Sep 28, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Aug 22, 2019 Mac operating systems are always trusted by users for their reliability. However, none native NTFS write support is also a feature that many users are complaining about. By default, macOS comes with read-only support for NTFS, and its disabled-by-default write support for NTFS is unstable to use. That’s to say, you’re unable to write to. If you want to write to NTFS formatted hard drives in Mac OS X, you’re going to need the help of a third-party driver. However, if you’re working primarily with Mac computers, you’re probably better off using HFS+, which stands for Hierarchical File System, for native support. Also known as Mac OS Extended or HFS Extended, HFS+ is an.

This is a question often asked by Mac users only. Windows users don't need to do much other than plug in the WD Passport to use it, but for Mac, it's not as straightforward as that.

The difference in Mac and Windows' native format systems are to blame for this. But don't fret, because this article will show you simple ways to go about formatting your WD Passport so you can easily use it on both Mac and Windows.

Part 1 - Overview of WD My Passport File System

Technology has reached a point where it pretty much seeps into every aspect of our daily life. We're always using our phones and computers to send messages, host meetings, shop online, etc.

Of course, there is much exchange of valuable data as these happen, and where you keep this data is extremely important; that's where WD's My Passport comes in.

My Passport is a hard drive that's trustworthy and portable enough to be given a 5-star rating on almost any website you check. Coupled with the WD Backup TM app and password protection feature, My Passport helps to keep your data safe. That being said, situations arise when you'll need to format or reformat the drive.

Default File System of WD my passport

Western Digital (WD) hard drives are formatted with NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (Mac) by default to make them more compatible with both operating systems.

Granted, FAT32 is less efficient than NTFS in Windows, but it has inherent benefits too, like its compatibility. And to connect your NTFS-formatted My Passport to macOS, you'll need to utilize a formatting tool.

This is especially true if you regularly use your WD drive on both Windows and macOS. So always remember to check if the drive is formatted or not.

Why WD my Passport can't be used on mac?

A significant number of users trust West Digital hard drives. Their auto backup, password protection, and high reliability are second to none.

But nothing is perfect, right? Sometimes when you connect the WD My Passport drive to your Mac, it's grayed out in Disk Utility.

The drive's external light can be on too but it still doesn't work. Worse still, it could become unreadable on your Mac. You know what that means, right? Your data can't be accessible now.

What Are the Reasons for My Passport Not Showing Up on Mac?

More often than not, an external hard drive doesn't show up on Mac simply because your Mac's USB cable or USB port is bad. But the following factors may also contribute to WD not showing up.

• Latest macOS update

What happens here is when you update your macOS to the latest build or release, issues of incompatibility could arise. So, you might have to update the WD My Passport's drivers to at least meet the minimum requirements of the newly-installed macOS.

• Device malfunction

The simple fact is, your Mac could malfunction due to one error or another, and that could tamper with how your macOS identifies your WD My Passport. Computers are susceptible to unexpected or unforeseen glitches and errors, so never rule this out as a possible cause.

• Anti-virus

Yes, an anti-virus is meant to protect your system, but it can also have 'side effects' that won't bode too well for it. For example, most anti-virus is notorious for identifying laptop games as a virus, even though they aren't. Sometimes, they prevent the games from launching.

They can also stop some software from starting. This applies to your hard drives too.

Likewise, the antivirus could stop your system from accessing your WD Passport, perhaps because there is already a virus in it. Thus, it's imperative you install the right anti-virus that will work well and won't tamper with your system's settings too much,

• Virus

Not much needs to be said because everyone knows the kind of damage virus is capable of. There's a virus out there that can even hide your hard drive. So even if you plug it into your My Passport into your Mac, you won't see it.

• Motherboard errors

Without a motherboard, a system is pretty much a screen and keyboard. So, if your Mac's motherboard suffers software or hardware damage, almost nothing will work properly, and that includes your USB ports. So, your drive, even if it's functioning properly, might not even be recognized.

• WD My Passport causes damage or corruption

This time, the problem stems from your WD My Passport. Maybe the drive fell or a malfunctioning system corrupted it. Either of these issues could lead to the drive malfunctioning or not showing up when you plug it into your Mac.

Part 2 - How to Format WD my Passport for Mac?

