Download wd quick formatter to reformat wd external hard drive to ntfs, fat32, etc in windows 1087. The other type of wd my passport hard drive comes in a for mac version. I am formatting a new 1 tb western digital hard drive. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows.
Ntfs ex2 or ex3 to make your drive compatible with different operating systems like mac os x or linux. I want to format it to fat32 file system, so that i can use it as an extended storage device for my ps3. How to format an external hard drive with wd quick formatter. By formatting the passport as an exfat or fat32 drive, you. I plug in my wd passport and it welcomes me to wd smartware, i click on set up drive and it tells me no readable partition found on your my passport essential drive. Wd passport for mac to fat32 or ntfs other software. Then hit the start button to begin formatting your hard drive. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Formatting nfts to fat32 external drives for pc wd.
Ill store my media files on it while keeping the internal hard drive clear for apps and the os. My passport ultra was previously used on my windows 7 pc. I thought the op was asking how to format but after reading his post more carefully, i see he wants to specifically format a 4tb drive into a single fat32 partition which is technically impossible due to the limitations of that format. Enter a name for the external hard drive in the name field. For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below. Before proceeding further, it is recommended to take a backup of your important files. Mar, 2020 follow the windows 10 fat32 format tutorial to format hdd to fat32 or format external hard drive to fat32 in windows 10. Be sure to connect the passport directly to the pc, avoid using usb extension cables or usb hubs, if possible you can also format the passport on a mac using disk utility. Passport ultra accessing mac formatted drive on a pc. Youll only need a computer desktop or laptop, doesnt matter then format it from there. We here will show you the full guides on how to format fat32 and ntfs drives on mac as an example. No worry, actually it is not impossible to realize it no matter you use an external or internal drive of your windows system.
How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x. For more information on the difference between fat32 and exfat, please visit this page. So you figured, fine, ill just get an external hard drive. The process of formatting the external hard drive for ps4 is very easy and can be done in a very few steps. I want to format my wd my passport essential 500gb into fat32 but i only see the options ntfs or exfat. Also is it ok to erase all the present files on the disc. 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. I have a 4tb gpt external usb hard drive that i need to. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. Online shopping from a great selection at electronics store. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. You can apply the thirdparty solution to format fat32 in windows 10 even when there is no fat32 option in.
Lg said it needs to be formatted to fat32 or ntfs for the tv to. I have since reformatted it on my pc just to get all the info off of it. Try wd advanced format utility alternative easeus external hard drive formatter to format disk while wd external drive format failed with wd quick formatter tool. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for.
Two easy methods to format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for windows. Reformat wd my passport ultra for mac not apple community. If you want to format your wd my passport to fat32, you must make sure that the size is smaller than 32gb.
External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. Fat32 is a solid file system for external drives, so long as you dont plan to use files over 4gb in size. Although both operating systems can format your drive with the fat32 system. Of course, there are more than two methods that can help you format a wd my passport portable hard drive under mac os.
Format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. Ive downloaded various wd drivers and software, but cant get windows 7 to recognized the usb drive. Easily format wd my passport portable hard drive on mac. I want to create a system image and save it onto the drive but to do so, it needs to be formatted in ntfs. Silicon power 1tb ultra slim armor a75 shockproofantiscratch usb 3. Connect your western digital my passport hard drive to your windows pc through the usb cable. I formatted a my passport ultra drive for the mac, in order to archive a large number of photos win32 format kept failing on the file copy. It is worth using the fat32 formatter in macrorit free partition software and other advanced editions. Format an external hard drive to fat32 using command prompt. Miniaide fat32 formatter free download and software.
A wd my passport formatted with the windows file system will be useless on the mac and viceversa. Not sure what extended format is and if its suitable. However, all of the solutions can be divided into two types. Check to be sure you can read and write to the drive. Please note the instructions do not differ when formatting different capacity. These file systems can help you to make your wd my passport work with a windows pc and mac at the same time.
I want to download files on the passport to then watch on my lg tv using the usb port. Is there maybe a way to format it for a mac on my pc more less. If it is larger than 32gb, you can only format it to exfat. For whatever reason, the option to format usb drives larger than 32gb with the fat32 file system isnt present in the regular windows format tool. How to convert my portable hard drive to ntfs i have a western digital my passport essential 500gb portable hard drive from 2 years ago that came preformatted in the fat32 file system. I would think that nothing is wrong physically because the drive is new but i have no access. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on. Youll find below the ten quick steps, using words and pictures. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. The format is still in use though and there are even situations where this is the only format that works. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. We here will show you the full guides on how to format fat32 and ntfs drives on.
Wd quick formatter is short for western digital quick formatter, a format tool developed by western digital technologies, inc. But, the good news is that msdos exfat and fat32 formats come quite in handy in such cases. From the volume format menu, choose mac os extended. I have a wd my passport hard drive which is no longer allowing access to information stored in it. Before formatting the drive, you may also need to run antivirus software to scan the disk and eliminate virus and malware. A new western digital external drive is configured by default out of the box as a fat32 partition. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on windows. But if you are not using such brand hard drive, in that case, you might turn some 3rd party programs for help which will allow you to format an external hard drive with the larger size. Use the mac os disk utility to format the drive to msdos fat32.
