The western digital can encrypt the data on the external usb hard drives such as my book or my passport drives. Your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac. Connect your western digital my passport hard drive to your windows pc through the usb cable. To format a western digital my passport external hard drive in exfat or fat32 format, you. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Though formatting a hard disk is a nobrainer, getting one that was specifically. Overwrite exfat format of 8tb external drive with ntfs. However, all of the solutions can be divided into two types. If you want to get on with formatting your wd my passport on your mac, youll find the step by step walk through just below. Tips for formatting hard drive if you want to get positive results while formatting your hard drive on mac or pc, then consider following these steps. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the chances of file corruption, so make. The new drives feature a redesigned enclosure that better aligns with modern design and updates to wds suite of software that comes with each drive.
Your my book drive is formatted as a single ntfs partition for compatibility with all updated windows operating systems. Setting up and using wd security and wd drive utilities. This video from acquevara shows you the formatting on a mac using mac os sierra. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Because my wd my book for mac has worked fine, we went with the passport. Wd passport external hard drive not recognized on windows. I was a windows guy, who moved over the mac but only recently started saving things to the mac file system on my macbook pro. My passport external hard drive microsoft community. Oct 03, 20 wd recently updated their my book external desktop hard drive line for both the mac and pc audiences. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. Please make sure that your wd my book external hard drive can be recognized by your computer. Wd elements, wd my book western digital, my passport wd, we my cloud. Dec 29, 2015 your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac.
This process wont actually convert the file system. Disk drive format your my book drive is formatted as a single exfat partition for compatibility with all updated windows and mac operating systems. Its product line covers wd my passport, wd my passport ultra, wd my book, wd my passport for mac and more. Wd recently updated their my book external desktop hard drive line for both the mac and pc audiences. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. The other type is ntfs formatted and is simply called wd my passport no for mac after the title whether you have the wd my passport for mac or have bought the ntfs version they both need to.
Wd gaming drive works with playstation 4 western digital. In the next 5 minutes read, you will master yourself in formatting a wd my passport safely and in a manner best suited for sharing your digital files between a macos and windows os. This process is data destructive and cannot be undone. Two easy methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Of course, there are more than two methods that can help you format a wd my passport portable hard drive under mac os. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. The power connector, interface port, and a security slot on the back usb 3. Because there is no quick format feature in mac os and there is no disk partition tool for mac hard disk drive. The instructions in the articles below are designed to help users reformat and repartition an external drive. The other type is ntfs formatted and is simply called wd my passport no for mac after the title. You can watch the video along side using my notes above for extra help. There may be some complicated instructions claim that can help you format wd portable hard drive on mac.
This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. Select a format type from the format type dropdown menu on the window, for example, ntfs or fat32. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. This answer explains how to format a wd drive for use on windows and macos. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the.
Do i need to format my external hard drive macrumors. Compatibility can vary, depending on hardware configuration and operating system. Whether you are trying to backup mac to an external hard drive, wipe out any personal information and sell the computer, or even use a new operating system, you need to format the hard drive on your mac or pc. Bought wd 6t external my book to use with time machine. To format wd internal hard drive, go create bootable media to create a bootable usb drive or cddvd. With the wd gaming drive, you can quickly and easily expand the capacity on your ps4 console by up to 4tb to conquer boundless new worlds. My book essential user manual about your wd drive 1 about your wd drive welcome to your my book essential external hard drive, an elegant, highcapacity storage solution for all the chapters of your di gital life. When i try to erase it, i am getting unable to write to the last block of the device. Oct 25, 2018 wd quick formatter, also known as wd advanced format drivers afds, is an external hard drive format utility for windows and mac, developed by western digital technologies, inc. Is there a more basic way to reformat this particular external drive, to mac os x 10. When i try to run wd utilities, i cant complete the drive tests and it fails on the drive status check.
Sep 17, 2015 i have a lacie d2 quadra 1tb external hard drive. Wd data recovery external hard drive and software support. Mar 25, 2018 i have recently bought a my passport external hd. Advice youll find useful ahead of formatting your my passport drive on your mac. Ill store my media files on it while keeping the internal hard drive clear for apps and the os.
How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10 i have a lacie d2 quadra 1tb external hard drive. Reformatting a external western digital my book drive ask different. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Since formatting will erase all the existing data on your hard drive, make sure you have taken its backup beforehand.
So you figured, fine, ill just get an external hard drive. Nov 14, 2017 since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. To make your western digital hard drive work on both mac and windows computers, you need to format the drive with the fat32 file system. When your wd passport formatted with a file system not recognized by.
Jan, 2020 the following wd my book data recovery guide is done with recoverit data recovery for windows. Nov 26, 20 a partition is especially useful if you want to use the drive for 2 purposes, such as having a section for tm backups and a section that allows you to write to it from both windows and os x. The contents of the box shows that it includes the following. Data loss from the western digital my book live hard disk drive is due to corruption, accidental formatting, and abrupt removal while the hard disk drive is in use. The my book desktop hard drive also works great with acronis true image wd edition software to schedule full system backups. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Wd external hard drive set up guide how to use on mac youtube. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Your my book for mac drive and the wd drive utilities and wd security software are compatible with the following operating systems.
