How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC?

How to format an external drive in OS X

1. Select the drive you want to format.
2. Enter the amount of space you want to set aside for Time Machine.
3. Select the new untitled partition so we can format it as exFAT for use with both Mac and Windows.
4. Give the partition a name and select exFAT for the format.

Is FAT32 MS DOS on Mac?

The first format, FAT32, is fully compatible with Mac OS X, though with some drawbacks that we’ll discuss later. If the drive’s format comes up as MS-DOS (FAT) or, less likely, ExFAT, you may be able to simply leave the drive as-is and not bother reformatting it.

Can Mac read exFAT external hard drive?

The Mac operating system requires that you use a disk formatted using a compatible file system. You can use the built-in Disk Utility to format your drives to ensure compatibility. Your Mac can read the HFS+, NTFS, Fat32, exFAT and ext2 file systems.

Can Macs read NTFS?

Apple’s macOS can read from Windows-formatted NTFS drives, but can’t write to them out of the box. Here are a few solutions for getting full read/write access to NTFS drives. This could be useful if you want to write to a Boot Camp partition on your Mac, as Windows system partitions must use the NTFS file system.

What’s the best file system for an external drive?

Choosing the Right Format for Your External Hard Drive NTFS. If you own a Windows computer, the hard drive in your system is probably running the NTFS format, which stands for New Technology File System. HFS+. As mentioned before, Macs can only read NTFS-formatted hard drives by default. APFS. FAT32. exFAT. Reformat.

How do you format a hard drive on a Mac?

Formatting/Reformatting a hard drive for a Mac. 1. Open Disk Utility by clicking Finder -> Applications -> Utilities and finally click Disk Utility. 2. Choose the hard drive that you want to format or reformat.

What is the best portable hard drive for Mac?

– 1 Seagate Backup Plus. Seagate backup plus is an ideal mac external hard drive that is highly recommended by most websites. – 2 Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive for mac. Western Digital My Passport is another best external hard drive for mac. – 3 Toshiba Canvio Slim II. Another portable external hard drive for your Mac is Toshiba Canvio Slim II. It is compatible with Mac OS x. – 4 G-Technology G-Drive Slim. Company: G- Technology. Just as the name suggests, this external hard drive for mac is slimmer than the other mentioned hard dive. – 5 Transcend StoreJet. If you are looking for a Mac external hard drive, that lets backup files within a click, then look no more. – Top 5 Best Free Hard Drive Data Recovery Software in 2020. If playback doesn’t begin shortly, try restarting your device.

How do you backup a hard drive on a Mac?

Plug in your external hard drive to your Mac. When you see the Time Machine prompt, click Use as Backup Disk. Your backup will begin automatically. Alternately, you can click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose Back Up Now.