I know this seems like a basic question, but I’ve looked around online a bit and found different answers to this. I’m getting an external SSD for my 2018 Mac mini, and I’m using it to store music files and Logic projects and such. I want to make sure I get as much speed out of this drive as possible, so what would be the best way to format it? I currently use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) on my external HDD, but I’ve read around that using the APFS would be better for an external SSD. I’ll also be using a Time Machine backup drive to backup this external SSD, so I’m not sure if using the APFS system on the new SSD would interfere with the backup drive.
If anyone could help me with this I would really appreciate it.
Best Answer
Apple recommends using APFS for SSDs. You cannot use APFS with a Time Machine Backup Drive. If you are planning on using it for two things, storing files, and Time Machine, then I would recommend partitioning the SSD and then making the one for storing your music, etc. APFS and to use Time Machine, simply go into Time Machine Preferences and then select the partition meant for Time Machine. Time Machine will automatically format the partition as HFS (macOS Extended).