Introduction
Using a FAT-formatted USB flash drive is required when setting up your ScreenCloud OS provisioning USB flash drive. FAT formatting is commonly used as it works on various operating systems like Windows and macOS, and a FAT-formatted USB flash drive can also be prepared on various operating systems.
There are various FAT formats as well, including FAT/FAT16 (max volume size 4GB, max file size 2GB), and FAT32 (max volume size 2TB, max file size 4GB). All of these FAT formats will work just fine, but in this guide, we’ll just explain how to create a FAT formatted USB flash drive with the most commonly used FAT formats for this use case - FAT32 when formatting your USB flash drive via Windows and MS-DOS (FAT) (which is the name for FAT32 in macOS’ Disk Utility tool) when formatting your USB flash drive via macOS.
Please note: exFAT is not compatible with ScreenCloud OS provisioning. Only FAT, FAT16, or FAT32 are compatible with ScreenCloud OS provisioning.
So let’s get started. Below are the step-by-step guides on how to FAT format your USB flash drive on Windows or macOS, where we are selecting FAT32 format for both examples.
1. FAT formatting your USB Flash Drive on Windows
The below instructions will guide you on how to reformat your USB flash drive to FAT format on Windows.
1.1. Plug your USB Flash Drive into your computer’s USB slot.
1.2. When your computer reads the flash drive, find it in your file browser, right-click on it, and then select Format.
1.3. A new window will be opened called Format USB Disk (X:), where you will also be able to see the current format setting of your USB Flash Drive. In the image below, the USB Flash Drive we are using is set as NTFS.
1.4. Under File System, please select FAT32 (Default), and then click Start.
1.5. Click OK when the warning window opens, granted any remaining files on the device are saved somewhere else or they are alright to be erased.
1.6. Wait for a few moments while the USB Flash Drive is reformatted.
1.7. You can double-check to see what format your flash drive is by right-clicking on it and selecting Properties.
1.8. Under File system: you will read FAT32.
2. FAT formatting your USB Flash Drive on macOS
The below instructions will guide you on how to reformat your USB flash drive to FAT format with a macOS computer.
2.1. Plug your USB Flash Drive into your computer’s USB slot or USB adapter.
2.2. Wait for your computer to recognize the flash drive, and make sure any files on the device are saved in another folder or are okay to be deleted.
2.3. Search in your Application’s folder for Disk Utility, and open the application.
2.4. Select your USB Flash Drive.
2.5. In Disk Utility, select Erase.
2.6. Select any of the FAT format options (for example MS-DOS (FAT)), give a name for your flash drive (optional), and then click Erase.
2.7. Wait until the process is complete, and then you’ll be able to click Done.
2.8. Your USB Flash Drive is now ready to be used.
