September 23, 2026

The mac mini -- how to use a flash stick

I have a 128G flash stick and plug it into a USB port. Nothing seems to happen.

I open "finder" and on the left under "Locations" I see "NO NAME". The mount command shows it mounted under /Volumes/NO NAME with type msdos.

I am advised to format this as exFAT to exchange files between macOS and windows. To do this I use the Mac disk utility app. I go to Apps - Utilities, disk utility.

I see NO NAME at the bottom left and select it. I use the Erase button along the top and select exFAT when I do the erase. This both erases and reformats this drive. I can also rename it, and I call it Elmer.


Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!