ExFAT: The best solution for external drives?

[MacNoobGuy]

Hey guys, I've got a mix of Windows 8, Windows 7 and OSX Mavericks 10.9 here. All of my external drives are in 'NTFS' so Mavericks is unable to write to it.

Converting the external drives to ExFAT will take me some time so I just wanted to know if this is the best solution for me and if I'll still be able to write to the ExFAT drives in the future: Will ExFAT always be supported by Apple and Microsoft?

What are my alternative options?

Thank you!

 

[GGJstudios]

Hey guys, I've got a mix of Windows 8, Windows 7 and OSX Mavericks 10.9 here. All of my external drives are in 'NTFS' so Mavericks is unable to write to it.

Converting the external drives to ExFAT will take me some time so I just wanted to know if this is the best solution for me and if I'll still be able to write to the ExFAT drives in the future: Will ExFAT always be supported by Apple and Microsoft?

What are my alternative options?

Thank you!

Format A Hard Drive Using Disk Utility (which is in your /Applications/Utilities folder)

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Choose the appropriate format:

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HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac OS X system files. [*]To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive [*]To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB
• Mac OS X: Mac OS Extended format (HFS Plus) volume and file limits
• You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)

NTFS (Windows NT File System)

• Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
• Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
  • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion and later)
  • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
  • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
  • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
• Maximum file size: 16 TB
• Maximum volume size: 256TB
• You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.

exFAT (FAT64)

• Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
• Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
• exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
• Maximum file size: 16 EiB
• Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
• You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

• Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X. [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
• Maximum volume size: 2TB
• You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

Hi, thanks for your reply, but I've already looked into that.

Does anyone here use a third party NTFS app for OSX? Are there any risks with this?

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi, thanks for your reply, but I've already looked into that.

Does anyone here use a third party NTFS app for OSX? Are there any risks with this?

A lot of forum members here use Paragon NTFS. The only downside is sometimes new OS releases will break utilities like this.

 

[GGJstudios]

Hi, thanks for your reply, but I've already looked into that.

Does anyone here use a third party NTFS app for OSX? Are there any risks with this?

I've used Paragon for years with zero problems. Updates to OS X could cause incompatibility with such apps until they are updated, but that's not a certainty.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

Alright, thanks. Can anyone tell me if there are any risks in me using Paragon NTFS? I've never used anything like this before.

 

[GGJstudios]

Alright, thanks. Can anyone tell me if there are any risks in me using Paragon NTFS? I've never used anything like this before.

No, there are no risks.

 

[-Eden]

To answer your original question, I found exFAT to be the best format for external drives. Works in OSX, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Lets you copy files that are above 4GB in size for all operating systems.
But I found that Disk Utility in Mountain Lion did not format drives to be exFAT, even if you select it. What I did was I connected the external HD to a Windows machine, and formatted to exFAT using that.

Best of luck

 

[Weaselboy]

Alright, thanks. Can anyone tell me if there are any risks in me using Paragon NTFS? I've never used anything like this before.

The only issue I have seen is sometimes when a new OS X versions comes up it can cause troubles for Paragon NTFS and apps like it. Sometimes a patch from Paragon is needed to resolve this.

 

[Moonjumper]

ExFAT is the best option. You can read and write to it across Mac / Windows. There is software to make the format of one system work on the other, but that is not a great option if you are ever going to connect to other computers. Will your friends or organisations allow you to install the software? Will you have the software with you anyway?

My Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner drives are HFS+. But other than that, I use ExFAT or FAT32 (for drives that might be connected to a Playstation 3).

 

[keysofanxiety]

Like others, I always use exFAT and have never had a problem with it. It's perfect for cross-platform.

 

[vistadude]

I like Fat32, but it doesn't handle huge files.