Can t erase usb drive mac. You'll need lots of free space for either OS to run smoothly, so consider getting an external if the built-in one is over half-full. Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended Jan 26, 2023 · This isn’t a problem however, as you can easily format a USB drive to be fully Mac compatible. It erases everything on your Mac - including your files, apps, user data, settings, and macOS itself. Jan 20, 2026 · If this feature isn't available or doesn't work: To both erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings, follow the steps in what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in, or recycle your Mac, but disregard the instructions for using Erase All Content and Settings. How to Format a Drive on a Mac If you want to use a different file system on your USB drive, you’ll need to “format” it. : (-69877)' in Disk Utility when erasing Mac hard drive or external hard drive, USB, SD card, etc. Restore via Recovery Mode If your iPad is stuck in a restart loop and you can't access the settings, you'll need to use recovery mode. Follow these troubleshooting steps if your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC doesn't show a connected drive. If you want to erase your startup disk, you’ll need to either boot in Recovery mode or boot from an external USB disk or USB stick. Jan 13, 2026 · It is frustrating when you find that you can't delete files off a flash USB drive on Mac. Click on the Erase tab in the Disk Utility toolbar. Step 1. Mar 18, 2009 · Brian has it right in reply 2 above. Axel F. Can Disk Utility erase an external drive? Yes, Disk Utility is the preferred way to erase and reformat an external drive on a Mac. Jan 29, 2020 · Here are three easy ways to fix when the Erase button is grayed out in Disk Utility, stopping you from erasing or reformatting your drives. You can also learn how to (permanently) delete files or erase data on the external hard drive. RE-partition if necessary (you don't need to do this step) 4. 6 days ago · The time it takes to wipe your Mac clean depends on the size of your hard drive, the speed of your internet connection (if reinstalling via Internet Recovery), and the overall performance of your Mac. Aug 14, 2022 · The easiest way to erase any storage drive on Mac is by using Disk Utility feature. Blank hard drive - Find a USB external hard drive that holds at least 100 gigabytes if you don't want to partition your Windows hard drive. From there, you should see your memory stick appear in a sidebar on the left. Deleted Mac USB files are still recoverable. May 25, 2022 · A full tutorial on using Darik's Boot And Nuke (DBAN) to permanently erase all the files from a hard drive. In this article, we will walk you through the steps to erase and format a USB drive on your Mac. To format a drive on a Mac, you'll need the built-in Disk Utility application. Learn how to permanently erase files from any USB drive on Mac — works on all macOS versions including Sonoma. Whether you want to erase your USB drive to free up space, remove personal information, or prepare it for use on another device, formatting is the way to go. Sep 18, 2025 · Turn off write protection on a pen drive using the switch, Diskpart, Regedit, & moreThis wikiHow guide teaches you how to remove write protection from a USB drive using Windows 10 or 11. Jan 28, 2019 · Safely Erase files and folders from USB Drive Another way we use PowerSuite to erase the selected files or folders, it use the US DOD 35 pass standard to overwrite before deleting. The Premier Mac Data Recovery Software Recover deleted, lost, or damaged data, personal or business documents, music, photos, videos, and other files from internal, external and virtual hard drives, memory cards, iPhones, iPads, Android devices, RAID arrays, and other data sources. Sanitize all data on HDD, SSD, NVMe & USB drives. Oct 8, 2023 · This will wipe the SSD and reformat it. In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to GUID. We can instead do a “Secure Erase” to force the drive to be erased in a way that will make it hard to recover. 