Format hard drive for mac and windows exfat vs ntfs

If you wish to format external hard drive in exfat follow the steps below. I am ganesh gandhi, an independent advisor, 18 years experienced windows guide. Apr 23, 2012 format the new drive on the win 7 machine, right click on its icon and format. Having no idea about how to convert exfat to ntfsfat fat32 on an external hard drive or a usb flash drive. Apple mac machines support a different file system. You will learn the easiest way to format drive on mac and windows as exfat. The good news is that formatting usb on mac is also as easy as on windows 10. Fat32, ntfs and exfat are the types of disk file system. Yes, connecting an external hard drive or usb flash key to a mac will generally read and work fine as is because the mac can easily read other filesystem formats, including windows msdos, fat, fat32, exfat, and ntfs formats, but unless you intend on using the drive between a windows and mac machine, formatting it to be entirely mac compatible. Feb 08, 2018 how to format hard drive for mac and windows and do partition for time machine backup. I was thinking if i should format my drive to fat32 or ntfs or exfat. Ntfs new technology file system is a modern file system used by microsoft windows and was introduced with the windows nt operating system in 1993. The fat32 file system is compatible with windows, mac and the linux operating systems.

Taking into account the file size and volume size limitations, fat32 also remains an option for external drives that need to be. So, if you want to use an external hard drive on both windows and mac, you need to format it to a filesystem that is compatible with windows pc and mac. Just right click on the disk drive in windows file explorer and choose format, then you will get the options. It is also compatible with gaming consoles as well as with any device with a usb port.

What file system do you guys use for formatting hard drives. Feb 25, 2019 ntfs vs fat32 vs exfat which one is best. You can use it as removable storage as long as you know all the devices that will need to interact with it support the format, but otherwise, its probably best to go with fat32 or exfat. When you format a partition or drive in windows 10, there are three types of file system you wont be unfamiliar, ntfs, fat32 and exfat. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Heres the free way to make your usb drive faster pcworld.

Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. I just got a new western digital mybook freestanding hard drive. It is very easy to format a storage device to any of the three file systems on a windows computer. After many years of using ntfs formatted disks except mac internal hd. Jun 07, 2017 fat32 vs ntfs vs exfat which one to use if youve ever seen the properties or formatted a hard drive, you would have come across a screen that asks your preference of file system. After our windows encryption showdown, reader jerod passed along this tip to make sure your encrypted volumes, especially external hard drives, in. Overwrite exfat format of 8tb external drive with ntfs. The format dialog in windows doesnt explain the difference, so we will. Ntfs, a modern file system, is used in system drive by default due to its advanced features what benefit system running. This article will illustrate to the differences between the three, analyzing their pros and cons, compatibility and usage in an allrounded way. The format dialog box in windows does not explain the.

Its name stands for new technology file system clever, no. While it may sound like a weightloss product from a latenight infomercial, exfat is a hard drive format that feels like the child of ntfs and fat32. The default values are used by windows when one of the following methods is used to format the partition. It offers several features that are neither found in fat32 or exfat, such as a change journal for recovery after errors or crashes, security using file permissions, encryption support, and more. How to solve exfat drive not recognized in windows 10. While if youre using the usb drive as a windows computer backup drive, to store highdefinition videos, movies, pictures and any other large files, at the same time, asking for a high security, choose ntfs. In fact, some manufacturers sell mac drives preformatted with this maconly file system.

What file system do you guys use for formatting hard. Jan 02, 2018 i just purchased a wd mybook external hard drive which is formatted in exfat. Its not possible to convert hdd from ntfs to exfat without formatting. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and. Format drives in the nearly universal fat32exfat and let windows users live with reduced performance when copying large numbers of small. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. But hey, if you got your mac and pc within the past two decades, then its safe to say that fat32 vs exfat has a clear winner. Format encrypted drives as exfat to make them play nice on. Erase or format your macs drives using disk utility. Aug 26, 2019 if you formatted your drive in exfat with apples hfs plus, the exfat drive cannot be read by windows in default even though the exfat file system is compatible with both mac and windows. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows.

Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, ntfs and which. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. After many years of using ntfs formatted disks except mac internal hd and my backup external hard. If so, should i use windows 10 disk management or the wd quick formatter. Oct 16, 2019 if you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Though you mustve selected the recommended option, you mustve wondered what the file systems mean and what are the differences between them. Creating windows 10 bootable usb on mac is a common task for people who have multiple computers at home. My book external hard drive western digital wd it is formated in exfat. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format. A lot of linux distributions dont support it natively but can with some software, and nonpc devices are even less likely to play nice with an ntfs drive. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself.

Which format is faster in a data transfer for a 1tb. Windows supports ntfs, fat fat12fat16fat32, live file system, refs, and exfat file systems. I now see that windows 10 says it cannot store a system image on the drive because it is not ntfs. In the file system dropdown, choose exfat instead of ntfs. At this window, you are allowed to specify partition label, file system as well as cluster size. You have to format the drive to exfat or fat32 if the burning process failed due to the wrong partition scheme. I believe ntfs is typically faster for readwrites to the disk. Dec 26, 2019 windows supports ntfs, fat fat12fat16fat32, live file system, refs, and exfat file systems. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Ntfs vs exfat for a nonsystem ssd windows 10 forums. When we format a hard drive internal or external whether it is a usb drive or an sd card, we can usually choose different file systems. It makes sense that reading the files in both format is relatively the same speed, but that ntfs is slightly slower when writing due to this overhead. Let us looks at some of the most notable differences between exfat vs ntfs vs fat32.

Whether youre formatting an internal drive, external drive, usb flash drive, or sd card, windows gives you the choice of using three different file systems. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. A file system uses a set of rules to control how data is stored and retrieved on a storage device. Right click on start and select command prompt admin. Apr 23, 2020 fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems users commonly use for windows system. Find out how to format an external drive or usb disk making the drive work with both windows pc and mac can read and write.

Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac. One is for windows, one is for mac, and one crosses the two but with its own limitations. From what i understand, windows doesnt always like the way macs do the formatting on some larger drives, though, so give it a try and if your windows machines dont like it, just format the drive with windows. When youre reformatting a hard drive, windows will ask you what format to use. Format external driveusb exfat in windows 10 in simple steps. The nt file system is the default one that your hard drive is formatted with when you install windows. Ntfs vs exfat for internal drive storage devices linus. Make sure the allocation unit size is set to default and type in a volume label. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. How to convert raw format hard drive to ntfs format. Tuxera leads the way in storage and networking technologies which allow data sharing across any device or operating system. Jun 24, 2016 the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs posted by herberthenrykrakue on june 24, 2016 june 24, 2016 whether youre formatting an internal drive, external drive, usb flash drive, or sd card, windows will give you the choice of ntfs, fat32, and exfat. I do know reformating will erase all the current files off of the drive, is there any way that i can save the files that came.

If the maximum file size is less than 2 gib and the file syste. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. The difference between ft32, ntfs, and exfat is the storage size that the file. Windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. You format an internal hard drive, external drive, usb pen drive or sd card, windows will give you the choice of fat32, ntfs, and exfat. Fat32 is most compatible file system format that can be readandwrite in many. Mar 06, 2020 differences between exfat vs ntfs vs fat32. A drive can be formatted with exfat using either a windows or a mac computer. Any storage media with a file system other than the supported ones are not accessible and recognized as raw format drive in windows see screenshot. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility.

Windows uses ntfs file system as its system drive and most nonremovable drives. But i have an osx device that i would at times like to transfer files to and from the raid drive while on the osx device. Also, a hard drive without any file system or damaged file system is also detected as a raw drive by. Aug 29, 2016 why your usb drives file format matters. While the new is originally referring to the year 1993, it has since been improved and updated over the years. Fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems users commonly use for windows system. If you have no need to share the disk with a mac, then id. Fat had been the standard format for floppy disks and hard drives all through the dos years, and versions of windows up to and including windows 8. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. If youre worried about the exfat file systems reliability factor, or a lack thereof, there is a way to format the secondary windows partition. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. It edits its journal before it starts to transfer files and when the journal contains all the changes it starts to transfer files and edit the fat file allocation table, table that keeps record of the physical location of every block on your hard drive. If you own a windows computer, the hard drive in your system is probably running the ntfs format, which stands for new technology file system.

