Formatting a wd hard drive for mac

How to properly format reformat a hard drive for mac os. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. How to format new or second hard drive on windows 10mac. Once it is done, you can do hard disk format for mac and pc to enjoy the following advantages. Format wd my passport for mac, 10 quick steps mactakeawaydata. Therefore, it is necessary to present a tutorial guide here to format or partition a hard drive within mac.

This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. A hard drive or hard disk can be used in any type of computer, whether for pc windows or for mac. How to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. If you run into the issue of not having enough space format it to be the ex fat as. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac.

Double leftclick on the mac hd, the internal mac hard drive visible on the topright corner of the desktop screen. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external. Trying to access from pc via usb cable with only one access point in wd hard drive, but it doesnt show up on the pc. 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. My question is whether i should just start using as is and skip the formatting step, which would mean not erasing the current content on the hard drive. 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. Of course, there are more than two methods that can help you format a wd my passport portable hard drive under mac os. Tutorial on how to format a western digital elements harddrive for a mac. As it is mentioned above, after formatting a hard drive, all data on the hard drive will be erased. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Two easy methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. How to fix wd my passport for mac hard drive not mounting.

Mar 15, 2018 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. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Also, if your current hard drive is more than 5 years old, it probably is nearing the end of its service life and needs to be replaced. Youve formatted your external drive to be compatible with mac os x, and have confirmed that the formatting process was successful. Plug the cable attached to the wd external hard drive to the appropriate port on the mac, for example, the usb port. How to access an external drive thats not recognized on a mac. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use. In this video tutorial, i show you how to easily format an external hard drive to work on both a mac and a pc. Dec 29, 2015 your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac.

This trusted portable storage always offers quick and easy way to expand the storage space of your computer and to store a massive amount of photos, videos, music and documents. Apr 14, 2020 by this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. After realizing that you can reformat wd hard drive to fat32 or exfat to make it compatible with mac os x and still can be used under windows, it is time to check out how to reformat wd hard drive for mac and pc in windows successfully. It is the reliable disk formatting tool for windowsmac. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and. Choose your wd elements external hard drive on your. 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.

The wd my passport for mac hard drive is specially designed for mac mini computers, imacs and macbooks. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. There will be no space wasted by protected mac partitions. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Doubleclick on the macs main hard drive to open its window on the desktop. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. 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. First, lets see how to format an external hard drive or usb drive in macos which works with both mac and pc platforms, first plugin your drive in macos machine. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. Oct 25, 2018 to format western digital external hard drive fat32, you actually have a better choice.

Formatting a wd external hard drive does not require any additional software. Feb 03, 2020 use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Mar 12, 2018 want to format a hard drive for mac and pc compatibility. Rightclick on the icon for your external drive on mac desktop, then select get info. Plug the cable attached to the wd external hard drive to the appropriate port on the mac, for example, the usb. The previous defunct hd was also fat32, which i did not realize upon receiving and using.

Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. You should now see your new hard drive on the desktop screen. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with apple macos, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want. 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. Te lights are on on the wd and i can unmount it, but cannot find it anywhere where i. Apr 16, 2020 step 6 once formatting completes, you can then use your drive in mac as a usual hard drive part 3. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the finder in the lefthand column under devices, since macs treat them the same way as. This is the process for formatting any external hard disk drive to work with an apple mac running os mojave or high sierra. Te lights are on on the wd and i can unmount it, but cannot find it anywhere where i can access and copy files over.

If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and 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. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Click on the erase button to start erasing the external hard drive or usb. Wd external hard drive set up guide how to use on mac. Very limited technological knowledge, please try to keep that in mind if you answer. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos. It allows you to format wd hard disk to fat32, exfat, ntfs, ext2, ext3, etc. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. 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. Nov 14, 2019 get a free addition to setapp the ultimate mac user book. Your wd elements drive will be on your mac s desktop under the name you gave it.

Accessing mac formatted wd hard drive from pc external. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured. How to format usb drive external hard drive on macos catalina. How to format an external hard drive for a mac youtube. A new windows explorer window opens, on the left side.

If you want to write to ntfs formatted hard drives in mac os x, youre going to need the help of a thirdparty driver. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. Your disk utility program lives within a folder called utilities. How to format or partition an external hard drive on mac. Easily format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Formatted wd hard drive to exfat but it changed back to ntfs.

Is there a more basic way to reformat this particular external drive, to mac os x 10. However, if youre having problems accessing the files and the issue is due to formatting, you will need to connect. While its convenient to purchase the hard drive that will work with your computer right out of the box, most external hard drives can also be reformatted so youre not limited to your initial choice. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. You might already know the consequences of formatting a hard drive. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the chances of file corruption, so make. 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. 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. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. Kit contents optional accessories operating system compatibility disk drive format as shown in figur e 2, the my book my passport user manual my passport portable hard drive, with the wd backup, wd security and wd drive. 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. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc.