2 days ago · Learn how to wipe a laptop before recycling or reset a laptop before selling. Use Disk Utility to format USB flash drive; 2. . Whether you’re selling a drive, preparing it for a new operating system, or just want to start fresh, knowing how to use Rufus to clear a USB is an invaluable skill. ERASE the entire drive using Disk Utility to Mac OS extended, journaling enabled GUID partition format 3. You can find a summary account of all these temporary files in the “C” drive by going to “System -> Storage” in Windows 11 or “System -> Storage -> Local Storage” in Windows 10. It will explain why you can't erase the USB drive or other drive and give you multiple workarounds to fix this problem. APFS or APFS Encrypted disks are the preferred format for a Time Machine backup disk. Jul 30, 2017 · I don't have a USB boot drive. If Disk Utility can’t repair your disk, back up as much of your information as possible, then follow the instructions in Erase and reinstall macOS. " By default, your Mac will note securely wipe the drive. Why can't I partition my SD card/USB drive/hard drive on Mac? May 19, 2016 · How to Format a Drive on a Mac If you want to use a different file system on your USB drive, you'll need to "format" it. Jan 15, 2026 · Bonus: Once the download is complete, use the built-in "Create boot disk" feature to prepare your installation drive automatically. Jan 6, 2026 · External hard drives back up your most important files, but what happens when they malfunction? Here's what to do if your device is not detected by Windows or macOS. Jan 29, 2020 · You can’t reformat a drive in macOS Disk Utility when the Erase button is grayed out. May 6, 2024 · Clear out your USB flash drive in a snap with our easy-to-follow guide. Discover how easy hard drive recovery can be with help from the tech experts at Geek Squad. BACK UP any data on the drive to somewhere else 2. This makes it one of the easiest ways to prepare a macOS installer for upgrading, reinstalling, or repairing a Mac system. Jan 15, 2025 · In this article, we’ll explore the possible reasons why you can’t format a USB drive on your Mac and provide step-by-step solutions to help you resolve the issue. To change this, click the "Security Options" button, drag the slider at least one notch to the right to that the tool 3 days ago · Summary: Disk Utility won't let you erase hard drives? This post includes all possible solutions to fix the "Erase process has failed" error, and the Erase button grayed out in Mac Disk Utility. 14 hours ago · Need to erase partition on USB stick? Follow our guide for Windows with fast, safe & beginner-friendly methods using Disk Management, Diskpart, and partition tools. Select the APFS volume you want to delete in the sidebar. Jan 27, 2026 · If you can't erase the USB flash drive on Mac, the reasons could be physical damage on the drive, permission issues, an unmounted drive, file system corruption system errors, OS glitches, virus attacks, etc. The Erase function in Disk Utility allows you to quickly wipe, reformat, and repartition your external drive. Disk Drill excels in data recovery for Mac. 14 hours ago · Master Recuva recycle bin recovery with our 2026 guide. See whether that resolves the issue. To remove these temporary files, go one level deeper and erase what you don’t need. Sep 27, 2025 · USB drives should automatically appear in File Explorer when you connect them to your computer. Jul 29, 2021 · 5 I have a 32Gb USB flash drive, and I flashed it with a bootable image. Erasing a storage device deletes everything on it. Sep 13, 2022 · Steps to Resolve the Erase Process has Failed Message on macOS for USB Flash Drives and Memory Cards Common Causes / Issues Erase process has failed happens when trying to format. Jul 16, 2024 · If you’re looking to get rid of all the data on a Mac hard drive or SSD, you need to wipe it fully. Looks like I need the Sierra . Oct 9, 2008 · Cannot erase a usb flash drive in finder or disk utility I have tried multiple usb flash drives have not had this problem before. This requires a computer with Finder (on a Mac with macOS Catalina or later) or iTunes (on a PC or older Mac). Find data recovery services at a Best Buy near you. Delete an APFS volume When you delete a volume, all the data on the volume is permanently erased, and the volume is removed from the container. Select Format > uncheck Quick Format > click Start. Jan 5, 2026 · This guide will address a common issue faced by Mac users: can't delete files from USB Mac. Learn how to properly delete files from your SD Card or USB flash drive on Mac. I had previously had a windows 7 partition done with boot camp. Unlike Disk Management’s graphical interface, Diskpart can wipe every partition on the drive regardless of type or file system. Mar 8, 2024 · Here are three disk wiper tools can help you wipe USB drive, pen drive, thumb drive, flash drive on Mac. The process to erase and format a a USB drive is the same regardless of whether the drive is a USB hard drive, USB flash drive, SSD, key, thumbdrive, or otherwise, and it’s also the same regardless of whether or not the drive is USB-C or USB-A. But sometimes, Mac Disk Utility can’t erase the hard drive due