To do that, connect the empty external HD to your Mac and launch Disk Utility. You won't be able to write to the Mac side from your Windows computer, and vice versa, but it's a good solution for people who want all the advantages each format has to offer for its respective system. For example, if you have a 1TB hard drive, 500GB of storage can be used with your Windows computer, and 500 will be dedicated to your Mac computer. This solution is a little different than the previous two because instead of having one hard drive that works with both machines, you're splitting your HD into two sections, each dedicated to a different OS. Option 3: Create two partitions on your hard drive to use with each OS, separately. SSD vs.You aren't stuck with your drive formatted for one platform forever.How to clone a hard drive as a backup for your Windows computer.What is Google Drive? A guide to navigating Google's file storage service and collaboration tools.What is an SSD? Everything you should know about solid state drives.What is a hard drive? Everything you should know about the computer storage device.

You'll see the MacOS Utilities window choose 'Disk Utility.' Now you can choose to erase your startup drive, and choose 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' as the operating system. To get around that problem, hold down the Command + R keys when you turn on your Mac and let go when the logo appears.

If you want to format your Mac's system drive, you can't do that when the Mac is running normally because the drive is in use by the operating system. Usually, you'll want ExFAT, which is the default for the MacOS. Select the drive you want to format and then choose “Erase.”Ĥ. At the top of the window, click 'Erase.'ĥ. In the pop-up window, choose the file system you want to use.

Windows format disk for mac