How To Set Up Wd Passport For Mac

How to Format WD Passport for Mac and PC (3 Ways)

Updated by Roxanne on Dec thirteen, 2022 

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Solution 1. Format WD My Passport with Software (FREE)
Solution 2. Using Windows File Explorer to format WD
Solution 3. Format WD My Passport on Mac

Can I Use WD My Passport on Mac and PC

Before you get the respond, you must effigy out what kind of file system tin work well on both the macOS and the Windows arrangement. macOS supports a handful of common file systems - HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT, with read-only back up for NTFS. While Windows employs two major file systems: NTFS and Fat. FAT was inherited from old DOS and has exFAT as its later extension. In improver, the ReFS file system was developed as a new generation file system for server computers starting from Windows Server 2022.

Overview of WD My Passport File System on Windows and Mac

Devices	NTFS	HFS/APFS	Fatty	exFAT
Windows PC	✔	✘	✔	✔
Mac PC	✘	✔	✔	✔

That is to say, simply FAT32 and exFAT can piece of work on both Mac and PC. If y'all want to share digital files between Mac and Windows system easily, you must format WD My Passport for Mac. Here are three means to format a WD My Passport for Mac, follow any 1 of them to convert to Fat or exFAT.

1 - Format WD My Passport in Windows Platform (Using Free Software)

Yous can format a Western Digital My Passport external hard bulldoze to ex-FAT or FAT32 format using a costless ex-FAT or FAT32 converter - EaseUS Partition Master free or utilize built-in applications Windows.

It is a wise choice to utilise a professional format tool. With the help of EaseUS Division Master Costless, you tin perfectly bypass the format limitation of the Windows deejay management tool and assist y'all format WD My Passport to FAT32 or exFAT easily without any obstacles.

Follow the details below to catechumen WD My Passport to format WD Passport for Mac.

Right-click the external drive or USB yous intend to format and choose "Format".
Gear up the Partition characterization, File system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and Cluster size, then click "OK".
Click "OK" to go along.
Click the "Execute Operation" button and click "Employ" to format the hard drive partition.

two - Format WD My Passport Using File Explorer in Windows Platform

Windows limits FAT32 partitions to 32GB. It does not offer the ability to format a drive larger than 32GB to FAT32, the simply bachelor choices are NTFS or exFAT. If y'all want to format your WD My Passport to FAT32, you lot must make certain that the size is smaller than 32GB. If it is larger than 32GB, you can only format it to exFAT.

Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer, locate and correct-click on WD My Passport that you need to format, select "Format".

Pace 2. Rename the bulldoze, reset its file system to FAT32 or exFAT.

Step iii. Click "Start" to begin the formatting.

format wd my passport to fat32 or exfat using file explorer

3 - How to Format WD My Passport in macOS/OS X Platform

The easiest mode to format the bulldoze to FAT32 or exFAT is by using macOS's built-in Deejay Utility for FAT32 or exFAT.

Tips: The instructions below are designed to assist repartition and format a difficult drive. In one case the process begins, all the data on the bulldoze volition be lost!

Stride 1. Connect WD My Passport to your Mac.

Pace ii. Once that'due south done, double left-click on the Mac HD, the internal Mac hard drive visible on the top-right corner of the desktop screen.Select "Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility".

format wd passport on mac -1

Step iii. Select your WD My Passport on the sidebar, cull "Erase".

Step iv. Rename the drive, select the "Book Format" drop-down list and choose "MS-DOS (Fatty)" or "ex-Fatty File Organization". So click "Erase".

format wd my passport on mac -2

Wait for the process to complete and allow the macOS erase data on the drive and reformat it by FAT32 or ex-FAT format. Then, you can use the drive in macOS or Os X as a regular hard drive. If yous lost data after formatting your WD HDD on Mac, you tin can run EaseUS Mac data recovery software to go information dorsum.

