If you want wd passport for mac and pc and need to create a partition that you will use to transfer files. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos answer id 3865 this answer explains how to. Before digging in, select a primary format youll use the most. When you are lost and couldnt find a way to recover deleted files from the wd passport, windows data recovery tool is the best alternative. 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. After disk utility loads select the drive outdented entry with 1tb wd passport. Find and expand disk drivers, portable devices, universal serial usb controllers or other devices to see if wd device is shown as unknown device. Set the file system to ntfs, which is the default windows file system, and leave the allocation unit size to default. Offers both windows and mac versions of partition recovery. To partition and format the drive with disk utility, follow these. Wd my passport greyed out in disk utility and unrecognized in. Apr 16, 2020 format wd my passport in windows platform. Can i transwer files from the passport windows to the passport for mac seamlessly. It is a wise choice to use a professional format tool.
I have killed the my passport partition, which shows as unallocated disk 5, but the extra cdrom is there. In fact, installing an ntfs for mac driver is a much easier way. Id back the data up on the pc which sees it then use partition wizard. This drive is compatible with windows 10 or 8 and will require reformatting for the other operating systems. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Here is a stepbystep guide on how to format wd passport. Aug 29, 2015 now, from the left column select 1 tb wd my passport or whatever your hard drive name is, and click on the erase tab. Use recover partition to recover files from how to format my wd my passport for mac on to windows 10 laptop partition,lost partition,changed,damaged partition. Wd my passport how to install set up external hard drive on mac. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos. And if the size or position of partition is changed by format,it can not recover with. How to use my wd passport external hard drive both in. Internal hdd and internal ssd drives do not ship preformatted and will need to be partitioned and formatted before being used.
From here, in format, select mac os extended journaled, give it a name. Otherwise, on a healthier external drive, this option works flawlessly. How to partition an external hard drive on mac and windows. Macos extended if you primarily use mac with a secondary exfat partition, or. But before you reformat it, please recover important files in advance. Macs dont limit these partition sizes, so if you have access to both operating systems, format the drive using a mac. Or use between a mac and a pc choose exfat as the partition format. Thankfully, msdos fat32 and exfat formats have survived to date, and these are the file system to make your wd my passport work with a mac and a windows pc simultaneously. Wd my passport for mac 1tb external dri apple community. This answer explains how to format a wd drive for use on windows and macos.
How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. How to fix wd my passport for mac hard drive not mounting. A stable wd my passport is readily available on the desktop, finder, and disk utility when the drive gets plugged into macs usb port. 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. Howto partition a 4t wd external hd on your mac youtube. Partition wd my passport for mac, teach yourself in 10 steps. Select the wd my passport drive to perform wd my passport data recovery and then click next. The small form factor means that wd my passport repair is not the easiest one to do. Hi i have a wd my passport edge for mac 500gb external drive that i have been using for years on a macbook air, without glitches.
Click the below option to recover data from unrecognized wd my passport or if my passport external drive is not listed step 4. This answer explain starting macos time machine backups to my passport. Wd external hard drive such as my passport are suitable and trusted devices serving as the best backup tools for mac internal drives data. In this video i show you how to partition an external hard drive. So before you jump into conclusions, you need to understand the root of the problem. Dec 16, 2011 partition a hard drive in mac os x fat32 file allocation table readwrite fat32 from both native windows and native mac os x. Wd my passport ultra 2tb setup and driver installation. Launch the software by double clicking on its icon, and select recover partitions option on the main screen. 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. In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to guid. How to set up external hard drive for mac and pc, time machine. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. Each partition is like a separate hard drive, even though its part of one drive. You can use windows built in utility disk management or third party partition software to partition wd hard drive.
Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. A wd my passport formatted with mac file system will be a dud on the windows and viceversa. Next, under the partition layout column, specify the number of partitions you want. Partition wd external portable hard drive in windows 1087. Some people may ask why create such partitions on windows rather than mac. Rightclick the existing volume on the portable hard drive, choose shrink volume in the drop down menu and follow the shrink volume wizard to shrink the.
If you want to use the drive with a windows computer, see reformatting the drive and troubleshooting. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. If you have switched between windows and mac, no writable wd smartware partition found problem will also happen. On sunday, i tried connecting it to a windows 10 device, and it did. When the finder window opens, on the menu bar, select go and then utilities. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and. As there is no drive letter assigned by windows, even wd quick view keeps trying to id it when i plug it in. Plug in your wd my passport s usb cable into its micro usb b port. I like the 2015 my passport ultras rounded corner case better but its very minor point for me. This video is about howto partition a 4t wd external hd on your mac. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Cant get windows to view my 1tb my passport ext hd. Simple steps to recover lost partition from wd my passport.
With disk utility open, locate the hard drive you want to partition and select partition. How to switch a wd passport from a mac to pc smallbusiness. Ill pick it for new mac related purchases over the older model, but wont rush out to replace older drives. 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. All of my wd my passport for mac, portable hard drives that ive purchased over the last 8 years have worked straight out of the box without recourse to having to use the bundled wd software. 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.