to various reasons. Then, you can use your USB or external drive again. What you should do is repair the USB hard drive: Jun 12, 2024 · The error appears because your Mac can’t access the disk you’re trying to erase or reformat. Unplugging the USB flash drive without using Safely Remove Hardware. Very often a wireless keyboard cannot respond quickly enough to put the computer into recovery. Powerful digital protection, always by your side. Also read: How to Create macOS Bootable USB Installers from DMG Method 2: Official App Store Links (Latest Versions) For users with a modern, compatible Mac, Apple provides these direct links to the Mac App Store. This wikiHow article teaches you how to clean all the data off a USB flash drive on Windows and Mac. Hard drive is 7 months old. Protect your data with our easy, secure guide for any device. Nov 27, 2025 · Summary: This article offers solutions to fix "Erase process has failed" on Mac's internal and external drives, including Macintosh HD, external hard drive, SSD, USB flash drive, and SD card. To open Disk USB drive works on PC but not Mac? Formatting is often the issue. To format a drive on a Mac, you’ll need the built-in Disk Utility application. If you connect a disk formatted for Windows, it can be reformatted (permanently removing all data) to a Mac format and used as a backup disk. Unfortunately Disk Utility cannot erase the device. The system turns off while in use. I used DiskUtil for erase and get a OSX disk in HFS+ but after i try to do it, I could not mount the disk and I could not format again. A panel should drop down. Jan 19, 2026 · By using UltraDMG, you can download the macOS Catalina DMG file, create a bootable USB on Windows or Mac, and install macOS without using Terminal or manual scripts. Conclusion Trouble erasing an external drive on your Mac? Mar 31, 2022 · Why won’t Disk Utility erase my disk? There are a few reasons why the erase process may have failed on your Mac. (You can also right-click the external drive in the list and select "Erase. Oct 25, 2024 · To completely wipe usb drive windows 10, please insert the USB drive, open File Explorer, and right-click the drive. If the computer fails to boot into recovery while using a wireless keyboard, you should try again with a wired USB keyboard. Aug 2, 2017 · How to fix a USB that won't reformat or delete files I have tried to use disk utility, drag and drop files in the trash, reformat (currently on (MS DOS32), but my SanDisk USB won't accept files (some were loaded on before the issue occured) and won't delete any. Jun 24, 2020 · Otherwise, you can format a USB drive for Time Machine by opening Disk Utility, selecting the drive you want to format, clicking Erase, and choosing the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. 14 hours ago · What does it mean? Don't worry. Click on it, then click on the "erase" tab and follow the instructions. Unfortunately, erasing or reformatting the drive doesn't fix it. Can’t Erase or Reformat a Drive in macOS Disk Utility? 3 Easy Ways to Fix While macOS provides an intuitive interface through Disk Utility for managing storage devices, users occasionally encounter issues when trying to erase or reformat a drive. Mar 3, 2026 · If you don't make any mistake and there are no issues with your system, then you will not encounter the Mac Disk Utility erase process has failed issue. The disk in question could be an external hard drive, a USB stick, or an SD card. Diagnosing Why Your USB Drive Is Not Showing Up If you connected a USB drive and Windows doesn't show up in the file manager, you should first check the Disk Management window. To return to the Recovery app, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility. If a USB drive is write-protected, you can't edit, 1 day ago · Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3. It works every single time, as long as the drive isn’t physically damaged. Malwarebytes official site: all-in-one cybersecurity software for all your devices. The disk you’re trying to erase is the disk you booted from. We will provide step-by-step instructions and tips to help you overcome this problem. Jul 10, 2020 · If you have a new USB flash drive or an older one that isn't formatted correctly, you can reformat the flash drive for Mac. Disk wipe will delete everything from the USB drive, so, before you start to wipe your USB drive, make a backup of the important data. 3 days ago · Summary: Disk Utility won't let you erase hard drives? This post includes all possible solutions to fix the "Erase process has failed" error, and the Erase button grayed out in Mac Disk Utility. If Disk Utility isn’t