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[Guide] How to Format WD My Passport on Mac and PC?

Written By Ruslana Lishchuk
Approved By Tanushree Chatterjee
Updated on 17 Dec, 2024
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Summary: In this blog post, we’ll walk you through all the possible ways to format WD My Passport on Mac and PC.

Before proceeding, note that formatting WD My passport might result in hard drive corruption and data loss. To prevent this, try using software like Stellar Free Data Recovery Software for Mac and PC to rescue your data.

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As you know, macOS and Windows have their native file systems, such as APFS, NTFS, and HFS. A WD My Passport formatted with a Mac file system will fail on Windows and vice-versa. Thankfully, FAT32 and ex-FAT formats have survived to date, and these are the file systems to make your WD My Passport work properly with Mac and PC. Check out the screenshot below to see the compatibility of WD My Passport with macOS and Windows:

WD My Passport file system compatibility

WD My Passport works differently on Mac and PC due to their native file systems. It’s much easier on Windows and way more complicated for Mac users. But don’t panic. With our guide, you’ll effortlessly master formatting WD My Passport both on Mac and PC.

Warning: Erasing WD My Passport empties the drive. Don’t forget to create a backup before proceeding.

How to Format WD My Passport for Mac?

1. Connect Western Digital My Passport drive to your Mac.

2. Wait for the new hard drive to be detected (its icon will appear on your Desktop).

3. Next, go to Finder > Applications > Utilities and open the Disk Utility.

Launch Disk Utility from the Applications folder

4. Choose the Western Digital hard drive icon in the Disk Utility sidebar > click the Erase tab.

5. Once in the Erase dialog window, select the Volume Format drop-down list > choose APFS (native file system), MS-DOS (FAT), or ex-FAT.

Note: The ex-FAT file system is the best choice for formatting WD My Passport on Mac.

6. Hit the Erase button. The macOS will erase data on the drive and reformat it to APFS, FAT32, or ex-FAT format. Once formatting is done, you can use the drive on your Mac as a regular hard drive.

How to Format WD My Passport for Windows?

To format WD My Passport for Windows, do this:

1. Connect your WD My Passport hard drive to your Windows PC through the USB cable.

2. Wait until Windows automatically detects the external hard drive and configures it as an expansion drive.

3. Click the Start button and type this PC > select This PC app. A new Windows Explorer window will open. You’ll see a list of installed drives and their drive letters on the left side of the screen.

4. Locate the icon assigned to Western Digital My Passport drive and right-click the connected drive icon > click Format in the pop-up menu.

5. Select the File System from the drop-down list and choose either ex-FAT or FAT32.

6. Enter a relevant name in the Volume label field.

7. Go with Quick Format > click Start.

Specify Format Details for WD My Passport

Formatting WD My Passport Resulted in Data Loss?

If you have accidentally erased your WD My Passport hard drive, the best way out is to use data recovery software for Mac and Windows, depending on which computer you have.

How to Recover Lost Data from WD My Passport on Mac?

1. Install and launch Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac > select file type > click Next > choose WD My Passport.

Stellar Data Recovery > Select What To Recover window

2. Toggle the Deep Scan option > click Scan. Wait till the scan is over.

Stellar Data Recovery > Select Location window

3. Preview your scanned files and select all the necessary ones > click Recover.

Preview files in the Stellar Data Recovery for Mac

4. Select Browse to specify the save location > press Save. Wait till the recovery is complete.

How to Recover Data from WD My Passport on Windows?

1. Install and run Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Windows.

2. Select file type > click Next. Choose WD My Passport in the Recover From window.

Stellar Data Recovery for Windows > Select What To Recover

3. Turn on Deep Scan and click the Scan button. Wait till the scan completes.

Stellar Data Recovery for Windows > Recover From

4. Preview and select files you want to recover and click Recover. Specify the drive location to save files > press Save. Wait till the recovery process is over.

Preview files in the Stellar Data Recovery for Windows

Why Use Stellar Data Recovery for Mac and PC?

Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition (Windows or Mac) can scan your WD My Passport storage drive, preview recoverable files for free, and recover up to 1 Gigabyte of data without subscribing. However, if you need unlimited data recovery capability, you’ll need to upgrade the software from Free Edition to Professional Edition. Stellar Data Recovery has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can upgrade with confidence.

Things you Should Know Before Formatting WD My Passport

Format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to FAT32 or ex-FAT format to transfer the data between a Mac and Windows system conveniently.
Specific third-party systems, like Digital Camcorders and Sony PlayStation, need the drives to be formatted in either FAT32 or ex-FAT format to perform read and write operations. Check this before selecting a file format.
FAT32 supports a maximum volume of up to 8 Terabytes and a maximum file size of up to 4 Gigabytes. Ex-FAT supports a maximum volume size of up to 1 Petabytesyte and maximum file size of 16 Exabytes.
Due to the limitation of FAT32, it might affect Mac’s and PC’s performance. Therefore, it is better to choose ex-FAT instead.
Like FAT32, ex-FAT is not a commonly used file system, due to which its support may vary among third-party devices.
The corruption chances of the external drive increase if used on both Mac and PC systems regularly. So, please back up the data before sharing it between the two computers.

