Well show you everything you need to know about the. Nov 14, 2017 i recently purchased a 4tb wd my passport external hard drive from costco. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Even though mac computers are capable of reading hard drives that are formatted for windows, if you intend on using your external hdd as a bootable disk or want to use it to backup files with your mac s time machine, you must format it to be entirely mac compatible. You can find effective ways here to format wd my passport for mac and pc to fat32 or exfat file. Advice youll find useful ahead of formatting your my passport drive on your mac. If he switches his wd drive between windows os and mac os frequently like dual boot os on a pc, he needs to format the drive to a file system which works well in both operating systems. This article analyzes why the wd my passport for mac hard drive is not mounting on mac and how to fix this issue. I tried formatting the 2tb to ntfs, but when it does format it with no problems, it becomes read only. External hard drive compatible with mac and pc without. Dec, 2007 ive an external hard drive that ive used on mac. The drive does not appear on the desktop or the finder. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external.
How to fix wd my passport for mac hard drive not mounting. However, ntfs is not fully compatible with mac computers. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Fix and repair wd my passport ultra not detectedshowing. It interprets what is on the external hard drive so that your mac or pc can read and write to the drive. And that is exactly what partitioning up splitting using the mac operating system software allows you to do. A new windows explorer window opens, on the left side. List of all wd firmware and software available for download. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. If you are having a similar problem on your wd my passport ultra hard drive or other brands of external hard drive or devices, dont worry. Step 6 once formatting completes, you can then use your drive in mac as a usual hard drive part 3. 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. 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.
Oct 20, 2019 formatting your wd my passport for your mac. 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. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for. But if you didnt foresee that, you may have formatted your drive with apples hfs plus, which windows cant read by default. Guides to fix mac files wont copy to external hard drive. 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. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Click the finder, open the applications folder, open the utilities folder and choose disk utility.
Formatting and reformatting a hard drive or hard disk is an easy task if you know how. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. I have tried several data recovery programs, but they failed to search all lost files and couldnt perform the hard drive recovery. You can select the exfat format when using the disk. Transferring data from a mac to pc via an external hard drive. Sep 12, 2019 the wd hard drive failed to show up on my pc and i couldnt access saved data either. How to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely.
The yellow arrow in the internalexternal picture above shows you where to click. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Also is it ok to erase all the present files on the disc. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on. 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. Therfore, you can connect backup plus desktop to a windows pc without formatting the hard drive. Mac files wont copy to external hard drive how to fix. Accidentally format wd my passport external hard drive. Formatting, however, deletes the content of a volume to clean it. Two easy methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd community.
If the builtin disk came apfsformatted, dont change it to mac os extended. In this guide i will show you how you can properly formatreformat a hard drive for mac os. Based on your specific needs and select a proper way to achieve your goal. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. To format a western digital my passport external hard drive in exfat or fat32 format, you. Jul 26, 2019 as the cost per gb of hard drive space falls, it becomes practical to buy a larger external hard drive and use it for several purposes. Formatting a hard drive for windows will be discussed in another article. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the. The wd hard drive failed to show up on my pc and i couldnt access saved data either. This sleek, portable drive is designed for photographers, graphics professionals and roadwarriors who want to take their digital life with them. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. In the new window, set the partition label, file system ntfsfat32ext2ext3exfat, and cluster size for the partition to be formatted, then click ok. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Fix and repair wd my passport ultra not detectedshowing up.
My passport wont format external drives for mac wd. Now, im trying to format it so that i can use it on pc instead of mac. My passport for mac portable hard drive rapid transit for your digital life. Feb 03, 2020 are you formatting the disk that came built into your mac. Because mac os x mountain lion does not natively support writing to an external ntfs drive, you must erase your hard disk and format it using a compatible file system. Yes, im trying to format it on a mac sorry, i thought i had posted in the mac section. To share that drive between a mac and windows pc you need software. Because mac os x mountain lion does not natively support writing to an external ntfs drive, you must erase your hard disk and format it. 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. I had to install wd utilities and then erasereformat the drive in that application. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Aug 16, 2019 hello all, today i bought the 4tb my passport from best buy. I did restart the computer as you suggested, but again received the message the disk you inserted is not readable by this computer. How to reformat mac external harddrive for pc march 2014.
Thats the moment when data disaster strikes you formatted an external hard drive, only to find that you still have some valuable data stored on the drivewhat a bummer. Hi, i have a 2tb wd my passport portable hard drive and a macbook pro. If you need to erase your disk before installing high sierra or later for the first time on that disk, choose mac os extended journaled. Dec 29, 2015 your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac. How to fix external hard drive not mounting on mac computer. Format wd my passport for mac, 10 quick steps mactakeawaydata. The my passport for mac portable hard drive is trusted to store the massive amounts of photos, videos and music you love. A windows pc cannot see, read, write to that file system. Is there a possible way that can help me to repair the not detectable wd drive to work again. Do i use disc utilities fat32 or is there some other format.