open, click in the Dock, type Disk Utility in the Search field, then click . Learn to restore deleted files, fix common issues, and compare top recovery tools. Dec 20, 2024 · A USB drive is a portable storage device that allows you to easily transfer and store data. By securely erasing, you overwrite the data to make it unrecoverable. In Disk Utility on Mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your Mac. Mar 30, 2017 · Here's a complete guide on how to erase any drive (including USB flash) and make its data absolutely unrecoverable using macOS. Aug 20, 2025 · Why Mac disk utility can’t erase external hard drive? Learn the reasons, manual solutions, and how to fix the issue effectively. A couple warnings up front. RESTORE the data to the drive from your backup 3 days ago · Can't delete files from external hard drive on Mac? Here're why and 10 ways to fix it. However, it is not a big issue, and you can try 9 workable solutions to troubleshoot it. It can help you securely wipe a USB flash drive on your Mac and permanently erase all data from the USB flash drive, making data recovery be impossible. Jan 27, 2026 · On Windows, you can use third-party software, like Secure Eraser, to securely erase a USB flash drive. Secure Erasing Now the erase was just a quick format meaning the data is likely easy to recover. Oct 25, 2017 · Disk Utility cannot erase USB Drive I'm trying to reformat a USB thumbdrive that I'd previously been using as a Linux boot device. I dont know if its related but my girlfriend plugged an external flash drive with a backup system that copied some of my files includimg some of my windows one. Unfortunately, you can’t do that. Use Donemax Data Eraser for Mac to format USB flash drive on Mac. Delete sensitive information with peace of mind. 3 days ago · Here, we will elaborate on the common "grayed out" issues regarding partition-related buttons in Disk Utility, such as the Partition button, the ( +/- ) button showing after clicking Partition, or the grayed out ( - ) delete button. To fix this issue, you can try to run Disk Utility's First Aid, erase the drive via Terminal, change permissions on Mac, and so forth. From what I've read, I need to completely nuke the partition table. Dec 4, 2024 · A USB flash drive is a commonly used portable data storage device, nowadays. When you normally delete files from a USB drive, the data is not actually erased from the disk – only the file reference is removed. There can be different reasons for formatting a hard drive or an external device on Mac. This can be caused by: macOS does not support the file system. RESTORE the data to the drive from your backup Oct 5, 2023 · You can use Disk Utility to erase the contents of a USB drive. But in some cases, the problem that you can’t delete files from a USB flash drive happens. Jul 15, 2025 · 8 tips to help you fix can’t delete files from USB or external hard drive on Mac are offered in this post. 0 cable The available storage capacity may vary. To help you out of this dilemma, MiniTool Solutions gives this tutorial. Secure Erase is a built-in tool for permanently wiping the data you don't want — all in a matter of seconds — without losing what you need or compromising the drive's performance. Jan 18, 2017 · I can't remove a partition on my mac and cant reinstall osx I had el capitain instaled on my mac. Dec 31, 2024 · You MUST be booted from recovery or from an external drive in order to erase the internal startup drive. If you need data on the drive you want to format, use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to preview your files for free and recover them. Learn some safe and effective methods for wiping data. Essentially, the erase process has failed on your Mac. We provide antivirus, anti-malware, VPN and scam detection for PCs, Macs and mobile devises. Mar 16, 2026 · USB drives are incredibly useful, but they can also accumulate unwanted data, become infected with malware, or simply need to be repurposed. So, that process modified the partition table, and the drive now reports a size of 1Gb. If you're having trouble erasing a USB drive on a Mac, try using the Disk Utility app to format it. Jul 6, 2025 · Did you figure out a solution to the problem of can't erase the USB drive on a Mac? With an overview of the reasons, followed by the solutions for fixing the issue with your USB drive on your Mac, this article has been a complete guide to resolving this error. Get step-by-step instructions on how to wipe it clean! Sep 20, 2021 · On a Mac, open the "Disk Utility" application, select the external drive in the list on the left, and click the "Erase" button in the toolbar. 