Best Format For Mac And Pc

1. Best Thumb Drive Format For Mac And Pc
2. Best External Hard Drive Format For Mac And Pc
3. File Format For Mac

FAT32 has a maximum file size of 4 GB per file. The limitation affects both Mac and PC users. A single high resolution file can easily go over 4 GB, so Fat32 may not the best format. The best format for video production is exFAT. The maximum individual file size for exFAT is 16 EB. 1 EB, or exabyte, is 1 billion GB.

• FAT32 has a maximum file size of 4 GB per file. The limitation affects both Mac and PC users. A single high resolution file can easily go over 4 GB, so Fat32 may not the best format. The best format for video production is exFAT.
• Choose one of the following Mac OS Extended file system formats for compatibility with Mac computers using macOS 10.12 or earlier. Mac OS Extended (Journaled): Uses the Mac format (Journaled HFS Plus) to protect the integrity of the hierarchical file system. Choose this option if you don't need an encrypted or case-sensitive format.
• APFS vs Mac OS Extended: Which Is Best? There's no winner in the APFS vs Mac OS Extended battle, as it depends on the drive you're using. Newer macOS installations should use APFS by default, and if you're formatting an external drive, APFS is the faster and better option for most users.

You can format the external hard drive or USB drive to make it compatible with both Mac and Windows machines. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesn't worry it's not complex.

If you are techy and use Windows and Mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between Mac and PC. Windows and macOS filesystems are different and you might need to format the drive every time to use on both platforms. You don't need to format the hard drive every time you can choose a filesystem while formating the drive so the hard drive or USB drive work on both Mac and PC

So to get rid of these situations we bring here a guide that will help you to format your drive which works on both platforms and you don't need to format and backup data every time. After cross-compatible formatting, simply unplug the drive from one machine and then plug it to another. Sounds good to you right? So let's started, how this works.

Understand file systems for Mac and PC

There are three common file system types to format an external USB or hard drive, SSD drive, SD card and etc. FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT, let's have a look what's the difference between these formats.

FAT 32 Format

This format is pretty old but supported and it's not efficient as compared to NTFS. It doesn't support big features but offers great compatibility which means it's compatible with all versions of Windows. It can only support 4GB file size and up to 8TB hard drivers. It's not capable to store files larger than 4GB.

NTFS Format

NTFS is a modern format system and Windows also uses this format for itself and for other non-removable drives by default. This format is also compatible with all versions of Windows but limited to none Windows OS as FAT32.

exFAT Format

exFAT drives are faster at reading and writing as compared to FAT32. This format can store large files and it's also lightweight. It's compatible with all versions of Windows and the best thing it's along with Windows it's also compatible with macOS, Linux, and Android, etc.

• If your drive is formatted as Windows default format NTFS then its only readable to macOS. You can't do more than that or you have to install a separate app on Mac to read write the drive.
• Drive with macOS format HFS+ cant readable to Windows.
• FAT32 format works on both Windows and Mac but the problem is you can only work with the files with Maximum size 4GB.

Learn more: Copy data on NTFS drive in macOS

FAT32 is much better than NTFS and HFS+ coz it works on both operating systems. You can also install drivers on each OS to make work your drive. So exFAT is much better than all of these formats and a simple option but this will not work on Leopard.

Format and external hard drive on Mac

First, let's see how to format an external hard drive or USB drive in macOS which works with both Mac and PC platforms, first plug-in your drive in macOS machine.

1. Open Disk Utility on your macOS, press cmd + spacebar keys and type Disk Utility in the spotlight search. Open Disk Utility from the search results.
2. On the Disk Utility interface, select an external drive click on the Erase button from top of the window (make sure and bcakup your drive before erasing it).
3. Now enter the name for the external drive which will be used after formatting and also select exFAT for Format option and click on the Erase. This will format the drive as ExFAT format and your drive is now compatible with both platforms.

Format hard drive in Windows

How to download fruity loops on mac. The below steps for formatting external drive is for Windows 10 and also works the same with an old version of Windows. To format your external drive hard drive in Windows which works with both platforms, first plug-in your drive with Windows machine.

Open Disk Management tool by right-clicking on start menu icon and then select Disk Management. Now right click on the external drive and click on format option (double-check the drive name and capacity to make sure you are going to format the right drive.)

