How to Format WD Passport for Mac | Free Tips

Updated by

Tracy King 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on May 14, 2024

How to Use a WD My Passport on a Mac or PC

Do you know what format works on both a Mac and a PC? MacOS supports several common file systems – HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT – and can read NTFS. Windows uses two main file systems: NTFS and FAT.

Overview of the file system on a WD My Passport for Windows and Mac

We have a chart comparing file system formats. In short, only FAT32 and exFAT will work on both a Mac and a PC. Here are three ways to format your WD My Passport for Mac so that it will convert to either FAT or exFAT:

Method 1: Use Free Software - Partition Master Tool

You can format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to exFAT or FAT32 using a free exFAT or FAT32 formatter, such as Partition Master Free, or a built-in Windows app.

Using a professional formatting tool is always a wise choice when it comes to formatting a hard drive. With tools like Partition Master Free, you can easily format WD My Passport to FAT32 or exFAT without running into the limitations of the built-in Windows Disk Management tool.

To format your WD My Passport as WD Passport for Mac, follow these steps:

- Right-click the external drive or USB you want to format, then click "Format." - Set the Volume label, File system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and Allocation unit size, then click "OK." - Click "Yes" to continue. - Click "Perform 1 task" and hit "Apply" to format the hard drive partition.

Method 2: Using File Explorer

Windows restricts FAT32 partitions to 32 GB. It doesn't offer the option to format a drive larger than 32 GB as FAT32. Your only options are NTFS or exFAT. If you want to format your WD My Passport as FAT32, it must be smaller than 32 GB. If it's larger than 32 GB, you'll have to format it as exFAT instead.

< b > 1. < / b > Open the Windows File Explorer, locate your WD My Passport, right-click on it, and select “Format.”

2. Rename the drive and format it as FAT32 or exFAT.

3. Click "Start" to begin the format.

For more solutions on how to format WD Passport on Windows, please click the link below:

How to Format WD My Passport on Windows 10 [4 Easy Ways]

If you have a WD My Passport hard drive and don't know how to format it on Windows 10, don't worry. Just keep reading this article. Here, we will show you 4 quick and easy ways to format WD My Passport on Windows 10.

Method 3: Using Disk Utility on Mac

The easiest way is to use the built-in Disk Utility app on macOS to format the drive as FAT32 or exFAT.

Important: These steps are intended to help you repair and format your hard drive. All data on the drive will be lost once you begin! You're here to learn how to "format My Passport for Mac" or "reformat My Passport for Mac."

How do I format my WD Passport hard drive for use with a Mac?

1. Connect your WD My Passport to your Mac.

2. Open Disk Utility: Select “Applications” -> “Utilities” -> “Disk Utility.”

3. In the sidebar, select your WD My Passport, then click “Erase.”

4. Name your drive and choose an appropriate file system (either “MS-DOS (FAT)” or “exFAT”).

5. Click “Erase” to begin the formatting process.

Wait for the process to finish, and let macOS erase the data from the drive and reformat it with the FAT32 or exFAT format. After that, you can use the drive on macOS or OS X as you would a regular hard disk. If you lost data after formatting your WD HDD on Mac, you can run a data recovery for Mac tool to get the data back.

How to Use a WD My Passport for Mac

Plug the hard drive into an electrical outlet or power strip to turn it on. Plug one end of the USB cable into the hard drive and the other end into your system. If your system has a USB 3.0 port, use that for faster transfer speeds. Navigate to “My Computer” to view the new hard drive, which should be labeled “My Book.” Double-click the hard drive, then select “Create WD Apps.” You'll see the “WD Mac Apps” pop-up. Just follow the installation prompts without deviating or futzing with any settings you don't recognize.

How to Fix WD My Passport Not Showing Up Issue?

Can't your WD My Passport external hard drive show up or be detected on PC? Follow this guide, and you can fix the WD Passport not showing up issue.

Differences Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS

The main versions of the File Allocation Table format are named for the number of bits in their entries: FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32. FAT32 is the oldest of the three file systems that Windows can use. A single file on a FAT32 volume cannot be larger than 4 GB. Also, a FAT32 volume must be less than 8 TB, which is not much of a limitation unless you are using a high-capacity drive.

exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) is optimized for flash drives. It was added to older versions of Windows through updates to Windows XP and Windows Vista. This file system doesn't have the limitations of FAT32. Use it when you need larger file size and partition size limits than FAT32 offers.

To help more users understand the differences between these three types of file systems, don't hesitate to share this article with your friends.

NTFS, or the NTFS file system, is the modern file system that Windows defaults to using. It has many features that neither FAT32 nor exFAT have. However, it's only compatible with all versions of Windows by default and macOS (read-only).

To use a WD My Passport or other hard drive on both a Mac and PC, you'll need to format the Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to exFAT or FAT32.

How to Convert exFAT to NTFS/FAT/FAT32?

Here are the best exFAT to NTFS converter software and exFAT to FAT32 converter software that can help you format exFAT to NTFS and convert to FAT32 without losing data.

Warning: Avoid formatting WD My Passport without a backup.

As mentioned above, all data on the drive will be lost once the process begins. To avoid unnecessary data loss issues, we strongly recommend that all users extract or back up important data to another device or partition beforehand. You can copy files individually to a new disk or drive. If you need to transfer a large amount of data, professional backup software would be your best choice. Here, we recommend trying Backup and Restore tools, which allow you to back up target data directly with simple steps.

Conclusions

You can format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to FAT32 or exFAT for convenient data transfer between Mac and Windows systems. Among the solutions mentioned above, the partition tool stands out for its convenience. It's always your best choice. If you still have questions, feel free to contact us via Live Chat or email.

"Frequently Asked Questions: Formatting WD My Passport for Mac"

Please check the following issues regarding formatting WD My Passport for Mac.

How do I format a WD external hard drive for use with a Mac?

1. Connect your WD external hard drive to your Mac.

2. Open Disk Utility, then select the hard drive you want to format.

3. Click the “Erase” button and choose the file system you need.

4. Tap “Erase” again.

How do I make my WD hard drive compatible with my Mac?

1. Open Disk Utility.

2. Locate your WD hard drive on the left pane.

3. Format the drive and select “Extended (Journalized)” for the file system.

How do I format my passport on a MacBook Pro?

1. Connect your Passport to your Mac.

2. Open Disk Utility, and you'll see a list of both internal and external drives.

3. Select the correct drive, then click the “Erase” option.

4. In the Erase window, select the correct file format.

5. Begin formatting your WD My Passport drive.