How to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. This powerful data erasure software is fully compatible with windows os and mac os. Tech support scams are an industrywide issue where scammers trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services. Equipped with usbc technology, the my passport ultra for mac portable drive offers an easy way to expand your storage. Wd 2tb external hard drive setup and driver download.
The my passport studio comes preformatted for the mac, so theres no need to reformat it. Hello all, today i bought the 4tb my passport from best buy. Sometimes, there will be a need to learn how to reformat my passport for mac, so once youre acquainted with formatting, you should enlighten yourself on how to reformat wd my passport for mac. Deborah, if you plan to use drive for quicken backup only, the drive needs no special formatting. Format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. The case has been modified slightly from previous versions to include a metal cover. Check the ssd identification information again in case of erasing.
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 hard drive or hard disk can be used in any type of computer, whether for pc windows or for mac. Need to reformat a 500gb western digital drive to fat32 by john razic apr 10, 2009 3. You can find effective ways here to format wd my passport for mac and pc to fat32 or exfat file. And throw up issues when you format the external hard drive on a windows pc and then you use on your mac. Follow the tutorial in this article to fix the issue and recover lost data from not showing upnot working wd hdd without data loss.
Western digital has a very responsive web site to ask a question like this. There is a video after that you can watch as extra help. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos. Select your wd hard disk which detected on the program and next. What is important is if you are using a pc you use a pc formatted drive, but if you are using a mac you should use a preformatted for mac drive, it will make your life easier. The drive is usbc ready as previously mentioned and compatible with usb 3.
The my passport x storage device is backwardly compatible with usb 2. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. Can i reformat my wd passport external hd to work for a mac. Download and install recoverit hard drive recovery on your computer, connect the disk to the pc and follow the next 3step to get your wd hard drive data back step 1. To transfer your videos, photos, or music, you can use a 2. The first thing you must do is downloading the software aweeraser. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. And with up to 5tb1 of storage and a 3year limited warranty, you get storage to rely on for years to come.
Reformat western digital hard drive using disk management tool. With western digital being a major leader in mechanical hard drives, you really cant go wrong with the western digital my passport for mac 1tb portable hard drive for everyday use and storage of any kind of data and this drive offers plenty of storage. The my passport ultra usbc edition has the same compact design as classic my passport drives from wd with the addition of a usbc port. How to erase my passport and reformat wd portable drives. You were right, you did indeed have to select wd my passport screen shot 20170625 at 6. Wd 2tb my passport ultra blue portable external hard drive, usbc wdbc3c0020bblwesn. Reformatting a western digital my passport hard drive to function well on windows and macintosh systems is neither timeconsuming nor. When you buy a western digital wd 1 tb my book external hard drive, they usually come formatted for windows using fat32. The my passport for mac is wds newest release, and was designed to specifically serve mac users with the same outofthebox functionality that the my passport ultra offers. Format your western digital my passport external hard drive to fat32 or exfat format so to transfer the data between a mac and windows system conveniently. The wd my passport for mac is not showing up in finder nor in disk utility. Just plug it in and follow the easy onscreen instructions settings dialog to format the drive. Fix wd my passport for mac not showing upnot working on mac.
This allows the drive to be used on both windows and macos. As shown in figure 2, the my passport ultra for mac drive has. Connect the wd my passport hard drive to another mac computer or windows pc, which will find out if it is the incompatible file system of the drive that makes this wd my passport hard drive undetectable. Protect your important files with apple time machine backups. Windows computer, see reformatting the drive and troubleshooting. When you plug it in to the computer, does it power on. The solution for most of the wd my passport troubleshooting mac is formatting the drive. The data recovery tool in question supports all western digital hard disk drives, such as my book pro, my book, wd elements, my book studio, etc. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page.
Hard drives often have to be formatted to work on macbooks and apple desktops, but i definitely had some difficulty getting my windows ntfs formatted western digital drive to. Then, ill introduce you to workable and easy ways to format wd passport external hard drive, wd elements external hard drive and other external hard drives. Set an optional password, that only you know, to activate 256bit hardware encryption and add an extra layer of security. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. This may be a problem for larger files, such as video files, disk images, or large outlook pst files. The my passport for mac drive is trusted, portable storage that perfectly complements your onthego lifestyle. If you dont want to worry about losing all your data on the chance your external hard drive becomes corrupted, you should keep multiple backups of the data in different places. Reformatting a western digital my passport hard drive to function well on windows and macintosh systems is neither timeconsuming nor technologically demanding. Aug 16, 2019 hello all, today i bought the 4tb my passport from best buy. It maintains compatibility with pc operating systems which requires reformatting, and it is similar in functionality and performance to the seventh generation my.
By accessing the western digital website, as indicated in the boxed brochure, i was able to download the appropriate applications. Its modern metal design complements your mac, and out of the box, its formatted for macos and time machine compatibility. The wd passport for mac is one of several drives that i use for backup on my macbook pro, so i do not need to. For example, keep a backup on your local devices, and store backup copies with a cloud storage provider as well. The my passport for mac drives builtin 256bit aes hardware encryption with password protection helps keep your digital lifes contents secure. Since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. Nov 12, 2019 you can use either of them with mac but it will require a simple reformat of the drive. Youll find below the ten quick steps, using words and pictures. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd community. Read only ntfs from native mac os x to readwriteformat ntfs from mac os x, here are some alternatives. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for.
