If you want to transfer files from a Mac to Windows PC and vice versa using an external portable hard drive then you have to have the external drive formatted in a file system both OS's can read and write too. Your choice is ms-dos (aka fat32) or exfat and I go over the difference in the video.
Note: most external drives you buy will automatically be formatted in NTFS which is a Windows file system. Macs can only read but not write to a ntfs file system.
So if you want your external hard drive to be backward compatible with both OS's then you need to reformat it with fat32 or exfat. Please like, sub, share if you find this video helpful!
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Dec 29, 2015 - You can format the drive from either the Mac or the Windows machine. Your exFAT-formatted drive or partition can now be used for both.
., the hard drive manager included with all versions of Windows. Note: In Windows 10 and Windows 8, the gives you the quickest access to Disk Management. You can also in any version of Windows, but is probably easier unless you're really quick with.
See if you're not sure which of those several versions of Windows is installed on your computer. With now open, locate the drive you want to format from the list at the top. Important: Is the drive you want to format not listed, or does an Initialize Disk or Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard window appear? If so, it means you still need to partition the drive. See and then return here to continue. Note: Formatting the C drive, or whatever letter happens to identify the drive that Windows is installed on, can not be done from Disk Management. Or from anywhere else in Windows.
See for instructions on how to format your primary drive. Once located, right-click or tap-and-hold on the drive and choose Format. A 'Format drive letter:' window should appear. Warning: Obviously, it's very, very important to choose the correct drive to format. Once started, you can't stop a format without causing problems. If you're formatting a drive that has data on it, double-check that it's the correct drive by looking at the drive letter and then checking in Explorer that it is, in fact, the correct drive. If you're formatting a new drive, the drive letter assigned should be unfamiliar to you and the File System will probably be listed as RAW.
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In the Volume label: textbox, either give a name to the drive or leave the name as is. If this is a new drive, Windows will assign the New Volume. I recommend giving a name to the drive so it's easier to identify in the future. For example, if you're planning on using this drive to store movies, name the volume Movies. For File system: choose NTFS unless you have a specific need to choose another file system. is always the best file system option to use in Windows unless you have a specific need to choose.
Other FAT file systems are only available as options on drives 2 GB and smaller. Set the Allocation unit size: to Default unless there's a specific need to customize it. There are very few reasons to change this. In Windows 10, 8, and 7, the Perform a quick format option is checked by default but I recommend unchecking the box so a 'full' format is done. Yes, a quick format will format the hard drive considerably faster than a standard format, but the benefits usually outweigh the short-term cost (your time) of the full format. Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista: In a standard format, each on the hard drive is checked for errors (great for new and older drives) and a one-pass is also performed (great for previously used drives).
A quick format skips the bad sector search and basic.