How To Set Up Wd Elements Hard Drive For Mac
You've but bought yourself a new WD Elements hard drive for your MacBook Pro. Y'all've hooked it upward to your MacBook ok.
But darn.
Try every bit difficult equally you can you can't elevate any files onto information technology. It'southward why yous bought the thing. Just your Western Digital Elements drive seems blocked.
Your Mac won't put anything on it. So what apply is it to you now?
Why is this happening?
Your WD Elements bulldoze can work fine on your Mac computer.
And hither you'll find out how.
Can I Use A WD Elements External Hard Drive On My Mac?
The answer is Yes! Y'all tin can apply WD Elements on your Mac.
It doesn't matter whether you've an iMac. MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or M1 Mac you can employ this drive for your mac.
You but demand to go it ready by formatting it for your Mac to apply.
How Do I Format WD Elements For Mac Overview
- Plug In the WD Elements hard drive into your Mac.
- Offset Deejay Utility.
- Click on your WD Elements. Click Erase.
- Option the format. GUID for Scheme.
- Click the Erase button.
Read on for more than detail …
Preparing To Format WD Elements Drive For Mac?
Turn on your Mac and log in.
Put the USB Micro B cable end into your WD Elements bulldoze.
Put your WD Elements portable hard drive on a house steady surface.
Then plug your WD drive into your Mac.
Having trouble at this signal because you don't have a port on your Mac that fits the USB cablevision end?
And then you'll demand to get yourself a USB blazon A to C adaptor cable.
Go accept a look at this certificate all about it hither.
All connected upwardly? Good.
Once you've plugged in. Your Mac will see the Western Digital Elements hard drive connected. The drive will show up on your desktop as an icon.
WD Elements Drive Not Showing Upward?
Yous may need to ready a couple of things in your finder window preferences.
Open upwardly a finder window and select preferences.
Under the General tab, you'll need to make sure you pick 'External Disks' in the preferences window.
If your Elements external drive is still non showing then:
- Effort some other port on your Mac or.
- Reboot your Mac to reset the software on all your Mac'south ports.
At present you're ready to format.
How To Format Your WD Elements Bulldoze For Mac?
You'll find below the quick and easy steps to formatting your Western Digital Elements drive.
Yous have in your Mac's operating organization a slice of deejay direction software called Disk Utility. And it's freely bachelor for you to utilize.
It'south the Mac OS software you use to format your WD Elements drive. And should y'all want to reformat your drive once more later, you use the same disk direction software.
Warning: Formatting your WD hard drive will wipe anything on there. WD Elements comes with WD Discovery installation files.
If y'all plan to apply that software. (Bank check FAQ below.) Re-create those files off beginning. Or if you've whatever other files on the drive copy them off. Save them somewhere else before you lot format your Elements WD external drive.
1. Open Upwardly Disk Utility.
Your Disk Utility plan lives inside a folder called Utilities.
And the Utilities binder lives in your Application's binder on your Mac.
If your Application'south binder is in your dock, double click on information technology. Double Click on Utilities. And and so double click to start upward Deejay Utility.
Or
Click on your Spotlight search. Information technology's the magnifying glass icon at the top of your desktop.
Type in Disk Utility.
Then Double click to start up your Disk Utility software.
2. In Your Disk Utility Window.
Once your Disk Utility pop upwards window appears, look to the left of the window.
There you'll observe a listing.
First in the list is your Mac'due south internal drive.
Underneath. Nether the heading 'External' is where you'll detect your WD Element hard disk.
If the list isn't expanded in your popular upwards window, you tin can click on the pocket-sized arrow to the left of the WD drive icon.
Is there no small pointer?
Are you lot thinking assistance! I have no expanding list.
Apple tree added a setting from Mac Bone 10.thirteen.
Wait to the top of your desktop. And selection the Disk Utility View menu selection.
Pick at that place to encounter the drive and the volume – prove all devices.
3. Click On Your WD Elements Drive.
Choose your WD Elements external hard drive on your Mac'due south external drives list.
Be certain to cull your WD Elements portable difficult drive at the top level. You lot can have problems with your Mac refusing to format your Elements drive if it's not picked at the right level.
The yellow pointer in the Internal/External picture above shows you where to click.
four. Look At The Top Of Your Disk Utility Pop Up Window.
Click on the Erase button.
Don't worry. You lot're not erasing yet. There are a couple more settings y'all demand to fill up in first.
five. Filling In Your WD Elements Formatting Options.
On this next popup window is where yous ready how you want your formatting.
Under proper noun you'll give your WD external hard drive a name.
Pick a name that makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to find on your desktop.
How nigh a name that reminds you what you're using your Elements external bulldoze for?
The next affair to choose is the Format.
The up downwardly arrows at the end expand to allow you to choose different options.
The blood-red arrow in the motion-picture show to a higher place shows you where.
Pick:
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if you want to use your WD Elements bulldoze to drag and drop files too.
This is also the option you lot cull if you want to utilize your WD Elements bulldoze for a Time Automobile backup.
Since the Mac OS x update to Big Sur you can too APFS (Apple File System) for a Time Motorcar backup. Or to re-create your files to.
