- #External hard drive format for mac and windows how to#
- #External hard drive format for mac and windows mac os x#
- #External hard drive format for mac and windows Pc#
- #External hard drive format for mac and windows plus#
- #External hard drive format for mac and windows free#
As long as we format the external hard drive to one of these 2 file systems, it can be shared between Mac and Windows.īoth FAT32 and exFAT have advantages and disadvantages.įAT32: FAT32 works with all versions of Windows, Mac OS, Linux, game consoles, etc. Similarly, Windows OS will ask us to format the HFS+ formatted drive when we connecting such a disk, let along edit files saved on HFS+ formatted hard disks unless we resort to third party programs.īut luckily, there are file systems well supported by both Mac and Windows PC, and they are FAT32 (it might be called MS-DOS on Mac) and exFAT.
#External hard drive format for mac and windows mac os x#
However, when we connect a NTFS formatted disk to Mac, Mac OS X doesn't allow us to write files to the drive neither edit files, though it can read a NTFS drive.
#External hard drive format for mac and windows Pc#
To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between Mac and PC, you need to format an external hard drive for Mac and PC.Ĭurrently, hard drives for Windows PC are always formatted with NTFS, while hard disks for Mac are formatted with HFS+. Why Need to Format External Hard Drive for Mac and PC Actually, most external hard disks could be compatible with Mac and PC as long as you format them correctly. Well, is there an external hard drive that could be shared between Mac and Windows PC? Of course, there is.
#External hard drive format for mac and windows how to#
How to Quickly Format External Hard Drive for Mac and PC without Losing DataĪs we know, external hard drives are widely used to backup data or interchange files among different computers.Apple’s Experimental NTFS-Writing Support: Don’t Do This, Seriously.
#External hard drive format for mac and windows free#
#External hard drive format for mac and windows plus#
Mac OS X uses the HFS Plus file system, while Windows uses the NTFS file system. First and foremost, you need to decide which file system to use.
Regardless of why you want to format your hard drive, there are some considerations to be made before you begin. Of course, you may also just want to quickly delete the content of an entire hard drive. Data fragmentation remains an issue even in the era of mobile devices, and in some cases formatting is the fastest way how to solve it. Optimization is another good reason for hard drive formatting. When you purchase a brand-new hard drive, there’s no guarantee that it will be pre-formatted from the factory, nor is there any guarantee that it will come with the right file system. Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. Both Mac OS X and Windows allow users to format their hard drives using built-in utilities.