However the format exfat is similar to ms dos fat without restriction. Difference between exfat and fat32 difference between. Ms dos fat msdos fat is the most popular format amongst external hard disks, as its both readable and writable by nearly all operating systems, windows and os x included. In comparison, fat32 has a maximum theoretical partition size of 16tb with 32gb being the more typical size. Weve already told you the difference between fat32, exfat, and. It is the oldest and is therefore the least efficient out of them all. So if your question was whats the difference between ms dos fat and windows fat, the answer would be ms dos uses fat16 while windows uses fat32. Apples mac osx provides readonly support to an ntfsformatted drive and only a few linux variants are able to provide write support for ntfs. The fat32 file system is a mature file system, which is an improved version of the original fat file system used in the ms dos operating system. Created by microsoft, they have their pros and cons which you might want to know and will allow you to use them wisely. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps.
As you must have noticed that, windows gives us the choice of using one of these three different file systems i. Mac os extended casesensitive, journaled mac os extended casesensitive ms dos fat what are the differences among these. Fat32 file allocation table readwrite fat32 from both native windows and native mac os x. If the drives format comes up as msdos fat or, less likely, exfat, you.
But for this question i want to rule out compatibility preferences of the different options. Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs. Alternative remote file access protocols include the server message block smb, also termed cifs, apple filing protocol afp, netware core protocol ncp, and os400 file server file system. Im aware that using the ms dos fat format offers the good compatibility when sharing the flash drive with windows users. May 14, 2017 going over the difference between fat32, exfat and ntfs in less than 5 minutes. Msdos fat is an ancient reversecompatible file format, a precursor to fat32. Be aware that formatting a drive deletes all of the files on it, so back up anything important before completing this step. Fat32 has the highest capacity among different fat variants. Fyi, on a mac running macos, in the terminal application, you can. Later, microsoft introduced the ntfs file system, which improved the.
Select the drive you want to format and click erase button. Which mac file system is best for an external drive. Format a flash card as fat16 in mac os x arquivo eletronico. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x admfactory. What is the difference between ntfs and fat32 microsoft. What is the difference between the format types in the mac os x disk utility. What is the difference between the format types in the mac. What is the difference between ntfs and fat32 file systems. It isnt as efficient as ntfs windows but is cross compatible between windows os and mac os since 10. To format a new drive to a different file system, select it and click erase. Jun 22, 2016 exfat is an improved version of fat32.
The exfat extended fat is another microsoft proprietary file system which finds its use in ball games where the fat32 feels out of breath. May 01, 2008 what is the difference between the format types in the mac os x disk utility. If you want to format a blank external drive from a mac computer, launch the disk utility, located in the applications utility folder. Disk utility gives you five different choices for drive formats in os x lion. While exfat doesnt quite match fat32s compatibility, it is more widelycompatible than ntfs. I bought a new external 500gb usb drive for my laptop, which happens to be a mac that i also run windows 7 in a virtual machine. Difference between fat and fat32 difference between. Im fat32 is not supported by ms dos versions before v7.
Going over the difference between fat32, exfat and ntfs in less than 5 minutes. File system formats available in disk utility on mac apple palaikymas. Why is there a big difference between size and size on disk. Be aware that formatting a drive deletes all of the files on it, so back up anything important. Ntfs windows nt file system readwrite ntfs from native windows. Why is there a big difference between size and size on. There is nothing difficult to format it to fat32 or exfat.
Fat32 is the only variant of fat still in widespread use today. I recommend using it when compatibility between mac and windows is important. The main difference between exfat and fat32 is their maximum capacities. Im fat32 is not supported by msdos versions before v7. Windows os est lun des systemes dexploitation les plus interactifs et conviviaux au monde. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x. Sharing an external drive between a pc and a mac, exfat. It is also available to operating systems such as acorn risc os, the classic mac os, openvms, msdos, microsoft windows, novell netware, and ibm as400. Oct 23, 2017 ntfs is the default system on many storage systems, and it is used by windows, due to the fact that it is the most modern of the three. Choose this format if the size of the disk is 32 gb or less. Latest posts by ben joan see all difference between sony cybershot s series and w series december 22, 2012. The difference between ft32, ntfs, and exfat is the storage size that the file. With fat32 and lfn support, however has less compatibility than ms dos 7. I would like to use exfat as the file system on this partition given its advantages, but im unclear whether boot camp assistant will allow me to do this.
