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- Mac high sierra what format for new ssd mac os#
- Mac high sierra what format for new ssd install#
- Mac high sierra what format for new ssd portable#
- Mac high sierra what format for new ssd windows#
These formats are never acceptable on any platform as they limit the amount of data that can be written or transfered.
Mac high sierra what format for new ssd install#
If you are using this drive for Time Machine backups, you will need to use a different drive, or partition your Time Machine drive and install on the partition that is not being used for backups.įor all users - please avoid exFAT or MS-DOS (FAT32).
Mac high sierra what format for new ssd mac os#
If you are are using Mac OS High Sierra or later, APFS will also work. format) NTFS.įor Mac computers, you'll want to use format MacOS Extended (Journaled) (also called HFS+).
Mac high sierra what format for new ssd windows#
USB2 is not adequate in some cases.įor Windows computers, you'll want to use file system (a.k.a. The connection to external drives should be as fast as possible: Thunderbolt, USB3, or Firewire 800 are recommended. 7200rpm HDD (Hard Disk Drives) will generally perform adequately, although there may be some slow models or configurations that should be avoided.
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SSD (Solid State Drives) are the recommended drive to use for any sample-based instruments. It removes the 4GB file size limit and the 2TB partition size limit of FAT32 drives and is generally considered a better alternative for flash storage.The following are guidelines for what external drive formats to use and avoid with Spectrasonics Instruments. While you can only use an Apple file system like APFS and Mac OS Extended for your main system drive, another file system is also worth considering for external drives-ExFAT.ĮxFAT is an older file system from Microsoft, intended to replace the even older FAT32 file system used with Windows system drives before the switch to NTFS in Window XP. You can format a drive with HFS+ using the macOS Disk Utility app, which you can launch from the Launchpad ( Other > Disk Utility). With that in mind, and for cross-compatibility, you may decide to use HFS+ over APFS. If you’re using an older, mechanical drive with a disk platter, those enhancements may seem largely minimal or non-existent.
Mac high sierra what format for new ssd portable#
Many of the speed and performance enhancements that APFS brings rely on using a high-speed SSD or portable flash memory drive. Other than functionality, however, there are still a few legitimate reasons why you’d choose HFS+ over APFS-the biggest reason depends on the type of drive you use. You’ll also need to consider Mac OS Extended if you’re using older and newer Macs together, as older versions of macOS won’t support APFS. You’ll need to use HFS+ if you plan on formatting a second hard drive or portable flash drive for use as a Time Machine backup-APFS drives won’t work. While Mac OS Extended (HFS+) is no longer the default file system for macOS installations, it hasn’t been completely abandoned by Apple, and it’s still a useful option for macOS users under certain conditions.Īs we’ve mentioned, HFS+ is the default file system of choice for macOS Time Machine backup drives. Choosing Mac OS Extended (HFS+) for Hard Drives
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However, for most users, APFS is the only file system they’ll need or want to use – but only if they’re (only) using modern Mac devices.
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If you attempt to use an APFS-formatted drive, macOS will want to format it to HFS+ before you can proceed.Īlong with APFS and Mac OS Extended (also called HFS+), you also have other file systems that can be used for external drives, including cross-platform options like ExFAT. macOS continues to use the HFS+ file system for Time Machine drives for the time being. If you back up your Mac using Time Machine, you won’t be able to use APFS, either. If you have an older Mac, you’ll need to keep using Mac OS Extended or use an alternative like ExFAT instead. The biggest downside to using APFS is that Macs with older macOS versions (macOS 10.12.6 Sierra and older) can’t read, write, or otherwise access drives that use it.
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