Reformat wd hard drive to ntfs for mac

How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. It is usually used to repair corrupted hard disk when it is unrecognized or inaccessible, fix format issues when windows was unable to complete the format. Hi there, i use a macbook pro and have a wd passport for mac. Im be using this hard drive for both my mac and windows rigs.

Reformat former nas wd red drive for use as external hd in. On this popup screen, choose ntfs, fat32 or exfat among listed file systems and click ok. Lg said it needs to be formatted to fat32 or ntfs for the tv to recognise it. Jan 15, 2020 and two ways are offered here for xbox one external hard drive format ntfs so that you can use the drive normally in windows pc. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. 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. The differences in formats cause issue in reading the hard drive and in order to be able to use it universally across your entire device, it is important to first reformat the drive into a supported format. Its automatic backup software ensures your files are saved in case you forget, and its usb 3. Format your western digital my passport external hard drive to fat32 or exfat format so to transfer the data between a mac and windows system conveniently. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac when i plug it into my pc i cant access it.

You can also use iboysoft ntfs for mac to reformat the external hard drive with ntfs on mac. In the main console, locate the partition on the wd passport external hard drive, right click it and choose format partition. The reason is perhaps that seagate external hard drive has been well known for a long time as one of the most reliable drives for storing data. Type the name of the volume you want to convert, and then press enter. Give your drive a name and select the file system you want from the format dropdown. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. How to properly format reformat a hard drive for mac os. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Whether you need to know how to format wd my passport for your mac.

Now right click on the external drive and click on format option doublecheck the drive name and capacity to make sure you are going to format the right drive. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Click on the erase tab in the disk utility toolbar. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Format new external drive as an ntfs partition it services. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac.

I have two wd red 4 tb disks which were used as nas drives. Be sure to doublecheck this you could accidentally wipe the wrong drive if you select the wrong disk here. If you want to use your wd elements drive without any special software on your mac. Download wd quick formatter to format external drive in. Disk management not only allows you the opportunity to change the format of the hard drive to ntfs, but it also assists in assigning a new letter of the usb, helps create multiple partitions, and keeps a thorough check on the health of the hard drive in focus.

Wd my passport this time not untitled and then erase. Dec, 2019 open disk management tool by rightclicking on start menu icon and then select disk management. This process wont actually convert the file system. When the finder window opens, on the menu bar, select go and then utilities. However, naturally, disk utility cant format external hard drive to ntfs. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. How to format a disk to ntfs using mac os x ask different. But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. Youll find below the ten quick steps, using words and pictures.

Oct 15, 2015 is there any possibility to reformat wd my book live exact model. Most commonly wd elements come with ntfs format which is not supported by mac by default. However, you need to make doubly sure that you complete a quick format. May 01, 2020 how to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. When you have a new hard drive, or when youre reinstalling windows, the os may ask you to format the drive. If you want an hard drive that you can only read on mac but have full access on windows, ntfs is the best choice.

Should i reformat this drive to exfat or just keep it. Is there any possibility to reformat wd my book live exact model. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Dec 29, 2015 windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Before you can use it though, you need to properly format or reformat a hard drive so that it will become compatible or readable with the operating system that you are using. However, the write support in the os settings is not active. There are specific thirdparty systems, like digital camcorders, and sony playstation 3, which need the drives to be formatted in either fat32 or exfat format to perform read from and. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. How enable ntfs writing on mac write to ntfs drives mactip. A lot of people including you, storing important data on seagate external hard drive instead of on your pc mac hard drive.

Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. But to get a hard drive to be compatible with both mac and pc, you have to choose the exfat. Then yes you need to put the wd elements drive in a format your mac can read and write to. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing data. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility.

Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. A quick format only deletes the organizational structure of the files on the drive, without removing the actual files. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so. As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available. But if you connect it to a macbook, you will find that the operating system cannot recognize it.

How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. I got my hands on a new adata hd710, 1tb external hard drive. Use minitool partition wizard to recreate in minitool partition, not initialized hard drive will be shown as unallocated disk space. In the drop down panel set the partition scheme to guid. My book external hard drive western digital wd it is formated in exfat. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. It should delete an internal operating system on the drive as well. Therefore, sl ntfs software acts as an interface for the mac os 10. Connect your western digital my passport drive to mac computer, and let the os detect and mount the drive for use. Mar 23, 2020 the differences in formats cause issue in reading the hard drive and in order to be able to use it universally across your entire device, it is important to first reformat the drive into a supported format. However, when i plug them into my computer they are not recognized. How to reformat an external hard drive without losing your. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac.