My passport for mac portable storage is ready right out of the box including all necessary. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. You can format a western digital my passport external hard drive to exfat or fat32 format using. Hi, i am trying to access my wd hard drive which i have been using on my mac from my pc. Aomei partition assistant standard is professional and easytouse hard drive formatting software that can do you a big favor. Formatted wd hard drive to exfat but it changed back to. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for.

It is possible to format a hard drive so it can be read on mac and windows computers, providing you format using exfat. Once the wd external hard drive has been formatted, it can be used like any other hard drive that is attached to the computer. First to format your wd elements external drive to mac os extended journaled file system. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd.

Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Therefore, before you format mac pc drive, make sure that you have taken a backup of your important data. How to format a hard drive to work on mac and pc youtube. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Wd my passport this time not untitled and then erase. Mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdoc is the.

Do i need to format my external hard drive macrumors. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. Vishal updated on april 21, 2020 mac hard drive recovery 15 comments 6 min read. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. How to format a new or second hard drive on mac mac is obviously a very much different operating system from windows, let alone their features and steps to format a hard drive.

Oct 15, 2015 hi, i am trying to access my wd hard drive which i have been using on my mac from my pc. You should create multiple partitions on your external hard drive, in order to have enhanced file organization. I currently have a windows laptop that i use and will be upgrading to a imac very soon. To format western digital external hard drive fat32, you actually have a better choice. Usb drives and external hard drives on macos catalina are used for storing and backing up important data such as photos, videos, audios, images, notes, messages, music files, pdf files, word documents, among other files. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments. You have to set it up correctly before getting starting. Dec 25, 2016 if you want to transfer files from a mac to windows pc and vice versa using an external portable hard drive then you have to have the external drive formatted in a file system both oss can read. Can i use a wd elements external hard drive on my mac. Apr 16, 2020 can i use wd hard drive on mac and pc. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac. My question is how do i reformat my wd harddrives that are set up for windows, without losing any of my files. The drive will now be formatted for use by windows systems.

Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Open finder and choose applications utilities disk utility to launch the app on your mac. When trying to save large files in final cut pro, the hard drive would save numerous. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. You can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both mac and windows by using the exfat file system.

The my passport for mac drive s builtin 256bit aes hardware encryption with password protection helps keep your digital lifes contents secure. And in a few minutes your wd elements drive is exfat formatted ready for you to use on your mac and windows pc. Inside, enter the applications folder and then the utilities folder. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. Connect your western digital my passport hard drive to your windows pc through the usb cable. Just activate password protection and set your own personalized password using wd discovery. In july 2019, i bought a wd passport hard drive and changed the format it to exfat so i could add my files. Moving files from macformatted external hard drive to pc.

However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. You can now edit, read, and write files, as you wish. Step 6 once formatting completes, you can then use your drive in mac as a usual hard drive part 3. How to format new hard drive on windows 10 windows central. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system.

How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. I received a replacement 750gb external hard drive from western digital. Mar 29, 2019 how to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc. 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. Doubleclick on the mac s main hard drive to open its window on the desktop.

Proceed based on whether youre erasing your startup disk or some other disk. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Paragon disk wipe allows you to create a bootable usbflash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. Then your western digital external hard drive is ready to use on your mac and on your windows pc. Format wd elements for mac and pc have your drive for both. Choose exfat or fat32 among the listed file systems on the dropdown menu. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep. However, all of the solutions can be divided into two types. The process is also the same for the macbook pro, macbook air, imac pro, imac, and macmini computers. Right click the partition on the wd hard drive and choose format partition. Starting clean how to format new hard drive on windows 10 formatting is an essential task before starting to use a new drive, and in this guide, well show you how to do it. Just install it, and mac drives will show up like any other drive. How to reformat a wd external hard drive it still works. Two ways for reformatting wd hard drive for mac and pc.

Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Mar 31, 2020 if you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. If your external hard drive is readonly on mac because it was formatted with microsoft ntfs file system, you can free download iboysoft ntfs for mac and feel free to copywriteeditdelete and transfer files on this drive without formatting it. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Now your entire wd elements external hard drive is in a format both computers can use. But if you didnt foresee that, you may have formatted your drive with apples hfs plus, which windows cant read by default.

Formatting a hard drive will take a while and wait for it patiently. How to format wd my passport in windows system just like disk utility on mac, there is an inbuilt tool known as disk management in windows. Here i recommend you to change the file system of the wd hard drive from ntfs to fat32 or exfat, thus the wd hard drive is able to be used. Some mac osx version does not know how to handle a drive. Format usb drive, external hard drive on macos catalina. 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. Pick your wd my passport in the external hard drive list. I usually use a firewire that connects into the hard drive in two places. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Format any external hard drive for an apple mac tutorial. The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well.

Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your macs usb port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. Use the wizard to create a partition with the ntfs or fat32 file system. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. User manual about your wd drive 1 about your wd drive this introductory chapter includes the following topics. This answer explains how to format a wd drive for use on windows and macos. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. It will erase all the data stored in it, making it empty in one go.