14 October 2024, 02:40 PM
extFS is short for ext FS or extended file system. It is the primary file system of Linux and now there are ext4, ext3, and ext2 file systems. Every operating system has its main file system, and usually, the main file system is not compatible with other systems. For example, Windows doesn’t support APFS, the primary file system of macOS. macOS doesn’t fully support NTFS, the main file system of Windows. Thus, NTFS for Mac is rolled out to help you read and write to NTFS drives on Mac.
Likewise, extFS is incompatible with Windows and macOS, but some people need to use SSDs or HDDs formatted with Linux extFS on Mac computers. So, the extFS for Mac third-party software comes out to help us mount and access extFS external hard drives on Mac machines.
Formatting a hard drive will erase all contents on it. If your hard drive has some files, connect it to your Linux computer and back up these files first. After that, you can reformat the drive in Mac Disk Utility.
Go to Launchpad > Other > Disk Utility.
Click View on the toolbar > Show All Devices.
Select the whole extFS hard drive from the sidebar and click Erase.
Set a drive name, choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in the format field, and select GUID Partition Map as the scheme.
Click Erase and wait for the erasure process to complete.
It is worth mentioning that, when you install extFS for Mac by Paragon on your Mac, the software will require you to enable macOS system extension and change some security settings. If you don’t follow its instructions, you can’t run Paragon extFS for Mac on your Mac. Since Paragon is a legal developer, you don’t need to worry that its extFS for Mac will damage your Mac.
If you mind running third-party software with your Mac’s security reduced and worry about malware or virus attacks due to the reduced security, skip using the program. You can reformat your ext4 drive to APFS. Then, you can use it on your Mac seamlessly. Remember to back up the drive on your Linux machine in advance as reformatting will cause data loss.
Likewise, extFS is incompatible with Windows and macOS, but some people need to use SSDs or HDDs formatted with Linux extFS on Mac computers. So, the extFS for Mac third-party software comes out to help us mount and access extFS external hard drives on Mac machines.
Formatting a hard drive will erase all contents on it. If your hard drive has some files, connect it to your Linux computer and back up these files first. After that, you can reformat the drive in Mac Disk Utility.
Go to Launchpad > Other > Disk Utility.
Click View on the toolbar > Show All Devices.
Select the whole extFS hard drive from the sidebar and click Erase.
Set a drive name, choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in the format field, and select GUID Partition Map as the scheme.
Click Erase and wait for the erasure process to complete.
It is worth mentioning that, when you install extFS for Mac by Paragon on your Mac, the software will require you to enable macOS system extension and change some security settings. If you don’t follow its instructions, you can’t run Paragon extFS for Mac on your Mac. Since Paragon is a legal developer, you don’t need to worry that its extFS for Mac will damage your Mac.
If you mind running third-party software with your Mac’s security reduced and worry about malware or virus attacks due to the reduced security, skip using the program. You can reformat your ext4 drive to APFS. Then, you can use it on your Mac seamlessly. Remember to back up the drive on your Linux machine in advance as reformatting will cause data loss.