
Reformatting will delete all the data stored on the drive, so if you need to reformat, do so as soon as you buy the drive. Now that you’ve figured out those differences, it’s time to reformat your hard drive.
#Format usb on mac for use on xbox windows#
It’s possible, but tricky, to change the size of a partition later on in Windows and macOS we recommend backing up the data on your drive before attempting the task, since it’s possible to wipe your drive doing this. Make sure to leave plenty of room for future backups on both partitions.

Now your computer will see your single drive as multiple, smaller drives. First, partition the drive using Disk Utility with macOS, and (using our walkthrough below) format one part as HFS+ and the other as FAT32 then, plug the drive into Windows and reformat the FAT32 portion as NTFS.
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A drive formatted this way will not mount on a Windows computer without additional software.

If you plan to use your drive for File History backups on a Windows computer, and you use only Windows, stick to NTFS (New Technology File System).

So what do those four file systems mean, and which one is right for you? Non-Linux computers can use four main file systems: NTFS, HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT. If you use a Mac, the likelihood that you’ll have to reformat the drive is higher. If you use Windows, chances are good that you won’t need to reformat your external hard drive-unless you buy it secondhand, or you plan on switching between operating systems, your drive should come ready to use.
#Format usb on mac for use on xbox portable#
If you buy an external drive-such as one of our recommended desktop hard drives, portable hard drives, or USB 3.0 flash drives-you may need to reformat it to work with your operating system of choice, since different operating systems use different file systems to process data.Īlthough it’s true that any drive is compatible with both Windows and macOS, most drives come preformatted for Windows out of the box.
