How to format a flash drive so it can be read on Mac and Windows. How to choose a flash drive file system for Mac File system for mac and windows
Or there is a need to completely erase its contents, it is customary to format the drive. This procedure removes all data and often normal operation of the device.
During the formatting process, the computer prompts you to select a file system (FS). This is the name for organizing data on a flash drive. The macOS user has a choice of the following systems: MS-DOS (FAT), ExFAT or OS X Extended.
It is very important to format the drive in the file system that is best suited for your equipment. Let's figure out which flash drive file system is optimal for Mac and why.
Types of file systems and their features
MS-DOS (FAT)- this is what macOS calls the file system, known to Windows users as FAT/FAT32. It is compatible with any computer, and is also supported by consoles and home appliances such as camcorders or even old media players.
For all its versatility, MS-DOS (FAT) has an important drawback: files larger than 4 GB cannot be written to a flash drive formatted in this file system.
ExFAT- a newer FS that is supported on macOS starting from version X 10.6.5, and on Windows - from XP SP2. Obviously, the disadvantage of this format can be considered the lack of compatibility with earlier versions of operating systems. Additionally, not all USB devices support ExFAT. Well, the plus is that it can work with files larger than 4 GB.
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) provides maximum flash drive compatibility with macOS and is the default file system for hard drives on Mac computers. There are no restrictions on the size of the recorded file when using Mac OS Extended (Journaled). At the same time, this FS is not supported by Windows and many USB devices.
You can also see in the list of available FS Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled). It differs from the previous one only in case sensitivity. For example, the files hello.txt and Hello.txt in such a FS will be considered different. If you don't need this, choose the regular Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
NTFS- another FS that you may encounter. Drives formatted in it have no restrictions on file size and are compatible with Windows. But in macOS, files recorded on such a flash drive can only be viewed without the ability to write. Additionally, some USB devices do not support NTFS at all.
Which file system to choose
As you can see, the choice of drive file system depends on what devices you will use it with. If only with Mac and other Apple equipment, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
ExFAT is perfect for Mac and Windows PCs.
If you want to achieve compatibility of a flash drive with the maximum number of USB devices and do not plan to write files larger than 4 GB to it, choose MS-DOS (FAT).
How to change the file system
To change the drive's FS, use Disk Utility. Don't forget, this procedure destroys all data.
But first check the current file system of the flash drive. To do this, just launch Disk Utility and select the drive in the left panel. After this, detailed information about the flash drive will appear on the screen, including its FS type, which can be seen next to the name of the drive.
If the current file system does not suit you, click on the “Erase” button on the top panel. In the window that appears, select a new FS and click “Erase” again. After a few seconds, the utility will change the file system of the flash drive.
Many of our readers who have to work in both Mac OS X and Windows sooner or later encounter the problem of file intolerance between operating systems. Indeed, a disk formatted in Mac OS is not recognized in Windows, while a disk formatted in Windows is visible in Mac OS, but as a rule, is not writable.
Thus, problems arise if you need to “transfer” a file via an external drive or “flash drive” from one system to another. In this article we will look at what file systems Windows uses, and how to most conveniently organize file exchange via .
File system (hereinafter referred to as FS) is an order that determines the way of organizing, storing and naming data on storage media. It defines the format of the content and physical storage of information, which is usually grouped in the form of files. A specific file system determines the size of the file name (folder), the maximum possible file and partition size, and a set of file attributes. Some file systems provide service capabilities, such as access control or file encryption. .
Mac OS X fully supports the following file systems:
- Mac OS Extended (including Mac OS Extended journaling and Mac OS Extended case-sensitive)
- FAT32
- exFAT
Windows fully supports the following file systems:
- FAT32
- exFAT
“Fully supports” means that the operating system can read and write from a disk partition formatted in one of the above file systems.
