External drives · Drive formats
Do I need to reformat a new external drive before using it on my Mac?
Short answer: Usually yes. New drives often ship as exFAT or NTFS (read-only on a Mac). For Mac use, erase the drive as APFS in Disk Utility — copy off any bundled software first. Keep exFAT only for regular sharing with Windows.
Usually yes, if the drive is mainly for your Mac. New drives often come formatted as exFAT (works everywhere) or NTFS (read-only on a Mac). For Mac use, erase it as APFS in Disk Utility; it's empty, so you lose nothing except any bundled software on it — copy that off first if you want it.
Keep exFAT only if you'll regularly share the drive with Windows. For the drive Storage Studio uses, APFS is recommended — see which format to use and how to reformat.