How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. Click on the drive in the list of drives in the lefthand side of the window. Mac os extended journaled file system is how its referred to on your mac. Hi everyone, i purchased a 1 tb wd my passport hd to use with my macbook pro. How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. Your backup plus desktop is formatted as ntfs for compatibility with windows out of the box. If you worry about losing data from this hard drive, you can recover lost data with iboysoft mac data recovery at first.
In this article, well show you how to recover data from a formatted external hard drive, step by step. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. I did restart the computer as you suggested, but again received the message the. Wd passport hard drive care is not so hard if you know the right steps to take. Partition wd my passport for mac, teach yourself in 10 steps. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Not sure what extended format is and if its suitable. In case you miss anything necessary, you can also have some basic checks as following when you are unable to mount an external hard drive on your mac computer.
Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Therefore, some user needs western digital fat32 formatting utility because he wants to connect his ntfsformatted my passport ultra to mac os. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. I think the mac os doesnt know what to do with it in the windows. The other type of wd my passport hard drive comes in a for mac version. Western digital manufactures two types of the wd my passport hard drive. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. It is obviously that you can use seagate external hard drive or flash drive with mac and windows computer as long as you format seagate drive for mac and pc.
Apr 14, 2020 why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. 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 seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and. Run easeus partition master, rightclick the hard drive partition you intend to format and choose format. I have a 2tb external drive called wd my passport for mac its been over a year since i last used it on my imac. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing data. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch.
I have macfuse and ntfs3g and ntfs for mac os installed. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you dont have to constantly back up and reformat each time. So, i followed the steps i went into disk utility, selected my passport, clicked erase, selected. Because the file system on the wd passport for mac external hard drive is a mac os extended journaled file system. Before you go further, there are some tips that deserve your attention. Use a software solution you get a piece of software that sits on your mac. Its sleek style is fun and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, so you can easily take your treasured content everywhere you go. Since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. Your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac. I am looking for a solution to format the wd my passport portable.
How to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc. 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. Replug your external hard drive to another port or try another usb cable. Are you about to install macos high sierra or later on the disk. Basic suggestions on external hard drive not mounting problem. External hard drive formatting options apple community. Are you formatting the disk that came built into your mac. In this article, well show you how to recover data from a. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments. 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 only difference between the mac and pc versions is the initial formatting and pre. Error message when formatting a new drive external. Whats more, you can share digital files between mac and windows system easily. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc.
Mypassport for macs seem to always be out of stock, so i bought the 4tb. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and. Apr 16, 2020 step 6 once formatting completes, you can then use your drive in mac as a usual hard drive part 3. The other type is ntfs formatted and is simply called wd my passport no for mac after the title. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it.
Tips for fixing external hard drive not mounting issue. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the chances of file corruption, so make. Error message when formatting a new drive external drives. Nov 27, 2012 how to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. 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. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. 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. Be sure to choose your wd elements drive at the top level.
Mac os x and windows can both read and write to disks in the fat or exfat format. You can have problems with your mac refusing to format your elements drive if its not picked at the right level. I know mac operating system doesnt fully supports ntfs formatted drive. Connect your western digital my passport hard drive to your windows pc through the usb cable. When your disk become unmountable on mac, you should not go straight to reformat this external hard drive, especially when you have important files on it. I have another external hard drive thats formatted as ntfs and files stay the way i arrange them. 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 format wd my passport in windows system just like disk utility on mac, there is an inbuilt tool known as disk management in windows. Apr 16, 2020 can i use wd hard drive on mac and pc. This process wont actually convert the file system. Wd my passport for mac portable external hard drive. Pick your wd my passport in the external hard drive list. Oct 25, 2018 want to use seagate hard drive with both mac and pc i have purchased a 1tb portable external seagate hard drive and i would like to use it with both my mac and windows computer. Easily use your wd my passport for mac and windows in 7 steps.
How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system answer id 291 a western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. The hard drive will primarily be used on my macbook pro and occasionally on a pc. Options for having an external hard drive for mac and pc without formatting. Easily format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Wd my passport this time not untitled and then erase. I just connected it to my mac for the first time and was planning to go to disc utility to format the drive, which of course includes erasing any of the existing contents. How to recover data from a formatted external hard drive. Choose your wd elements external hard drive on your mac s external drives list. This sleek, portable drive is designed for photographers, graphics professionals and roadwarriors who want to. Oct 25, 2018 therefore, some user needs western digital fat32 formatting utility because he wants to connect his ntfsformatted my passport ultra to mac os. By formatting the passport as an exfat or fat32 drive, you can use it with windows computers, too. Let me teach you in 10 steps how to partition wd my passport for mac. However, all of the solutions can be divided into two types. I recently purchased a 4tb wd my passport external hard drive from costco.