A modified version of the original linux code, this program is packaged as a easytouse installer so that normal users can install it without hassle. How do i make ntfs format for partition i apple community. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by. Also new in this version is the ability to do a quick format during windows xp setup. Lorsquon installe windows, il formate automatiquement le disque systeme au format. Ntfs for mac grants you with access to write, copy, edit, move or delete files on microsoft ntfs formatted drives from your mac. Actually, computer starts correctly, and windows xp is loaded. For mac os users, however, ntfs systems can only be read by mac, while fat32 drives can be both read and written to by the mac os. Ntfs is a file system that was introduced in windows xp. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Format ntfs drive on mac the second task is how to format ntfs drive on mac. Once the drive is formatted you can return the data, including the programs. Mac computers are capable of formatting any storage device internal or external such as hddssd, usb flash drive, and external storage.
Sep 03, 2015 leave it the full size of the drive as shown or decide on the size of the partition you are making and create it. You have to format the drive to exfat or fat32 if the burning process failed due to the wrong partition scheme. Jul 16, 20 ntfs, on the other hand, is fully readwrite compatible with windows from windows nt 3. Youre changing the format of a disk, such as from a pc format fat, exfat, or ntfs to a mac format apfs or mac.
Since the pc and mac are two different operating systems, they use different file systems. How enable ntfs writing on mac write to ntfs drives mactip. Sep 15, 20 mac s on os x cant format or write to ntfs formatted drives, they can read from it though. Those using xp installed on a dos fat32formatted boot camp partition will find options limited since winclone only supports the ntfs file format for windows. Windows xp s ntfs has several enhancements over windows 2000 nfts but is compatible with it. Mount in readonly if you need to access sensitive data without modifying any files. So if you need to get files from a pc to your mac, ntfs is a decent. You can change the file system in ntfs or fat and also assign the unit size. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. I hightlight it and press enter, and it automatically goes to the installation process, it skips the step where i select an ntfs or fat format.
Macdrive 7 for windows can format mac disks, i think thats what the op is looking for, not linux live cds. They might be different if your mac has a different version. Ntfs should be used for a windows partition, as it is safer. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. Now i want to format this hard drive using mac filesystem and install mac os x on. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. The tutorial and screenshots below are based on macos sierra 10. However, the write support in the os settings is not active. For example, ntfs can keep small files inside mft entry, so if the file size is less than cluster size, most likely it will be accessed much faster on ntfs than on fat. I plan on installing macdrive to allow the windows machine to be able to read, write, save files on the os x machine partition. Even if the mac is unable to mount the storage, following this method will enable you to format the storage. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and. Locate and rightclick the target device, select format. You want to permanently erase all content from your mac and restore it to factory settings.
You have to be a little bit crazy to keep you from going insane. If you keep your hard drives outofthebox ntfs format for all the reasons fat32 displeases, theres a. Ntfs is a microsoft format that debuted with windows nt, but it was only made available in consumer versions of windows since windows xp. Begin by connecting the storage device to your mac, and then launch disk utility using spotlight. For example, in windows xp my computer is equivalent to this pc on windows 10. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Now here is how to format your fat32 external drive on mac. For this case, it is advisable to install programs called ntfs 3g, which works in, handy with macfuse. A modified version of the original linux code, this program is packaged as a easytouse installer. Apr 17, 2018 by default, the maximum cluster size for ntfs under windows nt 4. But contrary to its name, its a rather old file system that was developed by microsoft decades ago and launched in 1993.
The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. Transferring a 4gb or larger file to a usb flash drive or. While mac os x includes only readonly support for ntfs, macs offer full readwrite support for exfat. Therefore, scroll down until you see a folder utilities double click on it. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format.
Mar 03, 2020 if you are on an earlier operating system like windows 7, xp, etc. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. Locate your usb stick under this pc, rightclick on it and select the format option. Connect your external storage device to pc and open windows file explorer. This is the easiest way to format your usb drive in windows 10 or mac. The nt file system is the default one that your hard drive is formatted with when you install windows. The problem is that on macos, you cant work with files saved on an ntfs drive unless you use a paid app like paragon ntfs for mac.
