I had to install wd utilities and then erasereformat the drive in that application. Its wd backup software automatically saves files on a preset schedule, and it has a sleek but durable design for portability without sacrificing security. You can get to know how to reformat wd hard drive for mac and pc from this post, if you need to use a western digital external hard drive, like wd elements both under mac and pc. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd community.
Store data safely on this 2tb western digital hard drive. Hi, when i first plugged in my new wd easystore 2 tb portable drive, i installed the necessary software off the drive. Step 5 thereafter, click on the erase button and let the system erase everything on the drive and reformat wd elements for mac by exfat or fat32 format. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system.
Reformatting a western digital my passport hard drive to function well on windows and macintosh systems is neither timeconsuming nor technologically demanding. Windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. Since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. Everything else free delivery possible on eligible purchases. I then tried reformatting it by erasing and setting the format from windows nt file system ntfs to mac os extended journaled for my macos sierra version 10. Connect it, power it up, go to disk utility in applicationsutilities, select the wd disk on the left, go to the erase tab, and choose mac os. A quick format only deletes the organizational structure of the files on the drive, without removing the actual files. External hard drives free delivery possible on eligible purchases. You may wonder how to reformat an external hard drive on mac.
After doing so, i was still unable to utilize the drive unable to create new folders, dragdrop anything. Pick your wd my passport in the external hard drive list. Windows formated drive doesnt work on mac and vice versa. Easily format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. Macs may also create a protected efi partition on these drives that you cant delete with the. Then yes you need to put the wd elements drive in a format your mac can read and write to. Tutorial on how to format a western digital elements harddrive for a mac. How to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant.
Steps on how to format the drive are provided on the following link. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows 8, 7, vista, xp and mac osx. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use with your mac in just a. However, all of the solutions can be divided into two types. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10.
You can format external drive to use on mac and pc. However, the mac os does not allow you to write data to the drive. Now, click the erase, button and wait a few minutes and let the macos erase data on the drive and reformat it by fat32 or exfat format. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos. Wd discovery can also manage your drive through wd drive utilities. Two easy methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. I attached a macformatted lacie 320gb ruggedized drive to the pc and opened computer.
Product firmware product if your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. Formatting and reformatting a drive erases everything. Of course, there are more than two methods that can help you format a wd my passport portable hard drive under mac os. We reformat a hard drive if we are switching from one platform to another windows to mac and vice verse back to the main topic, below is a step by step instruction on how to format reformat a hard drive for mac os. However, you need to make doubly sure that you complete a quick format. You can reformat a western digital external drive to fat32 or exfat to make it compatible with mac and pc, when you want to use it under mac. Reformatting a drive on windows is a pretty straightforward process. Or if youre desperate to know how to reformat wd my passport. Wd drive utilities is the software provided by wd which allows users to register the drive, set drive timer, run diagnostics as well as perform a drive erase. In such cases, you need to simply convert your wd external drive to apfs format.
This is because you must format the drive with a specific file system before using it with a computer, and windows and mac computers run on different file systems. The exfat file system is a better option when it comes to formatting wd my passport on mac. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use with your mac in just a few minutes. How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. When you buy a western digital wd 1 tb my book external hard drive, they usually come formatted for windows using fat32. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. I think it is necessary to reformat the wd portable hard drive and permanently erase my private data. Formatting a hard drive for windows will be discussed in another article. Is there any fast way to reformat the wd portable hard drive and erase all the data on the hard drive. Vishal updated on february 25, 2020 mac hard drive recovery 14 comments 5 min read. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the.
Before you can use it though, you need to properly format or reformat a hard drive so that it will become compatible or readable with the operating system that you are using. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd. If you own a wd elements drive in ntfs, it will be only readable. If you connect your wd hard drive without reformatting, youll be unable to copy files to the disk as mac read only supports ntfs file system. In this guide i will show you how you can properly formatreformat a hard drive for mac os. Hello all, today i bought the 4tb my passport from best buy. How to reformat mac external harddrive for pc march 2014. How to reformat western digital portable hard drive. Your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac. Follow the tutorial below, youll get everything covered. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows.
I think the mac os doesnt know what to do with it in the windows format. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments. In a few simple steps you are ready to go and can save your backup files to the external drive, keeping your information safe and giving you peace of mind. How to convert wd external drive to apple file systemapfs. You can find effective ways here to format wd my passport for mac and pc to fat32 or exfat file system with the help of the professional format tool easeus partition master or other solutions. How to erase wd my passport external hard drive in windows. I came home to set it up and backup my computer a 2015 macbook pro running. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. This tutorial will show you how to fix wd my passport not mountingshowing uprecognizeddetected on macos catalina 10. How do i reformat my western digital wd external hard drive on my windows vista os. Not sure what extended format is and if its suitable. Click back to start to close the unreadable wd smartware drive.
Well show you everything you need to know about the. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as difficult as it might seem. I recently purchased a 4tb wd my passport external hard drive from costco. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac.
Need to reformat wd drive without losing data macrumors. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. I had to install wd utilities and then erase reformat the drive in that application. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac.
Youre mad as hell because your new wd my passport drive is read only on your mac. Learn to format hard drive that compatible in windows and macos. And in 10 quick steps ill tell you how to format wd passport for mac. I have a wd passport drive which i have been using on my pc. You can find effective ways here to format wd my passport for mac and pc to fat32 or exfat file system with the. Buy wd 2tb silver my passport for mac portable external hard drive usb 3. Learn how to erase a wd external hard drive with wd drive utilities below. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac. Format wd my passport for mac, 10 quick steps mactakeawaydata. Connect your western digital my passport drive to mac computer, and let the os detect and mount the drive for use. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Also is it ok to erase all the present files on the disc. You can erase a disk or volume at any time, including in circumstances such as these.
I have approx 100gb of 300gb used and i do not want to lose it. If you want to use your wd elements drive without any special software on your mac. And instead get some software so that you can use on your. And yes if you want to use your wd elements drive for a time machine backup. If your wd external drive isnt in this new format, you wont be able to use it if your mac has been updated to macos high sierra. How to reformat a wd external hard drive it still works. Do i use disc utilities fat32 or is there some other format. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10 i have a lacie d2 quadra 1tb external hard drive. You want to quickly and permanently erase all content from your mac and restore it to factory settings, such as when youre selling, giving away, or trading in your mac youre changing the format of a disk, such as from a pc format fat, exfat, or ntfs to a mac format apfs or mac os extended. How to reformat an external hard drive without losing your. However, the new macs are shipped with the latest mac os version, macos high sierra which supports the apple file system or apfs. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac when i plug it into my pc i cant access it.
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