Many of us are quite familiar with this type of file format system as it is fully compatible (read & write) with Mac, Windows, & Linux.

Additionally, you can encrypt & password protect the drive with an extra security layer. So in simple words, if your Mac isn’t running on High Sierra, the default file format will be MacOS Extended automatically.įrom a safety point of view, in case you accidentally lost your drive & don’t want anyone to access the data in the drive, you can use the MacOS Extended (Journaled) version as well. Because, any Mac that isn’t running on macOS High Sierra won’t be able to read or use the APFS (Apple File System) format.Īlso known as HFS+, MacOS Extended is the prior version of the file format system on the Mac that you could use while formatting the hard drive on Mac. This newer file system is comparatively more efficient & reliable and on top of that, you can use the case-sensitive or encrypted version as well.įor now, while trying to format a hard drive on a mac, it’s recommended not to use this type of file format system. Since APFS is the new File format system, it’s the default on condition that you’re using the specific macOS version. So the type of file format will be depending on the purpose of the drive as explained below:

The article is about formatting drives on macOS, however first we should know what we would be using the drive for. So before knowing how to format a drive on a mac, we need to know the file format system to identify the ways to format a hard drive on Mac: Which File Format You Should Use? Obviously we can use Disk Utility to format a hard disk, flash drive, or other storage device (easiest to use). Since formatting any of the drives can be a bit tricky because you may lose your precious data if you don’t have backup. There are many theories around “why & how to format a Drive on Mac”, but it can be as simple as just selling your Mac. Some of us format the drives (internal as well as external) to use it fully again because with time, the supporting files take unnecessary space. There can be as many reasons why someone would want to format a hard drive on a Mac.

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