From Sohu.com https://www.sohu.com/a/19480252_200337
Which format of hard drive does Mac support
2015-06-19 11:17
Different computer systems support different formats of hard drives, and hard drives of different formats are very different. Nowadays, the popular Mac system also has format hard drives that it supports and does not support. So which format of hard disk does Mac support? What is the difference between hard drives in various formats?
First, what formats are available
1.NTFS format
NTFS is the file system of the Windows NT environment. NTFS replaces the old FAT file system. Simply put, NTFS is an upgraded version, which is suitable for larger file systems. For example, each disk can be divided into more space and have higher security attributes. The biggest impact on users is that the FAT32 hard disk format does not support files larger than 4GB, and many applications and game masterpieces now exceed 4GB capacity, so users must format them. The partitions that NTFS can support (called volumes if dynamic disks) can reach 2TB (2048GB).
Figure 1: ntfs format
2.FAT format
FAT format is divided into FAT16 and FAT32, FAT32 is a kind of hard disk partition format of Windows system. This format uses a 32-bit file allocation table, which greatly enhances the management capacity of the disk, breaking the FAT16 limit of only 2 GB for each partition. Since the production cost of hard disks is now declining, their capacity is getting larger and larger. After using the FAT32 partition format, we can define a large hard disk as a partition without having to divide it into several partitions, which greatly facilitates the management of the disk. However, because a single file larger than 4GB cannot be stored in the FAT32 partition, and its performance is poor, it is easy to generate disk fragmentation. Has been replaced by more excellent performance.
3.ExFat format
ExFAT is a file system suitable for flash memory (U disk). We all know that fat32 does not support files above 4G, and U disks also have more than 4G, so this EXFAT format will appear, so this This format is a new file format introduced to solve FAT32 and other files that do not support 4G and above, so that we can understand that for flash memory / U disk, the NTFS file system is relatively unsuitable, and EXFAT is more Suitable for use on U disk.
Figure 2: The file system
4. HFS + format
The HFS + file system is the most common file system by default in Apple computers. HFS + is derived from UNIX, but it is not used in UNIX. It adds many new features, and there are many concepts that are different from systems such as Windows and UNIX. HFS + is a file system developed by Apple to replace their Hierarchical File System (HFS). It is used on macintosh computers (or other computers running Mac OS). It is also one of the formats used on the iPod. HFS + is also known as Mac OS Extended (or “HFS Extended” by mistake). During the development process, Apple also named the code name of this file system as "Sequoia"
Second, what format hard disk does Windows support
Under Windows, there are mainly FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, etc. The latest format is exFAT, and different disk formats have different characteristics. The FAT format is basically no longer used. Among them, NTFS format is a more widely used format. It belongs to the upgraded version of FAT format.
Figure 3: Mac read-only ntfs format
Third, Mac supports that format hard drive
Mac itself comes with HFS + format. Only Mac system uses HFS +. Mac not only supports HFS + but also supports reading and writing of Fat and exFat, but it is read-only with NTFS. Such a problem is a disadvantage of Mac.
Fourth, how to help Mac support NTFS format hard disk
In China, there are still many people who use Mac. How can I help Mac support NTFS format hard disk? Xiaobian recommends a software here, designed specifically to solve the problem that Mac can not read and write NTFS format hard disk, just need simple Installation can make your NTFS format hard drive unobstructed under Mac system.
Figure 4: ntfs for mac icon
Through the above introduction, we have a certain understanding of various formats of hard disks, and also let me know which format of hard disks Mac supports. I can also notice this question during normal use. When the Mac cannot read and write NTFS format hard disks At that time, we only need to download an NTFS For Mac software to get it. Now we can go to the NTFS For Mac official website. Hurry up and download