We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Wd my passport troubleshooting mac format wd hard drive. Wd quick formatter be very careful to choose the right disk. Finally, click recover button to retrieve them back from wd hard drive. How to format wd my passport in mac windows system. The secret to reformatting a western digital wd 1tb my book. Apr 16, 2020 to format western digital my passport for mac or windows, you can rely on inbuilt applications of your system to format your wd my passport in exfat or fat32 format. How to erase wd my passport external hard drive in windows. Macbook external hard drive not recognized how to reformat. Before proceeding further, it is recommended to take a backup of your important files. Western digital wd1002faex caviar black 1 tb sata iii 7200 rpm 64 mb cache internal desktop 3.
Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc. My passport for mac fits perfectly into the busy life of anyone with an onthego digital life. This is useful if a drive is being used under both to move files between the two. You really will get your monies worth with western digital. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. To format western digital my passport for mac or windows, you can rely on inbuilt applications of your system to format your wd my passport in exfat or fat32 format. How to reformat western digital portable hard drive. External hard drives are key in a content creatoryoutubers life.
You may only want to erase, but not format, because formatting will delete everything,including the wd files that came on the disk. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd. After having confirmed that the wd my passport is formatted with ntfs, many people will choose to convert ntfs to apfs for macos catalina, mojave and high sierra or reformat the wd my passport hard drive to make the wd external hard drive compatible with mac. Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc instead of apple only. Easily use your wd my passport for mac and windows in 7 steps. Western digital my passport for mac 1tb portable hard. Because the file system on the wd passport for mac external hard drive is a mac os extended journaled file system. Easy steps to erase western digital portable hard drive. How to make wd passport compatible with mac and windows. Mypassport for macs seem to always be out of stock, so i bought the 4tb. Not without some third party software or without reformatting. 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.
Now select mac os extended on the dropdown in the middle. This guide introduces three common scenarios in which you might find your wd my passport external hard drive readonly on mac. Wd 2tb my passport ultra silver portable external hard drive, usbc wdbc3c0020bslwesn. As formatting will going to erase everything on your drive and thats why avoid formatting. The my passport for mac drive includes usbc and usba cables, so you can save tomorrows content with the mac computers of both today and yesterday. To start formatting, connect your wd passport to your mac. This answer explains how to format a drive in the exfat or fat32 file system. Format drive on mac wd my passport troubleshooting. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Western digital my passport for mac 1tb portable hard drive. Whether you need to know how to format wd my passport for your mac.
How to reformat an external hard drive without losing your. Click all tools and choose ssd secure erase wizard, or right click on the wd my passport and select ssd secure erase. Those drives are all the same, the mac only ones are just preformatted for you. I recommend doing it this way, as macs can be choosy about what formats their hard drives. I think it is necessary to reformat the wd portable hard drive and permanently erase my private data. Reboot your mac computer to see if your wd my passport drive is not showing up in disk utilityfinder or not. End a western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. In fact, installing an ntfs for mac driver is a much easier way. Feb 11, 2019 hard drives often have to be formatted to work on macbooks and apple desktops, but i definitely had some difficulty getting my windows ntfs formatted western digital drive to be recognized on my. Then the hard disk data recovery software will start scanning the device to searching the lost data within minutes. Oct 25, 2018 format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. I recently purchased a 4tb wd my passport external hard drive from costco.
The wd element and the wd my passport are ideal for transferring and storing photos, videos. You can help protect yourself from scammers by verifying that the contact is a microsoft agent or microsoft employee and that the phone number is an official microsoft global customer service number. Password protection with hardware encryption the my passport for mac drives builtin 256bit aes hardware encryption with wd security software helps keep your content private and safe. After you plug it in and the mac recognizes it open up disk utility, located under applicationsutilities on your hard drive. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. Format new external drive as an ntfs partition it services. Back up all important information on the drive before beginning.
Just activate password protection and set your own. Format wd my passport for mac, 10 quick steps mactakeawaydata. The version of the western digital external drive sold in a for mac guise does not work on windows. The western digital 2tb external hard drive is designed with a massive capacity to connect 8 different devices and store the data at the same time. How to properly format reformat a hard drive for mac os. West digital hard drives, such as wd my passport for mac, wd elements, or wd easystore, are trusted by a large number of users to store the massive amounts of photos, videos, and. Need to reformat a 500gb western digital drive to fat32. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. Im not sure because it will not mount on my desktop however, i can see it with disk utilities. Oct 11, 2018 want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc instead of apple only. 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.
You are best to erasedelete just the folders and files you put on the disk. The method youll learn uses your mac to format your wd passport for mac and windows. My passport ultra 2tb hard drive is inaccessible and i am unable to reformat. In a brief test, all three functions worked to their. Compatible with usbc and usba, the my passport for mac drive comes equipped to connect with todays latest technology. A new western digital external drive is configured by default out of the box as a fat32 partition. Check if the wd my passport hard drive is connected to your mac computer properly. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. Fix no writable wd smartware partition found and recover data. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them.
Choose the disk you are going to erase from the list and click next. What you should know that formatting will erase all data on the drive. Okay, now lets start with the method to erase the western digital portable hard drive. External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool. After restoring all your data, you can try to reformat wd external hard drive using disk management tool to fix the no writable wd smartware. Then name the drive whatever you want and click the erase button at the lower right. You can use either of them with mac but it will require a simple reformat of the drive.
Here are the stepbystep instructions to format the wd my passport hard drive. Dec 03, 2007 you can reformat the drive with a file system that mac can read. It will take a while, but that will set your drive up to be used on the mac. So, i followed the steps i went into disk utility, selected my passport, clicked erase, selected. How to reformat wd my passport for mac mediakits report not. Secure and reliable, my passport for mac safeguards your creative life.
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