If you are not similar with cluster size, please do not change the cluster size. Format an external hard drive to fat32 using command prompt. Mar, 2020 follow the windows 10 fat32 format tutorial to format hdd to fat32 or format external hard drive to fat32 in windows 10. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. On this popup screen, choose ntfs, fat32 or exfat among listed file systems and click ok. Fat32 is often used among general users, but fat32 has limitations that can affect filmmakers. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on windows. Select the quick format option, and then click the start button. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. I am formatting a new 1 tb western digital hard drive.
External drive like wd elements, my book and my passport can be formatted to fat32 via this tool. Windows users dont need to do much other than plug in the wd passport to use it, but for mac, its not as straightforward as that. Im having some trouble formatting my wd my passport in high sierra. If you originally used a passport drive with an apple computer, you most likely formatted it in the mac os extended format, which is not compatible with the windows operating system. After that you can use your wd passport on both mac and pc. Apr 16, 2020 format wd my passport in macosos x platform. You can use apples builtin disk utility before you format the drive, make sure theres nothing valuable on it thats not also backed up elsewhere, since all data will be lost. Windows 10 will go ahead and begin formatting the drive in fat32.
You can apply either the windows cmd or the thirdparty partition manager to format fat32 in windows 10 even when there is no fat32 option in windows 10 file explorer or disk management. Below the format options field, make sure to checkmark the box next to the quick format option. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Trying to format my passport ultra 1tb to fat32 wd community. How to format a flash drive with a mac to fat32 techwalla. I want to know what i should do to make the hard disk compatible with bot mac os and pc. You can have a drive format to fat32 on an apple mac computer using apples disk utility, which comes with macos. How to format external hard drive to fat32 for mac youtube. In the new window, choose fat32 in the dropdown in file system area, then set the related info as your wish, click ok to confirm the task and add it to pending task list. There is a video after that you can watch as extra help. Western digitals passport external drive for mac isnt eternally bound to macos. 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. Which is fine but i have absolutely no idea how to do it and every time i try to download fat32 it says it is not a mac program. Your choice is msdos aka fat32 or exfat and i go over the difference in the video.
One partition is of mac os journal which can also be used for time machine also. Western digital manufactures the passport line of portable external hard drives. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Linux will format fat 32 on a 1 tb or larger drive, and do it without hesitation. Im pretty sure the guy i got if off plugged it into his mac laptop and tried to successfully formatted to use with a mac. Fat32 has several limitations, including a 4 gb perfile limit. Back to the main window, last but not the least, you. Lg said it needs to be formatted to fat32 or ntfs for. 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. Connect the usb fash drive to the mac os x computer. Then, select the external hard drive and click partition tab on the top. Miniaide fat32 formatter free download and software. Format external hard drive in fat32 using professional format tool. 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.
How to format hard drive to fat32 file system up to 2tb. While on the mac, you can run the disk utility or wd drive utilities links with more information provided below to search for disk errors and fix them. In this video i go over how to format an external hard drive to fat 32 on a mac. Apple does not support the ntfs files system but does support fat32. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x. Apr 17, 2020 step 5 give the command select partition 1 to select the partition that you want to format with the fat32 system.
As of now, fat32 formatter has worked on disks 2tb. Format your western digital my passport external hard drive to fat32 or exfat format so to transfer the data between a mac and windows system conveniently. Fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing files on disks and drives. Western digital my passport ultra 1tb external hard drive.
This article will illustrate to the differences between the three, analyzing their pros and cons, compatibility and usage in an allrounded way. This is because there are limitations on fat32, which makes it not useful for every user. Interfaces tested include idepata, sata, esata, usb and firewire the formatted disks work on. I want to format my wd my passport essential 500gb into fat32 but i only see the options ntfs or exfat. How to format your drive to fat32 system using diskpart. The instructions below are designed to help repartition and format a hard drive. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. For instance, some of the modern video doorbells you buy require your storage devices to be in the fat32 format. So i got a wd my passport ultra which seems to be in ntfs format and i can only read it on my mac.
In the fat32 format window, select the drive to format and type a volume label if you want to. Interfaces tested include idepata, sata, esata, usb and firewire the formatted disks work on windows 2000 xp vista win7, mac, linux, the ipod. Luckily, you can easily format wd my passport for your mac. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Also is it ok to erase all the present files on the disc. If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page. The easiest way to format the drive to fat32 or exfat is by using macoss builtin disk utility for fat32 or exfat.
