How to format EFI and delete partition usb drive from mac terminal
Formatting a USB drive to the FAT32 file system on a Mac is a common requirement for users who need compatibility across different operating systems. FAT32 is compatible with Mac OS X/macOS, Windows, Linux, and DOS systems. There are two methods you can use to format a USB drive to FAT32 on your Mac: using Disk Utility or Terminal command line.
Method 1: Format USB to FAT32 with Disk Utility
Before formatting, ensure you have backed up any important data on the USB drive, as the process will erase all existing data.
- Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.
- Go to "Applications > Utilities" and open "Disk Utility".
- In the sidebar, select your USB flash drive.
- Click on the "Erase" tab.
- Optionally, rename the USB flash drive.
- Choose "MS-DOS (FAT)" for the Format and "Master Boot Record" for the Scheme.
- Click "Erase" to begin the formatting process.
Wait for the process to complete, and you'll have a formatted USB flash drive with the FAT32 file system.
Method 2: Format USB to FAT32 with Terminal Command Line
Make sure to back up any important data on the USB drive before proceeding.
- Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.
- Press "cmd + space" to open Spotlight, type "terminal," and press Enter.
- In the Terminal window, type "diskutil list" to identify the disk number of your USB drive.
- Type the following command, replacing "/dev/disk2" with the appropriate disk number for your USB drive:
- Press Enter to execute the command.
bashsudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 MBRFormat /dev/disk2
Wait for the process to complete. You can use the command "diskutil list" again to verify if the formatting was successful.
Bonus Tip: Recovering Data from a Formatted USB
If you accidentally lost data during the formatting process, you can use data recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover the lost files.
- Connect your USB drive to your Mac.
- Download and launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.
- Select the USB drive and click "Search for lost files" to start the scanning process.
- After the scan completes, you can preview the recovered files.
- Select the files you want to recover and click the "Recover" button.
Remember not to save the recovered files back to the USB drive to avoid overwriting data.
Formatting a USB drive to FAT32 on a Mac is a straightforward process. Both Disk Utility and Terminal command line can be used for this purpose. Just ensure you have a backup of your USB drive before formatting. In case of data loss, you can rely on data recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to recover your files.
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil list internal
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 511.9 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +511.9 GB disk1
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume MacSSD - Data 15.1 GB disk1s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 270.8 MB disk1s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.1 GB disk1s3
4: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk1s4
5: APFS Volume MacSSD 15.4 GB disk1s5
6: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 15.4 GB disk1s5s1
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 511.9 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +511.9 GB disk1
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume MacSSD - Data 15.1 GB disk1s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 270.8 MB disk1s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.1 GB disk1s3
4: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk1s4
5: APFS Volume MacSSD 15.4 GB disk1s5
6: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 15.4 GB disk1s5s1
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *31.0 GB disk2
1: EFI 209.7 MB disk2s1
2: Microsoft Basic Data NEW VOLUME 30.8 GB disk2s2
@Mac-mini ~ % sudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 MBRFormat /dev/disk2
Password:
MBRFormat does not appear to be a valid volume name for its file system
- sudo provides you user right.
- Diskutil provides disk utility program.
- eraseDisk provides commands to format.
- FAT32 provides sets the file system.
- MBRFormat provides disk utility to format with a Master Boot Record.
- /dev/disk2 location of the pen drive.
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil eraseVolume "Free Space" ExEFI disk2s1
Started erase on disk2s1
Unmounting disk
Finished erase on disk2
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 511.9 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +511.9 GB disk1
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume MacSSD - Data 15.2 GB disk1s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 270.8 MB disk1s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.1 GB disk1s3
4: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk1s4
5: APFS Volume MacSSD 15.4 GB disk1s5
6: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 15.4 GB disk1s5s1
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *31.0 GB disk2
1: Microsoft Basic Data NEW VOLUME 30.8 GB disk2s2
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil eraseVolume "Free Space" ExEFI disk2s2
Started erase on disk2s2 (NEW VOLUME)
Unmounting disk
Finished erase on disk2
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 511.9 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +511.9 GB disk1
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume MacSSD - Data 15.2 GB disk1s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 270.8 MB disk1s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.1 GB disk1s3
4: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk1s4
5: APFS Volume MacSSD 15.4 GB disk1s5
6: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 15.4 GB disk1s5s1
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *31.0 GB disk2
@Mac-mini ~ % sudo diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 /dev/disk2
Password:
Usage: diskutil eraseDisk format name [APM[Format]|MBR[Format]|GPT[Format]]
MountPoint|DiskIdentifier|DeviceNode
(Re)-partition a whole disk (create a new partition map). This completely
erases any existing data on the given whole disk; all volumes on this disk
will be destroyed. Format is the specific file system name you want to erase it
as (HFS+, etc.). Name is the (new) volume name (subject to file system naming
restrictions), or can be specified as %noformat% to skip initialization
(newfs). You cannot erase the boot disk.
Ownership of the affected disk is required.
Example: diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ UntitledUFS disk3
@Mac-mini ~ % diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *512.1 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 511.9 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +511.9 GB disk1
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume MacSSD - Data 15.2 GB disk1s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 270.8 MB disk1s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.1 GB disk1s3
4: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk1s4
5: APFS Volume MacSSD 15.4 GB disk1s5
6: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 15.4 GB disk1s5s1
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: FDisk_partition_scheme *31.0 GB disk2
1: DOS_FAT_32 UNTITLED 31.0 GB disk2s1
@Mac-mini ~ %
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