Can you use same external hard drive for Mac and PC?

Want to use one external drive for both your Windows PC and your Mac machine? Windows uses NTFS while Mac OS uses HFS, and they’re incompatible with each other. However, you can format the drive to work with both Windows and Mac by using the exFAT filesystem.

Can I share a hard drive between Mac and Windows?

You can “partition” your hard drive, or divide it into different sections with different rules and functions. In this case, you can partition your drive so that part of it works properly with MacOS and part of it works properly with Windows.

What is the maximum capacity of an external SSD?

External SSDs also have lower capacity limits, with most drives topping out at 2TB. Compare that with external spinning drives, which are easy to find even in capacities in excess of 8TB for desktop-style drives, or up to 5TB for portable ones.

What size external hard drive do I Need?

The best external hard drives offer a range of storage space. We’d recommend 1TB to start, as that gives you plenty of space to store your files without costing too much money. That’s certainly good enough for most users.

Should you buy an external hard drive for your Mac?

Buying an external hard drive for your Mac is not all that different from buying one for your Windows PC, except for one very important complication: The latest Mac laptops only come with Thunderbolt 3 ports, but the arrival of Thunderbolt 3-equipped drives has been a trickle, rather than a flood.

What type of external hard drive is best for data transfer?

The biggest deciding factors when it comes to data transfer rates are the connection the drive uses, and whether it is a standard hard drive or a solid state drive (SSD). Many external hard drives utilize USB 3.0 connections. However, for faster speeds, you’ll want USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 or 4 connections.