How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x admfactory. Easily use your wd my passport for mac and windows in 7 steps. Oct 15, 2015 hi ferrarid, welcome to the wd community. Western digital my passport ultra 1tb external hard drive is. Finally, format our new partition with the fat32 filesystem using 4k sectors and 64k cluster size. Mar 31, 2016 linux will format fat 32 on a 1 tb or larger drive, and do it without hesitation. Wd my passport format problem high sierr apple community. Fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems users commonly use for windows system. Before proceeding further, it is recommended to take a backup of your important files. Dec 25, 2016 your choice is msdos aka fat32 or exfat and i go over the difference in the video. You can also format the drive in a variety of other formats depending on your needs. Once the process begins, all the data on the drive will be lost. This is a file system limitation that affects both mac s and pcs, and the only workaround is to format the drive. Free download western digital fat32 formatting tool for.
The my passport for mac device works straight out of the box with mac computers and is apple time machine ready so you can easily get going. Oct 25, 2018 format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. How do i format my external hard drive to exfat on mac. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Usbc ready, usba compatible my passport for mac includes usbc and usba cables for universal compatibility with mac computers of yesterday and today.
Nov 26, 2011 in this video i go over how to format an external hard drive to fat 32 on a mac. Wd passport for mac to fat32 or ntfs other software. And the whole thing takes only a few minutes to do. A single high resolution file can easily go over 4 gb, so fat32 may not the best format. A window pops up to warn you that all data on the drive will be lost.
I recently got a wd my passport ultra and apple community. Step 6 once the partition is selected, you need to enter the final command format fsfat32. 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. Please go to utilities disk utility to get the window below. Im pretty sure the guy i got if off plugged it into his mac laptop and tried tosuccessfully formatted to use with a mac. Wd my passport ultra 1tb setup and troubleshooting guide. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. H is the drive letter of your external hard drive in windows 10. 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. I want to download files on the passport to then watch on my lg tv using the usb port. Apr 23, 2020 fat32, ntfs, and exfat are the three file systems users commonly use for windows system. If youre using a mac, you dont need special software to format a usb drive in the fat32 format. Format western digital passport to fat32 with wd quick formatter. Fist thing you need to do is to completly format your hard disk and then make two partitions.
Do i use disc utilities fat32 or is there some other format. Formatting would erase data completely, make sure that you have a data backup. You can have a drive format to fat32 on an apple mac. Personally, i would try to access the data on a mac, backup all the files and format the drive, choosing fat32 or ntfs format. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on. Formatting with this tool is much quicker than the command. You can reformat the drive with a file system that mac can read. Fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing. The difference in mac and windows native format systems are to blame for this.
Use full scan to recover data from how to format my wd my passport for mac on to windows 10 which can not be found with undelete and unformat and recover partition,after showing an error,display as raw file system,unformatted,unknown partition,unpartitioned,needs to be formatted,or the file system is not exfat,not fat32,not ntfs. Whether you need to know how to format wd my passport for your mac. I made it work both for mac as well as for windows. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format. There are specific thirdparty systems, like digital camcorders, and sony playstation 3, which need the drives to be formatted in either fat32 or exfat format to perform read from and. Step 5 give the command select partition 1 to select the partition that you want to format with the fat32 system. Can i reformat my wd passport external hd to work for a.
I recommend ntfs over fat32, but fat32 can be great because it will work anywhere and is great if you have legacy equipment. By formatting the passport as an exfat or fat32 drive, you. This is a file system limitation that affects both macs and pcs, and the only workaround is to format the drive. But dont 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. A file system uses a set of rules to control how data is stored and retrieved on a storage device. Just because you dont see the option to format your hard drive to fat32 in windows user interface doesnt mean the ability is gone completely. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. Youll find below the ten quick steps, using words and pictures. In mac os x, what is disk utility, and how do i use it.
How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. Jul 24, 2017 in the fat32 format window, select the drive to format and type a volume label if you want to. Next you format your wd my passport drive to an exfat file system. I just read this and maybe windows cant format drives larger than 32gb into fat32. How to format a wd external hard drive in exfat or fat32 to use in windows or mac osx. In the format window, navigate to the file system field, and select either the exfat or fat32 option. How to format external hard drive to fat32 in windows. I have a wd passport which i have set up to work with my mac, now i need to use it on a normal pc and have been advised to put fat32 onto it. Dec 11, 2019 fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing files on disks and drives.
Formatting wd my passport will not only allow you to have full storage of your wd my passport, but will also remove virusinfected files. Not sure what extended format is and if its suitable. On the main panel, click the wd my passport ultra 1tb drives icon, and select the format button. You can find effective ways here to format wd my passport for mac and pc to fat32 or exfat file. In the main console, locate the partition on the wd passport external hard drive, right click it and choose format partition. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you dont have to constantly back up and reformat each time. You format your wd my passport to mac os extended journaled file system.