The simple step-by-step guide below will show you how to format your WD My Passport on your computer, so pay attention. The information you'll find here touches on formatting and reformatting WD's My Passport for your Mac.

• Login into your Mac

Just turn on your Mac and when it boots up, plug in your My Passport drive to your WD. Your WD My Passport drive will appear as a rectangular, yellow icon on your desktop (it looks just like the image below).

• Navigate to Finder if Your Drive Isn't Visible

If your My Passport drive doesn't turn up for some reason, click on 'Finder', then select 'Preferences'.

• A small window will open up. Make sure you tick the checkboxes 'Hard Disks' and 'External Disks.'

• Your WD My Mac Passport drive should now be running on your screen.
• Launch Disk Utility

You can find disk utility by clicking on the spotlight search button, then type 'Disk Utility'.

• Highlight 'Disk Utility', then double-click it.

• Access your Drives

You'll see your internal and external hard drives on the left-hand side of the Disk Utility window.

• Click on the dropdown arrow to expand or collapse the drives on the list.

• Look under the 'External' category and you'll find your My Passport drive there. If it has not appeared, your Mac's USB port could be malfunctioning. So, unplug your drive and restart your Mac. That will probably fix the issue.
• Make sure you have your drive selected. By the way, choose the first drive you see on the list; you know, the one at the top. Doing otherwise might lead to issues when formatting the WD Passport for Mac.
• Format Your Drive

Find the 'View' button at the top left of your Disk Utility window and click it. A drop-down menu will open up.

• Remember, what comes next is formatting. So, make sure your files have been copied off the drive if there are any on it.

• Click on 'Erase'

• In the small window that pops up, you'll have to input a name for the My Passport drive first.
• You'll find it useful to give a name to your drive to show what you'll be using the drive for.
• Right below that is the 'Format' field. There are a few formats you can choose from but you only need one.
• Choose Format Type

Select 'Extended Mac OS (Journaled)'.

This is the file system you will need if you want to be able to easily transfer files back and forth between your Mac and you're My Passport drive. The format is also what makes the drive compatible with Time Machine for backup on your Mac

• Next, for the Scheme option, select 'GUID Partition Map.'
• Finally, click on the 'Erase' button. It will just take a few seconds for the drive to be formatted. Once, look at your desktop and you'll see the icon of WD my Passport on it.

• Eject Your Drive

Oh, and always remember to safely eject your drive before unplugging its cable. Failure to do this could lead to the driver crashing or suffering some issues.

• To eject your WD my Passport drive from your Mac, just right-click on its icon on your desktop.
• In the dropdown menu you see, click on 'Eject'.

Part 3 - Recover Accidentally Formatted WD Files

If you are unable to locate or access the data on your Western Digital (WD) external hard drive, it can be devastating, particularly when the lost data contains precious images and invaluable backups.

The tips and shortcuts below will give you the necessary info and tidbits you need to format WD elements for mac. The loss of data from your WD hard drive can be caused by numerous things: Accidental deletion, disk formatting, computer corruption or damage, etc.

But all that doesn't mean you can't get your data back. There are some great solutions you can utilize to recover deleted, corrupted, or lost files and you'll learn of them before the end of this post.

Why Formatted Data Can Be Recovered?

It makes perfect sense for you to worry if you lose your data, but sometimes, formatting becomes necessary too, doesn't it?

• Accidental Deletion or Redesign

Sometimes when you reinstall the operating system, the drive or partition gets deleted, even if you don't intend for it to happen.

• Unexpected Data Loss Situations:

Due to carelessness or haste, some people can unknowingly format or delete the wrong partition. It takes little more than a few clicks for the damage to be done, so you must exercise caution here.

Then, of course, you can't rule out other possible causes like a virus, power failure, or hardware damage to your drive. They are all likely causes of data loss.

When it comes to Western Digital disk recovery, the first option that comes to mind is using third party data recovery applications. This is considerably better than the complicated and time-consuming manual data recovery options out there.

Restoring lost WD data takes only minutes, depending on the size of the drive and the amount of data to be recovered. The data recovery tool in question supports all Western Digital hard disk drives, such as My Book Pro, My Book, WD Elements, My Book Studio, etc.

Sometimes, there will be a need to learn how to reformat my passport for Mac, so once you're acquainted with formatting, you should enlighten yourself on how to reformat WD my passport for Mac.

