Western Digital recommends that best practice is to keep a backup of your important data at all times. Maintaining a valid backup protects against: computer virus, data corruption, hardware issues, or environmental hazards.
Important:Always remember that 'backup' means that you have your data stored in at least two (2) locations. Moving data from your system drive to an external hard drive is not a backup, unless there is already a duplicate of the file on a different drive. |
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- My Cloud, My Cloud Mirror, My Cloud Mirror (Gen 2), My Cloud EX2, My Cloud EX4, My Cloud EX2100, My Cloud EX4100, My Cloud DL2100, and My Cloud DL4100:
- My Book Thunderbolt Duo, My Book 3.0, My Book AV DVR Expander, and My Passport AV:
These drives do not come with any backup software. You can manually copy and paste your data to the drive, use Windows Backup or Apple Time Machine if applicable, or you can use a third party backup software of your choice.
- My Book Live, My Book Live Duo, My Book Elite, My Book For Mac, My Book Studio, My Book Studio (WDBAAJ00xxHSL), My Book Studio LX, My Book Essential (WDBAAFxxxxHBK), My Passport Elite, My Passport Essential SE, My Passport Essential, My Passport Studio, My Passport Essential SE, My Passport for Mac and My Passport SE For Mac:
These drives can use the WD SmartWare 1.6.X backup software that comes on the drive to backup your data from your internal hard drive. Please see the link below for step-by-step instructions on how to backup your data.
- My Book Mirror Edition, My Book Home Edition, My Book Studio Edition, My Book Studio Edition II, My Book Office Edition, My Book World Edition (White Light), My Book World Edition II (White Light), My Passport Studio Edition, My Passport Elite Edition, My Book World Edition (Blue Rings), My Book World Edition II (Blue Rings), and WD ShareSpace, drives:
These drives can use the WD Anywhere Backup software that come with them to backup your data from your internal hard drive. Please see link below for step-by-step instructions on how to backup your data. - My Book Essential Edition 2.0, My Passport Essential Edition, My Passport Essential Edition SE and My Book Essential (Green Ring):
These drives do not come with any backup software. You can manually copy and paste your data to the drive, use Windows Backup or Apple Time Machine if applicable, or you can use a third party backup software of your choice. - WD Elements Play, WD Elements Desktop, WD Elements Portable, WD Elements SE Portable, Elements Portable and Elements Desktop:
This drive does not come with any backup software. You can manually copy and paste your data to the drive, use Windows Backup or Apple Time Machine if applicable, or you can use a third party backup software of your choice. - WD TV Live Hub Media Center:
If you have a WD TV Live Hub Media Center, this drive includes a Network Hard Drive (NAS). WD does not recommend using this drive for backup purposes, and does not provide backup software with this unit. - Other External hard drives (that did not come with backup software):
If you want to backup only your data onto a second hard drive, please see links below for how you can use your operating system to store your data on an external drive for both Mac and PC.
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- 1 Make a Western Digital HD Work for Mac & Windows
- 2 Add XP to a MacBook
- 3 Change the Drive Letters of External Hard Drives in Windows 8
- 4 Format a Removable Hard Disk
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
![For For](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125842267/619104125.jpg)
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.
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.”
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
Ketchum, Dan. 'How to Switch a WD Passport From a Mac to PC' last modified August 30, 2018. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/switch-wd-passport-mac-pc-49146.html
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