Choose this format if the size of the disk is over 32 gb. After realizing the respective properties of fat32 and exfat, you should know which file system should be used for your seagate drive. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. 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. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc.
Use the file system dropdown menu, and select ntfs recommended. Just like windows, macos also gives us a seamless option to format hard drive for mac and pc. Apple mac machines support a different file system. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. This is a file system limitation that affects both macs and pcs, and the only workaround is to format the drive. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. However, you have to reformat the drive to make it functional with your mac computer. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. File system formats available in disk utility on mac apple. How to format usb to fat32ntfsexfat on windows and mac.
How to format hard drive to exfat in windows 7810 three. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. But if you want the external hard drive to also work on a mac, you should choose exfat, which is an upgraded version of fat32. I am considering formatting this drive as exfat so that both windows 7 and mac os can both read and write to this drive without the need to partition the drive. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Format external hard drive for mac and pc with exfat. The good news is that formatting usb on mac is also as easy as on windows 10. How to format a drive in exfat so it works on both windows and mac. A drive can be formatted with exfat using either a windows or a mac computer. Apfs vs mac os extended which mac disk format is best. If you need a crossplatform option, consider using exfat for your drive insteadboth windows and macos can read these drives without any additional software.
Im using disk utility to partition my external drive. 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. And youll detailed tutorial on how to format seagate drive for mac and windows computer in the following text. Buying an external hard drive is one of the best options for adding the storage space to the mac computer system. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. Now your usb flash drive is formatted with ntfs format. I want to transfer some files between my pc to my friends mac. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Feb 08, 2020 so, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac.
Creating windows 10 bootable usb on mac is a common task for people who have multiple computers at home. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and. Mac os lets me format this internal drive as exfat but windows 7 wont let me format it. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system.
For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. Formatting an external hard drive will remove all the data already present on it. 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. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Aug 22, 2019 just like windows, macos also gives us a seamless option to format hard drive for mac and pc.
How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. Jan 26, 20 the whole purpose of exfat was to allow easy transfer of large files between platforms in a format that didnt require third party drivers on either the mac or windows to read the drive. But to get a hard drive to be compatible with both mac and pc, you have to choose the exfat formatting options. Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs. But compared with formatting, an ntfs for mac driver like iboysoft ntfs for mac is a better and feasible solution. You can format the drive from either the mac or the windows machine. It can be fully supported by windows systems and readonly supported by mac os. When you have a new hard drive, or when youre reinstalling windows, the os may ask you to format the drive.
Fat32 has several limitations, including a 4 gb perfile limit. If so then format it to fat32 or exfat using a windows pc. How to format a drive in exfat so it works on both windows. Mar 12, 2018 but to get a hard drive to be compatible with both mac and pc, you have to choose the exfat formatting options. A hard disk drive will take longer to format than a flash drive. The whole purpose of exfat was to allow easy transfer of large files between platforms in a format that didnt require third party drivers on either the mac or windows to read the drive. Mar 15, 2018 rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs.
Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. You will probably find that the programs for unlocking the drive require it to be formatted to ntfs, so if you need to change the formatting of the drive you will almost certainly lose that functionality. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. In general, it is necessary to change a hard drive to exfat file system in windows 1087 under the cases listed below. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. So i needed a format which is both read and write on both the systems. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. Finally, when all preferences are set, click the erase button.
If you wish to format external hard drive in exfat follow the steps below. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. The format dialog in windows doesnt explain the difference, so we will. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. The operating system has an inbuilt tool, which is known as disk utility. The following tutorials will teach users how to format an external hard drive for both mac and pc to exfat on mac osx and windows 10. If you need a crossplatform option, consider using exfat for your drive insteadboth windows and macos. How to format an external hard drive for windows 10. Apple file system apfs apple file system apfs, the default file system for mac computers using macos 10. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Then, connect the seagate drive to your pc and make sure that it can be detected by windows. If youre worried about the exfat file systems reliability factor, or a lack thereof, there is a way to format the secondary windows partition to ntfs, but it requires connecting the hard.
It takes long 12 minutes, but does the job and is much more reliable than the mac terminal, which times out every other time. Yes, but you need to make sure you format the hard drive in exfat so it is both readwrite in windows pc and. Heres how to correctly format the drive to work on both. How to format new hard drive on windows 10 windows central. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. Select your thumb drive in the disk utility window then click the erase tab. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac. 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.
So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. The formatting process duration depends on size and type of the drive. In the file system dropdown, choose exfat instead of ntfs. Jul 16, 20 when you have a new hard drive, or when youre reinstalling windows, the os may ask you to format the drive. I have got a 1tb external hard drive and it has been formatted with ntfs file system. We dont recommend you to use any paid tool for this purpose, as there are betterintegrated features with windows 10 that can help you with the process of formatting your hard drive to exfat file system.
But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. This is a file system limitation that affects both mac s and pcs, and the only workaround is to format the drive. Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. While you have bought this drive, you will find the drive already formatted for your mac or windows system. Dec 22, 2019 how to format external hard drive mac. Another way to format drives is to go to windows explorer, rightclick on the drive to format and select format.
Fat32 is most compatible file system format that can be readandwrite in many. The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. 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. This means its the format of choice for system drives on windows computers. Follow these easy steps to format a hard dr ive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows.
Using it, you can erase a hard drive, create new partitions, and even repair your disk as well. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in a volume label if you. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. In the value label field, type a descriptive name for the drive. Under file system box, select exfat for this drive. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. The maximum length for the volume name is 11 characters. Open up windows explorer and rightclick on your drive in the sidebar. If given a choice, the two common modes are ntfs and fat32. To make sense of why ms would cut off the use of exfat for internal hard drives, it has to be understood that exfat still doesnt have a final specification. You have to format the drive to exfat or fat32 if the burning process failed due to the wrong partition scheme. Dec 29, 2015 the instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. Right click on start and select command prompt admin. Hey guys, whats the best format for my external hard drive so that mac os x and windows 7 via bootcamp can readwrite to it.
To sum up, it is easy to format an external hard drive for both mac and windows pc. Rightclick the new hard drive and select the format option. The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as. From what i understand, windows doesnt always like the way mac s 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. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Its the most secure, robust file system that a windows user could wish for. Jan 17, 2019 rightclick the new hard drive and select the format option. Windows will choose ntfs for you because thats microsofts native filing system. Rightclick on the drive you want to format, click on format. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. There are various methods to format your external hard drive to exfat on windows 10. Boot camp software for running windows on a mac and the microsoft office productivity suite. Ntfs has quite a lot of strong advantages, which may actually make it a good format choice for certain external hard drives, depending on the circumstances.
Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Please, backup any data you are interested in keeping which is already. Fat32 is another option, but it limits file transfer to 4gb, so choose exfat when. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. Macyourself blog archive how to format a drive for mac and pc. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. How to format your hard drive to exfat file system on windows. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. While you cant select an individual drive letter, this is still an easy way to format any drive into fat32, ntfs, or exfat. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. Apr 17, 2020 there are various methods to format your external hard drive to exfat on windows 10.