Our IT guy always told us to format our hdd storage drives as Mac osx journaled (case sensitive) because the exfat read/write speeds much slower than osx. … ExFat is fine for a backup, for moving around stuff or a flash/transfer drive. However it is not recommended for editing or long term storage.
Is exFAT better than Mac OS Extended?
Because it’s an older system, ExFAT is much more susceptible to fragmentation than Mac OS Extended or APFS, and strips metadata from files. Plainly put, ExFAT allows you to work on files between Mac and Windows machines without reformatting those files, but it lacks many modern features people may find important.
What is the best format for a Mac external hard drive?
exFAT. Designed by Microsoft to provide similar compatibility to FAT32 without the pesky limitations, exFAT is the format of choice for drives that you’ll share between both Windows and Mac computers. macOS and Windows can each read and write to exFAT volumes, making it ideal for flash storage and external drives.
Should I format Apfs or Mac OS Extended?
Newer macOS installations should use APFS by default, and if you’re formatting an external drive, APFS is the faster and better option for most users. Mac OS Extended (or HFS+) is still a good option for older drives, but only if you plan on using it with a Mac or for Time Machine backups.
What are the disadvantages of exFAT?
Importantly it is compatible with: >=Windows XP, >=Mac OSX 10.6. 5, Linux (using FUSE), Android.
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- It is not quite as widely-supported as FAT32.
- exFAT (and the other FATs, as well) lacks a journal, and so is vulnerable to corruption when the volume is not properly unmounted or ejected, or during unexpected shutdowns.
Should I use exFAT for Mac?
exFAT is a good option if you work often with Windows and Mac computers. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you don’t have to constantly back up and reformat each time. Linux is also supported, but you will need to install appropriate software to take full advantage of it.
Should I use NTFS or exFAT?
NTFS is ideal for internal drives, while exFAT is generally ideal for flash drives. Both of them have no realistic file-size or partition-size limits. If storage devices are not compatible with NTFS file system and you don’t want to limited by FAT32, you can choose exFAT file system.
Is exFAT slower than NTFS?
Make mine faster!
FAT32 and exFAT are just as fast as NTFS with anything other than writing large batches of small files, so if you move between device types often, you might want to leave FAT32/exFAT in place for maximum compatibility.
Is Apfs good for HDD?
APFS currently works only with SSDs, although Apple says that full support for mechanical hard disks and Fusion drives is coming in macOS 10.14 Mojave. It’s possible to format a hard disk drive as APFS, but you’re likely to experience a performance hit compared to it formatted with Mac OS Extended.
Should I use Apple Partition or GUID?
Apple partition map is ancient… It doesn’t support volumes over 2TB (perhaps WD want you to by another disk to get 4TB ). GUID is the correct format, if data is disappearing or corrupting suspect the drive. … GUID is the correct format, if data is disappearing or corrupting suspect the drive.
What format should a Time Machine drive be?
If you plan to use your drive for Time Machine backups on a Mac, and you use only macOS, use HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus, or macOS Extended). A drive formatted this way will not mount on a Windows computer without additional software.
Why is exFAT unreliable?
exFAT is more susceptible to corruption as it only has one FAT file table. If you still choose to format it exFAT I suggest you do it on a Windows system.
Should I use FAT32 or exFAT?
FAT32 is an older file system that’s not as efficient as NTFS and doesn’t support as big a feature set, but does offer greater compatibility with other operating systems. exFAT is a modern replacement for FAT32 and more devices and operating systems support it than NTFS but it’s not nearly as widespread as FAT32.
Can I convert exFAT to NTFS without losing data?
To ensure file system change from exFAT to NTFS format, you have to turn to a different syntax, format. To guarantee no data loss during exFAT to NTFS conversion, you’d better backup files before reformatting. Take format USB exFAT to NTFS for example. Press Windows key and R key simultaneously to open Run.