Native format refers to the default hard drive file system adopted by an operating system, such as NTFS for Windows and APFS and HFS+ for macOS. When a hard drive's file system is inconsistent with the operating system's native format, it may cause files to be unreadable or unwritable, or slow down file read/write speeds. Checking the hard drive format can help you determine if you're encountering compatibility issues related to the file system.

Check Hard Drive Format

Open "File Explorer"
Find the hard drive you want to check the format of, right-click and select "Properties"
In the "Properties" window, switch to the "General" tab
Check the "File system" line to confirm if the hard drive format is Windows native NTFS

Open "Finder" and click the top menu "Go" > "Utilities"
Launch the "Disk Utility" application
In the left panel, select the hard drive you want to check the format of
In the right panel, check the "Type" line to confirm if the hard drive format is macOS native APFS or HFS+ format

Important Notes

If you find that the hard drive format is not natively supported by the system, it may affect file read/write performance and compatibility
Windows systems natively support NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT formats, but NTFS offers the best performance
macOS systems natively support APFS, HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT formats, but APFS offers the best performance

How to check if the hard drive format is natively supported by the system?