 2: Formatting USB on a Windows PCPlease note: I’m here to use a Windows 10 based HP laptop to format my Lexar drive. If you are on an earlier operating system like Windows 7, XP, etc. The screenshots may look slightly different. For example, in Windows XP “My Computer” is equivalent to “This PC’ on Windows 10.Step 1: Locate your USB stick under This PC, right-click on it and select the Format option.Step 2: A new window pops up prompting options you need to select before starting.
The only thing you have to check is under “File system,” make sure you have chosen “exFAT.” You may also rename the device drive under “Volume label.” Then click the “Start” button to continue.Step 3: You’ll see this warning. Once again, make sure you’ve backed up all important data stored in the drive. Click “OK.”Step 4: It says “Format Complete,” done!Pro tip: chances are that you may encounter some issues formatting a flash drive on a PC or the disk is malfunctioning. If so, the following articles may be of help to you:.Final WordsMost of the external hard disks and flash drives are formatted for Microsoft Windows operating systems. That makes using the drive a bit troublesome on Mac machines. FAT32 is popular but the 4GB file-size limit makes it inconvenient, for instance, when you want to make a bootable macOS Sierra USB drive which the system file takes about 8GB of storage space.Thankfully, exFAT — a strict upgrade over FAT32, is a file system optimized for USB flash drives. Like I said, if you want to use the device for both a PC and Mac, you should consider reformatting it to exFAT once you figure out the drive isn’t with another file system.I hope the above guide is helpful to you.
Once again, as a kind reminder: formatting a flash drive will likely erase all files and data stored in the device, it’s vital to ensure you have made at least one copy of the data before you get started. I’m no where near a techie; I have never formatted a flash drive before using it.
I am now using a PC but with the changes Microsoft Windows is making I am thinking of getting the iPad Pro. I never changed to Windows 10.
I still have an old version, van’ remember which one (it’s about 5 years since I bought the PC. So, the only thing I have been doing is downloading embroidery designs for my sewing/embroidery machine.I do have occasion when I look at the flash drives on my computer; are you saying I will not be able to see them on the IPadPro?. Explanation and really appreciate the detail and example pictures. Think you may have missed one explanation. Am doing a large presentation with lighting and audio. Program director wanted before, intermission and after performance music. I was given a mem.
Stick with the music but all of my “PCs” read “Not Formatted – Can Not Read”. The mem.stick was made on a Mac. And we need to use on a PC.1) Presume that there is no PC software to add that will allow the PC to read/play the music.2) Presume that the mem.stick author will have to supply a new mem.stick formatted for a PC or supply new mem.stick formatted on Mac.
With the exFAT?3) Presume that any data files could be read but wondering about music formats put on from a Mac and compatible with a PC? Ie PC using MP4 MAC using xxx.
To connect an external hard drive, wire keyboard, Logitech mouse receiver and laptop cooler usb power, I bought this.Pros,Design is very solid and simpleAdditional power source(adapter) provides putting more than 4 usb-based devices.Reduce power loads on my laptop.Led light indicates what ports are used as a data source or not (e.g., led light of the port for a laptop cooler is not turned on.)Data transfer speed is very close to the original speed when i put the USB to my macbook.ConsPower adapter is little big than what i thought. Excellent choice for USB Hub. Like the compact size, and there's on/off button next to each USB so one has the option to turn on only the USB slots one is using; plus each USB slot lights up when powered on so one can see at a glance if Hub slot is on.
Has a nice blue glow to each powered USB slot when powered on. If blue lighting is a problem for your situation then this unit is not for you as if light is out the USB will not have power. The electrical cord is good length and not a stingy shorty type. Has a double sided suction cup pad, in double rows that one can apply a bit of moisture to mini suction cups to anchor unit to your desk surface to maintain it's assigned spot. I have mine on it's side so the USB cords plugged.
The AH430 aluminum hub works very well with my 2012 iMac running OS X 10.9.3 Mavericks. When both USB 2 & USB 3 devices are plugged into the hub, it will appear in the System Information app as two hubs, one on a 'USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Bus' with the USB 3 items attached to it, & the other on a 'USB Hi-Speed Bus' with the USB 2 items attached to that.Blackmagic Disk Speed Test shows that it can deliver USB 3 speeds to USB 3 devices even when both USB 2 & 3 ones are plugged into it. I saw no difference in transfer speeds between plugging a fast USB 3 hard drive into the hub & directly into one of the iMac's ports.Since the hub does not have a separate power supply, it is limited to supplying a maximum total of 900 ma (0.9 amps) to all the devices. AUKEY USB Hub 4 Port, AluminiumI like surprises.
