Which file system do you use for external HDDs?

[radow]

OK so I'm on dilemma of choosing a file system for my 8TB external HDD. I use both Windows and macOS, they both support FAT natively, but not feeling comfortable using exFAT for HDDs that large size. NTFS on Mac is natively read-only, I'm not sure if any drivers work well enough. I've also heard about some copy-on-paste file systems like ZFS which supposedly would make data more corruption proof but that's not native on either platform. And there's of course APFS though I heard it has bad reputation for HDD usage.

Any input is welcome, thanks.

 

[Bigwaff]

There are 3rd party drivers/software products for both Mac and Windows for accessing non-native file systems. Pick a file system then pick a product.

 

[BigBlur]

Personally, I like to stick with native support. If files need to be accessed by both systems, exFAT is fine. It was created to support large drives and files, which FAT32 cannot. However, it doesn't have journaling, so you need to be sure to disconnect it properly to avoid data corruption.

You could split the drive into multiple partitions. Have one formatted HFS+ (or APFS if it's an SSD) for files you only need in macOS, NTFS for Windows, and exFAT for files you need in both OSes.

Another option...use a NAS instead (or set up a NAS server if you have a spare computer). Then you don't need to worry about the file system incompatibility.

 

[MayflyMaven]

ExFAT is not a great choice in my opinion, it's really slow on macOS and has had some hiccups since Apple implemented it as a userland filesystem in macOS Ventura. It is also really inefficient for small files at the larger volume sizes. It is free though . If I was infrequently sharing files with Windows, I'd use an ExFAT volume.

And there's of course APFS though I heard it has bad reputation for HDD usage.

Personally I prefer APFS for rotational storage, although I don't bother buying the stupid-slow storage any more (e.g. 5400RPM/2.5" disks, or anything that might be SMR – APFS would probably not be my first choice for those devices). At some point HFS+ is going to get the Time Capsule treatment and might see even faster waning support on the Windows side, so I'd probably avoid that one.

I don't use Windows so I don't have any experience with the Windows APFS drivers. I'm curious to see what experiences others have had with that. Specifically, is APFS on Windows better than NTFS on Mac?

 

[Fishrrman]

A platter-based hard drive for the Mac should be HFS+ unless it MUST be APFS (such as a backup drive of an internal drive).

Although it may not suit your use case, I would suggest a drive like this (large platter-based HDD) NOT be used as a "go between" between the Mac and PC. Either dedicate it to Mac-only use, or PC-only use.

Use something smaller for purposes of transferring or sharing data.
Such as a modest-sized USB3.1 gen2 SSD, or...
... a decent-sized USB flash drive.

 

[MBAir2010]

no love for Mac Journaled?

I used to open files with this on windows years or decades ago.

 

[bogdanw]

OK so I'm on dilemma of choosing a file system for my 8TB external HDD.

You can create two or more partitions and use different file systems.
I would create two: one exFAT and one HFS+.

Related thread "Anyone still rocking HFS+?" https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/anyone-still-rocking-hfs.2459484/

 

[pdaholic]

I just went through this dilemma after I purchased a Surface Pro and all my files are on two large external HDDs formatted in APFS. After doing a lot of internet reading in various forums (I'm not an expert, so take everything with a "grain of salt":
-exFat is one that both computers can read. It's old and potentially unstable. I used it on older drives, and can attest that one drive became completely corrupted (was it the drive or the format's fault?).
-APFS can be read by Paragon APFS for Windows. Some were saying that this software caused a crash on their Windows device. Others complained that it somehow ruined their drive partition. I decided against it.
-NTFS is a more stable format for Windows, but there are several apps that can allow a Mac to read/write to it. Paragon also makes NTFS for Mac, and I didn't read about any issues with it.
-Another option is to use network attached storage. I turned file sharing on with my Mac, and attached my APFS formatted drives. The problem is you can't write directly to those drives from the Windows device, but you can write to the Mac and then use the Mac to drag files to the drives. This didn't work out for me as my Mac is already low on storage space and it was just extra work.

In the end, I just formatted a smaller drive in exFat and use it as a file transfer between computers. I found it amazing how these companies really lock you into their ecosystems once you start using them.

 

[radow]

Although it may not suit your use case, I would suggest a drive like this (large platter-based HDD) NOT be used as a "go between" between the Mac and PC. Either dedicate it to Mac-only use, or PC-only use.

Another option...use a NAS instead (or set up a NAS server if you have a spare computer). Then you don't need to worry about the file system incompatibility.

I would love to have a NAS, but not right now. Plan to use this HDD as a "kinda-cold" storage backup, so maybe possible dedicating it to one platform (transfer file twice). It's not as convenient though.

You could split the drive into multiple partitions.

You can create two or more partitions and use different file systems.
I would create two: one exFAT and one HFS+.

Yeah that's great idea. I also have an external SSD, which I created two partitions (exFAT and NTFS). For some reason the iPhone ProRes recording feature requires exFAT, not APFS.

Have one formatted HFS+ (or APFS if it's an SSD) for files you only need in macOS, NTFS for Windows, and exFAT for files you need in both OSes.

This is interesting. I don't really think I manage files in a "only need on Mac/Windows" mindset. Maybe I'll do one Time Machine partition and one general files partition.

 

[TheRealDrJones]

OK so I'm on dilemma of choosing a file system for my 8TB external HDD. I use both Windows and macOS, they both support FAT natively, but not feeling comfortable using exFAT for HDDs that large size. NTFS on Mac is natively read-only, I'm not sure if any drivers work well enough. I've also heard about some copy-on-paste file systems like ZFS which supposedly would make data more corruption proof but that's not native on either platform. And there's of course APFS though I heard it has bad reputation for HDD usage.

Any input is welcome, thanks.

Certainly not APFS for spinning hard drives. The performance is terrible.

I never felt great about third-party drivers to teach windows HFS or the Mac NTFS, especially with encryption. My data is just too valuable for these experiments, so I personally gave up on cross-platform hard drives.

My advice is use seperate drives for the Mac and Windows and use HFS+ for the Mac drive.

I might be wrong but here, but I think the recent macOS versions lacked the ability to format HFS in disk utility. You might have to resort to the cmd line or even an older macOS version. I wouldn't surprised if today's Apple, the company that doesn't care about computing anymore, would fully phase out HFS+ soon.

 

[radow]

would fully phase out HFS+ soon

HFS+ has this "2040 time limit" thing so a phasing out is almost guaranteed.

In the end, I just formatted a smaller drive in exFat and use it as a file transfer between computers. I found it amazing how these companies really lock you into their ecosystems once you start using them.

After a similar, long research I gave up and had a setup very much like yours, except all my spinning hard drives will be in NTFS, which Mac can at least read natively. Both HFS+ and APFS are too inconvenient for my use cases...