Any changes you make on files on this system is permanent. The only drawback of exFAT is that it doesn’t support Journaling, i.e., cannot keep track of file changes. You can have a maximum of 4GB size limit per file which is not ideal. Now you can plug into any OS – even Linux, and it will work in reading and write mode. You might argue why not use FAT32 which works for both the OS’s. Click Start and close this window when finished.In the File System dropdown, choose exFAT.Open up File Explorer and right-click on the drive.Plug-in your drive into the computer’s USB port.In the Diskpart window, input the following commands and hit Enter after each command. Type diskpart in the Run dialogue, and hit Enter.
On both Macs and PCs, you can open USB hard drives by simply clicking drives. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialogue. If you use Windows XP or later, the drive should show up in 'My Computer,' along with your hard drives, optical drives, and any other storage media.
Now you can copy data from the Mac formatted drive to your Windows PC and vice versa. If there is any file that is Mac-specific, it will also show an apple icon next to it. If you double-click on the drive, it will open just like a normal Windows drive. After these steps, everything will be lost forever. If you use a Mac, the USB drive should show up on your desktop a few seconds after you connect it to your computer. If you connect a Mac formatted disk to your computer, it’ll instantly show up in Explorer with a little Apple icon on it.
It is where exFAT or Extended File Allocation Table comes into the picture. If you don’t know, exFAT was created to be used on flash drives like USB or SD cards. So the question is how do you format a hard drive using exFAT? The answer is even more straightforward.īefore we go ahead, if you have anything on your drive, make sure to backup everything. Drag and drop any files you want to transfer into that icon. if your old laptop is Windows, format the external HD as FAT32, then. To send files from your PC to your Mac, click 'My Computer' on the PC and there will be a 'D' or 'E' drive displayed to signify the Mac. What are they Or you could use an external HD. The exact method of making the connection and transferring the files depends on the specific computers you have. So I needed a format which is both read and write on both the systems. Windows or Mac It's possible to connect the two computers via an ethernet cable or a firewire cable. I am the kind of person who needs to switch between both the OS daily.