Either manner make sure you option GUID Partition Map for the Scheme.
Check your settings.
vi. Click The Erase Button.
When you lot click the Erase button at the bottom right of the popup window you beginning the formatting.
Your formatting only takes only a few minutes.
You can dismiss the Disk Utility popup window when it'due south done.
Your WD external drive will evidence up on your desktop as a bulldoze Icon. You'll find it has the proper noun you gave it on your Mac format screen.
And now you tin can use the WD Elements external hard drive equally you use your internal hard drive.
7. Double Click On Your WD Elements Bulldoze Icon On Your Desktop.
That will open upwardly a finder window for you.
You lot'll see your WD Elements drive is lovely and empty. Prepare for y'all to employ.
Yous're free to create new folders. Drag and drop files to it equally you lot would on your internal hard drive.
You can continue to hook information technology up to Time Car for a Time Machine fill-in.
And should you want to go on and sectionalization your Elements drive you tin notice out how.
You can read the WD Elements Partitioning On Mac article on this site by clicking the link text.
When You're Finished Using Your WD Elements Drive
One time yous've finished with the drive don't forget to right click on the drive icon. Then pick Squirt from the menu. This ejects the drive. Do this before pulling out your USB cable.
If you don't do that you risk corrupting the files on your disk.
Do I Demand To Format WD Elements For Mac?
Yes and No.
If you lot want to utilise your WD Elements drive without any special software on your Mac. So yes. Yous'll need to put your Elements external drive in a format your Mac tin read and write to.
And yep. You'll need to format your WD Elements external bulldoze if you want to use for your Time Machine fill-in.
Only If you want to skip the formatting.
Cause you just tin't face it.
Then yous'll demand get a software driver and then that you lot can use your WD drive on your Mac.
You'll find this option useful if you've used your Elements drive on a Windows PC. And you've those files already on your Elements bulldoze. So, you don't want to lose them by reformatting.
Yous'll find a document on the site that tells you all nigh this choice here. External Hard Drive Uniform With Mac And PC Without Reformatting.
Format WD Elements For The Mac OS You Have
Information technology doesn't matter if you've Mac OS High Sierra, Mojave , Catalina, Large Sur or Monterey. The way you format your WD hard bulldoze for your Mac Bone x is the aforementioned.
For earlier versions of the Mac Bone your screens may be slightly different.
But y'all can be confident that the way you format an external bulldoze on a Mac is the same.
The type of file system formatting you can choose has updated. The APFS (Apple tree File System) has been effectually since MacOS Catalina. Originally designed for a solid state drive. You lot couldn't use APFS for a Time Machine backup.
All this inverse in MacOS Big Sur. Now you can pick an APFS file system for your Elements bulldoze. And use information technology for a Time Machine backup. Just don't choose APFS if you lot plan on using your WD Elements on a Mac running an before version of MacOS.
WD Elements For Mac Frequently Asked Questions
Why Doesn't My WD External Elements Drive Work On My Mac Out Of The Box?
Your WD Elements drive comes in something called NTFS file system. The NTFS file system is plug and play on a Windows PC. Just not quite on a Mac computer.
Yous can connect upwards an NTFS Elements drive onto your Mac. And your Mac will see it fine. Simply you can't put files on there.
Your Mac will read whatsoever file on the Elements drive but non write to information technology.
What Are Those Files That Come Already Installed On WD Elements?
Western Digital has their own drive device manager software. And ships those installation files on the drive. If you install them on your Mac you'll get WD Discovery. A user interface that lets you manage your drive and register your drive with WD.
WD Smartware is function of the interface. WD Smartware lets you lot download your information from social media platforms. WD Bulldoze Utility which is like Disk Utility. It's unlikely y'all'll use this software on a Mac. But if you'd like to learn more take a expect at this mail service on the site. What is Discovery (Do I Need information technology, Should I Install On Mac?).
WD Elements Mac Not Recognized
If you've plugged in your WD Element hard disk drive and your Mac seems to do nil. It doesn't seem to recognize information technology.
1. Attempt some other port on your Mac.
two. Shutdown and restart your Mac to meet if that clears the problem.
3. Check your USB cable. A bad USB cablevision tin cause your WD Elements drive not to show up.
4. Make sure you've picked show 'External Disks' in your finder preferences window. (Run into how in the WD Elements not Showing Upward section in a higher place).
WD Elements Format For Mac Mistake
Getting an Error when formatting with Deejay Utility?
Be sure you lot've selected your WD Elements drive at the right level in the Disk Utility screen. Meet Step 3 and picture above.
If you're still having a problem with the erase on your Mac then spotter this video. The text is a footling small but the video is incredibly useful. The instructions you type into your Mac'southward Concluding window are:
diskutil list
Followed by:
diskutil unmountdisk force (paste in the copied detail here).
Here's the video.
Erase Process has failed. Click Done to Continue
Video Credit: Tech & Pattern
In Closing
Have you constitute this formatting WD Elements for Mac article useful?
While you're here exercise feel costless to take a wait at the other WD Elements documents I have on the site.
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Source: https://mactakeawaydata.com/format-wd-elements-for-mac/
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