How to Format an NTFS Disk for Use With a Mac
External hard drives, such as storage drives and USB thumb drives, provide a portable solution to carrying digital files and sharing files. The Windows operating system uses the NTFS (New Technology File System) for hard drive formats. Macs can access an NTFS drive as a read-only device to copy files from the drive, but cannot write to the drive. PCs and Macs can read and write to FAT32-formatted drives without requiring utilities. Choose a system format for your external drive that meets your needs, whether to transfer files to a Mac only or to share between both platforms.
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Instructions
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Read-Only
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1
Connect the drive to the PC using the USB cable.
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2
Click "Computer" in the "Start" menu to open a directory of drives.
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3
Locate the external drive and write down the letter assigned to the drive (for example, "E:"). Note: The external drive will never be assigned as the "C:" drive.
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4
Click "Run" from the "Start" menu.
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5
Type "cmd" and press the "Enter" key.
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6
Type "convert [external drive]: /fs:ntfs" and press the "Enter" key where [external drive] is the drive letter identified in Step 3. For example, if the external drive is E, the typed command should read "convert E: /fs:ntfs" in the command prompt window.
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7
Close the command prompt window by clicking the "X" button on the upper right corner of the window.
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8
Drag the desired files to the external drive.
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9
Safely remove the USB hardware and eject the drive to connect to a Mac computer.
Read-Write
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10
Connect the USB hard drive to the PC and select "Computer" from the "Start" menu.
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11
Right-click the USB external drive from the directory and select "Format."
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12
Select "FAT32" from the drop down menu under "File System."
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13
Type the name of the drive under "Volume Label" if desired (such as "Mac_PC_share").
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14
Click the "Start" button.
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15
Drag files from the computer's hard drive to the external drive if desired.
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16
Safely remove the external drive hardware and eject the drive to connect to the Mac or shared network.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use an NTFS-formatted drive dedicated to PC files (with read-only or copy rights by a Mac computer).
Connect an FAT32 drive to the network for all computers to share and access files.
Format a USB thumb drive as an FAT32 drive to ensure compatibility across platforms.
Formatting a drive will erase all data stored on the drive. Make sure data and files are backed up before formatting.
According to Microsoft TechNet, after a drive is converted to NTFS, it cannot be converted to a FAT or FAT32 format without formatting.
The size limitation for a file on an FAT32 drive is 4 GB.