How to Recover Formatted WD Drive Files using Recoverit Data Recovery?

If you know anything about data recovery, then it's very likely you're familiar with Recoverit Data Recovery. If you aren't, you've been missing out a lot!

Recoverit Data Recovery is a data recovery tool that's extremely capable of recovering data or any kind of file you lost from your drive. So, if you lost your data via formatting, accidental deletion, virus attacks, and more, Recoverit will get them all back.

Recoverit's data recovery steps are often very similar irrespective of which type of system you own; Windows or Mac. But since you're dealing with Mac today, that will be the focus here. So, go on and follow the 3 steps below to get back data on a Mac.

1. Select the WD drive
2. Scan the drive
3. Preview and retrieve data

Step 1: Select the WD Drive

Start Recoverit and look under the 'External Devices' section. You'll see some drives connected to your Mac. Select the WD drive and click on 'Start'.

Step 2: Scan Your WD Drive

Recoverit will start scanning the drive. Look to the left of the software and you'll see checkboxes that detail the types of files the software is finding. You can tick the checkboxes if you're only looking for particular files; that will actually make the scan process faster, but it's just an option.

Step 3: Preview and Recover Pen Drive Data

Once the scan ends, you'll see the list of files Recoverit found. You can even preview them if you want. Recovering the files is pretty easy too.

Just tick the ones you want to recover or tick one checkbox that highlights everything. For the last step, click 'Recover'.

All you have to do is wait for all your files to be recovered. See? Easy as pie. But here's an important tip: Don't save the files to the same WD drive they are being recovered from.

How to use WD my Passport on Mac?

Files and getting bigger and bigger, so you'll need the best drive out there to capable of storing these files, right? There are countless hard drives you can choose from but the keyword here is the 'best', and WD is exactly that.

If you need a new backup solution for your photos or videos, the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB drive can more than handle the job. It's a compact external hard drive with 1 TB capacity coupled with high transmission speeds.

To use a WD my passport on Mac, you need to know how to reformat it. The same goes for using any kind of WD drive on Mac.

Benefits of WD my Passport

The simple fact is, you'll be very happy with the shape, weight, look, and even feel of the WD My Passport drive. This 1 TB size is wonderful and can comfortably store even the large Digital SLR data files for many years to come.

For those who really love music, all their favorite songs can be stored on this drive too. These large and powerful drives even find use in hospitals and educational facilities, among other places.

The WD Passport is also patronized by computer programmers, innovative artists, and several other professionals in various business fields.

What makes this external hard drive so reliable and easily the best portable drive is the fact it was manufactured by the popular Western Digital Company. It's a trusted company that has filled homes, offices, and institutions with hard drives for over 20 years; that's over 20 years of experience and satisfied customers!

Because of how compact the drive is, it easily fits into your shirt or purse's pocket. And the fact it weighs just about 0.44 pounds means it won't feel uncomfortable or be obtrusive in any way.

This new device is excellent and doesn't need external power, eliminating the need for an extra power cord. It also works almost soundlessly, so no annoying grinding noises to distract you while you work.

If your WD drive is plugged into a USB 3.0 port, you can easily access and save files 3 times faster than what USB 2.0 port is capable of. To elaborate, you can upload a 2-hour HD video in just 5 minutes! But if it was USB 2.0, it will take at least 13 minutes or more. The difference is clear, isn't it?

Tips on using WD my Passport for Mac

• Plug the wall/power bar and let power enter it.
• Plug one end of the USB cable into the drive and the other end in your system. If you have a USB 3.0 port on your system (it's usually blue, especially for Windows systems), use it because it can make a big difference in the speed of the transfer of files.
• If you're using Windows, the drive will now be turned on, showing up in 'My Computer'. It might take a few seconds to do this, so be a little patient.
• If you're on a Mac, navigate to 'My Machine' to see the new hard disk. It's going to be called 'My Book'.
• Double-click it and select 'Create WD Applications'. This will start the Backup software installation process. If you don't see the 'WD Apps Setup', search for a folder called 'WD Apps for Windows'. But if you're using macOS or OS X, you'll see 'WD Apps for Mac'.
• Only follow the Program Setup prompts. Don't stray from them and tamper with instructions you don't understand.

