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. but, if the file’s size exceeds 4gb or the volume exceeds 32gb, this file system is not supported. ms dos (fat) best for external hard drives shared with windows computers.
Mac os extended (hfs ) best for mechanical drives and drives used with macos 10.12 or earlier. 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.
How to format external hard drive for windows and mac | linux |android ms dos or exfat? hd ? thank you very much for watchin. After that, the newly formatted disk will open automatically.If you want to transfer files from a mac to windows pc and vice versa using an external portable hard drive then you have to have the external drive formatte. If a pop-up appears telling you to format the disk, click Format Disk. Check the Quick Format box, and click Next.
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. Windows will choose NTFS for you because that’s Microsoft’s native filing system.
This means you’re splitting the drive into two formats, one for Mac and one for PC. Now you have a hard drive formatted for Windows, but what if you wanted to use it with Mac computers also? One easy way to have a hard drive that works with Mac and Windows is by partitioning it. Click OK when the Format Complete pop-up screen appears.Depending on the size of the drive, and if there are files to be deleted in it, this can take a few to several minutes to finish. Check the Quick Format box, and click Start.Note: The exFAT file system only works on Mac 10.6.5 or later, and Windows XP SP3 or later. But if you want the external hard drive to also work on a Mac, you should choose exFAT. By default, Windows computers will choose NTFS (New Technology File System) for you because that’s the native Microsoft filing system. Right-click on the external hard drive and click Format.Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it. Note: If you already used your external hard drive on a PC, be sure to back up any files on it. You can also find it in the left sidebar of File Explorer. If your external hard drive is working, your computer will automatically detect it, and the drive will appear under Devices and Drives next to your internal drives in the This PC window. Connect your external hard drive to a Windows computer.So if your external hard drive already has important files on it, make sure to back them up before proceeding.
Note: Formatting your drive will erase all the existing files on it.
How to Format a Hard Drive for Windows 10 Here’s how to format an external hard drive for Windows 10 or partition it. You might want a drive that works with Macs and PCs, or maybe you want to partition it, which will split it up into two different formats. While most external hard drives are already designed to work for Windows computers, there are times when you need to reformat one.