However, there is one file system that both Macs and PCs can read and write to: FAT32.

Macs can read NTFS thumb drives, but can’t write to them. Here’s a cheat sheet: modern Windows computers use the NTFS or exFAT system, and Macs use the HFS+ (MacOS Extended Journaled) system. There are lots of file systems out there: some are compatible only with Windows computers, some only with Macs, and some are readable by both Macs and PCs, but can only be written to by either a Mac or a PC. Formatting it lets you specify what file system you want it to use, and this is dependent on what operating system you’re using. What’s a file system and why should I care?Ī file system is a hard drive’s way of organising data. One way to troubleshoot is to make sure you’ve got the USB thumb stick formatted properly using a file system recognised by the CDJ or XDJ. Maybe you plug it into an XDJ-RX and track waveforms don’t appear as they should. But that’s not always the case: sometimes the drive can’t be read by an older CDJ. Spinning with CDJs and thumb drives is straightforward: you plug a thumb stick into a CDJ’s USB slot, and you’re all set.