Note that the Mac OS Extended Journaled and NTFS file systems are fail-safe systems, and therefore they should be given preference when choosing a file system for a drive. However, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, the native file systems of Mac and Windows have poor cross-support. Thus, a disk in Mac OS Extended format is not recognized by Windows, and a disk in NTFS format is visible in Mac OS X, but is read-only - nothing can be written to it.
Therefore, for external disk drives that are periodically connected either to Mac or to Windows machines, it is advisable to use file systems that are fully supported by both operating systems. These are FAT32 and the little-known exFAT. These are not as damage-resistant file systems as Mac OS Extended and NTFS, but as a rule, they are quite sufficient for “household” use.
Surely many users have already encountered the most important drawback of the FAT32 file system - the limitation on the maximum file size, which is 4 GB (4,294,967,296 bytes). It is “thanks to” this factor that there is a refusal to use this PS. Indeed, the 4GB limit does not allow recording on such a disk, for example, video files in FullHD format, which usually “weigh” around 30GB.
The exFAT (extended FAT or extended FAT) FS, which was specially designed as a replacement for FAT32 for use on external drives such as flash drives, memory cards, etc., does not have the 4GB/file limitation. The theoretical limit on file size in this FS is 2^64 bytes (16 exbibytes), that is, there are practically no restrictions. exFAT support is available in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and 3 with update KB955704, Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, as well as Mac OS X Snow Leopard starting with version 10.6.5.
Taking into account the above, it is exFAT that is recommended to be used on those drives that are periodically connected either to a Mac or to Windows.
- Why can't I write files to my external hard drive?
- Why is a large file not copied to a flash drive or disk?
- How to erase all data from a flash drive on Mac OS?
We will try to answer these and many other questions in this article. Let's look at the difference between file systems, their advantages and disadvantages, and also learn how to partition a disk, and many other useful points that can help you when working with drives.
ExFAT– extended FAT. ExFAT is a derivative of MS-DOS (FAT), in which the main shortcomings have been eliminated. But as before, it is intended mainly for flash drives, since operating systems cannot be installed on a disk with such a file system.
The size of a partition with the ExFAT file system is virtually unlimited, and the file size is theoretically limited to 16 exabytes (16 billion GB). The disadvantage is that not all operating systems support it. ExFAT works on computers running Windows XP SP2 or later and Mac OS X 10.6.5 or later.
NTFS– a file system used in Windows operating systems which, like exFAT, replaced the FAT system. The current version is 3.1, which is used in operating systems from Windows XP to the present day. The maximum disk size is 16 exabytes, and the size of a single file cannot exceed 16 exabytes. those. There is no actual file size limit.
With the NTFS format, Mac OS X runs in read mode by default. But after the release of Mac OS X 10.6, it was found possible to activate the recording function using a standard driver that is preinstalled in the operating system. We will write about this in a separate article.
In the meantime, if you need to add the function of fully working Mac OS X with NTFS, we recommend using one of the programs:
- MacFUSE 2.0
- Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X
- NTFS-3G for Mac OS X
Partition scheme
In addition to the file system, which is responsible for storing files, there is also a partition scheme. These are the rules by which the disk is divided into partitions, as well as the code and data necessary for the subsequent loading of the operating system. This data is located in the first physical sectors on a hard drive or other storage device.
In most cases, you need to pay attention to the file system, and not to the partition scheme. The partition scheme is used when booting from a hard drive or media.
GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) partition scheme– The partition scheme that all Intel-based Macs use. And also the only partition scheme that an Intel Mac can boot from.
GUID relies on advanced EFI capabilities to boot the Mac OS or any other operating system that is installed on your computer. But the GUID partition also contains MBR partition scheme data (described below), which is present at the very beginning of the disk for both protection and compatibility purposes.
Therefore, if you want to make a boot disk and you have a Mac with an Intel processor, then your hard drive or any other media must be in the GUID partition scheme with the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format
APM (Apple Partition Map) partition map– This partition scheme was used by default in Mac computers based on the PowerPC architecture with a PowerPC G3, G4, G5 processor from the famous IBM company (not Intel). This is also the only partition scheme that a PowerPC Mac can boot from.
