I found your article because I was trying to choose between FAT32 and exFAT in formatting a 64GB USB drive for use in transferring data between a ChromeBook and a MacBook. Love the tone and perspective of your article.

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And let me know if you have any questions. I hope this answers some common drive questions. Why am I hesitant? I consider disk access too important. And at least one way to read HFS+ on Windows (for free). One footnote: I am hesitant to mention other ways to write NTFS on OSX for free. That way, you stop thinking about what any drive is formatted and just get your work done. It can read/write the Mac format on a Windows system.

If you’re mainly on Windows, format everything NTFS and buy a utility like MacDrive.

It can read/write the Windows Format on a Mac System.

If you’re primarily on Mac, format everything HFS+ and buy a utility like Paragon’s Microsoft NTFS for Mac.

What should you do instead? It depends on your primary platform. Never use for live access of information. Where should I use ExFat? Predominantly on a removable drive that is used solely to transfer between systems. If they’re not accounted for, and you eject the drive incorrectly, you’ll possibly lose data or corrupt the drive. While reading/writing to a drive, some information is cached – especially some quick small elements.

There are many, many of us who professionally switch platforms, sometimes inside of the same day. On paper, it looks great, but no, I don’t think you should use it!Ī good rule of thumb? If you’re on a Mac, use HFS+/Mac OS Extended. It can be read/written by Mac or Windows and doesn’t have the limitation of 4GB like Fat32. ExFat (Extensible File Allocation Table).It’s the most common Mac drive format – and also called MacOS Extended. Readable on both Mac and Windows, but only writeable on Windows. They read/write cross-platform, but a file must always be less than 4GB. Most of my thumb drives have been formatted from the factory. Yes, there are some others, but these are the ones you’re most likely to encounter. Here’s a shortlist of common drive formats.

Format drive for mac