's ID and size) from the side list. Jan 27, 2026 · However, Disk Utility won't let you erase hard drive and returns the "couldn't modify partition map" error, then the USB drive should be corrupted. If your MacBook’s Disk Utility won’t let you erase drives, follow the steps below to fix it. In most cases, you can delete and manage files on the USB drive without hassles. May 19, 2016 · How to Format a Drive on a Mac If you want to use a different file system on your USB drive, you'll need to "format" it. If that doesn't work, you can try using a third-party tool like Disk Drill or Qiling to recover any important files and then reformat the drive. Fishrrman's "guaranteed!" way to repartition a drive (or remove existing partitions): 1. Go to the Disk Utility app on your Mac. This might happen for a variety of reasons, all of which keep you from erasing or reformatting the drives connected to your Mac. Jun 11, 2021 · Restart your MacBook Pro in Safe Mode and then format the USB drive. Dec 17, 2024 · Find why you can't delete files from external storage device such as USB drive or SD card and fix this issue with built-in tools or third-party software. Learn why it happens and how to format a USB flash drive for Windows and macOS. Jan 26, 2023 · Learn how to use the built-in Disk Utility tool or a desktop shortcut to safely format and erase an external drive connected to your Mac. Aug 29, 2022 · Now we have our drive named “Success” and formatted as ExFAT. When I insert the drive, I get a warning that it's not readable: So I click "Initialize" which launches Disk Utility. Apr 18, 2013 · Try this: With the stick plugged in, go to Finder->Applications->Utilities->Disk Utility. Important: If you have any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device before erasing a device. This is a step-by-step DBAN walkthrough. First of all plug in the external drive or USB drive that you want to erase to your computer. Nov 29, 2019 · I had a external USB HD NSFT formatted. dmg file to create one (I do have a PC I can use), but I don't have that file unless it is buried in on the Mac hard drive -- in which case I may be able to restore it from my cloud backup. Feb 19, 2026 · USB drive - Find a flash drive that can hold at least 32GB. Mar 14, 2024 · Permanently Erase Data Stored on External Drives Just follow the steps shared below to completely wipe out external USB hard drives, SSD drives, and flash drives on a Mac. This post will help you out of the tricky issue. This involves deleting the files and then emptying the trash. Here's how to format a flash drive on Mac. 5 I found that this worked (on macOS 10. 13+): sudo diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ 'My disk name' diskX Where X is a number. Oct 16, 2025 · Here are two methods to help you format USB flash drive on Mac: 1. No cost-per-erase! Example of Erase Certificate Data Sheet (PDF) Powerful and portable software that allows you to destroy all data on Hard Disks, Solid State Disks (SSD) & USB disks and Memory Cards, excluding any possibility of deleted files and folders data recovery. Unlike Disk Utility or Terminal, Recovery Assistant doesn't offer a choice of what to erase. 11) for a USB drive to erase and format it as HFS+ with journaling (normal format on older macOS - you would normally use APFS on macOS 10. Mar 3, 2025 · Before we start: Donemax Data Eraser for Mac is one of the best disk wipe software for macOS. 1 day ago · Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3. Launch Disk Utility, select your USB drive from the sidebar, click “Erase” in the top menu bar, choose a format like “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and click “Erase” to confirm. List of solutions for "A writable disk is required 69772" on Mac: 3 days ago · Solutions to fix 'Error: -69877: Couldn't open device' in Terminal or 'Couldn't open device. Oct 3, 2023 · Securely erasing a USB drive is important on a Mac for several reasons: To protect your privacy and ensure sensitive data cannot be recovered. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfgr. Nov 3, 2021 · For example, if you try to erase or partition your boot disk in Disk Utility, you won’t be able to because macOS won’t unmount the disk. Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. Jun 20, 2018 · Drive Partition and Format - El Capitan or Later Open Disk Utility in the Utilities' folder. 14 hours ago · After the erase is complete, you can set up the iPad as new to test it, or restore from your backup. Time Machine can’t back up to iPhone, iPad, or iPod or to a disk formatted for Windows. eewjv tmcy lmpba xpm inbqn qun uenniyhxf nvqdq ianpua qvyu