How to format a wd external hard drive in exfat or fat32 to use in windows or mac osx. Sep 05, 2011 very easy way to format an external hard drive into fat32 with a mac using the disk utility. How to format external hard drive to fat32 in windows. Looking for free western digital fat32 formatting tool to format wd my passport ultra or other external hard drives to fat32 so that you can use it in both. Open windows file explorer, locate and rightclick on wd my passport that you need to format, select format.
In the end, i just want to format it but no wd utility or support nor windows 8 have helped me. Can i format the wd hard drive via windows 7 builtin tools like file explorer, disk management or diskpart utility. Connect the usb fash drive to the mac os x computer. Apr 16, 2020 to format western digital my passport for mac or windows, you can rely on inbuilt applications of your system to format your wd my passport in exfat or fat32 format.
Oct 15, 2015 hi ferrarid, welcome to the wd community. Once the drive appears on the desktop, click on go on the top tool bar. It merits using just for the detailed information it gives you about your computers hard drive. Jul 18, 2014 download wd fat32 formatter format western digital usb drives or wirefire hard disk drives to bring them to factory configurations as well as restore wd disk icon files. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The free specific utility format fat32 drives beyond. Western digitals passport external drive for mac isnt eternally bound to macos. In this video i show how to format a 4tb hard drive to a fat32 format so you dont have to spilt partitions anymore too allow both wii and gamecube games to be stored on the same partition. Recently, i have got a 1tb wd external hard drive, previously formatted with ntfs. System utilities downloads wd fat32 formatter by western digital technologies and many more programs are available for instant and free download.
Format new external drive as an ntfs partition it services. For apple mac users, the easier way to format usb flash drive to fat32 is using the disk utility. Oct 25, 2018 format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. On this popup screen, choose ntfs, fat32 or exfat among listed file systems and click ok.
Begin by connecting the wd drive to the mac computer. How to format an external hard drive for ps4 ryli gaming. Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. To format western digital my passport for mac or windows, you can rely on inbuilt applications of your system to format your wd my passport in exfat or fat32 format. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. Wd fat32 formatter is a external usbfirewire fat32 formatting utility.
Whether you need to know how to format wd my passport for your mac. I recommend ntfs over fat32, but fat32 can be great because it will work anywhere and is great if you have legacy equipment. You can apply the thirdparty solution to format fat32 in windows 10 even when there is no fat32 option in windows 10 explorer or disk management. Wd my passport usb drive i used the wd quick drive format to format my passport 0820.
The easiest way to format the drive to fat32 or exfat is by using macoss built. Do i use disc utilities fat32 or is there some other format. In the main console, locate the partition on the wd passport external hard drive, right click it and choose format partition. For instance, some of the modern video doorbells you buy require your storage devices to be in the fat32 format. There is a video after that you can watch as extra help. Wd quick formatter, also known as wd advanced format drivers afds, is an external hard drive format utility for windows and mac, developed by western digital technologies, inc. It will format a western digital external usb or firewire hard drive back to its original fat32 partition and format. Youll be able to see the progress in the white box. Jul 24, 2017 for whatever reason, the option to format usb drives larger than 32gb with the fat32 file system isnt present in the regular windows format tool. This utility will format a western digital external usb or firewire hard drive back to its original fat32 partition and format. Format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter wd quick formatter, also known as wd advanced format drivers afds, is an external hard drive format utility for windows and mac, developed by western digital technologies, inc.
How to format a 4tb hard drive to a fat32 format wd hard. Mac os extended journaled file system is how its referred to on your mac. The acronym fat stands for file allocation table, which is a system that specifies where the files are on the drive. And what should i do to format my 1tb external wd hard drive as fat32 using windows 7. How to convert my portable hard drive to ntfs microsoft. Follow the windows 10 fat32 format tutorial to format hdd to fat32 or format external hard drive to fat32 in windows 10. One of the easiest ways to format a drive to use exfat is by using macoss builtin disk utility. Many people think it is hard to format the windows drive on macintosh.
Is there a way of formatting a 4tb external drive to fat32. Im pretty sure the guy i got if off plugged it into his mac laptop and tried tosuccessfully formatted to use with a mac. How to format hard drive to fat32 file system up to 2tb. Wd quick formatter tool allows you to reformat wd external hard drive to ntfs, fat32, etc. Linux will format fat 32 on a 1 tb or larger drive, and do it without hesitation. Trying to format my passport ultra 1tb to fat32 wd community. Download wd quick formatter to format external drive in. Jan 30, 2019 in this video i show how to format a 4tb hard drive to a fat32 format so you dont have to spilt partitions anymore too allow both wii and gamecube games to be stored on the same partition. Wd fat32 formatter free download wd fat32 formatter 2.
A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. A new windows explorer window opens, on the left side. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. How to format external hard drive to fat32 for mac youtube. Download wd fat32 formatter format western digital usb drives or wirefire hard disk drives to bring them to factory configurations as well as restore wd disk icon files. Fat32 formatter is a windows program that was designed mainly to restore original factory fat32 partiton for wd external drives. Mar 31, 2016 linux will format fat 32 on a 1 tb or larger drive, and do it without hesitation.