APFS, MacOS Extended, exFAT or FAT?
Do you need to format a disk for Mac and Windows? You can format an external disk that you can use with both a Microsoft Windows–based computer and a Mac. Just note that Formatting a disk erases all the files on it. Save any files you need to another volume before doing that.
Format External Drive Using Disk Utility
If you need to format a disk you don’t need to download any additional software on your Mac we will use Disk Utility which is already installed on your mac,
So let’s open up the Disk Utility app. The easiest way to find it is to press command spacebar and search on spotlight.
If the disk is connected it will appear in the left sidebar as external drive.
So select the disk you want to format to use with Windows computers. Click the Erase button on the top and the Erase dialogue will pop up and here comes the important part.
First enter a name for the volume. The maximum length for the volume name is 11 characters.
Choose Correct Format
And then you have to choose a correct format. When you open the selection you will have many options here, also you will see different options depending on the drive you connected. It offers me more options on the external drive than the flash disk.
For the compatibility of both Mac and Windows you have to choose between these last options which is FAT or exFAT. Both are compatible and easy guide which one to choose it the disk size. The only time when I would choose the old FAT format is for an old small flash disk or a memory card smaller that 32 GB. But if you are looking for a good compatibility between Mac and Windows stick with exFAT. It’s better for all external storages. And works well will larger flash disks and memory cards as well.
So after all it’s not complicated at all to format a disk one the Mac to be compatible with both Mac and Windows, but as you noticed there are many other formats.
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What are the Other Formats for?
If you want to know more about these other formats and which one you choose for your specific Mac computer, which one will work better on older systems and what are these subcategories about you can read all about it here:
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