Open Disk Utility from your /Applications/Utilities folder. Select the hard drive in the column on the left (usually Macintosh HD). At the bottom, you will see Format.

It is also playable by the Android operating system with its video player. It is used as the default video conversion format for HandBrake and Air Video Server on the Macintosh….M4V.

All new photos and videos will now use JPEG or H. 264 format. To return to using the space-saving HEIF and HEVC formats, choose High Efficiency.

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.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Terminal on your Mac.
2. Connect the drive formatted as NTFS.
3. Enter this command: sudo nano /etc/fstab.
4. Scroll to the end of the list, and enter this command: LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw, auto, nobrowse.
5. Press Control+O on your Mac keyboard.
6. Press Control+X on your keyboard.
7. Open Finder on your Mac.

Apple’s macOS can read from Windows-formatted NTFS drives, but can’t write to them out of the box. Here are a few solutions for getting full read/write access to NTFS drives. However, for external drives, you should probably use exFAT instead. macOS can natively read and write to exFAT drives, just like Windows can.

Microsoft NTFS is one of the primary file systems of Windows. If you work on a Mac computer and need to read or write files from HDD, SSD or a flash drive formatted under Windows, you need Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Paragon Software.

The first format, FAT32, is fully compatible with Mac OS X, though with some drawbacks that we’ll discuss later. If the drive’s format comes up as MS-DOS (FAT) or, less likely, ExFAT, you may be able to simply leave the drive as-is and not bother reformatting it.

Compatibility: NTFS is compatible with operating systems back to Windows XP. For Mac OS users, however, NTFS systems can only be read by Mac, while FAT32 drives can be both read and written to by the Mac OS.

It can be read by Macs, and if you install some special software, NTFS can be written by Macs. HFS+ can only be read by Macs, but can store really large files and large volumes. If the drive is for sharing – then Fat32 is the way to go. If you only plan to use it on a mac – use HFS+ (native to Macs).

To Format SD card to FAT32 in Mac OS, follow below instructions:

1. Connect the SD card to the Mac OS X computer.
2. Search for Disk Utility in Launchpad and open it.
3. Select the Drive and click Erase.
4. Enter the new name (OPTIONAL).
5. Select MS-DOS(FAT) for Format.
6. Select Master Boot Record for Scheme.
7. Click Erase.

Into your Mac, plug in the USB drive. Next, select Applications>Utilities and then launch Disk UtilityFrom the disk utility sidebar, select the USB drive. From the disk utility toolbar, chose Erase. Give the formatted disk a name and select either MS-DOS (FAT32) or ExFat from the format menu.

1 Format a USB Drive with a Mac

1. Insert a USB drive into your USB port.
2. macOS will recognize the drive and show its icon on the desktop.
3. Launch Disk Utility.
4. Select your USB drive from the list on the left.
5. Select Erase at the top.
6. Type in a Name for the drive, then select a Format.

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.

In summary, for USB drives, you should use exFAT if you’re in a Windows and Mac environment, and NTFS if you’re only using Windows.

Best Format for Sharing Files

• The short answer is: use exFAT for all external storage devices you will be using to share files.
• FAT32 is really the most compatible format of all (and the default format USB keys are formatted with).

If you need the drive for a Windows-only environment, NTFS is the best choice. If you need to exchange files (even occasionally) with a non-Windows system like a Mac or Linux box, then FAT32 will give you less agita, as long as your file sizes are smaller than 4GB.

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.

Most external hard drives come formatted with the FAT file system, which makes the drive compatible with multiple operating systems. As such, the drive is immediately usable out of the box. However, if you do not intend to change the file system, a format is not necessary.

How Long Does It Take to Format a 1TB Hard Drive: Performing a Quick Format on a 1TB hard drive takes about 20 minutes. If you select the Full Format, it could take you up to 1 hour.