On your Mac, select a folder or disk, then choose File Get Info. If the lock at the bottom right is locked, click it to unlock the Get Info options, then enter an administrator name and password. Click the Action pop-up menu, then choose “Apply to enclosed items.” Change an item’s owner. Turn On Your Mac And Log In. Plug in your WD My Passport’s USB cable into its Micro USB B. The My Passport™ for Mac drive includes USB-C™ and USB-A cables, so you can save tomorrow’s content with the Mac computers of both today and yesterday. Keep your digital life’s contents secure with My Passport™ for Mac password protection and built-in 256-bit AES hardware encryption. Hi, I just bought WD My passport to use with my MacBook Air 2018 model which runs with macOS Catalina version 10.15.1 I have connected the device to my laptop but started reading posts here that my passport doesn’t work with Catalina. Before I start a nonsense journey: should I return the product?
Summary : Let's figure out how to format your WD Passport on macOS & Windows. In this blog post, we will walk you through the formatting process and share instructions to format an external drive on macOS & Windows.
But before you proceed, understand that formatting carries a risk of hard drive corruption and data loss. So, in case, if you had accidentally lost your data due to drive formatting or corruption, we also recommend a data recovery software that can rescue data from your HDD. Take a free trial to evaluate the software now.
But before you proceed, understand that formatting carries a risk of hard drive corruption and data loss. So, in case, if you had accidentally lost your data due to drive formatting or corruption, we also recommend a data recovery software that can rescue data from your HDD. Take a free trial to evaluate the software now.
Professional photographers and videographers have their hands laid upon various digital devices. Usually, their arsenal includes a cutting-edge Windows 10 desktop, the latest and the magnificent MacBook Pro, DSLR & SD-Cards, of course, and the trusted & loved external drives, such as the WD My Passport. The WD My Passport drive’s role is crucial since the individual will leverage the portable media to safely store their collection of pictures, videos, audio, and docs. But despite the best of the best device specifications, there remains one small glitch to rectify.
We know, Mac and Windows have their native file systems, such as the new APFS or HFS and the NTFS. A WD My Passport formatted with a Mac file system will be a dud on Windows and vice-versa. Thankfully, FAT32 and ex-FAT formats have survived to date, and these are the file systems to make your WD My Passport work with a Mac and a Windows PC simultaneously. 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.
To format a Western Digital My Passport external hard drive in ex-FAT or FAT32 format, you can bank on built-in applications of Mac & PC. However, while doing this, you have to keep in mind and follow the correct steps. Here you will get to know about the process to format your “My passport” portable drive in FAT32 and ex-FAT file system in both Windows and Mac platforms.
Warning: Erasing WD My Passport empties the drive. So, back up the storage medium before performing the erase operation either in Windows or macOS Platform.
In Windows Platform
1. Connect your WD My Passport hard drive to your Windows PC through the USB cable. Wait till Windows detects the external hard drive and configure it as an expansion drive automatically.
2. Click the Start button and type this pc, then select This PC app. A new Windows Explorer window opens. See a list of installed drives and their drive letters on the left side of the screen.
3. Locate the icon assigned to Western Digital My Passport drive and right-click the connected drive icon, and click Format in the pop-up menu.
4. Select the File System from the drop-down list and choose either exFAT or FAT32. Enter a relevant name in the Volume label field. Go with ‘Quick Format,’ then click Start.
In macOS Platform
1. Connect your Western Digital My Passport drive to a Mac computer, and let macOS detect and mount the drive for use. Now, a new hard drive icon will appear on the Desktop.
Ping iphone from mac. 2. On macOS Dock, select Finder. Navigate to Applications > Utilities and select the Disk Utility application.
3. When the Disk Utility opens, choose the Western Digital hard drive icon from the sidebar. Next, click the Erase tab.
4. In the Erase dialog window, select the Volume Format drop-down list and choose APFS (native filesystem), or ‘MS-DOS (FAT)’ or ex-FAT. The ex-FAT file system is best for formatting WD My Passport on Mac.
5. Click the Erase button. Let macOS erase data on the drive and reformat it to APFS, FAT32 or ex-FAT format. Once formatting is done, you can use the drive in macOS or OS X as a regular hard drive.
Data Loss due to Accidental Formatting of WD My Passport
We can’t rule out the possibilities of human errors resulting in the WD My Passport external drive’s accidental formatting. A slight mistake permanently removes all of the contained pictures, videos, audio files, and docs instantly from the WD My Passport. If you have accidentally erased your WD My Passport hard drive, use the free data recovery software for Mac or Windows as per need. The next sections share the data recovery steps in Windows and macOS platform.
Steps to Recover Data from WD My Passport on Windows
a. Select: Run Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Windows on your PC and select file type, then click Next. Select WD My Passport from the Recover From screen.
b. Scan: Turn on Deep Scan and click Scan. Wait till the scan completes.
c. Recover: Preview your recoverable files and select all the required files. Click Recover. Specify the drive location to save files, then click Save. Wait till the recovery is over.
