When you work for a storage solutions company you get a lot of questions from people about hard drive formats — especially about which formats are compatible across the most common operating system platforms, Windows and Mac. I get this question about once a year from my father-in-law.
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So I thought I’d present a short primer on the formats hard drives use with and between these two primary operating systems.
Mac — Since Mac OS 8.1, the Mac has been using a format called HFS+ — also known as Mac OS Extended format. This format was optimized to minimize the amount of drive storage space used for a single file (the previous version used sectors loosely, leading to rapidly lost drive space). This is the required format for a bootable Mac hard drive. This driver provides write access for Seagate external drives in Mac OS without having to reformat. Paragon Driver for macOS (10.10 and above). Seagate Dashboard - Paragon Driver for Windows Seagate - NTFS Paragon Driver for Mac to the Dashboard 4. Windows NTFS driver for Mac + Mac HFS+ driver for Windows. 3-in-1 Mac Bundle. NTFS for Mac, CampTune, and HFS+ for Windows. Products for Windows Hard Disk Manager Suite. Disk Manager and Backup for Windows. Hard Disk Manager Pro. Disk Manager and Backup for Windows and Virtual Machines. Drive Copy 15 Professional. This driver provides write access for Seagate external drives in Mac OS without having to reformat. Be sure the drive is connected to the computer before starting the installation. Double-click the NTFSforMac.dmg file you downloaded. Mac OS 10.10 and above.
NTFS, HFS+, FAT -- These are the primary formats that are in use today by PC users. One is for Windows, one is for Mac, and one crosses the two (but with its own limitations).
Windows — With the advent of Windows NT, Microsoft moved their optimized drive format to something called NTFS (New Technology File System). This is the format that is used with all current versions of Windows. If you have a Windows PC (NT on, including Windows 7), then your system drive is most likely formatted in the NTFS format.
Mac — Since Mac OS 8.1, the Mac has been using a format called HFS+ — also known as Mac OS Extended format. This format was optimized to minimize the amount of drive storage space used for a single file (the previous version used sectors loosely, leading to rapidly lost drive space). This is the required format for a bootable Mac hard drive. For a hard drive to be used with Time Machine (Mac OS X 10.5 and later), the drive must be formatted in HFS+ Journaled (Journaled adds an extra element to the standard HFS+ format).
Interoperability — Now for the confusing part: what drive formats work with what OSs. While Windows can read and write to NTFS formatted drives, it can neither write nor read to a drive that has been formatted HFS+. (I should note here that there are several third party software drivers on the market that will allow either OS to read and write the other’s formats — but not all functionality is supported, and they both reduce performance when going through such an application)
The Mac, on the other hand, can read an NTFS formatted drive — it just can’t write to it (again, unless you use a third party software driver).
There is yet a third drive format that CAN be used across these two operating systems without the need for special third party drivers. It is called FAT. FAT has several forms and variations, the most recent of which is FAT32. (For more information on FAT formats check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Allocation_Table)
Most forms of removable media (memory cards for digital cameras, flash drives, etc) use the FAT format, as the capacity of most of these devices is significantly smaller than hard drives, and the more robust formats of the two predominant operating systems is not required.
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The one simple benefit of the FAT format today is that it can be read from and written to by either of the operating systems discussed here. So on a Windows PC, you can read and write to a FAT formatted drive. And you can do the same on a Mac. This format gives you the ability to very easily move a drive between the two compute platforms.
There’s one significant limitation to this though — a FAT32 formatted drive cannot take a file larger than 4GB. The error message that gets reported if you try to copy a file larger than 4GB onto the drive is misleading — it says that there is not enough room for the file. That would lead you to believe that the drive is full. The drive can be completely empty and still not have room for the file — it simply cannot handle a file of that size.
For a bit more info on how to format a hard drive check out our knowledge center.
May 06,2020 • Filed to: Mac Recovery • Proven solutions
'Is it possible to format FAT32 and NTFS drives on Mac by myself?' A user asked us about this question.
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Certainly you can format the drives yourself by directly setting in the 'Application' on Mac. Many people think it is hard to format the windows drive on Macintosh. No worry, actually it is not impossible to realize it no matter you use an external or internal drive of your windows system. We here will show you the full guides on how to format FAT32 and NTFS drives on Mac as an example.
