While i wouldnt drop it off a bridge, the exterior case isnt flimsy in any way. Just get this application, no need to reformat disk, it will install driver to read write on ntfs formatted drives the first solution to support os x 10. How to erase my passport and reformat wd portable drives. When you need to reinstall macos on your mac, you can install it from apple using the internet or you can install it from the recovery partition included on the hard drive or flash storage of every mac. If youre running a newer computer, youll see a huge speed increase thanks to usb 3.
I will try to erasereformat thru win10 as you suggested. I just need to back up my mac because it needs work done and cant read cds. The wd my passport gets its power from the mac and the drives led light will start flashing as it powers up. Plug in your wd my passport s usb cable into its micro usb b port. Welcome to your my passport for mac portable hard drive.
They offer some tools to disable the loading of the hidden partition if you have access to a windows machine, but even then you still cant recover the space used by. 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. My passport ultra was previously used on my windows 7 pc. Instead boldly claim that it is impossible to do so you cant reformat a wd drive and then wait for some expert to quickly and clearly prove you wrong with clear instructions on how to do it. The regular my passport ultra is compatible with mac os after reformatting, but users that know that they will be using a mac might find this model to be easier. There is a program that works with mac osx lion and reads and writes to ntfs formatted drive. The easiest way to format the drive to fat32 or exfat is by using macoss builtin disk utility. Compatible with apple time machine say goodbye to losing your files in mac, everything is backed up with no hassle. I just realized that i ordered the pc version of my passport for my macbook pro. Just activate password protection and set your own. For some mac models, the partition option would be greyed out in disk utility. Disk utility is a mac application, you can run it on your mac. Download the wd backuptm from the manufacturers site, connect the drive, and schedule the backup. How do i format a wd my passport ultra hard drive from.
The my passport studio comes preformatted for the mac, so theres no need to reformat it. It was very stubborn and i resorted to formatting the drive. As formatting will going to erase everything on your drive and thats why avoid formatting. Easily format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac.
I dont care about any of the files on there now, they can be deleted. I recently updated my mac to os catalina, and i think that is the reason why. It appears the issue has since been fixed and disks formatted exfat on os x 10. Select the file system from the dropdown list, which is available in the format expansion and choose either exfat or fat32.
I can still though add files later, as i change them add more pics, music, etc. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility. View and download western digital my passport user manual online. External hard drive keeps disconnecting on windowsmac. Plugged it back into my mac, time machine doesnt recognize it, and the mac only shows the wd unlocker on the desktop instead of it being a separate hd or disc. Western digital my passport for mac 1tb portable hard. The best external desktop drive is the wd 4tb my book desktop external hard drive usb 3. Oct 02, 2014 to reset a macbook, turn it on and immediately hold down one of these.
Your macs recovery mode is a treasure trove of useful tools, and its the easiest way to wipe your computer and start from scratch. Oct 06, 2016 force an external mac drive to mount via command line terminal commands in mac os x. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. To reset a macbook, turn it on and immediately hold down one of these. How to read and write on wd my passport for mac without. We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the my passport studio 1tb, as this is not the typical or intended experience with the product. If you are reading this article, chances are youve already come to the decision to replace your mac with the macbook air or maybe you just got a new mac as a present. With the help of the wd discovery software, download the ntfs driver for the mac operating system so that reformatting is not required.
Two easy methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc instead of apple only. Reformat apfs to mac os extended with disk utility. Locate the icon assigned to western digital my passport drive and rightclick the connected drive icon and click format in the popup menu. It told me to open the disk utility, and to choose the drive and then choose erase. Will i lose all my data by reformatting to mac in my external. Gb in fat32 when reformatting the drive, download the external usb. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Press and hold option, then choose verify backups from the time machine menu.
Hi there, joeysmyth, just wanted to let you know that i first tried to delete the data that was on the wd my passport. Downloads download software and updates for your wd product. But i sold that crappy computer to get my asus pc laptop and now whenever i plug in my hard drive and try to reformat it, windows is never able to reformat the drive. 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. After tearing my hair out all evening trying to reformat this stupid drive, it turns out wd has decided to include hidden partitions that make reformatting it almost impossible. Since the latest os update, both of my my passport usb drives will no longer. Using a mac is a wonderful experience until you try to use a ntfsformatted drive, which includes most windows hard drives. Downloads download software and updates for your wd product at. I want to format it to work on my macbook pro for time machine, so i looked into how to do that. I mistakenly ordered the wd my passport ultra drive for windows instead of my passport for mac. Western digital my passport user manual pdf download.
If youre using an older mac from 2010 or earlier, theres a chance that you cant use. Click on disk utility in the os x utilities selector. 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. Now, i will show you the two methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. The my passport ultra has been formatted for the windows operating system to provide plugandplay storage. I set it up for my quicken backups and so far have had no problems.
This drive connects directly to your mac through usb. Time to decide whether to keep or replace your mac laptop or desktop computer. The my passport for mac drive is trusted, portable storage that perfectly complements your onthego lifestyle. Can be reformatted for windows xp, windows vista, windows 7. I have since reformatted it on my pc just to get all the info off of it. Enter a name for the file to be destroyed like macintosh hd or something. How to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to. How can i reformat my wd my passport from raw format into. Make sure you understand the difference between a clean install and a standard install before you get started. Can i reformat my wd passport external hd to work for a mac if it was used for a pc first. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab.
Buy western digital my passport for mac 1tb portable hard drive with fast shipping and toprated customer service. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wifi menu in the menu bar. This western digital 2tb my passport ultra hard drives wd discoverytm software will make it easy to back up the photos, files, folders, videos, audios, etc. Here are the steps to partition an external hard drive for mac and windows pc, which is a little tricky. Equipped with usbc technology, the my passport ultra for mac portable drive offers an easy way to expand your storage with a modern metal design that complements your pc. Just picture this, you are trying to copy some important files from a wd my passport external hard drive, but the usb drive keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on the computer all the time. Be aware that formatting a drive deletes all of the files on it, so back up anything important before completing this step. 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 force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac os. Jan 23, 2009 two stupid, im thinking follow up questions. I used it with my old pc but now i need to use it for my mac and it.
Can i reformat my wd passport external hd to work for a. However, all of the solutions can be divided into two types. 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. Or your mac may give you a message asking whether you. Yesterday i downloaded some kind of upgrade to the catalina. Spent hours on this project, this should have black box to indicate.
Wd my passport external hard drive set up guide for mac reformatting passport. Jun 19, 20 i have a wd my passport external hard drive 1 tb. Compatible with usbc and usba, the my passport for mac drive comes equipped to connect with todays latest technology. How to stop external hard drives from randomly disconnecting and reconnecting. Have you ever tried to format a disk in mac os x and disk utility wont unmount the hard drive for formatting. Jan 31, 2010 hi, to format the drive can you open the mac hdd icon from your desktop then click applications then utilities and open disk utility.
Whether you need to know how to format wd my passport for your mac. Wd 2tb external hard drive setup and driver download. I forgot my password which is why i need to reformat it, but like i said, i got a mac so now i want it for this too. Windows computer, see reformatting the drive and troubleshooting. Rather than send it back, id like to format it for my macbook air. I want to erase my older my passport and format it for quicken backup only. How to force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac. When i plug it in, it is recognized, but all the files are all. Reformat wd my passport ultra for mac not apple community. Deborah, if you plan to use drive for quicken backup only, the drive needs no special formatting. Mar 20, 20 read only ntfs from native mac os x to readwriteformat ntfs from mac os x, here are some alternatives. Hi guys, i hope someone here could help me with a problem that im facing i recently bought a passport for mac and it came formatted as mac os extended journal the hard drives behaviour is normal on my osx lion, however when i plugged the hard drive in when running windows 7 via boot camp, the os reported that the device hard drive failed to install, and when i checked what seem to. If you need an external drive thats small and easy to fit in your bag and go, the 4 tb wd my passport portable external usb 3. The wd my book is ready to go with time machine or superduper.
