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One SSD partitioned into APFS and ExFAT?

Is it possible to partition an external 2 TB SSD into 2 x 1 TB drives, one formatted with APFS, the other ExFAT? If so, how? Thank you in advance.

Posted on Dec 29, 2022 8:29 AM

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Posted on Dec 29, 2022 10:52 AM

You should be able to do that. First you would partition and format the drive into two equal partitions as OS X Extended (journaled) or whatever size ratio you need. Then select one partition and reformat as APFS and then the other partition as ExFAT.


The reason for starting out as OS X Extended is that once formatted as APFS it's very difficult to get to ExFAT or OS X Extended. So start with OSXE and for from there.


And be sure you don't use the APFS for Time Machine like P. Phillips warned.


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Dec 29, 2022 10:52 AM in response to RangerJoe

You should be able to do that. First you would partition and format the drive into two equal partitions as OS X Extended (journaled) or whatever size ratio you need. Then select one partition and reformat as APFS and then the other partition as ExFAT.


The reason for starting out as OS X Extended is that once formatted as APFS it's very difficult to get to ExFAT or OS X Extended. So start with OSXE and for from there.


And be sure you don't use the APFS for Time Machine like P. Phillips warned.


Dec 29, 2022 9:40 AM in response to PRP_53

Thanks for replying.

I'm using an external SSD to backup a variety of files. The drive is moved between Macs and PCs. The APFS side will only need to be accessed by Macs. The ExFAT partition will be used on both Macs and PCs. I'm less than confident in Ventura's handling of ExFAT at the moment, hence the desire for a more mac friendly format.

One SSD partitioned into APFS and ExFAT?

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