Wd 1tb black my passport for mac portable external hard drive usb 3. Wd 1tb black my passport for mac portable external hard. The other type is ntfs formatted and is simply called wd my passport. Since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. Wd quick formatter, also known as wd advanced format drivers afds, is an external hard drive format utility for windows and mac, developed by western digital technologies, inc. A new windows explorer window opens, on the left side. Jul 26, 2019 western digital manufactures two types of the wd my passport hard drive.
The wd my book for mac is our favorite external hard drive. Once the wd external hard drive has been formatted, it can be used like any other hard drive that is attached to the computer. Some mac osx version does not know how to handle a drive that preformated as gptntfs. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. However, for some mac users, formatting a wd portable hard drive on mac is not as easy as formatting a hard drive on pc. 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. In this video, i show you how to reformat an external hard drive to be compatible for use with a mac, or for both a. Youll see aomei partition assistant the moment you log on windows. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Youtube video showing the format of wd my passport for mac. Select the format tab at the top of the new window that appears.
How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc. The best external desktop drive is the wd 4tb my book desktop external hard drive usb 3. Western digital produces a line of external hard drives called the mybook. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. How to reformat a mybook external hard drive on mac osx. Western digital manufactures two types of the wd my passport hard drive. Easily format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac.
The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. My book external hard drive western digital wd it is formated in exfat. This guide introduces three common scenarios in which you might find your wd my passport external hard drive readonly on mac. If you know youre going to use a drive on both mac and windows, you should use the exfat file system, which is compatible with both. Password protection the my book drives builtin 256bit aes hardware encryption with wd security tools helps keep your content private and safe. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Then, shut down your computer and boot from the usb drive. 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. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd community.
However, many users complain their wd my passport is readonly on mac like the user below in wd community. The my book desktop hard drive also works great with acronis true image wd. Where and with working to reformat my new hd, i have been directed to base support and then knowledge base answer id 3865. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac. Name the wd external hard drive in the name text field at the top of the window. The following wd my book data recovery guide is done with recoverit data recovery for windows. External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool. Equipped with wd backup software for windows and apple time machine compatibility for mac, the my book desktop hard drive can back up your photos, videos, music, and documents.
The other answer does a good job of how to use disk utility to format a normal drive, but not all of wd external drives will work with that. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. When you cannot access the data from the western digital my book live hard disk drive, follow the guidelines given below to know how to recover data using the yodot hard drive. If the wd my passport readonly on mac problem is caused by the ntfs file system, installing iboysoft ntfs for mac to edit, rename, delete the saved files and transfer files to the readonly wd my passport hard drive.
Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch. The wd quick formatter is the recommended way to format wd external drives that use advanced format drives afds. You can replace ntfs with exfat or fat32, if you want to use it both in windows and mac. But if you didnt foresee that, you may have formatted your drive with apples hfs plus, which windows cant read by default. The only downside to these drives is that they are not formatted for macos out of the box. I saw a post about getting the wd app, and i did that, but it doesnt recognize my device, or at least it is not detecting it. Reformatting a external western digital my book drive. Oct 20, 2019 formatting your wd my passport for your mac. The western digital hard drive is one of the most extensively acclaimed, and the nonvolatile storage devices can be considered as the perfect option to save the digital data in a wellorganized manner. A partition is especially useful if you want to use the drive for 2 purposes, such as having a section for tm backups and a section that allows you to write to it from both windows and os x. Our latest edition features visual, easytouse, automatic, continuous backup software and drive lock security protection.
Thats how i have my 2 gb wd my passport drive set up, 1. Equipped with wd backup software for windows and apple time machine compatibility for mac, the my book desktop hard drive can back up your photos, videos, music and documents. Formatting a wd external hard drive does not require any additional software. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd. Wd 1tb black my passport for mac portable external hard drive. This drive connects directly to your mac through usb.
Where, i am seeing instruction links, for mac operating system, for as far back as mac os x 10. If you have a mac, you can get mac version to follow similar steps to recover your lost data from wd my book external hard drive. You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Wd gaming drive works with playstation 4 western digital store. If you want to use the drive with a mac computer, see reformatting the drive on page 35 and troubleshooting on page 39. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you dont have to constantly back up and reformat each time. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files.
To format external hard drive on mac, all you have to do is plugin your hard drive and launch disk utility. Wd my passport this time not untitled and then erase. 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 extended. On a windows computer, i can plug in any external hard drive i have here and slide over folders of info on to it, easy peazy. Although mybook hard drives are capable of working with both macs.
Though formatting a hard disk is a nobrainer, getting. Purchasing the best hard drive is all about what you need out of it. My passport for mac 53 files i was about to go in and select erase but was worried that doing this would erase some of the default files that came with the hard drive, which are suppose to make it compatible with apples time machine. Easily format wd western digital portable hard drive on mac. How to solve my wd hard drive not recognized in windows 10.
Partition wd my passport for mac, teach yourself in 10 steps. I have a wd ultra my passport external hard drive and had originally configured it to my macbook pro, but i just received the surface pro 4 as a gift and im trying to use the external hard drive with this device. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. Wd my passport external hard drive set up guide for mac. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. With the limited information you have presented, formatting drives with mac os 10. At least their passport series has a feature called smartware that prevents you from doing anything useful with the drive, even something basic like formatting it. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. Among those external hard drive categories, wd my passport external hard drives are the most widely used ones.
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