WD 4TB My Passport Portable Hard Drive 4 TB storage capacity Password protection with hardware encryption Auto backup with included WD Backup software You’ll find it so much easier when you can work on your documents from either computer. Unlocking a WD My External Hard Drive Here's a quick rundown of the tools that you can use to use to unlock your WD external hard drive. You need to eject the drive first. Assign a drive letter for the WD My Passport Ultra drive. Wait till the Windows detects the external hard drive and configure it as an expansion drive automatically. Inside the Application folder you’ll see the Utilities folder. If you have documents, and files already on your WD My Passport drive copy them off before you start doing this. I have put off doing this job for LITERAL YEARS. Consequently, the drive is not recognized and doesn’t appear in Windows 10 File Explorer. But that’s fine as long as you have the cable you need in the right place at the right time. If you are having a similar issue on other brands of external hard drive, internal hard drive, USB, or SD card, you can also try these tips to make your device show up and work again on Windows PC. I would now like to use My Passport as a regular external drive that I can copy data to, work on documents and move between different computers but without the auto back up. Hi Bob, Or you have no room either on the Mac or your Windows PC to put them there. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you can’t copy them off. Durable enclosure protects the drive inside —We know your data is important to you. Western Digital My Passport Ultra. Double click on that. The question you’re asking yourself is: Can I use my WD Passport on both Mac and PC? Double click on Disk Utility to open it up. 5-Steps WD My Passport Drive Recovery. And find you’ll need an adaptor cable or device. Much slower than ExFAT. Its cable comes with a connection for the USB B Micro port for the hard drive. If you don’t find the.exe file, open the WD Apps for the Windows folder. An Alternative Way to Eject on your Mac or for Your PC. It covers the options available when you want an external hard drive working on a Mac and PC but you can’t reformat. There is an article on the site all about this here, You can take a look at the software options in my article, Format Your External Hard Drive For Mac And Use Any Drive In 2021, Format WD Elements For Mac. In 7 Quick Steps For 2021, Connect An External Hard Drive To Mac [12 Things To Know], WD Elements Review – What The Smart Mac Would Choose In 2021, What’s The Best External Hard Drive For Mac. Then you’ll be fine to select your drive at the top level. Right-click the file, then select “Save file as.”. You’ll use Disk Utility to format your WD My Passport drive. For the drive format select Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Or your Mac may give you a message asking whether you would like to format the WD My Passport drive. Open Disk Management by searching for it in Windows Search. 1. Go to the Finder Window on your Mac or the Explorer window on Windows PC. You’ll either find this super easy and straight forward. Then check the LED lights on your WD My Passport drive. On the next screen of Disk Utility you will be able to enter a new name for your WD My Passport drive. Copyright © 2017 - 2021 MacTakeAwayData | All Rights Reserved. finder window. Select and Copy the files from where they are to where you want them to be on your internal drive. A Windows PC cannot see, read, write to that file system. Wait until you can’t see the Icon on the desktop. Both a Mac and a Windows PC can also read and write to FAT32 formatted drives. Here are two ways for you to open Disk Management in Windows 10. Agree to the terms, and then click Erase Drive. But you can’t write any files back, update any of the documents or delete them. WD How-To: Use My Passport Wireless with Windows –. Step by Steep Guide was excellent. 99. Because you don’t want to loose the documents on there. And the plugs used to connect the hard drive to your Mac or your Windows PC. If the drive levels are not showing, click on Disk Utility > View. Click Next to display the Installation Type dialog: 3. in Control Panel go to Devices and Printers. A new Windows Explorer window opens, on the left side of the screen; you will see a list of installed drives and their drive letters. How To Open WD My Passport For Mac On Windows? Why Didn't My WD Passport Work On My Mac And PC? If it’s your music collection you want to enjoy and listen to on both your Mac and PC, then you can with ExFAT. $78.99 $ 78. Why? Find A Great One Fast. But as the older file system standard FAT32 is slow. To Properly Eject the WD My Passport Drive. Press Windows + R, input msc in the dialogue box and press Enter. 