i have a usb type c drive, that i bought, what is the proper format to have it as Mac Os Extended or APFS?
i basically want it to be as compatible.
i basically want it to be as compatible.
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usb drives question
- Thread starter mrgreeneyes
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Mac OS Extended will be fine.
Or, you can format as APFS.
The choice is yours -- either will work.
Will you ever connect to anything else, such as a PC running Windows? ExFat would be a reasonable choice, still compatible with your Mac, and with the choice to connect to Windows, should you need to do that.
Or, you can format as APFS.
The choice is yours -- either will work.
Will you ever connect to anything else, such as a PC running Windows? ExFat would be a reasonable choice, still compatible with your Mac, and with the choice to connect to Windows, should you need to do that.
i only have a macbook air, i dont think i would be connecting it to anything else.
i do have other usbs that give me errors when trying to reformat them from FAT32 to APFS.
how can i fix them?
There's several possible choices...
Erase the Fat32 drive. On a Mac, use Mac OS Extended for the erase. If that succeeds, erase again, choosing APFS, if that is what you want to use.
If you have USB 2.0 drives, then APFS may not be worth the bother, leave it as Mac OS Extended.
Or, if you can't erase to Mac OS Extended, try erasing with ExFat as your new format. (ExFat fixes the file size and performance limitations of Fat32.
Erase the Fat32 drive. On a Mac, use Mac OS Extended for the erase. If that succeeds, erase again, choosing APFS, if that is what you want to use.
If you have USB 2.0 drives, then APFS may not be worth the bother, leave it as Mac OS Extended.
Or, if you can't erase to Mac OS Extended, try erasing with ExFat as your new format. (ExFat fixes the file size and performance limitations of Fat32.
ok thanks.
also is there a reason why one of my Mac os extended flash. drives only show that option when i go to format?
also when i try to format one of my usb a drives i get the attached error message.
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When I get that type of error when erasing, I will often follow a few steps to try again:
Eject the drive.
Restart the Mac.
insert the drive after the restart.
Try the erase again.
I might try a third time, then, if it fails again, drop it in trash (the real trash)
Eject the drive.
Restart the Mac.
insert the drive after the restart.
Try the erase again.
I might try a third time, then, if it fails again, drop it in trash (the real trash)
Is the drive a platter-based hard drive, or is it an SSD?
If it's an SSD, it can be APFS or HFS+, depending on your needs.
If it's a platter-based hard drive, I suggest HFS+ unless it HAS TO BE formatted APFS. Drives that have to be formatted to APFS include boot drives and drives used for some time machine backups.
REASON WHY HFS+ is better: AFPS can overly fragment platter-based drives, and can make them "thrash".
I still use HFS+ for nearly all my drives -- with the only exceptions those being drives that MUST be formatted to APFS (such as the internal drive of my 2021 MacBook Pro 14").
If it's an SSD, it can be APFS or HFS+, depending on your needs.
If it's a platter-based hard drive, I suggest HFS+ unless it HAS TO BE formatted APFS. Drives that have to be formatted to APFS include boot drives and drives used for some time machine backups.
REASON WHY HFS+ is better: AFPS can overly fragment platter-based drives, and can make them "thrash".
I still use HFS+ for nearly all my drives -- with the only exceptions those being drives that MUST be formatted to APFS (such as the internal drive of my 2021 MacBook Pro 14").
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