How can you use your wd elements drive without reformatting. Format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility iclarified. Mac os extended was the default file system used by every mac from 1998 until 2017, when apfs replaced it. When you use the device on another computer with a different os, the permission settings with it may not be recognized or prevent access to the files on the hard disk. Started erase on disk2 unmounting disk creating the partition map waiting for the disks to reappear formatting disk2s2 as mac os extended. Yes, another operating system can be put on this hard drive. How to use disk utility in macos sierra formatting external hard drive basics. To make your western digital hard drive work on both mac and windows.
And, the documentation online does not cite sierra in any version as a supported operating system. I followed the exact steps indicated on the drives manual. This software allows you to check the disk health and you can format to hfs using that software. And there you have it, youve formatted your wd my passport for mac in 10 quick steps. Mac cant read wd elements external drives for mac wd. Purchasing the best hard drive is all about what you need out of it. I bought two wd elements discs and the same thing happened to me. Where, i am seeing instruction links, for mac operating system, for as far back as mac os x 10. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use. Where and with working to reformat my new hd, i have been directed to base support and then knowledge base answer id 3865. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. 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. The compact design offers up to 14tb capacity, making wd elements desktop storage the ideal solution for easy, addon storage of all your important photos, music, videos and files.
When it comes to backups, software is only part of the equation. Jan 08, 2020 dont fret you can change the formatting. But reformatting will delete all data stored on the hard drive, and most of the time, many important files are stored on the wd my passport for mac hard drive. Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc instead of apple only. 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. More zombies to conquer the my passport x drive is the perfect way to store and expand your gaming experience. There are many good tools on the market, but having a dependable hard drive on the receiving end as important, too. Out of the both its not mac compatible, but you can format it for use with your mac in just a few minutes. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Wd elements drive will not format to mac os extended. 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 want to write to ntfs formatted hard drives in mac os x, youre going to need the help of a thirdparty driver.
How to use disk utility in macos sierra formatting. You can watch the video along side using my notes above for extra help. Aug 29, 2015 when i bought the wd my passport ultra drive, i was surprised to see that it didnt support os x out of the box. Not enough space to partition when formatting in mac osx. To format a western digital my passport external hard drive in exfat or fat32 format, you. I know i am supposed to format it for mac via disk utility before i can use it, but this. Oct 11, 2018 want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc instead of apple only. By formatting the passport as an exfat or fat32 drive, you can use it. The first time this happened, i found an obscure firmware update at western digitals forums.
I want to use this new disk as a time machine backup disk. Visit this page to retrieve data from dead wd external hard disk on mac os x. How to make wd elements compatible with macbook pro quora. 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. 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. Yes, it had some software specifically made for os x on it, but even that didn.
Feb 10, 2012 tutorial on how to format a western digital elements harddrive for a mac. Therefore, some user needs western digital fat32 formatting utility because he wants to connect his ntfsformatted my passport ultra to mac os. Ill store my media files on it while keeping the internal hard drive clear for apps and the os. Oct 14, 2017 new instruction says that we first need to reformat ntfs into mac os extended journaled, and then convert it to apfs format. Use a mac with an older release of mac os to format your wd passport drive. Im wondering how i reformat the hard drive, which comes from the factory formatted for pcs. Har gar vi igenom hur du formaterar disken till ratt format. When i bought the wd my passport ultra drive, i was surprised to see that it didnt support os x out of the box. How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk. I have wd my passport ultra 259f media portable hard drive. May 09, 2008 these are instructions on how to format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility.
Twice now i have had problems formatting a new western digital my book external drive under 10. Disk drill is the worlds premier data recovery software for mac os x. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. Hello, i just bought a western digital wd elements 1. How to access an external drive thats not recognized on a mac. Best for mechanical drives, or drives used with older macos versions. How to get data from formatted external hard drive on mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Error message when formatting a new drive wd community. Know how to save and restore lost data from mac hard drive when it fails to boot.
How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Complete guide to solve wd my passport readonly problem on mac, to change permissions on wd my passport from writeprotected and to unlock readonly wd my passport on macos and mac os x with ntfs for mac software. Wd elements, wd my book western digital, my passport wd, we my cloud. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Apr 14, 2017 how to use disk utility in macos sierra formatting external hard drive basics. Tutorial on how to format a western digital elements harddrive for a mac. How to format a wd external hard drive in fat32 to use in windows or mac osx. Highlight the physical drive you wish to reformat and on the menu at the top to the right select erase.
Jun 28, 2019 mounty for nfts mounty for ntfs mounty is a true lifesaver. Having attempted this now says erase process failed and has called the disk disk 2s1 and is all greyed out. I got around the issue by using the erase command instead of partition. How to fix wd my passport for mac hard drive not mounting. All functions in disc utility such as run first aid for the disc or partition are similarly unresponsive. 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 modified. My book studio, nearly 30 wd drives play nicely with apples macos. I have a wd elements 1tb which works perfectly when i use it with timemachine. So you figured, fine, ill just get an external hard drive. May 29, 2016 i had the same problem with reformatting using the wd instructions as pointed out by hamlet. 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. Another common cause for the external hard drive read only problem on mac is the formatting errors of the storage device.
