Download and install Microsoft NTFS for Mac by iBoysoft on your Mac. Connect the external hard drive to the Mac. Write to the NTFS-formatted disk directly as you are using a Mac-friendly external storage device. Method 3: User Terminal to enable Mac's native NTFS write support (not recommended). For your system drive you should or must choose the file system for your chosen operating system which means NTFS for Windows, ext4 for a Linux distro or HFS+ or a APFS on a Mac. For USB drives and flash memory cards Fat32 remains the best choice for devices below 32 gigabytes in capacity in order to maximize compatibility across platforms.
Mac OS X supports a handful of common file systems—HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT, with read-only support for NTFS. It can do this because the file systems are supported by the OS X kernel. Paragon NTFS for Mac 15 ($20) is a file system driver that allows Mac OS X Yosemite and later (incuding macOS Sierra) to read and write to hard drives, solid-state storage devices, and USB thumb. Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon Software is a universal non-root method for transferring files between onboard memory of your Android device and Windows or Mac-formatted USB Flash Drive.
USB drives are extremely convenient to use for carrying data around. They come in various capacity options, and easy to slip into your pocket or handbag, and they're far more durable than physical disks such as CDs, DVDs, and BDs. The only challenge with USB drives, however, is to know what file system to use when formatting them. This is especially important when holding big files or making bootable install disk.
The three most popular ones for formatting a USB drive are FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT, all of which are compatible with Windows-based computers as well as other devices. Let's look at each of these in detail and then get into how to format your USB drive with the appropriate file system on a Windows 10 PC.
FAT32
File Allocation Table 32, shortened to FAT32, was introduced with Windows 95 and is one of the oldest of the Windows file systems in use today. It is also the most widely used file system in the world because of its compatibility with multiple devices like smart TVs and media players.
However, it has one limitation in that you can't store file sizes that are larger than 4GB. That's a hard limit so even if you have a file like a Windows 10 ISO that's about 4.1GB, you can't store it on a USB drive that has been formatted with the FAT32 file system. This file system is generally recommended if you need to use the USB drive with different types of hardware because of its wide compatibility.
NTFS
NTFS is a Microsoft format that debuted with Windows NT, but it was only made available in consumer versions of Windows since Windows XP. The NT File system is the default one that your hard drive is formatted with when you install Windows. It offers several features that are neither found in FAT32 or exFAT, such as a change journal for recovery after errors or crashes, security using file permissions, encryption support, and more.
The biggest advantage is that the partition and file size limits are extremely high, which is the major difference between FAT32 and NTFS. The ideal use for these is for cloning system drives and other large chunks of data. It is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux, but doesn't work with the majority of other hardware devices.
exFAT
exFAT, Extended File Allocation Table File System can be considered an upgrade to the conventional FAT32 format because it has higher size limits and is more lightweight. Incidentally, a larger number of hardware devices can be used with USB drives that are formatted with exFAT than with NTFS, making it a good alternative to FAT32. As such, if compatibility with other devices is a concern, it's a better option than NTFS.
Now that we have an overview of the basic differences between the three file systems, let's learn how to go about formatting a USB drive with one of them.
Format USB to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT in Windows 10 or Windows 7
The process is fairly simple and only involves a couple of clicks and menu option selections, but you will need to make sure that all the data on the drive is backed up before formatting it. By definition, formatting a drive erases all data on that drive, so be sure to back up any data that's already on the USB drive.
Once you have secured your data, follow the steps shown below to format your USB drive in Windows 10:
Step 1: Insert your USB drive into your Windows PC and open File Explorer.
Step 2: Right-click on the drive and select Format… from the contextual menu. A small window will pop up.
Step 3: Depending on what the purpose of the USB drive is, choose the appropriate file system. For greater compatibility, FAT32 is best, but if you want to put large media files, then exFAT is preferred. NTFS is great if you're only using the drive on other Windows systems. Your purpose of use should be the main deciding factor when picking a file system, considering each one's limitations on size limits vs. compatibility.
Step 4: Set the other parameters like Quick Format. When the box is not ticked, it will check for bad sectors, which is a good idea if your drive was corrupted before formatting.
Step 5: Click on Start, and your USB drive will be formatted to the file system that you selected in Step 3. Once you see 'Format Complete' on your screen, you can eject the drive and remove it from the computer. It is now ready to use.
How to Format USB to FAT32/exFAT on Mac
Creating Windows 10 bootable USB on Mac is a common task for people who have multiple computers at home. You have to format the drive to exFAT or FAT32 if the burning process failed due to the wrong partition scheme. The good news is that formatting USB on Mac is also as easy as on Windows 10.
Step 1: Insert the target USB drive into Mac and you should see the drive name on Finder sidebar.