Its windows 10ready out of the box to seamlessly deliver plugandplay storage, while password protection with hardware encryption helps enforce the security of your content. Oct 15, 2015 hi guys, i hope someone here could help me with a problem that im facing i recently bought a passport for mac and it came formatted as mac os extended journal the hard drives behaviour is normal on my osx lion, however when i plugged the hard drive in when running windows 7 via boot camp, the os reported that the device hard drive failed to install, and when i checked what seem to cause. I have tried downloading the quick formats from wds. Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc. It will list all the hard drives and devices on your mac computer. How do i reformat my passport for pc for use with both. Im assuming when i reformat, my backup files will be erased which is fine, i guess with a total computer backup, they will be there anyway. Oct 07, 2019 select restart from the dropdown menu. What application would i use to erase the drive and how would i reformat it. Overwriting metadata may also overwrite some content, so dont do it.
Hold down commandr when you hear the startup chime or the screen turns black on newer macs and keep holding the keys until your computer reboots. I have updated this tutorial to include macos sierra which is a free download from apple for all mac users. Look for the external hard drive icon on your desktop. Wd my passport external hard drive set up guide for mac youtube. Easily use your wd my passport for mac and windows in 7 steps. My passport ultra 2tb hard drive is inaccessible and i am unable to reformat. I bought a wd my passport external hard drive for my macbook pro a while ago, and i used it for the time machine app to backup all of my files. If using time machine to back up to a network disk, you can verify those backups to make sure theyre in good condition.
If your mac is using apfs, select apfs from the format list. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. Choose about this mac and choose system report where almost all information about your mac computer is listed. Although the device is intended for use with a mac, and is provided with usb 2. How do i format a wd my passport ultra hard drive from xbox one format back to windows format. Can i reformat my wd passport external hd to work for a mac. How do i reformat my passport for pc so that it will work with mac and pc.
So, we suggest that its better to use a pc to partition an external hard drive for macos and windows. There is a video after that you can watch as extra help. Mar 20, 2020 click on erase from the buttons at the top of the disk utility window. How to reformat my passport ultra hard drive on mac 2017. Youll find below the ten quick steps, using words and pictures. It comes with 256bit aes encryption for added security, as well as compatibility with apple time machine. Click the erase button and the drive will start formatting. Im not sure because it will not mount on my desktop however, i can see it with disk utilities. With a new, stylish design that fits in the palm of your hand, theres space to store, organize, and share all the photos.
Aug 23, 2015 now, i have a wd my passport for mac with 2tb. How to installuse wester digital my passport for mac and pc windows. I will leave windows instructions below for the benefit of. If you feel like youd like a fresh start with macos catalina, you can always opt to do a clean install. Will i lose all my data by reformatting to mac in my. Before proceeding further, it is recommended to take a backup of your important files. And thanks to my endless knack for figuring things out on my own, ive clogged up the majority of them with useless software, damaging commands, adware, duplicate files and just about anything else you can add to a hard drive to slow it to a crawl. Cant get windows to view my 1tb my passport ext hd. Reformat macbook pro to make brand new again josh benson. How to wipe your mac and reinstall macos from scratch. 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. Click on usb under hardware in the left sidebar, and you will see all the usb devices connected to this mac. My passport for mac fits perfectly into the busy life of anyone with an onthego digital life. My passport for mac portable hard drive, with the wd drive utilities and.
Should i reformat my passport to ntfs tech support guy. I recently purchased an apple macbook air and also have a dell laptop. When it opens can you select your external drive from the list on the left then click the erase tab and choose mac os extended journaled if you are just going to use the drive with your mac or choose fat if you are going to use it with a pc as well then click. My passport for mac portable hard drive, with the wd security and wd drive. Western digital my passport for mac 1tb portable hard drive.