In the lefthand side inside of disk utility you will see a list of all the connected hard drives. However, if first aid is unable to fix wd my passport for mac hard drive not mounting error, the last solutions is to reformat the hard drive. Our favorite external hard drive wd my book hard drive for mac. After successful formatting, you can directly save or move files to it like any other external hard drive.
However, if you want to use an external hard drive or any other type of external storage device on both systems, you can do that by formatting it using the fat32 file system. Improve pc performance when your internal hard drive is almost full your pc slows down. This formatting is also known as mac os extended journaled file system. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. To this day, it remains the default file system for mechanical and hybrid hard drives, both while installing macos and while formatting external drives. Apples support document on time machine gives easy instructions on how to erase and format the drive to work with os x for use as a timemachine drive, or simply for use as. Youtube video showing the format of wd my passport for mac.
This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. Dec 29, 2015 how to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Will a wd elements 1tb hard drive be compatible with mac. Keep your important photos, videos and documents securely backed up with this wd elements portable hard drive. Whether you have mac os sierra, high sierra or mojave the way you format your wd elements drive for mac is the same. Wd elements drive will not format to mac os extended journaled. Formatted ntfs for windows xp, windows vista or swindows 7. You just need to plug in, open up mounty and remount in readwrite mode. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. With 1tb of memory, this wd elements portable hard drive provides ample data storage space in. Feb 21, 2020 when you use the device on another computer with a different os, the permission settings with it may not be recognized or prevent access to the files on the hard disk. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to get external hard drive to work with mac os x.
Play anywhere compact design allows you to take your gaming lifestyle with you and look good doing it. Sep 30, 2010 hey guys, has probably asked a million times, but im pritty busy, so cant hang about searching. It is also compatible with mac os x once required formatting has been completed. Jan 03, 2018 new december 2017 wd elements drive will not format to mac os extended journaled. Any thing else, you should contact their website to be certain. Read this page and know the best method to restore files from sonnics 320gb portable hard drive on mac os x. If you experience the same issue, your only recourse is to reformat it in one of two formats. How to get external hard drive to work with mac os x guiding tech. Free trial of wd smartware pro auto and cloud backup software wd quality and reliability 1year limited warranty. Inputoutput error when reformatting wd elements ext hard. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for. Each physical drive is shown with the partitions of that drive nested below.
How to transfer files from a mac desktop to an external. Compatibility may vary depending on users hardware configuration and operating system. Want to reformat my wd passport so i can use it on a pc. So, until wd gets its act together, this program is useless. There are other options which are more complex if the above has not worked for you. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility.
Im trying to format it in exfat or fat32 so it can be used on both windows and mac osx. Formatting failed external drives for mac wd community. Buy wd 1tb elements portable external hard drive usb 3. Mounty for nfts mounty for ntfs mounty is a true lifesaver. Well, it was surprisingly even easier than i thought, as i plugged in the wd elements drive using the supplied usb cable into my mac and the. Wd passport much like my wd my passport ultra, most.
Mar 21, 2012 will a wd elements 1tb hard drive be compatible with mac os x lion. New instruction says that we first need to reformat ntfs into mac os extended journaled, and then convert it to apfs format. Disk utility fails to format the drive as max os x extended journaled with a format failed. Navigate through this page to know the best way to get back files from sony hdeg5b 2. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. I am using a my passport ultra with a macbook running mac os x 10. Not enough space to partition when formatting in mac osx 10. These are instructions on how to format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility. Recovery of data from formatted external hd on mac. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive.
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. However, if you want to use part of the drive for os x s time machine backups, you should do. List of all wd firmware and software available for download. Hey guys, has probably asked a million times, but im pritty busy, so cant hang about searching. 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. Formatera en extern harddisk for att fungera pa mac enkelteknik. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x.
Requires reformatting for mac os x tiger, leopard or snow leopard. New december 2017 wd elements drive will not format to mac os extended journaled. Download the wd discovery software for mac from the western digital site. Wd elements portable storage comes with a trial version of wd smartware pro backup software, which allows you to back up your files to your wd elements drive or to the cloud using your dropbox account. The wd my book for mac is our favorite external hard drive. Western digitals passport external drive for mac isnt eternally bound to macos. Latest mac format for macos high sierra or later 10. How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk utility.
Formatting wd elements for mac by quick workarounds. I had this model replace a wd book version of usb external hard drive that i purchased 2 days ago and was supposedly formatted specifically for mac os x 10. I assume youre trying to format it on a mac, probably the error is because it. How to use disk utility in macos sierra formatting external.
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