Step 2: Find and open Disk Utility from Launchpad.
Step 3: Click on the USB drive name in Disk Utility app and click 'Restore' button displayed on the top menu. At this time, a couple of formatting options available. There are: Mac OS Extended, MS-DOS(FAT) and ExFAT.
Step 4: Select one of the format from drop-down menu and click 'Erase' to start formatting USB to FAT or ExFAT on Mac.
Exfat Vs Ntfs On Mac
Summary
This is the easiest way to format your USB drive in Windows 10 or Mac. Alternatively, you can also use the DISKPART command line utility in Windows CMD to do this, but it requires some level of technical knowledge and is not generally recommended for new or inexperienced users.
You might have heard about the terms of FAT32, NTFS or exFAT and need to decide which one to choose as the best file system for your SD card or USB flash stick. Don't worry. In this article, we are going to introduce the three file systems so that you'll know the difference between FAT32, NTFS and exFAT as well as their pros & cons and compatibility.
In order to avoid problems like slow USB transfer speed or 'the file is too large for the destination file system', it is necessary to know all the features and limitations of different file systems. For example, Windows operating system gets installed making the use of NTFS file system for partition formatting. In a similar way, FAT32 is used for files in removable disk drives and other such devices which have interface-based storage to keep the files. Basically, the exFAT file system is the modified derivation of FAT32. Keep looking if you need more information to differentiate FAT32, NTFS and exFAT files systems. Fonts for pc or mac.
File System
While we are working with computer and other storage devices, all the workabilities are based on some kinds of algorithm and coding. There are some rules which are implemented to bring out that feature and function of every system. The file system is one of such sets of rules which are derived to process the data storage and keep it secured in a storage device. The computation system is brought in use to store the files in a secured manner.
File system surely is important to make the data stored with its value in the storage device. If it is not there, then only the undefined data will be stored in it. There are many types of file systems which can be used to store the files in different storage options or devices. They are Flash File System, Disk File System and many others. FAT32, NTFS and exFAT are the types of Disk File System.
How to format a USB stick to FAT32, NTFS or exFAT:
It is very easy to format a storage device to any of the three file systems on a Windows computer. Just right click on the disk drive in Windows File Explorer and choose Format, then you will get the options.
Allocation Unit Size
Allocation Unit Size, also known as Cluster Size is an important part of file systems. On a partition of the file, the smallest space occupied by it is termed as Allocation Unit Size. You can vary the file size as per your need ranging from 4096 to 2048K. At the time of formatting, the default allocation unit size is applied to all the files. The file is stored into the same number of pieces as its allocation unit.
Tips: Due to the mechanism of file systems, the data you deleted is not immediately removed from storage devices before new data is saved. Therefore, it is still possible to recover lost files from SD card, hard drive, USB flash stick or computer with a good data recovery software.
1. FAT32 File System
FAT stands for File Allocation Table which is one of the oldest file systems used for storage of data. Initially, it was designed as an 8-bit FAT file system to store the data into an 8-inch floppy disk.
With many modification and advancement, FAT32 was introduced in 1995. It is a great aid to store the files into the removable or external storage device or drives. Up to 4 GB of single file and a total of 8 TB as the maximum disk size for FAT32. So, it is used to store only the small files not the apps or files having a large size. To overcome this limitation of FAT32, NTFS is used.
Compatibility: All version of Windows, Mac, Linux, and almost anything with a USB port.
Pros:
- It is an amazing file system to store files in flash drives.
- It is lightweight and has cross-platform compatibility.
Cons:
- You can only store files having a size-limited up to 4 GB and partition size up to 8 TB.
2. NTFS File System
As we have already seen that FAT32 is not capable to store the large files. To nullify that limitation, NTFS is selected as the default file system with modern techniques to store the file with a large file and partition size.
NTFS or New Technology File System came into use in 1993 with the introduction of Windows NT 3.1 operating system. It is capable to store almost all types of files with a high range of file size limits. In other words, it is capable to store all types of files available at present.
File System
While we are working with computer and other storage devices, all the workabilities are based on some kinds of algorithm and coding. There are some rules which are implemented to bring out that feature and function of every system. The file system is one of such sets of rules which are derived to process the data storage and keep it secured in a storage device. The computation system is brought in use to store the files in a secured manner.
File system surely is important to make the data stored with its value in the storage device. If it is not there, then only the undefined data will be stored in it. There are many types of file systems which can be used to store the files in different storage options or devices. They are Flash File System, Disk File System and many others. FAT32, NTFS and exFAT are the types of Disk File System.
