File System Explained: APFS, MacOS Extended, FAT, exFAT and More

APFS, MacOS Extended, FAT, exFAT are just some of the file systems used to organize data on storage drives. This video outlines the differences between these file systems and their subcategories, and explains how to choose between them.

Do you need to format an external drive? Here you will find all you need to know about it! ⏎

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⏱ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:40 APFS
3:20 MacOS Extended
4:15 FAT & ExFAT
5:15 Summary

SOCIAL
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[zacklitherland]

Thank you so much! Answered my questions very clearly and concisely! Great job!

[BagsPackedFamily]

Thanks so much for the information. I'm using a new Macbook Pro M1, and am new to FCPX. I just received my SanDisk Extreme SSD and noticed it's in ExFat. I plan to reformat the disk to APFS. You did a great job laying out the differences between the formats. I also appreciate the timestamps.

[alobo]

Great tutorial! Clear and concise! Thanks a lot!

[princejaiswal]

ExFAT is way to go both MAC and windows 🔥🔥

[AZREDFERN]

FAT basically still exists in wide use for cameras. If your camera breaks up videos into multiple files, it's probably because it's a FAT system. Each file if you look at it is just under 4GB. Annoying if you just want to straight upload. Great for editors, since it has a side effect of being redundant. If one file gets corrupted, you only lose 5-10 minutes instead of the whole clip.

[ryansingh]

Awesome video, great explanation on the subject. 👍

[IreneYoungFoto]

Thank you. Will you please clarify varying opinions I have gotten? I was told that if a drive has moving parts, do not format APFS. True or false?

[DPPOfficial]

Well actually, since Big Sur / Monterey, MacOS appears to not be able to "mount" ExFAT devices. Disk Utility can "see" them, but always encounters a problem when trying to mount, so basically since Big Sur the cross-platform use of ExFAT is destroyed. (sadly!)

[TreasonsBeta]

My 2015 iMac running Mojave sees SSD drives formatted with APFS but won't allow me to access any of the files on them. What gives?

[marduar]

Hey I have a mac pro 2009 with El Capitan operating systema. Will I be able to format my external drive to APFS? because from the looks of it .. I cant

[dinoatcharterdotnet]

I'm doing editing in Final Cut Pro on a WD Elements Portable HDD. How should it be formatted? I heard ExFAT is bad.

[simonhuegly]

Should Time Machine be on a separat partition or could it be on an additional volume to stay flexible with the shared space between the volumes on the same partition? what is safer for the Time Machine backup? or doesn't that matter anyways? THANKS

[twicv]

I tried extended journaled on xDrive set up, but time machine set up automatically changed it back to AFPS How do I set up drag and drop files to APFS format, x drive on this format doesn't currently work ?

[Byteable]

Wish i saw this video earlier when I reinstalled my mac 😭

[daniabioficial]

Could I have beneficies if format the new internal SSD 480 GB in APFS format, for using as principal system in my MacBook Pro 2010 13”? It have a High Sierra. Thanks.

[itsfarisfakri]

Thank you for explaining these file systems. Super helpful. I appreciate it very much! Thumbs up!

[zachofalltrades]

My Mac keeps restarting and I recovered it from the internet and lost a lot of my 3rd party apps and files and now my hard drive is renamed apfs system I’m so lost and confused do I need to go back to the old hard drive ?

[DJ_MARIANO]

if my time machine drive is an HDD is APFS still the best format?

[macismariah]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video!!

I need to format my new Samsung 870 Evo SSD and I’m trying to figure out what type of format I should set up the SSD to make it compatible with the Atomos Ninja V monitor and MacBook.

[s.penafiel]

Damn I’m halfway trough the video and I don’t understand half of the terms.
I think I have a virus and I want to know which files can I delete and which ones are computer system files but I’m so lost.

Where would you recommend starting so I can understand my Mac better.