To format the hard drive in a Mac laptop or a Mac desktop computer, you use software called Disk Utility. This software ships with all Mac computers, so it’s ready to use for the formatting process.

While the Mac can use a hard drive formatted for Windows, some features may be limited. So it's a good idea to format a new hard drive specifically for macOS.

To format the hard drive in a Mac laptop or a Mac desktop computer, you use software called Disk Utility. This software ships with all Mac computers, so it’s ready to use for the formatting process.

To format the hard drive in a Mac laptop or a Mac desktop computer, you use software called Disk Utility. This software ships with all Mac computers, so it’s ready to use for the formatting process.

To format the hard drive in a Mac laptop or a Mac desktop computer, you use software called Disk Utility. This software ships with all Mac computers, so it’s ready to use for the formatting process.

This CNET TV video gives you step-by-step instructions on how to set up your external hard drive so it can be used on a Windows machine and on your Mac.

If you have to use a flash drive on both Macs and Windows PCs, make sure both systems can read it. Here's how to format the drive correctly.

If you need a USB drive that's widely compatible with different devices, you may want to format it to FAT32. Here's how to do so on Mac and PC.

If you are having trouble getting a USB flash drive or external hard drive to mount on your Mac, here are several things you can try to fix the issue.