Format usb hard drive for both mac and windows

#Format usb hard drive for both mac and windows how to

Your PCвЂ™s primary boot drive (C:) hosting Windows and other programs appears as Disk 1. Step 1: Right-click on the Start button and select Disk Management on the Power User menu.

The process is less straightforward in Windows than what you see on a Mac, but itвЂ™s now easier than ever. But letвЂ™s go through the important steps you need to know to quickly partition the drive while working on Windows.

#Format usb hard drive for both mac and windows how to

We have a full guide on how to complete the process from Windows 10 here. We have guides for Windows and MacOS in case you need a helping hand. Make sure you back up anything important before beginning the formatting process. ItвЂ™s not the ideal solution - we get it - but it works nonetheless.Д«efore digging in, select a primary format youвЂ™ll use the most: MacOS Extended if you primarily use Mac with a secondary exFAT partition, or NTFS if you mainly use Windows 10 with a secondary exFAT partition.ДЇinally, formatting deletes all data stored on the drive. With all that in mind, our guide splits the external drive in half: One primary section capable of storing files larger than 4GB, and a secondary section capable of sharing files between MacOS and Windows 10. If you want to save larger files, youвЂ™ll need to create a second, dedicated space using a format optimized for MacOS (Extended) or Windows 10 (NTFS). That puts you in a peculiar pickle, limiting any shared file between the two platforms at 4GB or smaller.

Meanwhile, the NTFS system used by Windows 10 supports large files, but this format canвЂ™t be read natively by MacOS. However, this format doesnвЂ™t support larger files, which can be problematic for transferring 4K videos and so on between Macs and Windows 10 PCs. ItвЂ™s a simpler, universal method if every file you store is less than 4GB in size. Leo Watson/Digital Trends ItвЂ™s a split, niche scenarioДЄ quick Google search may lead you to believe youвЂ™re on the right path by formatting the entire drive with Extensible File Allocation Table, or exFAT.