
However, it suffers from a defect: The file system of exFAT is easier to be corrupted. Then what file system is compatible with those two different platforms? In fact, there're 2 different file systems you can choose from: exFAT and FAT32.Īs for exFAT, it supports partition capacity larger than 2TB and a single file over 4GB. To make any portable hard drive such as Seagate, Western Digital, etc to work with both Mac and Windows computer, we need to format it to a proper file system.

Which file system is compatible with Mac and Windows? So, to make a portable hard drive work well on both Mac and PC, we need to find out proper file systems that are compatible with those 2 platforms and format your hard drive into any of these file systems. Windows uses NTFS and FAT32 while Mac uses HFS and they’re incompatible with each other. However, it’s not just a case of formatting if you want to use your hard drive on both Mac and PC when these 2 platforms use different file systems. And only after formatted, your computer can work normally. Without this step, your computer will have no idea where to write or read.

Usually, when we use a new hard drive for the first time, no matter it's portable or non-portable, it can not be directly put into use for it has to be initialized and formatted first, like giving it fresh new birth.

SSD vs.How to format portable hard drive for Mac and PC?.How to clone a hard drive as a backup for your Windows computer.What is Google Drive? A guide to navigating Google's file storage service and collaboration tools.What is an SSD? Everything you should know about solid state drives.What is a hard drive? Everything you should know about the computer storage device.You'll see the MacOS Utilities window choose "Disk Utility." Now you can choose to erase your startup drive, and choose "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" as the operating system. To get around that problem, hold down the Command + R keys when you turn on your Mac and let go when the logo appears.

If you want to format your Mac's system drive, you can't do that when the Mac is running normally because the drive is in use by the operating system. Usually, you'll want ExFAT, which is the default for the MacOS. Select the drive you want to format and then choose “Erase.”Ĥ. At the top of the window, click "Erase."ĥ. In the pop-up window, choose the file system you want to use.
