How to make common drive for Windows and Mac

How to make a common drive for both Mac and Windows. Many computer users think that the only answer to this question is FAT32 but that is not so. Here we will compare the features of various hard drive formats.
There are many users who need to work at both Mac and Windows. For these users, external drive is best way to expand storage space and that is the reason of thinking about a hard drive for both computers.
Yes, it is possible to format a hard disk compatible with both the computers, but not out of the box.
Most of the hard drive manufacturers sell their drives in a format called NTFS, which is designed to work with Windows. But, Macs are compatible with format, called HFS+. FAT32 is compatible with both OS platforms. 

  
Is FAT32 the only solution?
If we talk only on the basis of the list above, then FAT32 formatting is the best and only solution to this issue. It allows the read and write operations on either OS. But, the FAT32 has some drawbacks:

What are the Alternatives to FAT32?

The good news is, it's not FAT32 or nothing. The alternative solutions do require more tinkering, but if you do not want to risk FAT32's lack of security, choose from one of the following alternatives.
Option 1: Format your drive to HFS+, and use HFS Explorer to read/write on PC.
Formatting with HFS+ makes the drive compatible with Mac OS X and HFS Explorer for Windows can bring compatibility with Windows.
Option 2: Create separate partitions for both the OS.
This solution suggests to splitt your HD into two partitions, each dedicated to a different OS. For example, a 1TB hard drive can be divided into two of 500GB each for Windows and Mac.
In this solution, it won't be possible to write to the Mac side from Windows computer, and vice-versa, but still it's a nice and easy to implement, solution for people who want the advantages each format.