Format a drive for Mac OS X and Windows This CNET TV video gives you step-by-step instructions on how to set up your external hard drive so it can be used on a Windows machine and on your Mac.

While the Mac can use a hard drive formatted for Windows, some features may be limited. So it's a good idea to format a new hard drive specifically for macOS.

If you have a slow Mac, or a bug that won't go away, you can make a backup, wipe your Mac clean, and use it anew, all without having to reinstall macOS.

If you have to use a flash drive on both Macs and Windows PCs, make sure both systems can read it. Here's how to format the drive correctly.

While Macs typically use a file format known as APFS or Mac OS Extended, and Windows systems often use NTFS or ExFAT, FAT remains a commonly used file system on thumb drives, as that format ...

Mac 911 How to format a USB thumb drive for both Mac and Windows The Mac/Windows-compatible ExFat format allows larger file sizes than the old FAT32.