It offers features like security permissions to limit other users access to folders, quotas so one user cant fill up the disk, shadowing backing up and many other features that help windows. Windows, mac and linux operating systems support exfat natively. In disk utility, highlight the sd card device and click unmount at the top, not eject. Choose this format if the size of the disk is over 32 gb.
While mac os x includes only readonly support for ntfs, macs offer full readwrite support for exfat. File system formats available in disk utility on mac apple. The fat32, file allocation table 32, is the first of the three file systems to be created and used. Fat32 is an older file system thats not as efficient as ntfs and doesnt support as big a feature set, but does offer greater compatibility with other operating systems.
Jan 02, 2016 ms dos fat msdos fat is the most popular format amongst external hard disks, as its both readable and writable by nearly all operating systems, windows and os x included. Click the erase button and the drive will start formatting. Fat32 uses 32 bits while other variants of fat use less. As you can see below, there is so much difference between the size and size on disk fields for this folder. Go to applications utilities double click and open disk utility.
Can microsofts exfat file system bridge the gap between. It is awkward that most of the computer users dont care much about the meaning of available options and fea. One of the major limitations of this format is that its not able to write files larger than 4gb, which can. The file format fat32 is now commonly used in memory cards between 4gb and 32gb. Apple file system apfs apple file system apfs, the default file system for mac computers using macos 10. When you erase a drive on your mac, should you use mac os extended journaled, msdos fat, exfat, or apfs. Mac os extended casesensitive, journaled mac os extended casesensitive msdos fat. To this day, it remains the default file system for mechanical and hybrid hard drives, both while installing macos and while formatting external drives. What is the difference between the format types in the mac os. Well, exfat is native to both windows and mac os x and some flavors of linux have it added. Starting with fat32 on a mac, known as msdos fat, this file system is fully. With fat32 support, however only a boot disk and few files are available, and has less compatibility than msdos 7.
Mar 21, 2011 i ask because i have a 500 gb external drive. Microsoft owns patents on several elements of its design. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. Storage hardware cannot be used without a file system, but not all file systems are universally supported by all operating systems all operating systems support fat32 because it is a simple file system and has been around for a really long time. The differences between fat16, fat32 and exfat file systems. In disk utility on your mac, format disks or volumes using apple file system. Nov 01, 2017 for anyone who has similar or the same problem. Mac os extended was the default file system used by every mac from 1998 until 2017, when apfs replaced it. Ntfs is the default system on many storage systems, and it is used by windows, due to the fact that it is the most modern of the three. But in windows 7 my only choices are exfat or ntfs. In a windowsbased environment, usb flash disks may be formatted using three different file systems. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself.
Sep 25, 2015 exfat has features that resist common data corruption. With fat32 and lfn support, however has less compatibility than msdos 7. Once things start to go bad on a hard disk, or flash disk you are going to start losing data quickly on fat32, while exfat will make it more difficult to actually loose your data. The maximum length for the volume name is 11 characters. One of the major limitations of this format is that its not able to write files larger than 4gb, which can be quite a setback. What are the differences between fat16, fat32 and exfat file. Connaitre le difference entre fat32, exfat et ntfs. For example, folders named homework and homework are two different folders. How to format drive for mac and windows computer technician blog. What are the difference between msdos fat32 format and. File system formats available in disk utility on mac.
Jan 21, 2014 superuser reader thelastblack wants to know why there is such a huge difference between size and size on disk for a folder on his phones sd card. Im aware that using the msdos fat format offers the good compatibility when sharing the flash drive with windows users. In this article, we describe the differences between these two file systems and how. These file systems provide a way to organize an internal or external drive. So if your question was whats the difference between msdos fat and windows fat, the answer would be msdos uses fat16 while windows uses fat32. Consumer electronics such as dvrs or smart tvs might not be able to read ntfs but they will likely read exfat. Fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems created by microsoft which used to store data on storage devices. First, a brief history of exfat for those unfamiliar with it. It takes long 12 minutes, but does the job and is much more reliable than the mac terminal, which times out every other time. Click the format popup menu, then choose one of the following. On macos high sierra, its used on all mechanical and hybrid drives. Pour ta seconde question, le format exfat est integre a mac depuis snow leopard 10. Connect the usb fash drive to the mac os x computer. After you select the drive, click the erase button at the top of the window, and then select msdos fat from the format menu.
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