Mac OS Extended Journaled: advantages and disadvantages of the file system
Since the hard drives of the newer MacBooks are already formatted with "Mac OS Extended Journaled" in advance, the decision is obvious to do the same with the external data carriers. You can find out what advantages and disadvantages this will bring you here.
Advantages of "Mac OS Extended Journaled" formatting
Formatting with Mac OS Extended Journaled gives you several advantages in the Apple universe.
- With this formatting, you can save files that are larger than 4 gigabytes. This means that you can easily back up large video files and libraries. The popular FAT32 formatting on hard drives and USB sticks, however, can only hold files with a maximum size of 4 gigabytes.
- You can also read out (but not write to) data media formatted with "Mac OS Extended Journaled" under Windows.
- You can use Apple's own "Time Machine" backup software. This only works with data media that have been formatted with Mac OS Extended Journaled.
- What happens on the hard disk is logged ("Journaled") - this is to avoid data loss in the event of a system crash.
Disadvantages of "Mac OS Extended Journaled" formatting
You have problems with Apple formatting, especially when working with other operating systems:
- Windows can read the data carriers but cannot write to them. The "Extended Journaled" formatting is therefore not suitable for external data carriers that are also connected to Windows computers.
- Devices such as PlayStation, Xbox or other multimedia players can often not do anything with the file format and even refuse to read.
When Should You Use "Mac OS Extended Journaled" Formatting?
- If you want to use your external hard drive as a backup disk for your Mac at home on your desk, you should definitely format it with "Mac OS Extended Journaled".
- If you take the hard drive with you frequently and want to exchange data with friends, you should rather use FAT32. This formatting can be read and written by most operating systems.
Instructions for formatting Mac hard drives can be found here.