Now your usb flash drive is formatted with ntfs format. Using the format command from the command line without specifying a cluster size. Fat32 is an older file system thats largely relegated to usb flash drives and other external drives. Format external hdd for mac and windows exfat partition. Difference between usb drive file systems ntfs vs fat32 vs. Difference between usb drive file systems ntfs vs fat32. Whether youre formatting an internal drive, external drive, usb flash drive, or sd card, windows will give you the choice of ntfs, fat32, and exfat. Hence, today in this article we will detail each of them and explain which. You can format the drive s file system to fat32, ntfs, exfat, ext2, ext3, satisfying all your needs. Wondering what the best format for your new external hard drive is. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by using the exfat filesystem. From what i understand, windows doesnt always like the way macs do the formatting on some larger drives, though, so give it a try and if your windows machines dont like it. With tuxera ntfs for mac, you can use apples disk utility or tuxera disk manager to.

From then on, that drive should work fantastically between mac. Fat32 and ntfs are the most common formats, but whats the difference. Nov 22, 2014 the drive hardware is going to perform the reading and writing of the data, but the ntfs file system has the added overhead of journaling any transaction that alters data. Rightclick the drive you want to format and select format partition. Unlike my previous one, this one came formatted as exfat rather than ntfs. Is this something that is not too difficult for a non tech person to do. Well, if you are both mac and windows pc and one external hard disk drive for storage and backups then you. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Your existing drives will show file systems of ntfs or. Sep 12, 2019 when you format a partition or drive in windows 10, there are three types of file system you wont be unfamiliar, ntfs, fat32 and exfat. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. This is a detailed tutorial on how to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, and windows xp. Also, a hard drive without any file system or damaged file system is also detected as a raw drive by the.

Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs. Does the exfat format use journaling or just its fat table. Open up windows explorer and rightclick on your drive in the sidebar. My understanding is that exfat was designed specifically for usb drives, but that windows ntfs offers greater reliability. Fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems created by microsoft which used to store data on storage devices. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. How to format usb to fat32ntfsexfat on windows and mac. Once made your own decision as above guided, its time to format your usb drive a desired file system. Select your drive from the list and rightclick on it. Apr 17, 2018 a hard disk partition also known as a volume can be formatted to ntfs, fat, or exfat. The drive hardware is going to perform the reading and writing of the data, but the ntfs file system has the added overhead of journaling any transaction that alters data. But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive.

Can make system image on exfat drive microsoft community. Dec 21, 2018 fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems created by microsoft which used to store data on storage devices. With tuxera ntfs for mac, you can use apples disk utility or tuxera disk manager to format ntfs drives. I would like to have here a good discussion for using exfat vs ntfs on mac. Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. Aug 14, 2017 my understanding is that exfat was designed specifically for usb drives, but that windows ntfs offers greater reliability. Mar 15, 20 would you use exfat on your flash drive. We improve data handling, and storage lifetime and reliability in connected cars, smartphones, routers, and much more. How do i convert an ntfs external hdd to exfat without. Ntfs will never outperform fat in troughput, since security and journaling are overhead. For external hard drives or ssds, ntfs is the best choice for anybody who is entirely or primarily windowsbased, while exfat is probably the best choice that anybody who regularly shares files between a pc and a mac. A window will pop up where you can choose the format ntfs, fat32, or exfat. Whats the difference between fat32 vs ntfs vs exfat usb.

But since its new, its not compatible with older operating systems. Windows with the advent of windows nt, microsoft moved their optimized drive format to something called ntfs new technology file system. Dec 29, 2015 how to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. By widely used i mean supported by different operating systems. We live in a windows world, so crossplatform compatibility for our usb flash disks and hard disk, is essential.