How to format a USB stick to FAT32, NTFS or exFAT:
It is very easy to format a storage device to any of the three file systems on a Windows computer. Just right click on the disk drive in Windows File Explorer and choose Format, then you will get the options.
Allocation Unit Size
Allocation Unit Size, also known as Cluster Size is an important part of file systems. On a partition of the file, the smallest space occupied by it is termed as Allocation Unit Size. You can vary the file size as per your need ranging from 4096 to 2048K. At the time of formatting, the default allocation unit size is applied to all the files. The file is stored into the same number of pieces as its allocation unit.
Tips: Due to the mechanism of file systems, the data you deleted is not immediately removed from storage devices before new data is saved. Therefore, it is still possible to recover lost files from SD card, hard drive, USB flash stick or computer with a good data recovery software.
1. FAT32 File System
FAT stands for File Allocation Table which is one of the oldest file systems used for storage of data. Initially, it was designed as an 8-bit FAT file system to store the data into an 8-inch floppy disk.
With many modification and advancement, FAT32 was introduced in 1995. It is a great aid to store the files into the removable or external storage device or drives. Up to 4 GB of single file and a total of 8 TB as the maximum disk size for FAT32. So, it is used to store only the small files not the apps or files having a large size. To overcome this limitation of FAT32, NTFS is used.
Compatibility: All version of Windows, Mac, Linux, and almost anything with a USB port.
Pros:
- It is an amazing file system to store files in flash drives.
- It is lightweight and has cross-platform compatibility.
Cons:
- You can only store files having a size-limited up to 4 GB and partition size up to 8 TB.
2. NTFS File System
As we have already seen that FAT32 is not capable to store the large files. To nullify that limitation, NTFS is selected as the default file system with modern techniques to store the file with a large file and partition size.
NTFS or New Technology File System came into use in 1993 with the introduction of Windows NT 3.1 operating system. It is capable to store almost all types of files with a high range of file size limits. In other words, it is capable to store all types of files available at present.
Exfat Vs Ntfs Mac Os X
NTFS is also featured with disk usage quotas, reparse points, sparse file support, file-level encryption and distributed link tracking. Moreover, it is also designed so as to display backward compatibility. That means, it is not limited to be used with any latest version. You can use this file system to store using any previous versions. However, this file system is somehow limited to Windows XP and later versions of Windows. You can only read the formatted files of NTFS using Apple's Mac OSX. Most popular web browsers for mac. You can edit the file of NTFS using some particular versions of Linux.
Compatibility: All version of Windows, Microsoft Xbox One, Mac (read-only) and Linux (write support for some versions)
Pros:
- There is an inexhaustible limit of files to be stored using NTFS. You can store a file of any partition size.
- It is mainly used to store files in internal hard drives.
- It is used for the installation of software as well.
Cons:
- It is compatible with limited cross-platform.
- You can not edit the NTFS formatted file using Mac.
3. exFAT File System
exFAT or extended FAT is the modified and advanced file system which is used to fill the space of FAT32. It is mainly used in modern digital cameras and in ball games. Moreover, it is also used to format the high capacity SDXC memory cards. It is capable to support the formatting storage of large files and is lightweight as well. This is the reason why exFAT is considered in many fields where there is a need to support files larger than 4 GB. exFAT SD card is used in daily life for many purposes where the FAT32 is not capable to support due to its limitations of file size. You can copy a full HD movie easily using exFAT SD card and do many other such works.
At present, Microsoft is looking after the US Patent 8321439 which is developed for accelerating the file search speed. It is named as Quick Fine Make Lookup through which one can find his/her file by using Name hashtag or such keywords. This set of the specification has not yet brought up for the exFAT file system due to which this file system users are using a restricted licence over their files. They can get access to the file's licence completely after the release of full specification set by Microsoft. Due to this, vendors from many countries are not using the exFAT file system for the open-source operating system or any commercial software.
Compatibility: Windows XP and later versions, Mac OS X and later versions, Linux (using FUSE), Android
Pros:
- It is lightweight as compared to NTFS.
- It is an intermediate solution over FAT32 and NTFS.
- You can read/write the exFAT formatted files using compatible Mac version as well.
- More devices support exFAT than NTFS.
Cons:
- Its usage is restricted by Microsoft and does not give complete access over the licence to the user.
Verdict
Hence, you have seen all the basic and important features of these three file systems. Now, it will be easy for you to differentiate these file systems and select them appropriately for storing and formatting your files. Generally, exFAT is ideal for flash drives, NTFS for internal drives, and FAT32 is more widely supported by devices. However, in some cases, it is necessary to format a storage device as a file system against the regulation above in order to make the device work smoothly. If you have any queries related to these file systems, or whether you really need to safely remove USB, write it to us using the comments section.
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