Easily use your wd my passport for mac and windows in 7 steps. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. Download and install remo recover windows software on your system. Then uninstall the wd software by following the manufacturers instructions. Using disk utility, you can partition the drive into as many partitions as you need. How to recover data from wd my password ultra using wd passport data recovery software. Fix and repair wd my passport ultra not detectedshowing up. I cannot see my wd passport portable hd microsoft community. How to get external hard drive to work with mac os x. Theres no need to even instal the software on your computer. Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc.
I wish i could turn back the clock and take a screen picture of the recovery partition info. My passport recovery partition wd portable drives wd. Disk management can only shrink or extend partitions formatted with ntfs. This wd my passport mac model is an evolution over the 2015 my passport ultra. Windows macos if applicable windows 7 windows 8 windows 8.
Check the box labeled perform a quick format and click next. The volume label field can be customized in order to give the volume a desired name, such as my book or wd black 1. About your wd drive my passport for mac user manual 2. How to partition and format a wd drive on windows and macos external hard drives and external solid state drives come preformatted and ready for use. Available in windows 1087, disk management allows you to manage your disks and partitions with a simple, graphical interface.
On this popup screen, choose ntfs, fat32 or exfat among listed file systems and click ok. How to use my wd passport external hard drive both in windows. 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. Connect your wd external hard drive to your computer, and open disk management. This guide introduces three common scenarios in which you might find your wd my passport external hard drive readonly on mac. Of course, if you have a backup already, ignore this step. The western digital my passport is a pocketsized storage device. How to remove hidden virtual cd vcd partitions on your. Partition a hard drive in mac os x fat32 file allocation table readwrite fat32 from both native windows and native mac os x. Now, select standard scan and specify the file types to perform data recovery from wd passport on mac. Read the information i posted about the various formats and how you can readwrite to them from mac and windows. This could quickly damage the drives partition and corrupt the data on.
Jun 19, 20 i have a wd my passport external hard drive 1 tb. Prior releases operate in a similar way although the screen displays may vary in the detail of their look. In the main console, locate the partition on the wd passport external hard drive, right click it and choose format partition. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Partition the drive after adjusting the components of your new partition, click apply on the bottom of the screen. Feb 05, 2011 using disk utility, you can partition the drive into as many partitions as you need. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. If you will like to continue using the drive with your mac and will no longer use with windows you can partition. Western digital does advertise a virtual cd utility on their site, which can disable the virtual cd device. You can use this format if you share the drive between mac os x and windows computers and have no files larger than 4gb. Make sure you back up any files you have on the drive before you do this as it will erase them. Your my passport drive and the wd discovery, wd drive utilities and wd security software are compatible with the following operating systems.
Immediately, a popup screen will appear, click on partition dialogue box and wait for the partition to be added. Western digital manufactures two types of the wd my passport hard drive. Ive been messing around with computers since 1979, so far from the newbie stage. It is a reliable tool that supports the recovery of all file types even in a wd my passport hard drive. 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. This answer explains how to setup and use wd security and wd drive uti.
Connect your western digital my passport drive to mac computer, and let the os detect and mount the drive for use. Apr 26, 2017 as there is no drive letter assigned by windows, even wd quick view keeps trying to id it when i plug it in. Format the drive as exfat requires windows 7 or later, or appropriately updated windows vista sp2 or windows xp with kb955704. To start, your first step will be to find disk utility. Go to disk utility and identify if your wd my passport is listed on the lefthand side of the interface. Each partition can have its own format, according to your needs. Top 6 solutions to wd my passport ultra not detected windows. This article explains reformatting is required for macos compatibility. Wd my passport greyed out in disk utility and unrecognized. Trying to partition wd my book live macrumors forums. Wd data recovery external hard drive and software support. You can format a western digital my passport external hard drive to exfat or fat32 format using a free exfat or fat32 converter easeus partition master or use builtin applications windows. Jul 26, 2019 partition wd my passport for mac the information and recommendations here are focused on the version of operating system for the mac called mac os sierra.
Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on mac. Direct attached storage online user guide and solutions. The wd my passport for mac hard drive is specially designed for mac mini computers, imacs and macbooks. Now use disk utility to erase the wd drive as guid partition and macos extended journaled if you are only using it on a mac or as guid partition and exfat if you will share it with a windows computer. It only takes a few minutes for the external hard disk to be partitioned. Rightclick on the windows icon at the left corner and select device manager. Click on the erase tab in the disk utility toolbar. Now, a new hard drive icon will appear on the desktop.
Fix and repair wd my passport ultra not detectedshowing. Next is the file system, which controls how the data is read and written. To partition an external hard drive is not as difficult as many people think it is. Nov 16, 2017 in this video i show you how to partition an external hard drive. Look for the external hard drive icon on your desktop. After connecting the wd my passport ultra 2tb setup to the computer, launch the application found inside the drive and follow the onscreen tips to set up the drive. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. The wd my passport ultra comes with the software which can be easily installed on your windowsmac computer. And hard disk errors can happen from both the hardware and software side of things. How to make wd passport compatible with mac and windows. Full solutions to no writable partition found in wd smartware.
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