Final words

So, there you have it. A simple yet effective tutorial on making your WD drive work on Mac. Remember that the most important thing here is the safety of your files, so it is highly recommended you use a WD My Passport because it's a drive that promises nothing but the highest quality.

And if anything does happen to your WD drive and you lose your files, there's never a need to worry because Recoverit is ready and willing to get all those files back.

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Sep 28, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

My Book For Mac External Hard Drive

This is a recent query posted by a Mac user on a leading forum about formatting a MacBook Pro. Just like this, thousands of other people also encounter a similar situation as well. It doesn't matter if you wish to troubleshoot a disk problem or would like to resell your system – you might wish to format MacBook due to different reasons. The good news is that Mac provides a seamless solution to format its internal drive and even an external data source. In this guide, we will let you know how to format MacBook in every possible way and how to recover data from the formatted MacBook.

Part 1. Common Scenarios for Formatting Mac

Before we discuss how to format HDD/NTFS on Mac, it is important to cover the basics. Ideally, there could be different reasons and scenarios for formatting Mac's storage. Some of them could be as follows:

• You might be reselling your Mac and by formatting it, you can get rid of all the unwanted data.
• Your Mac might be running low on free space and formatting it will help you reclaim tons of available storage on Mac.
• If a partition or storage unit has been infected by malware, then you can get rid of it by formatting it entirely.
• It can help you troubleshoot a problem with your Mac's disk or any external device.
• You can also defragment the disk and get back some free space on it this way.
• By reformatting a drive, you can manage the partitions and the entire storage as well.

How to Format MacBook Completely?

To make it easier for users to format MacBook entirely, Apple has come up with an inbuilt tool – Disk Utility. Using it, you can erase a partition or format the entire hard drive. Apart from that, it can also help you manage the partitions or repair a broken disk. To learn how to format Mac entirely, follow these simple steps:

1. If your Mac is already functioning, then just go to its Finder > Applications > Utility and launch the Disk Utility application. If not, then you need to boot it in the recovery mode instead.
2. As the Disk Utility window will open, you can view all kinds of operations to perform. On the left panel, a list of all the connected devices and Mac's internal storage is displayed. Just select the root directory of your Mac's hard drive (like Macintosh HD or Fusion HD).
3. Click on the 'Erase' button on the toolbar to get the following window. Here, you can change the scheme and file format of the drive as per your choice. Some commonly supported file formats are APFS, exFAT, FAT 32, HFS, etc.
4. In the end, just click on the 'Erase' button and confirm your choice as the application would entirely wipe Mac's hard drive.
5. Furthermore, if you wish to completely reset your system, then you can choose to reinstall the macOS on it as well. To do this, restart your Mac and hold the Command + R keys to boot it in the Recovery Mode.
6. As the macOS Utility window will open, click on the 'Reinstall macOS' option and follow the simple on-screen instructions to install the latest macOS version on your system.

How to Format NTFS on Mac

NTFS is a commonly used file format for Windows systems and external devices. The format is not used for the internal hard drives in Mac. Thus, if you wish to format NTFS on Mac, then you must be using an external storage unit. For instance, you might wish to format as SD card, pen drive, external hard disk, etc. with an existing NTFS format.

Also, you should know that while Mac can format the source, it will change its file format in the end. Some of the supported file systems in Mac are exFAT, FAT, and HFS+. Therefore, you should follow these steps to learn how to format NTFS on Mac if you are ready to take this risk.

1. To start with, connect your external device to your Mac and make sure it gets detected by your system.
2. Now, launch Disk Utility by visiting the Applications section on your Mac. From the left sidebar, select the device. It would be listed under the 'External' section.
3. Afterward, click on the 'Erase' button to format NTFS on Mac. As the following pop-up would appear, you can click on the 'Format' section to select a supporting format. From the list, exFAT is the most compatible choice.
4. When you are ready, click on the 'Erase' button again and confirm your choice as Disk Utility would format the connected source.

If you want the target file format of the storage unit to be NTFS, then consider using a third-party tool instead (like Tuxera or OSxFuse).

How to Format HDD on Mac

Ideally, hard drives can either be of two types – HDD (Hard Disk Drives) or SDD (Solid State Drives). With the advancement in time, most of the systems use HDD these days. Since Mac also supports HDD, you can easily take its assistance to format a hard drive as well. Once you have erased the existing data, you can get rid of its partitions as well to completely wipe it. Here's how to reformat Mac HDD without using a third-party tool.

