The decision to format a hard drive as NTFS or exFAT depends on the intended use of the hard drive.
NTFS (New Technology File System) is a Windows file system developed by Microsoft and is used in most Windows operating systems. It offers improved security, advanced features, large file support up to 16TB, and allows for compression and encryption of files. It also supports long filenames up to 255 characters.
On the other hand, exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) was introduced by Microsoft as an update to FAT32 that would support larger files than its predecessor. This makes it ideal for flash drives or external hard drives which are often used to store media such as photos and videos with sizes greater than 4GB since these cannot be stored on FAT32 formatted devices due to their size limitations. Additionally, it does not have any of the security features offered by NTFS making it less secure but also faster when writing data compared to NTFS-formatted devices due to lower overhead associated with writing data onto them.
To decide between using NTFS or exFAT formatting one must assess the intended use of the device; if dealing with large media files then exFAT should be chosen whereas if requiring increased security and more advanced features then NTFS should be selected instead. In order to format an external hard drive either way first back up all important information from said device onto another storage medium before starting this process, then delete all existing partitions on said device using disk management tools available in Windows OS’s such as Disk Management/DiskPart command line utility/third party partitioning software like EaseUS Partition Master etc., followed by selecting either NTFS or exFAT formatting option depending upon desired outcome after which once complete your new partitions will now be visible in disk management tool window where you can create new folders within them at will thus completing your required task successfully!