Related reading:

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About The Author

Ruslana Lishchuk

Ruslana is a tech content writer whose true passion is finding out about everything Mac-related. She specializes in creating macOS guides and tips & tricks. In her spare time, you’ll find her doing yoga or discovering local coffee shops in search of the best filter coffee.

45 comments

jo says:

May 5, 2020 at 9:51 pm

Hi When I am in disk utility, and I click “WD My Passport” (it is filled in blue)… time machine is underneath it (which is white)…does that mean the time machine and WD have merged?

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  May 6, 2020 at 2:45 am
  
  Hi Jo,
  
  Can you share the screenshot with me? Check out my profile for contact
  
  Thanks
  
  Reply
Curt says:

April 23, 2020 at 12:50 am

Greetings, Vishal,

I’m an old Grandpa trying to back up my MacBook and I’m pretty intimidated. I bought the WD My Passport Ultra for Mac and got no advice/guidance. I’m struggling to understand all these steps, so I’m just establishing communication with you. I appreciate your kind assistance for novices.
I’m writing from Wisconsin and may contact you as I try to make progress. I appreciate the pictures and simple instructions, so thank you.
Regards, Curt Pruitt.

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  May 6, 2020 at 2:46 am
  
  Sure, sir let me know if you have any queries.
  
  Reply
ERIN J KASPAR-FRETT says:

March 15, 2020 at 5:51 pm

I followed your instructions and do not see the file formats available in the “erase” in disk utilities. See picture.

Reply
Bobby Sherlock says:

February 27, 2020 at 8:47 pm

Thanks for publishing this guide.

Interestingly, I’ve just unboxed my new 6TB My Book, installed the WD Discovery app on my Mac, and the drive is already formatted to ExFAT. Seemingly no need to erase and re-format anything!

This’ll be the first external HD I’ve owned that has been Mac plug and play.

Reply
Vernette says:

February 10, 2020 at 5:01 pm

hi!

i recently just bought a WD ‘My Passport’. I tried to follow your way of reformatting as I am using it on Mac. But when i click ‘Erase’, it says ‘Erase process has failed. Couldn’t unmount disk’. Please advice.

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  February 11, 2020 at 3:07 am
  
  Hi Vernette,
  
  I am happy to help. Please select the physical hard drive instead of the partition and then press the Erase button. Let me know if this helps.
  
  Your’s sincerely
  Vishal
  
  Reply
  1. Harjit says:
    
    May 4, 2020 at 1:01 pm
    
    i am facing the same issue…..where do i find the “physicalHD” option ????
  2. Shane says:
    
    November 23, 2020 at 9:00 pm
    
    Hey! Thank you for the help so far! I had the same error as Vernette. I don’t understand what you mean when you say select the physical hard drive instead of the partition. I don’t see a difference in disk utility.
  3. Vishal says:
    
    November 27, 2020 at 10:00 am
    
    Hi Shane, I am delighted your issue is solved after reading this blog. One more thing, here I meant to say select the whole drive instead of partition. Thanks
Rene Vega says:

January 8, 2020 at 2:34 am

OK let me get straight. Once I do one of the formats. Then I can go back and forth from my PC and Mac to save files to my external?

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  January 8, 2020 at 3:30 am
  
  Hi Rene,
  
  With ex-FAT, yes, you can use the storage drive on Mac and PC.
  
  Regards
  
  Reply
mandy says:

October 30, 2019 at 9:10 pm

Hi
Ive just purchased my passport for mac, usb-c and time machine ready,
Do I need to follow all your steps or is it plug in and ready to go

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  October 31, 2019 at 3:45 am
  
  Hi mandy,
  
  If your newly purchased drive is formatted for Time Machine application then you don’t need to format the drive further. Plug-in your drive and start your backups. Read more: How to Set Up Time Machine on Mac.
  
  Best Regards
  Vishal
  
  Reply
Laurent says:

September 5, 2019 at 8:46 am

Hi,

Stellar data recovery does recognize the WD MY Book. But with every scan he does not found any data which is not possible… My WD Book is Mac Journaled as file system. As i read on your website, i should format to FAT of or Ex-FAT. Formatting means i lose al the data, but i just want to recover deleted files from the external hard drive with stellar… How do i fix this one? Thanks for the support

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  September 9, 2019 at 4:40 am
  
  Hi Laurent,
  
  We would like to inform you that data recovery dependent on factors like data loss reason, the severity of corruption, overwritten activity, etc.
  
  We understand the importance of your data and our free trial versions of the applications enable you to confirm the possibility of recovery, even before you purchase the application.
  
  Our software scans the hard drive, and using the deep scan it will show you the best possible recovery. It might be possible the files got overwritten or permanently deleted.
  
  Please get back to us for further query.
  Thanks!
  
  Reply
adnan says:

August 18, 2019 at 10:16 am

Hello,
Please tell me how can I access data in DOS from WD my passport external harddisk?

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  August 21, 2019 at 5:21 am
  
  Hello Adnan,
  I would like to inform you that Stellar Data Recovery Software cannot recover the data from DOS or Command Prompt. Thanks
  
  Reply
Preston Ryan says:

November 21, 2018 at 11:36 am

Whether you are trying to recover files from an SD card, hunt down deleted video files or find a lost PDF, this Mac app is a lifesaver.

Reply
1. Vishal says:
  
  November 22, 2018 at 3:21 am
  
  Thanks Preston
  
  Reply