How to Use WD My Passport for Mac

Plug the wall/power bar and permit power enter it.
Plug one end of the USB cablevision into the drive and the other stop in your system. If you lot accept a USB three.0 port on your organization, use it to gain a higher transfer speed.
Navigate to "My Machine" to see the new hd. It'southward going to be chosen "My Book".
Double-click it and select "Create WD Applications". Then, you'll meet "WD Apps for Mac".
Just follow the Program Setup prompts. Don't stray from them and tamper with instructions you don't understand.

WD My Passport Not Showing Up/Detected?

Is your WD My Passport external hard drive not showing up, not detected, or unrecognized on your PC? Follow this guide, you lot'll set up the WD passport non showing up error.

WD My Passport Ultra not detected

Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS

Fatty is known as the File Resource allotment Tabular array. The successive major versions of the FAT format are named later the number of table element bits: FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32. FAT32 is the oldest of the three file systems available to Windows. Private files on a FAT32 drive can't be over 4 GB in size. A FAT32 sectionalisation must also exist less than 8 TB, which admittedly is less of a limitation unless you're using super-loftier-capacity drives.

exFAT, Extended File Allocation Tabular array, is optimized for flash drives. It was added to older versions of Windows with updates to Windows XP and Windows Vista. This file system doesn't have the limitations of FAT32. You can apply information technology when you need a bigger file size and partition limits than FAT32 offers.

NTFS, NT File System, is the modern file system Windows likes to use by default. It is packed with modern features not available to FAT32 and exFAT. However, information technology merely works with all versions of Windows, but read-only with Mac by default.

If yous desire to use WD My Passport or whatever other difficult drive on Mac and PC, yous need to format a Western Digital My Passport external hard bulldoze in exFAT or FAT32 format.

How to Catechumen exFAT to NTFS/FAT/FAT32?

Here the best exFAT to NTFS converter software & exFAT to FAT32 converter software tin can help format exFAT to NTFS and convert exFAT to FAT32 without losing data.

convert exFAT to NTFS/FAT/FAT32

Tips to Avoid Formatting WD My Passport Without Fill-in

Only as I have mentioned above, once the process begins, all the information on the bulldoze will exist lost. To avoid unnecessary information loss issues, we highly recommended all users extract or support important information to some other device or sectionalisation in advance. You lot can copy files one by ane to a new deejay or bulldoze. If yous take quite a lot of data to exist transferred, professional backup software shall be your all-time choice. Here we recommend yous try EaseUS backup and recovery software which allows you to directly support target data with simple steps.

Stride 1. Click the "Select backup contents" push to start fill-in.

create file backup step1

Step 2. In that location are four data backup categories, File, Disk, Os, and Mail, click File.

create file backup step2

Step iii. Both local and network files will exist listed on the left. Y'all can expand the directory to select the files to be backed up.

File backup

Pace 4. Follow the on-screen guide, select the destination where you desire to salvage the backup.

File backup step4

Click "Options" to encrypt the backup with password in "Fill-in Options", ready the fill-in schedule and choose to beginning back up at sure consequence in "Backup Scheme". At that place are also many other options yous can explore, customize the backup task according to your need.

Backup options

Step 5. You can store the backup to local drive, EaseUS's cloud service, and NAS.

file backup step4

Stride 6. EaseUS Todo Fill-in enables users to dorsum up information to both third-political party cloud drive and its ain deject bulldoze.

If you want to back up data to 3rd-party cloud drive, choose Local Drive, gyre down to add Deject Device, add and login your account.

Backup to cloud
Y'all can also choose EaseUS's own cloud drive. Click EaseUS Deject, sign up with your EaseUS Account and log in.

backup to easeus cloud

Stride 7. Click "Backup Now" to start fill-in. After the backup chore is completed, it will be displayed in the class of a card on the left side of the panel. Right-click the fill-in task to further manage it.

File backup step7

Decision

You tin can format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to FAT32 or exFAT format to transfer the data between a Mac and Windows system conveniently. According to the solutions above, EaseUS partition tool stands out for its convenience and easiness. It'due south always your best option. If you still have questions, y'all can contact u.s. through Live Conversation or email.