Format External Hard Drive

| I want to… | Do this | |------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------| | Use drive on PC + Mac + PS5 + TV | Format as | | Only use on Windows (backups, games) | Format as NTFS | | Only use on modern Macs (SSD external) | Format as APFS | | Use on old devices (car radio, camera, Wii) | Format as FAT32 (but ≤4GB files) | | Permanently erase data before selling drive | Full format (or use disk-wiping software) |

To format an external hard drive on Linux: format external hard drive

A file system is a way of organizing and storing files on a storage device. The most common file systems are: | I want to… | Do this |