format new external hard drive for both mac and pc

So if you get an error that says “the file is too large for the destination file system,” then it’s probably because the file you’re trying to move or copy to a FAT32 drive is over 4GB. One of the top disadvantages of FAT32 is that it can only accommodate files that are up to 4GB in size. However, it’s not very compatible with new technologies. One of the oldest file systems today, FAT32 works with all versions of Mac and Windows operating systems. So, when it comes to HFS+ vs APFS, it all depends on how new your Mac is. However, you need third-party apps to do that, and, at the moment, none of them are free.

It’s also possible to read and write APFS drives in Windows.

On top of all that, APFS is also compatible with older operating systems that are still using traditional HDD (hard disk drives). So, NTFS vs HFS+ all depends on what computer you are using. Unlike NTFS, which is partially compatible with Mac computers, HFS+ is not compatible with Windows computers at all. In short, file and folder names in this file system are case-sensitive and will require a password and encryption. This format has all three features of the file systems above. Mac OS Extended – Case-sensitive, Journaled, & Encrypted.This HFS+ has an extra feature that helps your drive avoid file system corruption during unfortunate circumstances. This means it jumbles up the data, so no one else can steal it from you without also having a key to un-jumble it. This HFS+ format asks for a password, and it encrypts your partitions. So if you have files or folders with the same name but use different capitalization, then you’ll need to get two different file paths. This format has a feature that treats file and folder names as case sensitive.

Also known as macOS Extended, HFS+ actually has four file format subcategories. In 2017, however, it was replaced by APFS (Apple File System). It was first released with macOS 8.1 in 1998, where it replaced HFS as the default file system for Macs. Hierarchical File System Plus (HFS+) was developed by Apple for Mac OS X. It can work with Linux operating systems.You can store files as large as its partition size.It can have partitions as large as 16 million TB.However, you can’t write or delete files from a Mac.Īside from all that, NTFS has several cool features, including: And unlike HFS+, it can actually work on Mac computers too. Understandably, it is the default file system for Windows PCs. But contrary to its name, it’s a rather old file system that was developed by Microsoft decades ago and launched in 1993. NTFS is short for New Technology File System.

Format new external hard drive for both mac and pc