I am considering buying the WD My Passport Ultra 1Tb to back up all of my music, photos and files but am struggling to choose between the WD My Passport Ultra 1Tb or the WD My Passport for Mac.
I just recently purchased the 1TB Passport and I am trying to reformat it for my MacBook. I initially attempted to perform the Erase through Disk Utility, by selecting 'My Passport', however 'FAT32' was.
It seems that they are pretty much the same apart from that the WD My Passport for Mac is more expensive and doesnt link to dropbox.
My question is that if I were to reformat the cheaper WD My Passport Ultra 1Tb ,which comes formated to windows, will the security protection and encryption software that comes with it, still work??? Or is it worth spending the extra £20 for the WD My Passport for Mac.
Or are there any other reasons for me to spend the extra money and buy the WD My Passport for Mac instead of the WD My Passport Ultra.
Please bear in mind that I know very little about computers so simple terms will be appreciated!
Thanks so much!
MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)
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As of 2018, Western Digital offers no shortage of external drives for Mac computers – from the My Book Essential to the My Book Pro and the My Book Studio, nearly 30 WD drives play nicely with Apple’s macOS operating system, as does the My Passport Studio model.
But with more than 262.5 million PCs shipped in 2017, according to data from Statista, there’s a good chance your Passport Studio will need to play nicely with a Windows computer, too. When it comes to cross-platform flexibility, you’ve got a few options for crossing the Mac and PC streams.
About eFAT and FAT32
Here’s something your My Passport for Mac Quick Install Guide might not tell you: Hard drives usually come formatted in two different ways, one catering to Windows and one catering to Mac. NTFS-formatted drives work with Windows computers, and HFS+ drives work with Mac.
However, by formatting your My Passport differently, you can ensure compatibility in a variety of different ways. Hard drives formatted to exFAT or FAT32 can read and write data on both Mac and PC operating systems, though FAT32 is limited to a 4-gigabyte-per-file size limit. Formatting your drive will erase all its data, so be sure to back it up before making the change.
External Drive for Mac to Windows 10
If you’ve got a WD external drive for Mac platforms and you want it to work on a Windows 10 PC, exFAT format is your best bet. To start formatting, connect your WD Passport to your Mac; then open “Mac HD” and click “Applications,” “Utilities” and “Disk Utility.” From the Disk Utility window, select the Passport hard drive.
![Reformatting Reformatting](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125850191/730817418.png)
Here, you’ll usually see two listings of partitions available on the drive – select the listing that is furthest left. Click the Disk Utility’s “Erase” button; assign the drive a name in the “Name” field; then hit “Erase,” and click “Done” when the erasing process is complete. Now, click the “Partition” button at the top of the Disk Utility and click “Format.” Choose “exFAT” from the drop-down menu that appears and click “Apply” to format the drive, which will take a few minutes. Once the formatting is complete and you get a message that says “Operation successful,” click “Done.”
![How to format a wd passport for windows How to format a wd passport for windows](http://www.kenstone6.net/fcp_homepage/images_partitioning_tiger/02_partitioning_tiger.jpg)
To Windows 8 and Earlier
The external drive for Mac to Windows 8 transition makes use of Window’s built-in Disk Management software rather than the macOS Disk Utility, but you’ll still want to format your WD Passport as an exFAT drive.
To do so, connect the Passport to your PC, enter the Windows 8 Start menu and choose “Disk Management.” In the Disk Management app, right-click on the drive and select “New Simple Volume...” from the menu that appears. This brings up the New Simple Volume Wizard. Click the “Next” button until you get to the “Format Partition” window and choose “exFAT” under “File System” (you can also change the name of the drive under “Volume label” if you wish). Make sure the “Perform a quick format” box is checked, and click “Next” when you’re ready. Click “Partition” and then “Finish” to format the drive to a cross-platform compatible exFAT mode.
References (2)
About the Author
As the co-founder of an LLC, the owner of a small business and a partner at an S-corporation (all working in media), Dan is no stranger to small business. As a business writer, he's contributed to publications including Chron.com, AZCentral, Fortune, GlobalPost, MSN Money, GoBankingRates, Zacks.com, The Motley Fool and more.
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Ketchum, Dan. 'How to Switch a WD Passport From a Mac to PC.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/switch-wd-passport-mac-pc-49146.html. 30 August 2018.
Ketchum, Dan. (2018, August 30). How to Switch a WD Passport From a Mac to PC. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/switch-wd-passport-mac-pc-49146.html
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