If wd external hard drive wont format problem is not related with write. You are able to format a 500gb, 1tb, 2tb wd elements external drive to fat32, thus making the drive readable and writable on mac. Wd gave the my passport a design that would pair well with modern apple computers, with a textured aluminum finished along the sides and bottom. I have a wd elements 1tb which works perfectly when i use it with timemachine. I tried opening my computer, right clickling my wd element 1tb drive and choosing format, but it wouldnt let me. I have a wd elements 1tb which works perfectly when i use it with. Western digital elements 1tb desktop external hard drive. This should format your 1 tb external hard drive to your chosen mac os journaled system. 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. The my passport for mac drive is trusted, portable storage that perfectly complements your onthego lifestyle. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Your disk utility program lives within a folder called utilities. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Here are two ways offered and you can choose on based on your own situation.
Im not sure because it will not mount on my desktop however, i can see it with disk utilities. Tutorial on how to format a western digital elements harddrive for a mac. The utilities folder is within the application folder on your mac. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format. How to reformat western digital element 1 tb solved. Wd my passport for mac 1tb portable external hard drive storage usb 3. Format 1 tb elements external drives for mac wd community. I suggest you open the external drive and look at what is stored there. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use. When i select the drive and click partition, it displays the name, the format is exfat and there.
Macos extended journaled macos extended journaled encrypted. This formatting is also known as mac os extended journaled file system. I bought a wd elements 320gb today with is mac compatable, but i just tried to drag some of my photos onto it, and its saying this item could not be moved because elements cannot be. Jan 14, 2020 to format your wd elements with a partition for mac and pc 1. Disk utility wont format my wd elements 1tb hard drive. I know i am supposed to format it for mac via disk utility before i can use it, but this process also fails. Fat32 has several limitations, including a 4 gb perfile limit. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Jun 15, 2015 wd has released a seventh generation of their popular my passport line of external hard drives. Reformatting my passport 1tb to exfat wd community. The wd element portable hard drive is a must have when you have important documents to back up. Disk utility can be found within a folder called utilities.
It will check your disk file system and will repair it in case of any finding any problem. Launch disk utility from application 1 tb drive from the left panel. I see that there are several format options as follows. Includes a free trial of wd smartware pro automatic backup software. I know i am supposed to format it for mac via disk utility before i can use it. Wd portable hard drive reformatting software for windows mac in order to reformat wd portable hard drive and permanently erase the data on the wd portable hard drive, we strongly recommend you to use this tool super eraser to help you reformat the wd portable hard drive. I use time machine for backups with this drive and i have not explored the included software. Apr 16, 2020 step 5 thereafter, click on the erase button and let the system erase everything on the drive and reformat wd elements for mac by exfat or fat32 format.
Disk utility wont format my wd eleme apple community. However, i recently bought a new one the exact same one just to have 2 backups just in case and my macbook doesnt recognize it. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use with your mac in just a few minutes. What you should know that formatting will erase all data on the drive. A wd my passport formatted with mac file system will be a dud on the windows and viceversa. Step 6 once formatting completes, you can then use your drive in mac as a usual hard drive. Now, the erase dialogue window appears, here select the volume format dropdown list and choose msdos fat or exfat file system. At the top of your disk utility screen youll see the button to.
Wd elements is preconfigured for usage on a windows pc. Quick workarounds to formatting wd elements for mac. After youre done, dont forget to remove the external hard. 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. For the hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format. Wd portable hard drive reformatting software for windowsmac in order to reformat wd portable hard drive and permanently erase the data on the wd portable hard drive, we strongly recommend you to use this tool super eraser to help you reformat the wd portable hard drive. The portable hard drive is easy and fast to use with usb 3. If you used drag and drop, you will know where they are. Wd 4tb black my passport for mac portable hard drive. Sep 30, 2010 hey guys, has probably asked a million times, but im pritty busy, so cant hang about searching. Western digital elements 1tb portable external hard drive. 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. The drive inside the enclosure is a western digital wd caviar green wd20ears 2tb 5400 rpm hdd. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx.
Unboxing wd elements portable hard drive and reformatting. 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. How to format wd external drive for mac more less apple footer this site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Two effective ways to format wd passport for windows. Although both operating systems can format your drive with the fat32 system, windows 7 limits the partition size to just 32gb, but you can format up to 1tb drives. Wd elements 1tb external drives for mac wd community. To format your wd elements with a partition for mac and pc 1. Find efficient methods of wd external drive format for mac here. Wd external hard drive set up guide how to use on mac. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. Under file system, choose the file system you want to use. Wd my passport for mac is made to be plug and play. You have in your macs operating system a piece of software called.
Im wondering how i reformat the hard drive, which comes from the factory formatted for pcs. How to reformat western digital portable hard drive. Once you have formatted your western digital elements drive 2. If you used wd smartware or wd backup, select the drive in windows explorer. Wdeasystore external hard drive set up guide for mac. Connecting the wd elements drive to a computer running windows operating system, you will get quick workarounds to formatting wd elements for mac. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. The drive was not recognized by my dell laptop running windows xp. Wd 1tb elements portable external hard drive usb 3. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system.
Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. However, men i right clicked my computer, chose manage, diskmanager, rightclicked and chose format from here, it worked. A good plan for a mac widows shared drive is to create two partitions at first, format one as mac os extended journaled format, and the other as ntfs. Sep 01, 2011 i show you how to format a western digital or any brandhard drive for use on any device be it a mac, pc, linux, ps3, xbox 360, etc. How to format reformat wd elements for mac depending on the system that you are using, there are 2 ways to format you hard disk into a mac supported format. Wd elements, wd my book western digital, my passport wd, we my cloud,wd my passport ultra, how to installuse 100gb 200gb 300gb 400gb 500gb 1tb, 2tb, 3tb, 4tb, 5tb, 6tb 7tb 8tb 9b 10tb 20tb, 40gb. The other type of wd my passport hard drive comes in a for mac version. Prenosne pevne disky wd elements s rozhranim usb 3. Will a wd elements 1tb hard drive be compatible with mac os x. Recover lost files from wd elements portable hard drive. Mar 20, 2020 quick workarounds to formatting wd elements for mac. Nov 19, 2017 i have a wd elements 1tb which works perfectly when i use it with timemachine.
If you have no plans to use the drive with any windows system, choose mac os extended journaled format. At the top of your disk utility screen youll see the button to partition. Wd my passport for mac portable external hard drive. Hello nikhil, start run type cmd then, click enter after this, type this command chkdsk k.
Its rectangular shape gives it a clean, sleek look, and you can carry it around discreetly seeing that it measures 4. Fix wd hddexternal hdd not initialized, unknown with io. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for. Product firmware product if your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. Your whole drive is now formatted as mac os extended journaled file system.
Compatible with usbc and usba, the my passport for mac drive comes equipped to connect with todays latest technology. Keeping it simple, how do i do this and obviously first, do i have to. The most notable upgrades with this line are an increase in maximum capacity 3tb, customization options, improved backup capabilities, and a line of models designed specifically for use with mac os. Here are the six steps to format your wd elements for mac. How to reformat western digital element 1 tb solvedclosed report. After erasing my passport drive, the instructions are to partition the drive. How can i use my wd elements drive with my samsung hdtv. Wd elements 1tb portable external hard drive black. Ive searched the forums for this and have seen several questions addressing this but none of the solutions are working for me. The top is black with some branding, and the edges are rounded. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac.
Store told me i had to re format my wd elements 2tb ext drive for my mac. How can you use your wd elements drive without reformatting. Repairing bad sectors didnt help although it did help me recover my data. Buy wd elements 1tb portable hard drive black external.
Having a 1tb wd passport external hard drive with raw file system, i want to format it to exfat for using in mac and windows computer. Wd external hard drive wont format what should i do. Wd external hard drive format failure can occur due to virus infection, corrupted file system, write protection and so on. Unboxing wd elements portable hard drive and reformatting for mac. This is a file system limitation that affects both mac s and. Mac os extended journaled file system is how its referred to on your mac. Setup time machine and setup to work in windows pc and mac. Wd security and wd drive utilities software for mac warranty. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. I show you how to format a western digital or any brandhard drive for use on any device be it a mac, pc, linux, ps3, xbox 360, etc. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto.
After some searching i found the latest disk utility from western digital, acronis true image wd edition. I recently purchased a 1tb elements drive as a gift for my girlfriend. Im about to smash it against the wall, i dont have time to waste. Wd 2tb how to format for mac external drives for mac wd.
I found the instructions and am trying to follow them. Wd 1tb silver my passport for mac portable external hard drive usb 3. Doyourdata also can recover lost data from other kind of devices, such as hard drive, usb drive, memory card, sd card etc. External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool. Step 5 thereafter, click on the erase button and let the system erase everything on the drive and reformat wd elements for mac by exfat or fat32 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. Just know that this is a file system that your mac uses for. All three sorts of files work when i connect the hd to my computer mac. Need to reformat wd hard drive for mac 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. Choose your wd elements external hard drive on your. I asked the salesman if this drive can be used for both pc and mac, as i operate mac and my girlfriend operates pc, and i was told to format the drive as fat 32 but it seems that the drive is locked to pc formatting and unable to be reformatted. Mac cant read wd elements external drives for mac wd.
Wd 2tb elements portable external hard drive usb 3. Get the best deals on wd elements 1tb portable hard drive and find everything youll need to improve your home office setup at. 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. One is by using the indigenous file format option in the windows os powered computers and other is through the similar tools found in the mac os. Doyourdata can help you easily recover deleted, formatted or lost files from wd elements portable hard drive including wd elements 500gb, wd elements 750gb, wd elements 1tb, wd elements 1. Formatting wd elements for mac by quick workarounds. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup.
To do that you need to use a piece of software on the mac called disk utility. Now, click the erase, button and wait a few minutes and let the macos. Western digital elements 1tb portable hard drive usb 3. Hello, i just bought a western digital wd elements 1. Mar 21, 2012 to set up a new drive, use disk utility to format it. Format wd elements for mac and pc have your drive for both.