Whether you're just a newbie from Windows to macOS or are curious about the experience of "another camp", understanding the key file system differences between PC and Mac will help you transfer files and data seamlessly between two platforms.

Common file system formats on Windows

macOS and Windows both use their own exclusive file system formats, with some formats such as FAT and exFAT being read and written on dual platforms without additional operations.

By default, Windows uses a file system called "New Technology File System" (NTFS). To read and write disks formatted with Apple File System (APFS), you need to use third-party tools such as OWC's MacDrive or Paragon's APFS for Windows.

Windows file system format:

• NTFS: The default file system for modern Windows systems.
• FAT and exFAT: Windows supports a variety of FAT (file allocation table) formats, including FAT12, FAT16, FAT16B, FAT16X, FAT32, and FAT32X.
• exFAT: The full name is "Extended File Allocation Table", which supports large files and large-capacity storage devices.
• ReFS: An elastic file system designed to make up for the shortcomings of NTFS, first appeared in Windows Server 2012 and now supports Windows 11 and later.
• Others: UDF, ISO 9660, Joliet CDFS and ZFS.

ExFAT is the best choice when it comes to cross-platform data transfer, as it is widely compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. FAT16 is the most compatible with FAT32, but has some limitations.

If you need to remotely access the disks and volumes of your Mac and Windows via your local network or the Internet, it is recommended to use the SMB (Server Message Block) file sharing protocol, which is well supported in both macOS and Windows.

It should be noted that the FAT16 single file or volume size is limited to 2GB and the FAT32 is limited to 4GB. In addition, neither supports encryption or logging functionality and is less secure than NTFS. In contrast, exFAT supports larger file and storage capacity, which has more advantages.

FAT32 and exFAT are often used for direct data transmission between Mac and PC, and are also widely used in removable storage devices such as USB drives and SD cards. FAT32 has better compatibility on older devices than exFAT. macOS can natively read and write Windows disks in all FAT formats (including exFAT), without additional software support.

Common file system formats on macOS

The default file system for Mac is APFS (Apple File System), which Windows cannot read natively. macOS also supports Windows' NTFS (read only) and a variety of FAT formats, such as FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT.

Supported Windows-compatible file systems on macOS:

• NTFS (read-only): macOS supports reading NTFS disk files in built-in. If you need to write, it can be achieved through terminal commands or third-party tools such as Paragon Software or EaseUS NTFS.
• MS-DOS (FAT): Supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT16B, FAT16X, FAT32 and FAT32X, suitable for Windows volumes with a capacity of no more than 32GB. FAT32 is best compatible and can also be used on Linux.
• exFAT: Applicable to Windows volumes over 32GB.

macOS also supports Apple's old HFS (hierarchical file system) and HFS formats. If you want to have an in-depth understanding of the technical differences between APFS, Mac OS Extended (HFS) and exFAT, you can refer to our separate technical analysis article. When formatting, erasing or partitioning in the "Disk Utility" that comes with the system, you can select any supported file system format.

macOS file system format:

• APFS: Standard Apple file system, no encryption and case-insensitive.
• APFS (encryption): Enable full volume encryption.
• APFS (case sensitive): enables case-sensitive file and folder names.
• APFS (case sensitive, encryption): Enable encryption and case sensitivity at the same time.
• Mac OS Extended: Based on Apple's old version of HFS file system, it supports logging functions, and file names are case-insensitive.
• Mac OS Extended (log, encryption): Encrypt the entire partition and enter a password when mounting.
• Mac OS Extended (case sensitive, logistic): supports case-sensitive HFS format.
• Mac OS Extended (case sensitive, logistic, encrypted): the most complete HFS version with encryption, password protection and case sensitivity.
• Others: Also included: FAT12, FAT16, FAT16B, FAT16X, FAT32, FAT32X, exFAT, FFS, UFS1, Fossil, Rock Ridge, UFS2, UDF, ISO 9660 and Joliet CDFS.

After Apple released Mac OS 8.1 in 1998, it stopped supporting HFS and instead adopted an improved version of HFS (also known as Mac OS Extended). HFS has long been the default file system for Mac hard drives, until 2017 when macOS High Sierra 10.13 launched APFS, which became the default system for all Apple products equipped with flash memory devices.

NTFS (Windows) and APFS (macOS) are both optimized for flash storage such as SSD, and have functions such as version control, disk quota, snapshots, real-time encryption, etc. to ensure data security during reading and writing.

Apple officially deprecated HFS after the release of macOS Catalina 10.15 in 2019, but to maintain compatibility, macOS can still read disks in HFS format to access NAS devices such as older Time Machine backups, older Macs, external hard drives, or Synology.

macOS file system structure

The file system structure of macOS is as follows:

/ (root directory): The root level of the boot disk contains multiple system folders.

/Applications: All macOS users install applications here by default, and each application usually has a separate subfolder.

/Library: macOS has three "Library" folders: /System/Library, /Library and ~/Library. /System/Library stores the core resources required for the operation of the system and built-in applications; /Library stores application preferences and resources shared by all users; ~/Library stores the current user's preferences, caches and application data.

/System: Stores core system files such as kernel, framework and libraries for macOS. This directory defaults to read-only and can be manually modified, but it is not recommended to change the system files unless necessary.

/Users: The home directory that stores all user accounts in this machine. Each user has an independent folder, including personal files, settings and application data. Only administrator accounts can access other users' directories.

/Volumes: All mounted volumes and network shares are stored here, including built-in and external storage devices. After connecting to a new device, the system will automatically mount it to this directory.

Others (/bin, /sbin, /usr, /var, /private): /bin and /sbin contain executable files such as file management, terminal commands (such as cd , ls , chmod ); /usr stores non-core programs, libraries, and documents; /var is used to store logs and diagnostic information; /private contains key files required for the system to run, such as temporary files in /private/tmp.

These folders derived from UNIX structures are located in the boot disk root directory and are hidden by default.

Why is the Library folder hidden?

To prevent system corruption by mistake, macOS hides the Library folder by default. The Library option can be displayed by holding down the Option key and clicking on the Finder's Go menu.

Unless you clearly understand the consequences, do not modify the contents in the Library folder at will to avoid causing serious system problems.

Windows file system structure

The file system structure of Windows is as follows:

C: (root directory):

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