Forum Discussion

Timothy1525's avatar
Timothy1525
Iron Contributor
Jan 21, 2025

What's the best NTFS for Mac software for Apple Silicon Device?

Hi, Long time Windows 10 user here and recently bought a MacBook Pro M3. One of my portable hard drive was formatted on Windows 10 with NTFS format. But I can't move files from my drive to Mac. Afte...
device management
Yarisyoyo's avatar
Yarisyoyo
Bronze Contributor
Jan 21, 2025

If you want to enable full read and write access to a drive on both Windows and Mac systems without relying on third-party NTFS drivers, formatting the drive to exFAT is an excellent solution. exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) is a file system optimized for flash drives and external storage, offering broad compatibility across different operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and even some Linux distributions.

exFAT is natively supported by both Windows and macOS, whereas NTFS is read-only on macOS without third-party drivers. Choosing exFAT over NTFS for your external drive offers several advantages, especially if you intend to use the drive with both Windows and Mac systems:

  1. Cross-Platform Compatibility: Read and write access on both Windows and macOS without additional software.
  2. Support for Large Files: Unlike FAT32, exFAT can handle files larger than 4GB, making it suitable for high-definition videos and large datasets.
  3. Simplicity: Easier to set up and use for external storage without the complexities of managing permissions and security features inherent in NTFS.

 

You don't need the best NTFS for Mac software if you decided to format the drive to exFAT! And this trick supports the following Mac models and macOS version.

  1. Mac: Intel and Apple Silicon Mac M1/M2/M3/M4
  2. macOS: Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina and High Sierra.

 

Resources