It is also widely supported by memory storage technology companies and third-party operating systems like OS X and Linux. Microsoft introduced exFAT in 2006 it’s an optimized version of FAT, providing better performance advantages over FAT32. Now you’ll be able to save and copy files to your thumb drive on both Windows and OS X. In the Format list box, select ExFAT, enter a Volume Label if you want, then click Erase. Select your thumb drive in the Disk Utility window, then click the Erase tab. Launch Disk Utility press Command+Space then type: disk utility. If you only use a Mac computer, you can format your thumb drive to work on Windows systems.Ĭonnect the thumb drive to your Mac. In the File System list box, choose exFAT, type in a Volume Label if you want, and then click Start.Ĭlick OK to the format warning and wait until the process is complete.

In the Utilities folder, choose 'Disk Utility.' 3. Right-click your flash drive and then select Format. Attach the drive you wish to format for dual compatibility to the Mac. In the Finder menu, click 'Go' and then, in the drop-down menu, choose 'Utilities.' 2. This is useful if a drive is being used under both Operating System (OS)to. Prepare a Thumb Drive for Both Windows and OS X or macOS A Western Digital external hard drive can be used on both Windows and Mac OSX. Before you start, though, make sure your thumb drive is formatted so it can work on both Windows and macOS. Once you have your hard drive properly formatted, you can use it to store all your important files safely. If you’re working in a mixed environment, where you might need to work on files between both systems, a handy solution is to use a thumb drive. Formatting a hard drive on a Mac is a relatively simple task that every user should know how to do. This makes it difficult to move data between the two unless you have them networked together.

MacOS uses the HFS+ file system, while Windows uses the NTFS file system that shares little in common. If you are formatting a drive to be used solely by a Windows or Mac machine, choosing a traditional NTFS or HFS+ format is ideal.

Best format for mac and pc hard drive