4. These instructions were amazing. This software would allow your PC to see, read and write to the drive. With the app open, right-click the title of the drive on the left and select Properties from the context menu. Wait till the icon disappears and the flickering on the drive stops. You plug in the WD My Passport Into Your Mac. When it comes to external hard drives, Western Digital My Passport Ultra is one of the most trusted and used names in the market. You don’t need to understand the ins and outs of this standard. I have a “My Passport” which I backed up photos and music from my old laptop and was only ever able to read on MacBook. Make sure that the WD My Passport Ultra is selected on the left-hand side panel. The WD My Passport drive is now formatted to work on both Mac and PC. 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,411. The cable supplied with the WD My Passport for Mac is different. Never just pull out your USB cable either from your Mac or your Windows PC. And the whole thing takes only a few minutes to do. open its properties and then open drivers, simply uninstall it, come out unplug your passport drive. You will format the WD My Passport drive twice. Make Sure Your WD My Passport External Drive Is Chosen. Connect the external hard drive to an available USB port on your computer. Not without some third party software or without reformatting. So if you only need a 1 TB drive and you love red, it is available. Once as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. I am so glad that you followed the post and now your My Passport works well on your Mac and your ASUS. You can find Spotlight search at the top of your desktop. Learn the few steps it takes to set up your WD My Passport for Mac and Windows. Now, click the Start button and select ‘This PC’. Pick it where the red arrow show. Select External Drive WD My Passport in Disk Utility You click where I’ve circled on the above picture. After a long-time use, you may want to erase a WD Passport external hard drive for following reasons: Erase data so as to sell the drive without leaking your personal information. With a new, stylish design that fits in the palm of your hand, there’s space to store, organize, and share your photos, videos, music, and documents. Your step by step guide was so easy to follow, and it’s now working a charm! The method you’ll learn uses your Mac to format your WD passport for Mac and Windows. And you can copy them off onto your Mac. Your Mac can read NTFS. Check the box ‘External Disks’. It is easy use your WD My Passport for Mac and Windows in 7 steps. 4. Or follow the steps in this article to reformat the drive to ExFAT. Open up a finder window on your My Passport hard drive and a separate window on your internal drive. 2. You format your WD My Passport to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. As my MacBook space has become limited I’ve always found it frustrating I couldn’t just put them on “My Passport” too. Attach the WD My Passport hard drive to your Mac computer. On your Mac. It still has the Micro B connection for the WD My Passport for Mac drive. That would be the only place you can see your passport visible. Right-click the file, then select “Save file as.”. Double click This PC. I wanted to know if I should use the drive only as a backup or can I use it like an internal hard drive by keeping it connected to my PC all time? The version of the Western Digital external drive sold in a ‘For Mac’ guise does not work on Windows. A small arrow head to the left of your My Passport external drive shows the levels. And in this article I aim to inspire you to do just that. I’m so glad the article got you sorted. If it hasn’t you’ll see an icon on your desktop like this. I’m so glad you decided to be brave and have a go. Upon the fifth failed attempt, you will be prompted to erase your drive. A small arrow head to the left of your My Passport external drive shows the levels. It includes WD Discovery, WD Backup, WD Security and WD Drive Utilities. Click on the dropdown arrow to expand or collapse the drives on the list. And you may see some sites suggesting you format to FAT32. Plug in your WD My Passport’s USB cable into its Micro USB B port. My favorite cable and adaptor are: (Commissions Earned). I recommend doing it this way, as Macs can be choosy about what formats their hard drives. Don’t just read – go ahead and give it a go. Open a Web browser, then navigate to the site where the file you want to download is located. The My Passport drive is trusted, portable storage that gives you the confidence and freedom to drive forward in life. Your other way is to search for Disk Utility via the spotlight search. What is the right way of using … Right-click your external hard drive and choose Format... from menu. 2. Got the right cable for your Mac and your Windows PC. Look For The External Hard Drive Icon On Your Desktop. Double-click on the external drive. Click the magnifying glass icon (Spotlight) and type Disk Utility. USB 2.0 Interface USB is the industry standard interface for most Windows-based computers. And at the other end, the end that connects to a computer has a USB A connection. Followed your instructions and now works well on both my MAC and ASUS. How to Save Data to a Western Digital My Passport External Drive. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or its affiliates. Then Select the Erase button at the bottom right of the window. After that you can use your WD Passport on both Mac and PC. Put your cursor over the WD My Passport Icon on the desktop. This will make the WD My Passport hard drive compatible with Mac and Windows PC. Open a Web browser, then navigate to the site where the file you want to download is located. There is an article on the site all about this here. And plug into either computer. And use those documents on both computers. You may have a USB A port. Choose a proper file system and complete the process of fixing a not accessible WD My Passport external hard drive with Disk Management. And click on Preferences. Because both your Mac and Windows PC can read and write to ExFAT. Or it could be that you have both types of computers in your home. And you may find you’ll need two different cables. If your Mac has asked that question select Yes. Or you reformat the drive as I have led you through in the article. Step 2: Right-click on the WD My Passport external hard drive, you'll see a context menu of many options, among which choose "Format". Plug in a USB cable to the WD My Book external hard drive and connect the other end to your computer. 2. Whether it’s because you’ve a Windows PC you use at work. The WD My Passport gets its power from the Mac and the drive’s LED light will start flashing as it powers up. The Mac Disk Utility window appears. Then you can pull out the USB cable. The My Passport drive is trusted, portable storage that gives you the confidence and freedom to drive forward in life. Click on the above links to view on Amazon. Your options are to use a third party software solution that sits on your windows PC. Some recommended products may use affiliate links. WD Security Enter an incorrect password five times in a row. You'll see your internal and external hard drives on the left-hand side of the Disk Utility window. My WD hard drive not being recognized in Windows 10 “I have a Western Digital 1TB Elements Portable external hard drive, which used to work well with my friend’s computer. Connect the external hard drive to an available USB port on your computer. OK, so you’ll likely have file sizes smaller than that. WD Elements VS My Passport Which is Best for Your Mac? Your WD My Passport drive uses an external hard drive standard called USB 3.0. Because the file system on the WD Passport For Mac external hard drive is a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. Create first a folder on your internal drive if you want the files collected together in a particular place. Right click on the file icon of your WD My Passport drive there. 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,129. You need to work at home because then you can watch a sick child. Setting up your WD My Passport drive on your Mac moves any of these issues out of the picture. Well Done to you Claire. Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) supports data transfer rates up to 480 Mb/s. More Buying Choices $154.99 (6 used & new offers) WD 1TB Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBYNN0010BBK-WESN. All the best Simon, Suite 321, 3rd Floor, Parkside Tower, 215 S State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. On the top bar of the window, choose Edit. I recently erased the data on my external drive as I had completed a big project where the back up was essential. In a few moments the WD Passport drive is formatted. WD My Passport Ultra is an external hard drive that users can utilize with Windows 10 desktops and laptops. Then you’re free to unplug the USB cable. Copy and Paste files and create folders on both Mac and PC. Alternatively, you may right-click on blank space within the window and a drop-down menu will appear. 1. Your work and home life would run so much easier if you could just get the dang thing to work on both. 3. You find Disk Utility in the Applications folder on your Mac. Whether they are documents, photos or music on the drive. Only 18 left in stock - order soon. $5.49 shipping. Copy your documents onto an ExFAT formatted WD My Passport drive. Open a (The grip is an extra cost). However, some users have stated that their connected desktops and laptops don’t detect the WD My Passport Ultra drives. The window will change to a display of the contents of the external drive. Then plug the other end into a USB port on your Mac. A file system is how the My Passport external drive stores your all your files. Why not choose a name that reflects is use on both Mac and Windows PC? Click on spotlight search and type in ‘Disk Utility’. WD 4TB Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBYFT0040BBK-WESN. This file system is also call HFS+. Open Disk Management. MacTakeAwayData.