Hi,
I'm getting a 2TB external drive. Which file system is recommended for an external drive that one wants to use on both Mindows and OS X 10.8?
I would much appreciate if you would state your reasons on your recommendation as well.
Thanks.
MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), HDD: 7200 rpm HDD, Disp: 1680x1050
Fat32
this is the only one that would mount on both with read/write permissions.
FAT32 (MSDOS) and exFAT are read/write compatible. NTFS is read-only to OS X, OS X is unreadable and unwriteable to Windows. They are both usable with third-party software.
Thanks, what about HFS+ ?
Because FAT32 doesn't allow a file larger than 4GB and I have files that big.
Any other alternatives?
HFS+ aka Mac OS Extended.
No go as per Kappy's post.
Nope, HFS+ is not recognised by Windows.
You can use NTFS drives if you have Parallels installed on your mac and you connect the USB drive to the Windows VM in Parallels. The Parallels drivers allow files to be read from & written to the NTFS drive. This would allow files over 4GB.
If you connect an NTFS drive to the Mac you'll get read only.
If you need the drive to be interchangeable between OS X and Windows the you'd be best to use FAT32.
Spend a few bucks and get Tuxera NTFS 2012.3.4. It enables OS X to both read and write NTFS formats including large files over FAT's limit.
What about exFat?
Paragon's NTFS for Mac is even cheaper that Tuxera and works just great - I've been using it for years. Format as NTFS on a Windows machine and spend $20 to make it compatible with your MBP.
Clinton
Thanks but what about exFAT? I've read that it's compatible with both Windows and OS X. How does it work in real world? As good as theory?
You can use exFAT - both machines will be able to read and write from and to the drive. Just be sure to format it on a Windows machine.
Clinton
Thanks,
1) How does it matter where I format it from? Just curious, as I've read tutorials that they did it in OS X.
2) Since exFAT is Microsoft propriety tech, it's implementation, and especially performance, in OS X can be questionable. Does anyone have a long-term experience with using exFAT on a large external HDD over a long period of time?
Windows likes 1024-size blocks and makes 1024-size blocks. OSX makes larger than 1024-blocks, but can live with 1024.
So it's preferrable to format it under Windows, right?
What happens if you do the opposite, will Windows be able to read it?
When I formatted ExFAT on PSX, Windows saw it as not even formatted. Then I formatted ExFAT on Windows, and OSX was perfectly happy.
Thanks, on my second question:
Since exFAT is Microsoft propriety tech, it's implementation, and especially performance, in OS X can be questionable. Does anyone have a long-term experience with using exFAT on a large external HDD over a long period of time?
Which file system is compatible between OS X and Windows for my external drive?