Steps to Recover Data from WD My Passport on Mac
a. Select: Launch Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac on your MacBook, Mac mini, or iMac. Select file type, then click Next. Select WD My Passport.
b. Scan: Toggle on Deep Scan and click Scan. Wait till the scan is over.
c. Recover: Preview your scanned files and select all the necessary ones. Click Recover. Click Browser to specify the save location, then click Save. Wait till the recovery is complete.
Usability of the Free Data Recovery Software
Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition (Windows or Mac) can help you free scan your WD My Passport storage drive, free preview recoverable files, and free recover up to 1 Gigabyte of data. If you need unlimited data recovery capability, you need to upgrade the software from Free Edition to Professional or Premium Edition. All the editions of Stellar Data Recovery have a 30-day money-back guarantee; so, upgrade with confidence.
![Torrent for mac catalina Torrent for mac catalina](https://www.iclarified.com/images/news/45349/45349/45349-640.jpg)
Tips for Effective Formatting
1. Format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to FAT32 or ex-FAT format to conveniently transfer the data between a Mac and Windows system.
2. There are specific third-party systems, like Digital Camcorders and Sony PlayStation, which need the drives to be formatted in either FAT32 or ex-FAT format to perform read and write operation. Check it before selecting a file format.
3. FAT32 supports a maximum volume of up to 8 Terabytes and maximum file size up to 4 Gigabytes. Ex-FAT supports a maximum volume size up to 128 Petabyte and maximum file size up to 16 Exabyte.
4. Due to the limitation of FAT32, it is not useful for every user and affects Mac’s and PC’s performances. Therefore, it is better to choose ex-FAT instead. Mac virus clean up.
5. Like FAT32, ex-FAT is not a commonly used file system, due to which its support may vary among third-party devices.
6. The corruption chances of the external drive increase if used on both Mac and PC systems regularly. So, please back up the data before sharing them between the two computers.
Readers also find the below topics helpful:
Conclusion
We hope the blog helped you format your WD My Passport storage drive for Mac and PC. You can format the drive in either FAT32 or exFAT that are compatible with both macOS and Windows. It is advisable to select the exFAT file system to format the drive due to its large file size storage capacity. But before you format/erase the drive in Windows or macOS, you must back up any important files stored on the drive to preempt data loss. In case you didn’t back up before formatting and lost your data stored on the drive, use the recommended free data recovery software available for Windows and Mac to retrieve your lost data.
Backup mac computer is a priority when might lose some of our files from the computer. Mac backup is designed in our computer with time machine but in some c. Click 'My Passport' on the left side of the program window and then select the 'Erase' tab. Click the 'Mac OS Extended' option in the 'Volume Format' menu, then click 'Erase' to format the drive for your Mac. Use with Time Machine Step 1 Plug the cable from the hard drive into an available USB port on your Mac. WD My Passport is compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces. It includes WD backup software that can be set to automatically protect your data on a timed schedule. It comes formatted for Windows but can be formatted for use on a Mac. Click 'Use as Backup Disk' to create a backup of your entire Mac on the Passport. Jul 31, 2017 Have bought a WD My Passport for Mac and I have plugged it in and downloaded the software but having never used an external hard rive and with the instructions in the downloaded manual not making sense (not a techy). How do I go about downloading all the info on my mac to the hardrive? Sorry for such a basic question but I bought this on the Amazon reviews saying it is very simple to set up.
Migration Assistant copies all of your files from your old Mac to your new Mac so that you don't have to copy them manually.
- If your files are currently on a PC, follow the PC migration steps instead.
- If you're moving content from a Time Machine backup, follow the steps to restore your Mac from a backup instead.
Get ready
- Install all available software updates on both computers. If your old Mac isn't using OS X Lion or later, and your new Mac isn't using OS X Mavericks or later, follow the Mountain Lion migration steps instead.
- If both computers are using macOS Sierra or later, place them near each other with Wi-Fi turned on. If either one is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, make sure that both are on the same network.
- On your old Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing. Make sure that a name appears in the Computer Name field.
How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac Os
Use Migration Assistant
You're now ready to use Migration Assistant to move your files from the old Mac to the new one.
On your new Mac
- Open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. Then click Continue.
- When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk. Then click Continue.
On your old Mac
- Open Migration Assistant, then click Continue.
- When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer to another Mac. Then click Continue.
On your new Mac
When asked to select a Mac, Time Machine backup, or other startup disk, select the other Mac. Then click Continue.
On your old Mac
If you see a security code, make sure that it's the same code shown on your new Mac. Then click Continue.
How To Use My Passport For Mac
On your new Mac
How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac Osx
How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac Mojave
- Select the information to transfer.
In this example, John Appleseed is a macOS user account. If it has the same name as an account already on your new Mac, you're prompted to either rename the old account or replace the one on your new Mac. If you rename, the old account will appear as a separate user on your new Mac, with a separate home folder and login. If you replace, the old account will delete and then replace the account on your new Mac, including everything in its home folder. - Click Continue to start the transfer. Large transfers might need several hours to complete.
- After Migration Assistant is done, log in to the migrated account on your new Mac to see its files.
How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac Catalina
If you're not keeping your old Mac, learn what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your old Mac.