FAT32 and exFAT are the two main options for external devices today. Read more: NTFS, FAT, exFAT: Windows 10 File Systems Explainedīecause you're more likely to use portable drives with more than one computer, file systems for these devices are designed to work across systems. Meanwhile, Windows uses NTFS (New Technology File System) for its internal drives, which other platforms can't write to natively. For example, internal disks in modern Macs use APFS (Apple File System), which Windows cannot read without additional software. While some are compatible across platforms, others aren't. Unfortunately for compatibility's sake, there are many file systems in use today.
File systems are responsible for separating a piece of data from what's next to it, controlling which users have access to what files, storing attributes of files, and much more. But how do these differ? Let's compare FAT32 and exFAT to find out.Ī file system is a way for a computer to organize the data on a storage device. When formatting an external device, like a portable hard drive, SD card, or USB flash drive, you'll usually have two main file system choices: FAT32 and exFAT. Thus, having to decide on a file system is often confusing.
File systems are an important part of working with computer data, but their effects aren't immediately visible in most cases.
