When choosing a file system for your external drive, it's crucial to consider various factors, including compatibility, performance, and the types of files you plan to store. The file system you select can significantly affect how you interact with your data, the speed of file transfers, and even data security. Below is a closer look at the three top operating systems and the file systems that work with them.

Understanding File Systems

A file system is a way of organizing and storing files on a storage device. It dictates how data is read, written, and organized on the drive. Different operating systems (OS) and devices use different file systems, and understanding these can help you choose one that meets your needs.

Windows operating system

• FAT (File Allocation Table) (FAT12, FAT16, FAT32) - FAT was initially developed for floppy disks and was soon adapted to hard drives and other devices. With the limited file size (4GB for FAT32) and limited volume size (32TB for FAT32), and the ever-increasing size of drives, FAT is now used only for smaller USB drives.
• exFAT (Extensible File Allocation Table) - exFAT was designed as a replacement for FAT and optimized for USB flash drives and SD cards.
• NTFS (NT File System) - Microsoft introduced NTFS in Windows NT 3.1, and is now the default file system for Windows.
• ReFS (Resilient File System) - ReFS was created to overcome some of the problems NTFS had with data storage. It first appeared in Windows Server 2012, and its support has been re-introduced in Windows 11.

MAC operating system

• HFS (Hierarchical File System) - HFS was the original file system for the Mac OS. Over the years, support for HFS has been reduced to read-only in newer Mac OS versions. Starting with Mac OS 10.15, support for HFS was removed.
• HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Extended) - HFS+ was the replacement for the HFS file system as it supported larger file sizes. HFS+ is still supported in the Mac OS but is no longer the default file system.
• APFS (Apple File System) - APFS is now the default file system for Mac OS, iOS, and iPadOS.

Linux operating system

• EXT (Extended File System) - EXT was the first file system designed specifically for Linux. EXT had a file system limit of 2GB and was soon replaced.
• EXT2 (Second Extended File System) - EXT2 replaced EXT as the default file system for Linux in the mid-'90s. Many versions of Linux still use EXT2 for the file system for USB flash drives.
• EXT3 (Third Extended File System) - EXT3 replaced EXT2 as the default file system for Linux in the early '00s. One of the main advantages of EXT3 is its compatibility (forward and backward) with EXT2.
• EXT4 (Fourth Extended File System) - EXT4 replaced EXT3 as the default file system for Linux in the late '00s. There are several advantages to EXT4, including larger volume and file sizes and backward compatibility with EXT2 and EXT3.

Compatibly Index

Note: There is third-party software that can give full read and write access to file systems that are not compatible with an operating system by default. One example is MacDrive for Windows.

Conclusion

So if you are looking for a file system for your external drive compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, look no further than FAT32. It has survived the test of time and is the only file system that can be used without additional software on all three operating systems.

Even though we primarily work on Windows computers, there are times when we need to access Mac-formatted disks. And being able to do that from inside of Windows is essential. That's where MacDrive comes into play.

When repairing computers, we are often asked to recover files from old drives and transfer them to external drives. Sometimes, they are two (2) different formats: NTFS (Windows) & APFS/HFS+ (Mac). Since Mac and Windows computers don't natively read and write in each other's disk format, having MacDrive is a necessity.

With MacDrive, you can read and write to Mac-formatted drives inside of Windows. And since MacDrive works so seamlessly with Windows, you might not even notice you are using a Mac-formatted drive. The little Apple drive icon kind of gives it away (but you can turn it off).

The Mac drive icon inside of Windows File Explorer

It can also perform various disk management tasks, including formatting and repairing Mac disks. It can also burn Mac-formatted CDs and DVDs.

View of a Mac formatted disk inside of Windows 10 Disk Management without MacDrive installed

View of a Mac formatted disk inside of Windows 10 Disk Management with MacDrive installed

MacDrive supports USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, eSata, SATA, IDE, SCSI, and Fibre Channel drives. It also supports legacy drives like Jaz, MO, and ZIP.

You can mount Mac OS partitions on Boot Camp systems. And you can also go through Time Machine backups. It even works with Mac files without an extension.

You can access all MacDrive tools from the built-in Disk Management Window or inside Windows Explorer. You can also directly access working files from your favorite programs.

MacDrive comes in two (2) versions: Standard and Pro. The Standard version is more geared to the everyday user. The Pro version has more advanced features like mounting RAID sets and creating Mac ISO files.

MacDrive is compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11. For more information on MacDrive, follow the link below.

MacDrive