Apple abandoned this partition scheme in 2006 because, due to 32-bit counters, the maximum disk size for a 512-byte block size can only be 2 TB.
Therefore, if you want to make a boot disk, and you have a Mac on an IBM processor, then your hard drive or any other media must be in the APM partition scheme with the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. But such computers do not support booting from USB volumes, but only from FireWire. So a flash drive is not suitable for these purposes, but only an external hard drive with a FireWire drive.
MBR (Master Boot Record)– Partition scheme, which is used by default in most PC computers (80%), including Windows-compatible PCs. You will find this partition scheme on most pre-sale formatted drives and flash drives. None of the Mac computers support booting from this partition scheme, but they can work with it.
This partition scheme with Apple equipment does not work as a bootable one, but it can be very useful to us when formatting a regular flash drive.Windows computers do not understand the GUID partition scheme, so if you need a regular flash drive, you need to check that it has an MBR partition scheme and is in FAT or exFAT format.
We looked at examples of how to format disks, change the partition scheme, split disks into parts, and much more.
Chris Rawson
The vast majority of USB flash drives you buy come in one of two formats: FAT32 or NTFS. The first format, FAT32, is fully compatible with Mac OS X, although with some drawbacks, which we'll discuss below. If the flash drive is formatted as NTFS, which is the default Windows file system, then you will have to reformat the flash drive because Mac OS X does not work with NTFS files (at least not without additional effort on your part, which is beyond the scope of this article). this article).
How can you find out what format the USB flash drive you just bought is in? Connect the flash drive to your Mac and launch the Disk Utility application, which is located in the Utilities folder (in Applications). Your new flash drive should appear in the left column. Then click the “Partition” button and information about the disk and its format will appear in the tab.
If the format of the flash drive is MS-DOS (FAT) or, less likely, ExFAT, then leave everything as is and don’t worry anymore. If the flash drive is in NTFS format, then you will have to reformat it to another format, otherwise it will not be fully compatible with Mac OS X.
Disk Utility gives you the ability to use several file formats to reformat your flash drive. Reformatting a flash drive using Disk Utility is very simple. First you need to select the number of partitions on the flash drive (usually one partition), then select the file system format from the list and click the “Apply” button. We remind you that this will result in the loss of all information on your flash drive, so think carefully before acting.
Disk Utility offers you five different file system formats for OS X Lion. Unless you have some extraordinary file system requirements, you can safely ignore two of them: Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) and Free Space. We will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the other three formats below.
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - This is the default file system format for Mac OS X disks.
Advantages: A flash drive formatted this way gives you full compatibility with Mac. It will support any version of OS X Lion without any restrictions.
Flaws: A PC running the Windows operating system can read files from such a flash drive, but will not be able to write to it. If you only work with a Mac, then this is not a problem, but if you need to transfer data from a PC to a Mac using this flash drive, it will be impossible.
MS-DOS (FAT) - This is what Disk Utility calls the FAT32 file system.
Advantages: FAT32 is compatible with every computing system on the planet. A flash drive formatted in this way will allow you to easily transfer files from Mac to PC and vice versa. In addition, you can copy files from gaming systems such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii to such a flash drive. Almost all cameras and video cameras support the FAT32 file system. This is the most versatile file system, so new flash drives are usually formatted this way.
Flaws: FAT32 does not support files larger than 4GB. This is the biggest drawback. Additionally, you won't be able to create a bootable disk for your Mac using this format.
ExFAT - This is a new file system format and is supported by Mac OS X 10.6.5 and later.
