If you often work with macOS and Windows, you probably need to connect a USB memory or external drive to both computers and have it work correctly. This is more complex than it seems at first glance since the format in which the storage unit is can affect its operation, to the point of not even recognizing it in any of the systems.
Apple has its own APFS or Apple File System format and MacOS Plus or HFS+, proprietary file systems that Windows computers are not able to read. This also happens the other way around, the NTFS format developed by Microsoft is a format that Macs can read but cannot write files.
However, there is a format in which you can format a pendrive or external hard drive that is compatible with macOS and Windows. It is something that we should all know, how to change the Mac username. This is what you should know.
What format to choose if you want to use a hard drive or USB memory on Mac and Windows
Exfat. This is the format that you should use on your USB memory or external hard drive to be able to use it at the same time on a Mac and a Windows computer without problems. This is an update to FAT32, another file system that is compatible with both operating systems but only allows you to save files up to 4 GB.
How to format an external hard drive or USB flash drive on Mac to ExFAT
Apple includes in macOS a powerful tool called Disk Utility. From here we can format any hard drive connected to the Mac in a matter of seconds in the format we want, in this case ExFAT. It is the most recommended option since you will not have to install anything.
- Connect the USB flash drive or external drive to the USB port on your Mac.
- Open the Disk Utility app, you can search for it by clicking the magnifying glass in the top toolbar.
- In the left area the connected disks appear, select the disk or pendrive that you want to format to ExFAT.
- In the upper area of Disk Utility, tap on Erase, keep in mind that all the contents of the disk will be erased.
- Choose the name you want to give it and in Format choose ExFAT.
- Click on Delete.
- The covering process will begin, which will end shortly and your hard drive or USB memory will already be in ExFAT format.
Now just eject the disk and you can use it without problems on both Mac and Windows. You will be able to transfer any type of file of any size without problems between the two operating systems.