If you really fancy a consumer-oriented drive formatted for Windows (which will usually come pre-formatted in the NTFS format), you can use the Disk Utility in macOS to reformat it after you bring it home from the store. Of course, you can easily wipe and reformat most external drives, so you're not limited to buying only those intended for use with Macs. It's simply called the Apple File System (APFS), and it's the first format to be used across both Macs and iOS devices.
Starting with macOS "High Sierra," Cupertino ditched its venerable Mac OS Extended file system, commonly abbreviated as HFS+, and switched to an entirely new file system. Understanding File Systems: HFS+, APFS, exFAT, and Moreīefore we get to Thunderbolt, we need to address a basic building block of hard drives that has always affected compatibility, and probably always will: the file system.Īn external drive's file system is the most important factor that determines whether or not it's readable by Macs, PCs, or both.
Read on as we solve this and all of your other Mac external-storage quandaries. In fact, in many cases it makes sense to choose an inexpensive non-Thunderbolt drive that isn't targeted toward Mac use.
So what's a Mac user to do who just wants to back up his or her files using Time Machine, or stash a large video collection? Spoiler: A Thunderbolt drive isn't your only option far from it. As a result, they are typically external SSDs, or even multidrive RAID arrays, which means they also tend to be expensive. The main difference is that many drives made specifically for Macs use the upgraded Thunderbolt data transfer protocol, which promises super-fast data transfers for photographers and video editors who need to store mountains of footage and access it very quickly. Most laptops with either operating system now come with at least one oval-shaped USB-C port, and it's the one you'll want to use for connecting your external drive.
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How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages.With the proud purchase of my first NAS (the TS-251) I hope to create a setup in which I can use the storage capacity on my TS-251 for a shared workspace/backups on both laptops (and soon a PC).Ĭan you advise me how to best do this? I have tried to read up on the basics of the different file systems of windows and OSX, however i can't say i now know what to do and what settings to keep in mind. Apart from the shared use of dropbox/google drive I have always used the both computers and their content separated from each other.
Since a couple of years I have started to use Mac laptops (currently MacbookAir) alongside a windows laptop. You should choose the NAS Drive that suits your needs and personal preferences.Dear all, In choosing these drives, the determining factors were storage capacity, backup options, connectivity, and NAS security. The review above consists of the best 5 NAS Drives for your Mac device. Here’s how Mac users can make the most out of NAS, and a look at the top four NAS solutions currently available. For Mac users, there’s no better way to expand storage capacity and share files across networks than NAS.But with so many NAS solutions available for home and business use, knowing what you’ll need can be tricky.