Now enter the Volume label as you need and change the File system for exFat and click Ok. Now you are done.

Share your experience, how do you use an external hard drive on both Mac and PC. Did you format the drive as exFAT ? or use any utility that helps the system to read another type of file system. Please leave a comment below.

SD card comes with various form factors like micro SD, SDHC, SDXC, etc. and they are used in multiple devices such as digital camera, camcorder, DSLR, drones, android phone, etc. to expand the memory space. If you are looking to format SD card on Windows or Mac then, this could be due to various reasons. However, if you are not taking a backup before formatting SD card on Windows or Mac then, it can lead to a permanent data loss scenario.

In this article, you will find out the highly rated method to format SD card on Windows and Mac along proven method to recover data from corrupt or formatted SD card.

Common reasons for SD card Formatting

Formatting an SD card is essential and there is nothing scary about it.

1. To improve SD card performance and functioning.
2. To erase all duplicate and unwanted photos, files, etc. from memory card.
3. If you are unable to delete files from SD card.
4. To change SD card file system to NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc.
5. SD card is not readable on Windows, Mac, or Android phone.
6. SD card errors like SD card formatting error, memory card inaccessible, blank SD card, etc.

Best Thumb Drive Format For Mac And Pc

Prerequisites before formatting an SD card

Whenever you have made up your mind to format an SD card or any external storage device intentionally, the most important thing before formatting an SD card is taking a backup of important files and photos.

Formatting an SD card erases complete data from it. Therefore it is recommended to take a backup of all important photos, raw-images, videos, audio files, Microsoft Office files, documents, etc.

When your SD card is not readable or corrupt, then taking a backup of important files or photos from it becomes highly impossible. However, with the help of the Remo Recover tool you can restore all your data with ease. Mac os x yosemite free download full version.

How to download ftp files mac. Utilize Remo SD card Recovery tool to restore more than 300 file formats like photos, videos, raw-images, documents, etc. This tool is available for both Windows and Mac operating system including Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, etc, and the latest macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, etc. Remo Recover tool easily recovers data from formatted SD card, corrupted or unreadable SD card, external hard drive, SSD, pen drive, etc.

Format SD card on Mac and Windows | Successfully

How to Format SD card on Mac?

Before you format your SD card on Mac, connect your micro/ SD card to Mac using a card reader and then, take a backup of important files or utilize Remo Recover Mac tool to restore data.

1. Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
2. Select the SD card which you want to format from all the available drives and click the Erase option.
   Note: In case, if you don't find your SD card or external hard drive not showing up on Mac, then this could be due to either connection issue or Preference setting problem.
3. Now, give a new name to your SD card (optional).
4. Click Format option to choose the format type you want to perform on it.
   Note: Select exFAT if your SD card is 64GB and want to make it compatible with both Windows and Mac. Otherwise, select MS-DOS (FAT) if your memory card is 32 GB.
   
5. Click on the Erase option and wait until the Disk utility function erases complete files present on the SD card. This way you can successfully format your memory card on Mac.
6. Now, safely eject the SD card from your Mac to start using it with better performance. In case, if you have deleted files from SD card on Mac without taking a backup then, you can make use of Remo SD card Recovery tool to restore files from SD card on Mac effortlessly.

How to Format SD card on Windows?

Best External Hard Drive Format For Mac And Pc

Before you format your micro/ SD card, make sure you take a backup of important SD card data. And also verify if the SD card is unlocked or not to avoid SD card not getting formatted error.

1. Connect your SD card to Windows or Insert it into the SD card slot.
2. Open This PC.
   
3. You will find all your available drives under Devices and drives.
4. Right-click on the SD card icon and click the Format option.
   
5. Make changes in the Allocation unit size to Default allocation size.
   
6. Click Start button to format your SD card

Some QuickNotes under Windows Formatting:

File Format For Mac

• Quick Format should be checked if you don't prefer thorough formatting.
• You can rename your SD card under Volume label option.
• You can also select the file system which is compatible with your camera, mobile phone, DSLR, etc. FAT32 is selected for SD cards with 32 GB storage space, exFAT / NTFS for preferred for more than 32 GB storage drives.