Advantages: exFAT has many of the same benefits as FAT32 when it comes to sharing files between Mac and PC. The advantage of this file system over FAT32 is that exFAT supports files larger than 4GB, so if you need to transfer large files from Mac to PC and vice versa, then this file system format is suitable for your flash drive.
exFAT is supported by the following operating systems:
- Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.5 and higher)
- OS X Lion
- Windows XP SP2 or later (with additional updates to support exFAT)
- Windows Vista SP1 or later
- Windows 7
Flaws: As a relatively new file system format, exFAT is not supported by earlier versions of the Mac OS X operating system (anything prior to version 10.6.5), or versions older than Windows XP SP2. If your Mac or PC is not very old, then this is not a problem. But the problem is that most consumer electronics (cameras, camcorders and game consoles) do not support the exFAT format.
Conclusion
We tried to tell you as fully as possible about file system formats for flash drives. What's in the bottom line?
If you are absolutely sure that you will work only from a Mac, then use Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
If you need to exchange files between Mac and PC larger than 4GB, then choose exFAT.
In all other cases, it is most rational to use the MS-DOS (FAT) format, better known as FAT32.
It's no secret that hard disk partitions in Mac and Windows have their own file systems, in Macs it's HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus - "hierarchical file system plus"), and in Windows - NTFS (New Technology File System - " new technology file system").
At the same time, on Macs, the ability to read from partitions is enabled by default. formatted in NTFS, and in Mac OS X, starting from version 10.6 and later, there is also the ability to write to partitions of competitors from Redmond.
Windows cannot boast of this. In this OS, even in the super advanced Windows 8.1, there is no ability to read/write from HFS+ partitions.
Today we will fix this Microsoft flaw.
1. MacDrive ($50)
Version 9.2.0.2 is confirmed to work with Windows 8.1.
The developers offer five wonderful days to try the program.
With this software you can view and record data from Mac OS file systems such as HFS+, HFS, and HFSX. It supports such hard drive interfaces as Parallel ATA (IDE), HDDSerial ATA (SATA) HDD, SCSI HDD, USB 1.x/2.0/3.0, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), MBR and GPT.
The program also has other useful features: viewing copies of Time Machine, fixing errors on a disk with HFS+, supporting RAID arrays, securely deleting files, defragmentation, creating ISO files and mounting them.
After installing the program, a reboot is required to enable the HFS driver.
The HFS partition will appear as a regular drive in Windows Explorer.
2. Paragon HFS+ for Windows
This is a driver installed in Windows that allows you to read and write to a Mac OS partition as if it were one of the Windows partitions. As with MacDrive, the partition appears in File Explorer.
The program does not offer any other features, but it costs significantly less ($20).
3. Apple Boot Camp Driver
If you are not satisfied with any of the previous paid solutions, then there is a free way to access HFS+ partitions from Windows: the Apple Boot Camp driver, included in the BootCamp program, which allows you to install Windows on Apple computers.
This solution has one drawback: the driver only allows reading from HFS partitions, but not writing to them.
Installation instructions
1. Uninstall MacDrive or Paragon HFS+ if they are installed on your system.
2. Download and unzip the files.
3. Select those drivers that match.
You can quickly find out the bit depth of your OS in the system properties (press the keys successively Windows and Pause/Break).
4. Copy two files from the folder with drivers of the appropriate bit depth to the folder in the following path:
C:\Windows\System32\driversAdministrator rights required!
To avoid searching for this folder for a long time, paste this address into the Explorer line and click Enter.
5. Add information to the registry from a file Add_AppleHFS.reg
6. Restart your computer. The Mac OS partition will become available in Windows Explorer.
Uninstalling the driver
1. Add information from the file Remove_AppleHFS.reg to the registry by double-clicking on it.
2. Delete the previously copied 2 driver files from the drivers folder.
Additional Information
1. Before installing the drivers and programs described in the post, we recommend disabling the FastBoot option in Windows 8 -8.1.
This is done like this:
Open Control Panel. Type “Power Options” in the search bar.
Click at the top Change settings that are currently unavailable.
Scroll down the window a little and uncheck the box next to Enable Fast Startup (recommended).