1. Simply go to Finder > Applications > Utility and launch Disk Utility from here. Also, make sure that the HDD is well-connected and functioning beforehand.
2. Select the connected HDD from the sidebar, click on the 'Erase' option, and once again confirm your choice. You can alter the disk format and scheme if you want to.
3. Once it is formatted, you can get rid of its partitions as well. To do this, select the disk again and click on the 'Partition' option from the toolbar.
4. A visual representation of the storage unit will be displayed. You can just drag to resize the volume of the disk or enter its numeric value as well. To remove a partition, just click on the minus '–' sign or the '+' sign to add a partition.

That's it! In this way, you can format MacBook's HDD and easily manage its partition as well.

How to Perform Mac Data Recovery After Format

As you know, when we format a hard drive or a partition, all the existing data in it is deleted by Mac. Sometimes, users end up formatting a hard drive by mistake or forget to take a backup of their important files beforehand. If you have lost your important files in the process, then take the assistance of Recoverit Data Recovery. Developed by Wondershare, the brand has recently released the latest update of the tool – Recoverit 8.0. Now, users can get back all kinds of lost or deleted content in less time using this remarkable data recovery tool for Mac. Here are some of the major features of Recoverit 8.0 that you should note.

• Recoverit 8.0 is the latest update of the tool that provides faster and better data recovery results for Mac and Windows.
• It supports the recovery of more than 1000 different kinds of content, including photos, videos, audios, and documents of numerous extensions.
• The application will let you preview the recovered data so that you can save the files of your choice.
• It performs excellent results in every data loss scenario like accidental deletion, formatted disk, lost partition, virus attack, and so on.
• Apart from performing data recovery on Mac's internal storage, you can do the same on any external device (like SD card, pen drive, etc.) as well.

If you want, you can even try its basic version for free (it has a restricted data limit) and can later be upgraded to a premium version. Once you have installed Recoverit Data Recovery on your Mac, just follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Select a Location

Whenever you wish to recover files after format, simply launch the Recoverit application on your Mac. In case if you wish to recover data from an external drive, then connect it to your system beforehand. From the home of Recoverit 8.0, you can just pick a location to scan – a partition, external source, or the entire disk. If you want, you can browse to a particular folder to scan as well.

Step 2: Scan the Location

Once you select a source and click on the 'Start' button, Recoverit will extract all sorts of lost or inaccessible content from it. Simply wait for a while and try not to tamper with the process in between. An on-screen indicator will let you know the progress of the recovery process.

Step 3: Preview and Recover

When the recovery process is completed, Recoverit will automatically display the extracted data into different categories. You can even go to the search option to look for specific content as well. In the end, you can just select the files of your choice and click on the 'Recover' button to save them.

Tips for Formatting Mac and do Mac Recovery

By following the listed guide, anyone can learn how to format HDD on Mac and wipe its data entirely. Apart from that, you can also follow these suggestions for getting better results.

• Since formatting will erase all the saved data on your Mac, make sure that you have taken a prior backup of your important files.
• Choose the format for the disk wisely. Some formats like APFS or HFS+ are native to Mac and might not work on other systems. To get better compatibility, go for FAT or exFAT instead.
• Just like formats, the scheme of the disk is also important. The GUID Partition Map is mostly recommended as it works with all the Intel-based computers.
• Sometimes, formatting a disk is not enough. If you want to manage your disk, then consider deleting the existing partitions on it and reinstall macOS to reset it entirely.
• Always keep a reliable data recovery tool (like Recoverit 8.0) handy. In case if you end up deleting something accidentally, then a recovery tool will help you get your important files back easily.

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Conclusion

There you go! Now when you know how to format Mac entirely or a particular disk, you can easily make the most of your Mac storage. Since Disk Utility offers tons of features, it will certainly let you format NTFS or HDD on Mac. It can also help you repair a damaged disk as well. Also, if you never want to suffer from an unexpected loss or deletion of data, then use a reliable data recovery tool like Recoverit 8.0. The latest update of the tool is equipped with numerous high-end features and is available for free for Mac and Windows users to try.

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