As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available. It is similar to exfat which can be read by both windows and mac, but it can store more than 4gb files. Now, the erase dialogue window appears, here select the volume format dropdown list and choose msdos fat or exfat file system. I plug in my wd passport and it welcomes me to wd smartware, i click on set up drive and it tells me no readable partition found on your my passport essential drive.
Formatting a wd my passport for a macbook air macrumors. How to convert a wd external drive to apple file system. Partition wd my passport for mac, teach yourself in 10 steps. After the scan is over, check the scan results for the desired data. 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. Then format the drive to either exfat or fat32, then copy the data back onto the drive if that drive is formatted to exfat or fat32, then both the mac and your new laptop will be able to access the files. Wd my passport external hard drive set up guide manual for. Jul 04, 2018 on macbook pro with high sierra os, i want to reformat my mypassport to exfat so i can place files there from my mac and from my windows 10. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for. Are there any other ways to fix wd my passport unreadable issue on mac. Format the drive as exfat requires windows 7 or later, or appropriately updated windows vista sp2 or windows xp with kb955704. 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.
Whether youre formatting an internal drive, external drive, usb flash drive, or sd card, windows will give you the choice of ntfs, fat32, and exfat. The process of formatting the external hard drive for ps4 is very easy and can be done in a very few steps. I will leave windows instructions below for the benefit of windows users. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system part 3. When you plug your wd external hard drive to macos, does it show in finder. Reformat wd my passport ultra for mac not apple community. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page.
How to convert external drive to apfs format if you want to format your external drive from its existing file format to the new apple file format, apfs or apple file system then. To format an external hard drive, plug in the device into system or a wall outlet. The first and foremost thing is to remove the wd my passport safely from mac and then replug it into the usb port properly. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. How to format an external hard drive for ps4 ryli gaming.
Jan 27, 2019 mac instructions above will now work for exfat. Hello, i just recently bought a wd passport wireless to take on holidays. Wd my passport data recovery, recover data from wd my. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac.
Can i format the hdd from my wd passport wireless without. Youll find below the ten quick steps, using words and pictures. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. In such cases, you need to simply convert your wd external drive to apfs format. Shop wd my passport ultra for mac 4tb external usb 3. I realize that i have to format the new harddrive to exfat but am wondering what happens to the software the harddrive comes with. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. But before we go through the guide, we must address a very important issue in this regard, which is. How to repair corrupted external hard drive without losing. Whether you need to know how to format wd my passport for your mac. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. This guide introduces three common scenarios in which you might find your wd my passport external hard drive readonly 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. Protect personal data with this western digital my passport ultra drive for the mac. Hey guys this is how you fix your exfat drives on mac. However, by formatting your my passport differently, you can ensure compatibility in a variety of different ways. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Oct 25, 2018 format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so. Im pretty sure the guy i got if off plugged it into his mac laptop and tried tosuccessfully formatted to use with a mac. Did it mounted successfully last time you plugged into the mac. 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. This western digital my passport ultra drive has a 4tb capacity for massive storage. You can format a western digital my passport external hard drive to exfat or fat32 format using a free exfat or fat32 converter. To format the hard drive to ntfs using cmd is relatively simple and does not require much technical knowledge. After testing seven hard drives, we found that western digitals 4 tb my.
There is a video after that you can watch as extra help. So i got a wd my passport ultra which seems to be in ntfs format and i can only read it on my mac. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. How to format external hard drive for ps4 safely minitool. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Note there are plenty of options you will find on internet for this issue, e. 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. Unable to mount external hard drive on mac solved youtube. In fact, installing an ntfs for mac driver is a much easier way. Plug the disk into a windows vista sp1 or windows 7 computer. Formatting my passport ultra to exfat format wd portable. If you use a mac, the likelihood that youll have to reformat the drive is higher. Fat32 has some serious limitationsindividual files can only be up to 4gb in size each, for examplebut exfat doesnt. Reformatting my passport 1tb to exfat wd community.
Fat32 works for both oses, but has a 4gb size limit per file, so it. Click recover and choose another location to save the recovered data. Two effective ways to format wd passport for windows. Then format the drive to either exfat or fat32, then copy the data back onto the drive if that drive is formatted to exfat or fat32, then both the. Connect the external hard drive with windows computer. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system.
How to fix my mac not recognizing my wd external hard drive. If that is the case, you will need to connect that drive to a mac and copy your data back onto the mac. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you dont have to constantly back up and reformat each time. Including how to format a drive to be used on a mac and a pc and how to repair a. I want to know what i should do to make the hard disk compatible with bot mac os and pc. Use full scan to recover data from how to format my wd my passport for mac on to windows 10 which can not be found with undelete and unformat and recover partition,after showing an error,display as raw file system,unformatted,unknown partition,unpartitioned,needs to be formatted,or the file system is not exfat,not fat32,not ntfs.