How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. The good news is that formatting usb on mac is also as easy as on windows 10. Ntfs for mac pc by paragon application in case, if you possess a desire to do a few kinds of function on ntfs documents on a mac pc device. Mount, unmount, verify, format or set any of microsoft ntfs volumes as a startup drive. Ntfs or new technology file system is the default file format system for windows ever since the introduction of windows xp. The format command wont use clusters larger than 4 kb unless the user specifically overrides the default settings. Rightclick on the flash drive or memory card, then select format.
You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. Both mac os x and windows can read and write to partitions formatted with fat and fat32. May 26, 2019 picture 3 what is fat32, ntfs, exfat format. However, fat32 is a legacy file system designed for low capacity hard drives and it is not recommended for modern hard drives or operating systems. This file system can be read and written by both mac and windows with support for. Right click and format the drive on the oldest pc your going to be using it with, usually xp. May 28, 2009 windows xp pro skips ntfsfat formatting i go through the process and when i get to choosing the correct partition for windows xp c. Seagate backup plus hub user manual optional formatting. Overall microsoft managed to improve ntfs performance by 5 to 8 percent, making nfts performance similar to fat. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. Your best option is to format the external drive on the windows machine using exfat as it will do it correctly, the mac has issues formatting exfat for windows.
However, there are some systems that do not support exfat, such as xbox 360 or ps3, particularly ps4 and xbox one that. Ntfs on macbook pro windows xp i have a brand spanking new macbook pro and as i prepared to install bootcamp and windows xp pro, i have a fundamental question. How to format the c drive on a windows xp sp2 wikihow. If you want to use the drive between a windows and mac machine, you can format it to fat32. Whether youre formatting an internal drive, external drive, usb flash drive, or sd. How to format a disk to ntfs using mac os x ask different. For more security, other file systems are available, but you need to get third party software in order to allow windows or mac to readwrite respectively. For xp there is a free download for exfat from microsoft if its not already installed. How to format usb to fat32ntfsexfat on windows and mac. Generally speaking the performance of ntfs on large volumes is higher than performance of fat32. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Creating windows 10 bootable usb on mac is a common task for people who have multiple computers at home.
Select guid partition table if your mac has an intel processor im guessing it does if you can boot to windows or apple partition map if your mac has a powerpc processor. The restore device defaults button will revert your drives settings to default. Go finder window on you mac then click on applications the image right. Understandably, it is the default file system for windows pcs. If you want to be able to use it on pcs and mac s then make it fat32 instead of ntfs. Ntfs is built for windows operating system therefore it is not supported by mac. Seagate backup plus is preformatted exfat for compatibility with both mac and windows computers. Ntfs performance on small volumes is lower than performance of fatfat32. By default, the maximum cluster size for ntfs under windows nt 4. How to format usb flash drive to ntfs in windows 10. One of its major characteristics is that is has such a huge file size and partition size difference that it is almost impossible to run up against them. When the formatting finishes, close the formatting window. To format external drive to file system compatible with mac and pc, connect the drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps given below take formatting hard drive to exfat in windows 7 for example.
Thats useful if you need to get some data from a friends windows disk, but if you use both windows and macos, youll need a different option. When the driver is installed, you format your ntfs disks with disk utility where you select windows nt filesystem as the format. How to format your hard drive using diskpart and command prompt. Ntfs new technology files system is the newer drive format. Therefore, sl ntfs software acts as an interface for the mac os 10. Todays usb flash drives are huge, but they come formatted with the fat32 limit of 4gb filesif you want to format them as ntfs under windows xp youll need a little trick. By default, macs use hfs, while pcs use ntfs, which are not compatible with each other. While exfat doesnt quite match fat32s compatibility, it is more widelycompatible than ntfs. By default, mac os x can only read ntfs drives, not write to them. A fat32 partition can reach up to 32gb when formatted on a windows pc.
