Xbox One External Hard Drive Format: NTFS, FAT32, exFAT? [Best Choice]
Do you know how to choose the best Xbox One external hard drive format? Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft in May 2013. And there exist several differnt formats in Windows, such as exFAT, NTFS, FAT32. All of them can be applied to Xbox One.
But, not every format is suitble for Xbox One. When choosing a file system format for an external drive, you need to consider its size and function. If you don't know how to choose the correct format, this article will provide you with a detailed guide.
What Is the Best Xbox One External Hard Drive Format?
Microsoft develops Xbox One. There are three general Microsoft file system formats: exFAT, NTFS, and FAT32. Let's have a brief understanding of these formats and compare them. Then you can figure out which one is more suitable for Xbox One.
1. NTFS
NTFS is a proprietary logging file system developed by Microsoft and is the standard file system for modern Windows operating systems.
2. FAT32
FAT refers to the File Allocation Table, and FAT32 is the standard Windows file system before NTFS. Almost all operating systems widely accept it.
3. exFAT
exFAT is similar to FAT32 but without the limitations of the FAT32 file system. It can be used for solutions where NTFS is not feasible.
| File System Format | Compatibility | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| NTFS | Windows XP/7/8/10, Linux, Xbox One |
|
|
| FAT32 | Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Xbox 360/One, PS3, PS4 |
|
|
| exFAT | Windows, Mac OSX 10.6.5 and above, Xbox One, Android |
|
|
From the above table, each format can be used for Xbox One. And it is clear that although NTFS is the most powerful and strongest, it is not as compatible as FAT32 with external devices. FAT32 is compatible with all USB interfaces. But FAT32 will not support files over 4GB. You can choose it depending on different situations:
- Choose exFAT for external hard drive of Xbox One
- Choose FAT32 for Xbox 360
- Choose NTFS for internal hard drive of Xbox One
So, the most suitable Xbox One external hard drive format is exFAT. And exFAT has more efficient power and memory management for Xbox One. And you need to ensure the USB port is 3.0 for Xbox One.
Besides, NTFS is usually ideal for internal drives, while exFAT is for external drives. You can learn more about NTFS and exFAT by clicking the button below.
We know that Xbox One uses the exFAT file format instead of NTFS. However, most external hard drives are pre-formatted to NTFS. At this point, you need to format the external hard drive before applying it to the Xbox One. Next, I will provide instructions on how to format the external hard drive for the Xbox One. If you are interested in this, keep reading.
Set the Xbox One External Hard Drive Format to exFAT
To better enhance the gaming performance of your Xbox One, you can format your external hard drive to fit your Xbox One: exFAT. Qiling Partition Master Free is a professional tool for managing your hard disk. It can help you easily format NTFS to exFAT. Here are the detailed steps to convert Xbox One hard drive format.
Step 1. Launch Qiling Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the "Format" option.
Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click "Proceed".
Step 3. In the Warning window, click "Yes" to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.
If your external hard drive is other format, you can also convert it with Qiling Partition Master. For example, if you want to set the FAT32 format for Xbox 360, Qiling Partition Master can also be used to convert NTFS to FAT32.
Conclusion
In this article, three different file formats are explained for Xbox One: NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT. By comparing them, we can find that the best Xbox One external hard drive format is exFAT, the most suitable file system with more compatibility and better file size.
And this article also provides a way to format other formats to exFAT easily with Qiling Partition Master. So you can download it to enjoy a better gaming experience!
FAQs About Xbox One External Hard Drive Format
This article describes the three formats suitable for Xbox One external hard drives. In addition, here are some more frequently asked questions.
1. Is Xbox One NTFS or FAT32?
Both NTFS and FAT32 are suitable for Xbox One, but NTFS is more suitable for Xbox One's internal hard drive. And FAT32 is ideal for Xbox One's external hard drive.
2. Does Xbox use NTFS or exFAT?
As mentioned in this article, NTFS and exFAT can be used for Xbox. But the best format for external hard drives is exFAT because it is best suited for portable storage devices and has efficient memory management.
3. How can I format an external hard drive for Xbox?
There are many ways to format an external hard drive. This article recommends Qiling Partition Master. Here are the steps to format an external hard drive on Xbox One.
Step 1. Link the external hard drive to the Xbox One USB port.
Step 2. Select "Format storage device."
Step 3. Enter a name for the drive and format the drive.
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