How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac. 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. After restoring data from the affected external hard drive, you may also want to know how to repair the corrupted device. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. How to use my wd passport external hard drive both in windows. Hi, im considering buying the 2 tb version of this hard drive and want to move files that are larger than 4gb from my mac to my windows 8. 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. Now, click the erase, button and wait a few minutes and let the macos. Disk utility is unable to repair this at first, but the fix is this.
To format an external hard drive for ps4, please refer to the follwoing steps. Youll only need a computer desktop or laptop, doesnt matter then format it from there. How to switch a wd passport from a mac to pc small business. Before proceeding further, it is recommended to take a backup of your important files.
I mistakenly ordered the wd my passport ultra drive for windows instead of my passport for mac. Ok i reformatted again and made it exfat from the pc because that was the only option it gave me besides nfts or whatever the windows one is. How to fix my mac not recognizing my wd external hard. Dec 29, 2015 select the new untitled partition so we can format it as exfat for use with both mac and windows. In the format partition section, select the file system. Disk management built in windows is also a good utility to help you format disk. How to convert a wd external drive to apple file system apfs. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac.
How to reformat an external hard drive without losing your. Was there an unusual behaviour of the disk say an unpleasant clicking noise. After erasing my passport drive, the instructions are to partition the drive. Western digital manufactures two types of the wd my passport hard drive. 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. Wd my passport ultra inaccessible on windows 10 microsoft. Jan 10, 2020 if you want to format your external drive from its existing file format to the new apple file format, apfs or apple file system then you should follow these simple steps. Rather than send it back, id like to format it for my macbook air. Oct 15, 2015 hi, im considering buying the 2 tb version of this hard drive and want to move files that are larger than 4gb from my mac to my windows 8. I did what you said but i still cannot mount my drive. How to use my wd passport external hard drive both in. In some cases exfat formatted drives wont mount on the mac os due to. Dec 07, 2018 if that is the case, you will need to connect that drive to a mac and copy your data back onto the mac.
I intend to use the drive with time machine for back ups. Select ntfs for the file system type and check the quick format checkbox. Nov 04, 2019 exfat permits can store individual file beyond 4gb and can work with windows, mac and can be supported by playstation 4 and xbox one. If you are to need to download something you can use the support website to do so. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. On macbook pro with high sierra os, i want to reformat my mypassport to exfat so i can place files there from my mac and from my windows 10. Format new external drive as an ntfs partition it services.
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. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. 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. About your wd drive my passport for mac user manual 2. You can either run a repair on the drive on windows or use a terminal command on mac to. Please remember that all data will be deleted from the drive, so make sure you have made a backup. Format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. After plug in hard drive into the system, you will get option to open windows explorer and by clicking on the computer section in the side bar, you will see your hard drive get attached to your system. For more information on the difference between fat32 and exfat, please visit this page. Gdrive usb formatted as exfat cannot be mounted in mac os.
Press windows and r on the keyboard simultaneously to get the following picture. All you need to do is follow the guide and perform the format while reading it to avoid any mistakes. External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool. When i select the drive and click partition, it displays the name, the format is exfat and there is a size field.
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. Give the partition a name and select exfat for the format. Como utilizar wd my passport disco duro externo en mac youtube. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Apr 16, 2020 if you want to use wd my passport or any other hard drive on mac and pc, you need to format a western digital my passport external hard drive in exfat or fat32 format. Select the new untitled partition so we can format it as exfat for use with both mac and windows. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us.
It supports usbd connectors for superior transfer speeds, and the included security software offers multiple options to keep your files safe from prying eyes. How to format an external hard drive and remove errors. If you want to use wd my passport or any other hard drive on mac and pc, you need to format a western digital my passport external hard drive in exfat or fat32 format. Right click on the drive icon for the external drive and choose format from the menu. Will the software be erased when i format the drive. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer. Rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. I wanted to load some movies onto the drive by the usb connection, unfortunately my synology does not recognize exfat drives which is the wd s format. The exfat file system is not specific for wd but is used so that the drive can be used for readwrite processes on both os windows and os x, with large files. If you want to use the drive with a windows computer, see reformatting the drive and troubleshooting. But this operation will remove all data stored on this drive. I found the instructions and am trying to follow them. You cant reformat them for use as just a normal drive with linux. For example, keep a backup on your local devices, and store backup copies with a cloud storage provider as well.
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