Formatting the device as ntfs will make it unwriteable on a mac computer. How to format an external drive for mac from ntfs to mac os extended note. Fat32, ntfs and exfat are the types of disk file system. The problem is that the disk is currently formatted as ntfs and is not readable with time machine. Macyourself blog archive how to format a drive for mac and pc. It is very easy to format a storage device to any of the three file systems on a windows computer. The drive will now work well with mac s or pcs of xp win 7 and there is no need for problematic paid software to have a license to useaccess the ntfs format. Mar 15, 2018 most mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exfat, ensuring they work well on both windows and mac os x without any extra work. Select one of the format from dropdown menu and click erase to start formatting usb to fat or exfat on mac. Windows xp does have the ability to format drives with the ntfs file system, but you wouldnt know it by looking at. Click here for instructions to format with mac solution 2 format in ntfs warning. Open disk utility and find the internal hard drive. If the drive comes formatted in ntfs, which is the default file system for. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system.
Fat32 works for both oses, but has a 4gb size limit per file, so it. Ntfs also comes packed with better features than fat32. How to format a usb thumb drive to ntfs in windows xp go to my computer, click to the usb flash drive properties, in that click on hardware, click on sandisk cruzer usb device, and then to its properties, then click to policies, in that click on the optimize for performance button, click ok. Format to ntfs, and use ntfs 3g to readwrite on mac. Ntfs allows for individual compression of files and folders so you dont slow down the system. One is to use a paid 3rd party tool to add ntfs write support to a mac, such as paragons ntfs for mac tool. I went back to xp for personal reasons so now i have a xp system with a c,d e and f logical drive on one physical drive, with the c drive being ntfs and the others fat 32.
Ntfs, on the other hand, is fully readwrite compatible with windows from windows nt 3. The main windows disk format, ntfs, isnt supported by macos. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Need to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. This is one of the final steps before selling, giving away, or trading in your mac. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Most mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exfat, ensuring they work well on both windows and mac os x without any extra work. Apr 15, 2020 ntfs or new technology file system is the default file format system for windows ever since the introduction of windows xp. Unfortunately, mac os x can read but not write to ntfs formatted partitions that windows nt, 2000, and xp can use instead of fat32.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. If you plan on using an external drive with both macs and pcs, you should format the disk with the exfat file system instead. How should i partition for windows xp, fat or ntfs. Then right click on the new partition and format it to ntfs and you are done. Microsoft introduced ntfs in 1993, as a component of the corporateoriented windows nt. At this time, a couple of formatting options available. Set aside its advantage for being free, ntfs 3g is complained a lot because of its poor performance. Ntfs is compatible with operating systems back to windows xp. Sep 22, 2015 download ntfs free for mac os x for free. Convert windows xp from fat32 to ntfs twocanoes software.
The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Itll split the drive, and create a fat32 partition for. Ntfs disks can be read by macos, but not written to. Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs. Tick quick format, set the file system as ntfs and click start to begin the formatting. How to install mac os x upon ntfs partition with win xp on it. I havent tried this one, but it should also do the job. However there is a solution built into windows xp for converting to ntfs, requiring no additional hardware or software.
Convert windows xp from fat32 to ntfs twocanoes support. Now i want to format this hard drive using mac filesystem and install mac os x on it. Here you will see the devices capacity, file system and allocation unit size. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. How to format a usb thumb drive to ntfs in windows xp. With tuxera ntfs for mac, you can use apples disk utility or tuxera disk manager to format ntfs drives. It supports storage of larger individual files, security permission for files, encrypts them, allows you to recover previous versions of data and create back up, and several other characteristics. Nov 03, 2014 microsoft ended mainstream support for the windows xp operating system in 2009, but continue to provide security updates until april 2014. Dear dennis, i have an old external 1 tb hard drive id like to format for use with apple time machine backup.
Best format for external drive readable in os x and. Fat32 works for both oses, but has a 4gb size limit per file, so it isnt ideal. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. This program allows macosx to access microsoft ntfs formatted harddrives connected by usb port. Just right click on the disk drive in windows file explorer and choose format, then you will get the options. The other is to format your drives with the exfat file system. Ntfs 3g is an opensource project from tuxera, so the public can free down this ntfs driver to write to windows ntfs drives on mac computers. Format a usb drive as ntfs in windows xp lifehacker. Fat32 has several limitations, including a 4 gb perfile limit.