Format Flash Drive Mac Catalina

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Format USB flash drive/external hard drive and permanently wipe data on macOS Catalina Step 1: Download DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac. Download and install this disk formatting tool for macOS Catalina. Step 2: Format and wipe the USB flash drive/external hard drive on macOS Catalina. An external drive that you can use as an installer for macOS Catalina is a handy thing to have. If you have multple Macs to upgrade, it’s a lot more efficient to plug in the USB installer drive. Click “Disk Utility” to open it, and click on the name of the flash drive in the sidebar. Click on the “Erase” tab at the top of the window. Select the format for your flash drive. In the drop-down list next to “Format”, select the format that you want to use for the flash drive. You can also set a name for your drive.

These instructions apply only to Mac computers with an Intel processor.
Erasing your Mac permanently deletes all of its files, so make sure that you make a backup of any files that you want to keep. If you're attempting to restore your Mac to factory settings, first learn what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac.

Start up from macOS Recovery

Format Flash Drive Mac Catalina Patcher

Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys until you see an Apple logo or other image: Command (⌘) and R. You may then be asked to select a user you know the password for. Select the user, then click Next and enter their administrator password.

Use Disk Utility to erase your disk

  1. From the utilities window in macOS Recovery, select Disk Utility and click Continue.
  2. Select Macintosh HD in the sidebar of Disk Utility. Don't see Macintosh HD?
  3. Click the Erase button in the toolbar, then enter the requested details:
    • Name: Continue to use Macintosh HD as the name, or enter a different name.
    • Format: Continue to use APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as recommended by Disk Utility.
  4. Click Erase Volume Group. If you don't see this button, click Erase instead.
  5. If Find My is turned on for this Mac, you may be asked to enter your Apple ID to authorize the erase. Forgot your Apple ID?
  6. After the erase is done, select any other internal volumes that may be listed in the sidebar, then click the delete volume (–) button in the toolbar to delete each volume.
    You don't need to delete the Macintosh HD volume you just erased, or any external volumes or disk images.
  7. Quit Disk Utility to return to the utilities window.
  8. If you want to start up again from the disk you erased, you should now reinstall macOS on that disk.

If you don’t see Macintosh HD in Disk Utility

Your built-in startup disk should be the first item listed in the Disk Utility sidebar. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name. If you don't see it there, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down, then unplug all nonessential devices from your Mac and try again.

If your disk still doesn't appear in Disk Utility, or Disk Utility reports that the erase process failed, your Mac might need service. If you need help, please contact Apple Support.

Format Flash Drive Mac Catalina Mac

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For more information about using Disk Utility, see the Disk Utility User Guide.