Choose this option if you don’t need an encrypted or case-sensitive format. Uses the Mac format (Journaled HFS Plus) to protect the integrity of the hierarchical file system. It is fast and efficient and this is the file system that you should use unless you have other specific needs. Let’s talk a little bit about each of these file systems and the others that you might consider and the benefits of each.ĭefault and modern file system used by Windows and this is the preferred file system that should be used.Īpple File System is what is what your Mac will use by default. MacOS uses the Apple File System (APFS), while Windows uses the NTFS file system. Let’s take a deeper look into file systems for those that are curious and want to know more. Both of these are the newest, fastest, and securiest file systems available on both operating systems. In short, if you’re on Mac use APFS (Apple File System) and if you’re on Windows, use NTFS. Let’s take a look at and talk about which file system you may want to choose. First and foremost, you need to decide which file system to use. Regardless of why you want to format your hard drive, there are some considerations to be made before you begin. A format can usually fix this as the device might have corrupt data on it.

👩🏻‍🔧 The storage device is experiencing issues and isn’t working correctly.

This can be a common scenario for when you’ve taken pictures or files off of a storage device and put them onto your computer and now you don’t have a need for them on the external device anymore.

💽 You have a storage device that you want to erase to free up the space on it for new data.

🎁 You received a storage device from someone and want to erase the contents on it so that you can start using it.

💵 Purchased a new external hard drive and you’re ready to set it up and use it.

There can be many reasons why you may need to format a storage device. In this article, we will take a look at the various ways you can format a storage device on both Mac and Windows.įirst, let’s talk about the common situations for when you might need to format a storage device in the first place.Ĭommon Situations When You Need to Format a Hard Drive It could be because the storage device is experiencing an issue or maybe you purchased a new external storage device and are trying to get it to work with your Mac or Windows computer. Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive.

Both macOS and Windows allow users to format their hard drives using built-in utilities.

External disk format for mac and pc