Part 1: Format FAT32 Drive on Mac
First, let us look on how to format FAT32 drive on Mac (macOS Sierra). You could be wondering what FAT32 is. It is a file system in Windows 95, 98, and windows Millennium Edition.
One major advantage about this file system is that nearly all the operating systems can read and write from it. On the contrary, it just accommodates files less than 4GB. So if you have a drive that you want to format ensure it is smaller size. Nevertheless, if you have a drive that is more than 4GB, you can download software known as Swissknife. After installing it, it will be much easier to format large files.
How to format FAT32 drive on Mac
Step 1. Now here is how to format your FAT32 external drive on Mac. Go finder window on you Mac then click on Applications the image right.
Step 2. From there, you need to open disk utility. Therefore, scroll down until you see a folder Utilities Double click on it.
Step 3. What you have to do is scroll down through the icons until you find an icon labelled Disk Utility again double click on it.
Step 4. When it opens at the centre, it will command you to select a disk, volume, image that you want to format.
Step 5. From there, you need to open disk utility. Therefore, scroll down until you see a folder Utilities Double click on it.
Step 6. Move the cursor to the top left and choose the disk you want to format. To achieve this you have to double click on your external drive and click the Erase icon, which is at the top of your Mac screen. After doing so, a command dialog box will be displayed that give you options of formatting your drive.
Step 7. Your problem is almost getting a solution if you still keeping track to these steps. Next, go to Format at the centre of the screen and select MS-DOS (Fat) file format system that allows compatibility with your windows drive.
Below that, you will see Name this allows you to change the name of your external drive if you wish to. From there, click Erase at the bottom of the screen. Immediately you will get a warning but go ahead and click, Erase.
When you here just relax and wait until the process is over before you remove the drive. When reformatting process is over your drive will beFAT32 and you can now use it.
Part 2: Format NTFS Drive on Mac
The second task is how to format NTFS drive on Mac. NTFS is built for windows operating system therefore it is not supported by Mac. For this case, it is advisable to install programs called NTFS 3G, which works in, handy with MacFuse. Both of these are first installed in the computer. It is easier and faster to install despite having using some cash to purchase these NTFS apps such as Tuxera or Paragon NTFS. When both are installed to the PC, they will enable the user to read and write on the drive that is after following these steps.
How to format NTFS drive on Mac
Step 1. Follow the similar procedure that is used in formatting the FAT32 above. Go to finder window in your Mac, and then click on Applications at the left hand side of your screen.
Step 2. Then double click on Utilities icon, which will appear at the screen along other applications you have installed in your computer.
Next, click on Disk Utility. As the NTFS 3G is free program most users have noted bugs despite of its success. Since you had inserted your external drive, hence it will pop up at the top right of your screen. Select that drive you want to format by first choosing the NTFS 3G format that will be displayed. You can also opt to rename your drive if you wish. Once again at the bottom of your screen to the right you will see Erase option. Click it. A warning will be displayed to you that require you simply click Erase .Be patient as the drive is formatted when it is done you are good to go. You can now read and copy paste items on your drive. Another alternative to Tuxera is Paragon NTFS. This program gives a user a room for modification and deletion of items on windows NTFS. As you have seen the NTFS formatted drives should not worry since you have a way out.
You may have encountered a case where you insert an external drive in your Mac and you cannot copy items on your Mac but you can read them. It is because your drive is using the NTFS windows system. Therefore, this leads to our third point of discussion on how to format any drive on your Mac. Disk utility is the vital application in Apple product. It makes the Mac world to be easy and interesting to use as it removes the obstacles between NTFS and HFS+. As usual, insert the drive let us say the hard disk or USB drive.
Step 3. In the finder window click Applications, go to Utilities, scroll down the screen and double click on Disk Utility. Click on the drive that you want to format. At the centre, you click on the icon Erase. A dialog box will be seen at the bottom of it with a round four commands. Select an option in which you want to format your drive. For instance, if you select an option MS DOS FAT, it will well suit with windows as well as Mac. On the other hand, if you choose MAC OS Extended (Journaled) your drive will only harmonize with Mac.
Anyway, that is not the case since everyone has his or her own preferences. Whichever option you want to choose you will still format your drive to suit your desires. From there, you click Erase and upon completion of that process, your drive will be formatted successfully.
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