This USB hub was a surprise. I have had USB hubs in the past, and while they were all fine and worked just like they were supposed too, this one brought a little more to the game.The Construction:This is where this hub went above and beyond. It is a solid aluminum outer shell, offset with white plastic side panels and usb sockets.
The feel is tremendous. It feels solid, really solid. When a device feels this solid, even if it does not work any faster than any other devices, it still jumps up notches in your mind. I know that Amazon is full of this style of hub, by many manufacturers and if any are up to this quality, then you really have no fears in picking any like this. I can't attest to others quality, but this hub, is quality.
INSTALLATION: Upon arrival, I went ahead and installed this without reading the short instructions that came with it. After all, how hard can it be? Luck was with me, as I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right, and did. On a 27' 5K, it says to use ONLY slot 1 or 4 of the 4 available USB ports. (I don't know why.) Also, it has clear guidance for installing it- part way into a USB slot, then gently into the vent slots on the bottom of the display, and finally, seating the USB plug all the way.The instructions also state that, 'This device can only read one memory card at a time.' THE PRODUCT: The color and finish matches my 27' 5K Retina PERFECTLY. This thing looks like an Apple add-on when installed.
Because of the way it's mounted, it feels VERY solid while inserting thumb drives. This is great. I detest having to rotate my iMac 27' to reach the USB ports.
I also don't like having unwieldy usb hubs laying around. The Sorbent 4-port hub fits perfectly. Snapped on in a sec.
To install, I placed the front tabs in their position and then moved the USB plug to the desired position. It is made our of hard plastic. Feels a little cheap. But everything fits secure. I have used it a few times to make sure it works. Things seem fine. I do use external speakers for my iMac.
I did switch over to the internal speakers after installing the USB hub and can not tell any problems there. But again my norm are the external speakers (as well as air play). I've added a few photos so that. Great card reader and usb port reader! We wanted something up on the desk that would be easily accessible and this is perfect for that! We have it on the computer desk and plugged into the computer. Now whenever we need to plug something in we don’t need to look for a port.
We wanted a card reader so we didn’t need another adapter to plug in cards. I take pictures and it is a lot faster to have something to plug the card into than to plug in the camera and upload the pictures.
Simple and easy to use. Ordered from AMAZON with same day shipping option & received it a few hours later. So far it's working as expected. Needed a hub to clone a source flash drive to multiple USB sticks simultaneously and it's working flawless so far. Excellent time saver!I can confirm that this updated model does support USB 1.1 & 2.0 without a problem.
I briefly connected my WD 4TB external drives to it and they were detected without a problem. Also tested a TRENDnet TU3-S25 external 2.5 hard drive housing & it also worked flawless.Loaded up a 32 GB SANDISK USB 2.0 flash drive to maximum capacity & cloned it to 9 USB SANDISK 2.0 flash drives in about 2 hrs & 30 minutes on an IBM CORE2DUO 2.66 system with 4 GB ram running Windows 10. Of course if I were using 3.0 USB flash drives it would have been less than. I bought a staples brand 4 port USB hub prior to getting this one, and I must say that there is a HUGE difference in the quality of this one compared to what I was using!The staples brand kept slipping out of my port with little effort, which was very annoying. It also had flimsy wiring compared to this one. The HooToo stays in place and doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart when you touch it. I've been using it daily now for 2 months with no issues.
Buying a few of these for Christmas gifts since it worked out so well for me! I own a new MacBook, Which has two USB type c ports. In order to make the MacBook to work with legacy USB devices, I need a USB type c hub. I purchased a USB-C hub before this one.
The 1st has minor issue for connectivity. This is the 2nd USB-c hub I purchased. I was impressed by the versatile functions of this USB-C hub.
I After I tested couple days during Memorial Day season, I have to rate it more than 5 stars. In one setting, I plug USB mouse, printer and iPhone 6plus to 3 USB ports, one SD and one Micro SD card to SD card slots.
These plugged-in device all work as supposed to do. Reading large picture and video file from SD card is as fast as read from.
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January 2023
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