Trying to Reformat USB to NTFS

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Level 1

8 points

Trying to Reformat USB to NTFS

I need to perform an Offline Install on a Xbox One, but I've only Apple computers. I'm told, as the subject says, I need to reformat the USB first. (Running 11.1 on a 2015 MacBook Pro, if it matters.)

To be clear upfront, I've not done this before and find it confusing.

In trying to follow the steps here https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/erase-and-reformat-a-storage-device-dskutl14079/mac, I'm stuck at

5.Click the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map.

But in Disk Utility, once I've erased the USB, I see no Scheme anything nor GUID Partition Map. The word partition is even grayed out. This is basically only the first step of my larger goal. I'm hoping it's a simple answer from a more savvy user.

Posted on Feb 12, 2021 2:43 PM

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Answer 1

vibe4film Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 12, 2021 5:33 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

Hey, Bob. So today is a day we both learned something.

I decided to listen to Reddit and Paragon. Including the person who said

“I needed to perform an offline system update for Xbox One S but I only have Macs. Installed the Paragon NTFS for Mac using 10 day trial. That allowed me to format a USB drive as NTFS with full read-write access and then write the system update files to the USB drive. Offline Xbox update worked like a charm via USB stick”

And Bob, the Paragon reformatted the USB drive to NTFS in less than 30 seconds. It turned out to be the easiest part of the instructions that I followed, but you'll be thrilled to know that my Xbox One is up and running again.

The Internet and Experts, eh, Bob? At least you didn't take the name of an AI intelligence test. How pompous is that guy?

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Answer 2

vibe4film Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 12, 2021 3:13 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

"What else can we say?"

Apparently:

"A workaround would be to install Windows on your Mac then boot into Windows to format the drive NTFS."

That sort of thing. Offering another solution. Thank you.

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Answer 3

Feb 12, 2021 3:10 PM in response to vibe4film

What else can we say? Macs can not format a drive NTFS.

A workaround would be to install Windows on your Mac then boot into Windows to format the drive NTFS.

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Answer 4

vibe4film Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 12, 2021 3:26 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

(Should anyone else come along, I'm now reading elsewhere that software, such as Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Paragon Software, might help. I'll give that a shot.)

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

278,079 points

Feb 12, 2021 2:52 PM in response to vibe4film

macOS can read from NTFS formatted drives, but not write to or format them.

tt2

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Answer 6

Feb 12, 2021 3:02 PM in response to vibe4film

Where are you reading those instructions? Macs can not format or write NTFS.

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Answer 7

Feb 12, 2021 5:49 PM in response to vibe4film

Glad you got it working. If indeed Paragon formatted the drive NTFS I did learn something.

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Answer 8

vibe4film Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 12, 2021 2:55 PM in response to turingtest2

So you're saying that this instruction is inaccurate?

"You can use Disk Utility to format the USB drive to NTFS by selecting the format for Windows NT option

then to enable NTFS write mode do this

Then download the Offline Update and copy it over."

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Answer 9

vibe4film Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 12, 2021 3:07 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

Okay, that repeats the thing that was said above, but doesn't help.

It's the internet and nearly everyone claims to be equally expert. I'm here, not claiming to be an expert, trying to sort out the answers I've been given. Clearly, what I'm trying isn't working that's why I'm here.

Hopefully, someone can advance this beyond "Macs cannot format or write NTFS" so I can accomplish what I came here trying to accomplish. I would appreciate it.

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