Procedures in Formatting Mac PC with FAT Partition

Asked By Madison Madison 20 points N/A Posted on - 12/13/2012

Hi techyv,

All about how to format Mac partition in fat? I have to reformat my Mac Os computer desktop, but how to make a partition in fat here in Mac Os? Can you give me an accurate procedure to get this done correctly and properly? I don’t want to compromise the safety of the computer as well as the Os.

Hoping for your help and kind consideration.

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Answered By oliverpowell 50 points N/A #179320

Procedures in Formatting Mac PC with FAT Partition

If you ever want to divide a drive into two partitions, one formatted as Mac OS Extended (HFS+) and the other as FAT32, and to be able to access the FAT32 partition from Mac OS X and Windows, just make sure you set the FAT32 partition as the first one on the drive when you partition it with Disk Utility. 

To be able to use it under Windows, you also have to make sure the partitioning scheme is set to Master Boot Record (MBR). 

If you set the HFS+ partition as the first one, Windows won't be able to see the FAT32 partition and will tell you that the disk has to be formatted. 

I tested this with a USB flash drive under Windows 7 Pro and under XP Pro, and both only recognized the FAT32 volume when it was the first one. 

I did not test this with a hard drive, with a different bus than USB, or under Windows Vista, but I assume these cases follow the same behavior. 

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• Posted on - 01/14/2013
• Question Category: OS/2 Apps