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