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You can accessorize the drive with a colored rubber grip, which surrounds it to give you a more solid hold on the unit and to protect it if dropped. Then your drive and the volume will appear. Uncheck Quick Format and select a file system. It is safer to erase a hard drive than to format a hard drive because the data is recoverable with special tools after formatting while it’s unrecoverable after erasing. Look under the "External" category and you'll find your My Passport drive there. Whether it’s your Mac and or your PC it will see those documents. And ExFAT can store a file up to 16 Exibyte in size. To write to the drive you either need third party software that allows you to do that. The drive is powered by a USB 3.0 connection and offers a satisfactory data transfer rate of up to 5 … Here’s how you can recover data in just 5-Steps from a WD drive (external & internal) with the help of Stellar Data Recovery software. On this page, we explained why is WD My Passport Ultra external hard drive not showing up on Windows PC and provided 5 practical fixes for you to follow and make the drive show up again. Well done you for taking the time to follow the post and sorting it all out. However, I found that WD Elements not showing in my computer File Explorer after I connected it to my computer running Windows 10. Thank you for your very kind comment. But FAT32 has a file size restriction of 4GB. External hard drive cables rarely fail unless they get the same sort of abuse. Or be there when the kids come home from school. How to Save Data to a Western Digital My Passport External Drive. 1. Apple Airport Time Capsule Review, Is It Still Great? You have just formatted the WD Passport drive as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. The My Passport Ultra is a compact drive that fits in the palm of your hand and comes in a variety of colors (Classic Black, Brilliant White, Noble Blue, and Wild Berry). Restart your computer and insert/plugin your passport again into PC. Connect the drive, or any drive or USB, to your system. So we build the drive inside to our demanding requirements for durability, shock You click where I’ve circled on the above picture. The software for the drive is preinstalled on the drive. Select the WD My Passport Ultra drive on the main interface of Disk Management. 3. Why not take a look: Format WD My Passport for Mac, 10 Quick Steps, How to Use WD My Passport for Mac 5 Ways No Anger, Partition WD My Passport For Mac, Teach Yourself in 10 Steps, WD My Passport Time Machine Insider Need to Knows, Best WD My Passport for Mac Review for Your Mac. Got a “Passport” as a gift, but couldn’t get it to work. It’s under the General tab. With a new, stylish design that fits in the palm of your hand, there’s space to store, organize, and share your photos, videos, music, and documents. MY PASSPORT ULTRA USER MANUAL ABOUT YOUR WD DRIVE – 2 WD Security™software—Set password protection and hardware encryption for your drive to help protect your files from unauthorized use or access. I have 500 GB WD Passport. FREE Shipping. 3. Now you open up a piece of software on your Mac called Disk Utility. Passport drive not showing up on the desktop? Why ExFAT When Formatting WD Passport For Mac And Windows? Because WD My Passport for Mac has a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system (HFS+) written on it. To share that drive between a Mac and Windows PC you need software. And you’ll keep the risk of corrupting your files to the smallest possible. What If You Bought A WD My Passport For Mac? So when you plug in the drive your Mac can see the documents. You have a WD My Passport portable external drive and you want to make it work on both Mac and PC. Then you’ll want to take a look at my article here. Leave the partition map as GUID as before. You click at the ‘top level’ – where you see the WD My Passport drive first listed. If it has not appeared, … I’m glad you found the post useful. Thank you so much!! But on the other end it has a USB C port. Step 3: Follow the onscreen wizard. Next click on the Eject option. Your WD My Passport portable drive has a USB B micro port. Next you format your WD My Passport drive to an ExFAT file system. Give Your WD My Passport External Drive A Name. Your external hard drive will need to be erased first if it uses a non-Apple file system, such as FAT32, NTFS or exFAT. It’s enough to know that the different USB standards define the speed the drive works at. The second time as ExFAT. Connect your Western Digital My Passport hard drive to your Windows PC through the USB cable.