Western digital my book live 3tb wdbacg0030hcheesn 3. In fact, installing an ntfs for mac driver is a much easier way. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. The question is whether my book live will work after it as a common external or network hdd. How do i reformat a mac hd to ntfs for use with windows 8. Enter diskpart to initiate the disk partition mode. How to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc. 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. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. And yes if you want to use your wd elements drive for a time machine backup. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it.

How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. There is a video after that you can watch as extra help. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Should i reformat this drive to exfat or just keep it as ntfs and install a program like tuxera or. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. A hard drive or hard disk can be used in any type of computer, whether for pc windows or for mac.

I want to download files on the passport to then watch on my lg tv using the usb port. Select the external hard drive in the left hand sidebar and click on the erase tab. Windows can read and write to ntfsformatted drives. Also ntfs is compatible with mac alsoi think, so now you can use your hdd on both.

Aug, 2018 need to format portable hard drive for mac and pc if you have a portable hard drive with ntfs file system, you can use it in windows computer easily. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. Feb 08, 2020 so, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. Open disk management tool by rightclicking on start menu icon and then select disk management. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. You can also run the application by typing cmd in the. For example, here wed type select disk 2 finally, type clean and press enter. How to properly formatreformat a hard drive for mac os.

Overwrite exfat format of 8tb external drive with ntfs. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. My passport wont format external drives for mac wd. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. For instance, if you select an option ms dos fat, it will well suit with windows as well as mac. Oct 28, 2017 i have two wd red 4 tb disks which were used as nas drives. Need to format portable hard drive for mac and pc if you have a portable hard drive with ntfs file system, you can use it in windows computer easily. Mar 12, 2018 mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdos is the formatting option for pc. So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac.

Fat32, exfat and ntfs are three file systems for external drive in windows, while ntfs is readonly on mac. I havent tried this one, but it should also do the job. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. After disk utility loads select the drive outdented entry with 1tb wd passport. Jun, 2012 i got my hands on a new adata hd710, 1tb external hard drive. This western digital hard drive has an 8tb capacity to store your entire library. 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. Now enter the volume label as you need and change the file system for exfat and click ok. If you have already saved files to the drive that you want to keep then dont format the drive. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac.

How to format an external hard drive for xbox one minitool. This command erases the entire selected disk, including all its files and partitions whether. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. If given a choice, the two common modes are ntfs and fat32. Select an option in which you want to format your drive. Wd passport for mac to fat32 or ntfs other software. All data on the external hard drive will be erased by this procedure. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. When the driver is installed, you format your ntfs disks with disk utility where you select windows nt filesystem as the format. Aug 30, 2019 select the external hard drive in the left hand sidebar and click on the erase tab. Apple mac machines support a different file system. Now, im in limbo as to the format i should have on this drive. Only at best buy keep data safe on this western digital hard drive.

Please comment your methods in comment section below or mention the videos you will like me to. Now, a new hard drive icon will appear on the desktop. A dialog box will be seen at the bottom of it with a round four commands. Therefore, based on these three file systems, we have two methods to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by using the exfat filesystem. Some users would prefer to the features of windows ntfs file system. 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. Reformatting a drive on windows is a pretty straightforward process. Ntfs partitions have a file size limit only limited by the partition size. Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to. Wd quick formatter, also called wd advanced format utility is a tool that allows you to reformat wd external hard drive to ntfs, fat32, etc in windows 1087 or other windows versions. Format external hard drive to ntfs from fat32 using disk management. Under the format menu, choose the file system you want to use.

I would like to reformat them so i can use them as usb connected external hard drives on a windows 10 computer. Most mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exfat, ensuring they work well on both windows and mac os x without any extra work. You were right, you did indeed have to select wd my passport screen shot 20170625 at 6. Please keep in mind that reformatting will result in the loss of all the data on the hard drive so make sure you back up your data elsewhere before starting. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments.