A drive formatted in this fashion can be swapped between a Mac and Windows PC. However, you might choose instead a format you can use easily with OS X, Windows, and Linux.

Although external hard drives are usually formatted by the manufacturer, the installed file system might not be compatible with your device. You must format the hard drive, and the tool to use will ...

You might need to format an external hard drive before you can use it with your computer. We have some tips to help the process go smoothly.