If you want to format your external hard drive to work with Mac and Windows computers, you should use exFAT. With exFAT, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years.
One may also ask, can I completely wipe my Mac?
You can wipe your Mac computer — or, in other words, factory reset it — through the macOS Utilities menu. This is a good plan if your Mac is malfunctioning, or you’re looking to sell it. Doing this will wipe all of your personal data and applications. It’ll be like you just turned on your Mac for the first time.
- Connect the drive to the Mac.
- Open Disk Utility. …
- Select the drive you want to format.
- Click Erase.
- Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings: OS X Extended format and GUID partition map. …
- Click Erase and OS X will format the drive.
Likewise, how do you reformat a hard drive?
PC Instructions
Right click on the drive and select Format. Enter a name for the drive in Volume label and select the format type in the File system dropdown box. Click OK. It will take a short while to delete all the files and change the format of the disk.
What are the disadvantages of exFAT?
Disadvantages of exFAT
- Not as compatible as FAT32.
- It does not offer journaling functionality and other advanced features built into the NTFS file system.
What is exFAT on Mac?
ExFAT is a cross-platform solution for use with Mac and Windows devices, now serving as a base for files shared and edited between the two platforms. If you work with Mac and Windows computers often, ExFAT may be the best option for your Mac.
Which is better fat or exFAT?
File System Speed
Generally speaking, exFAT drives are faster at writing and reading data than FAT32 drives. You’ll find benchmarks online if you’re interested in specific details; Flexense has a thorough comparison of FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS. In almost every test from that comparison, exFAT outperformed FAT32.