To format the hard drive in a Mac laptop or a Mac desktop computer, you use software called Disk Utility. This software ships with all Mac computers, so it’s ready to use for the formatting process.

While the Mac can use a hard drive formatted for Windows, some features may be limited. So it's a good idea to format a new hard drive specifically for macOS.

How do I format a hard drive? A computer hard drive stores your files, allowing you to access them at any time. The majority of the time, you want these files to remain stored properly and safely.

To format a hard drive before you start using it in Windows, use the Disk Management utility; on a Mac, use Disk Utility.

Mac 911 How to format a USB thumb drive for both Mac and Windows The Mac/Windows-compatible ExFat format allows larger file sizes than the old FAT32.

Despite the popularity of AirDrop, cloud services and email, the most convenient way to share files is sometimes with a thumb drive. See how to format a drive to work with Windows PCs and Macs.

If you have to use a flash drive on both Macs and Windows PCs, make sure both systems can read it. Here's how to format the drive correctly.

If you need a USB drive that's widely compatible with different devices, you may want to format it to FAT32. Here's how to do so on Mac and PC.