Another option, for those who use both Windows and Mac OS regularly, is to partition your hard drive and have a portion of the drive formatted for each OS. There are tools available to use NTFS on a Mac (Fuse) or HFS on PC (HFSExplorer). Windows will not detect this file system without a third party utility. Only use this option if the drive will only be used in Mac OS. Connect the external hard drive with your Mac, and the computer will mount your drive.

Mac OS Extended is the native solution for Mac users and has the max file size of any of them. Format the external drive with Disk Utility on Mac: 1.

It has a much larger max file size but is read-only on Mac OS X (unless you install a third party NTFS read/write utility). NTFS format is the file system Windows likes to use by default for internal drives running the operating system or used as a secondary storage drive.Older operating systems might require an update to properly read and write to a USB drive with an exFAT file system. It doesn’t have the 4GB file size limit and it’s compatible with most Windows and Mac operating systems. exFAT is the ideal file system for USB flash drives.It is the most compatible file system for older/modern computers (PC and Mac) plus gaming consoles and other devices with a USB port. Most USB flash drives will have a FAT32 file system out-of-box. FAT32 is a common option you’ll hear because it’s recognised by both Mac and Windows operating systems, but it offers no security and caps files at 4GB in size.

With exFAT, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Format External Hard Drive Using Disk Utility. There are two different methods to format an external hard drive on a Mac as follows.

Ensure that you have extracted the drive's files or created a backup before proceeding. How Do I Set the Best Format for External Hard Drive on Mac. The file systems most commonly used in USB flash drives are: The Best Format for External Hard Drives If you want to format your external hard drive to work with Mac and Windows computers, you should use exFAT. Best for external hard drives shared with Windows computers. When formatting your drive, it’s important to understand the different formatting options available for your ideal use.

Best format for mac external drive