Mac OS Extended was the default file system used by every Mac from 1998 until 2017, when APFS replaced it. Mac OS Extended: Best for Mechanical Drives, Or Drives Used With Older macOS Versions Other than that, there’s probably no reason not to use APFS at this point, especially on solid state drives and flash memory. And forget about reading an APFS drive from Windows: there aren’t even third-party tools out there for that yet.ĪPFS also isn’t compatible with Time Machine at this time, so you’ll have to format backup drives as Mac OS Extended. If there’s an older Mac you need a drive to work with, APFS is a bad choice for that drive. 2016’s macOS Sierra was the first operating system capable of reading and writing to APFS systems, meaning any Mac using an older operating system will not be able to write to APFS-formatted drives.

So what’s the catch? Reverse compatibility. Let’s dive into a bit more details about the top three choices below, and then explain a few of the sub-options. The other factors, like encryption and case sensitivity, aren’t something you should get too hung up on. Use this for an external drive that will plug into both kinds of computers.Ĭhoosing a file system is basically choosing between these three options. ExFAT is the best cross platform option, designed to work on Windows and macOS systems.On macOS High Sierra, it’s used on all mechanical and hybrid drives, and older versions of macOS used it by default for all drives. Mac OS Extended, also known as HFS Plus or HFS+, is the file system used on all Macs from 1998 until now.It’s optimized for solid state drives (SSDs) and other all-flash storage devices, though it will also work on mechanical and hybrid drives. APFS, or “Apple File System,” is one of the new features in macOS High Sierra.RELATED: What's New in macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Available Now What does all this mean, and which should you choose? Basically there are three main options: The list is longer than you’d think, with terms like “APFS (Case-sensitive)” and “Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted)” to choose from. So you’re using Disk Utility to partition your new hard drive when you’re presented with a choice of potential file systems.

Mac os extended journaled encrypted