- Western Digital Elements Mac
- How To Format Wd Elements Drive For Mac
- How To Format Wd Elements For Mac And Pc
- How To Format Wd Elements Se For Mac And Pc
- How To Format Wd Elements External Hard Drive For Mac
- How To Format Wd Elements For Mac And Pc
- How To Format Wd Elements For Both Mac And Pc
I’ve seen similar posts to this but cannot figure out the answer either, so I’ll ask my question afresh.
If you want to insure full Mac compatibility of a new external hard drive or flash disk, you’ll want to format the drive to the Mac OS Extended filesystem. This is particularly necessary for purchases of generic PC drives, which almost always come preformatted to be Windows compatible rather than. Plug your Western Digital external hard drive into your computer using the USB cable that came with drive. Open Disk Utility, which is located in 'Applications' and then 'Utilities.' Click the Western Digital Drive from the left pane and then click the 'Erase' tab at the top of the dialog box. WD My Passport elements are not readable on Mac? This tutorial shows how to fix WD My Passport not readable or corrupted on macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra and how to recover data from unreadable WD external hard drives with free Mac data recovery software.
I have the WD Elements SE portable 1TB HD and my Samsung TV won’t read any of the files on it. However, it DOES see that it the HD is there.
I have 3 sorts of files on the har drive – .avi, .mv4 and .mp4.
The HD is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
https://friendrenew681.weebly.com/ms-access-for-mac-free.html. All three sorts of files work when I connect the HD to my computer (Mac).
I have seen a lot of speak about formatting to Fat32, but three issues with this – one, I don’t know what this means; two, I don’t know how and three, I’m concerned if I do this then my Mac will no longer read the drive (or however I should technically describe this) and thus that I won’t be able to actually PUT the files on the HD in the first place.
SO – what I want to be able to do is save the files to my HD, then plug it into the TV and watch them. Very, very basic wish, but seems not a basic way to get to it!
I’m sorry if the answers to my questions are very obvious but I’m not much for computer tech-speak, and when I went searching for the HD in the first place the guy I bought it off assured me it would be capable of doing what I want (eg, save movie files to it and watch on computer) without any issues.
I’m willing to accept that he may have been way off (though he said he does it, so not sure?), so now I’m looking to understand what I need to do to make this happen.
Any answers would be great, and in plain English speak please… and hopefully in an easy-to-do way for laymen like me!
- i foud the best way to sort this is, i did 3 partitions on my ext hard drive.
one with Mac OS Extended (case sensitive Journaled)
second & third with MS Dos (Fat)use the mac one for time machine
second Fat one for pics & music to viw on samsung tv.third Fat one i let samsung tv re-format it so that i can also use it as pvr for recording tv. Guitar interface for mac.it works great- You're a genius!
- Hello, If you want your TV to read your external drive it has to be formatted in FAT32. One disadvantage of FAt32, is that it does not allow files bigger than 4GBs. The advantage of FAT32, is that it can be read in different operating system like mac, linux and windows. Mind you, there are some TVs that are to read NTFS formatted drives but in your case it is better to use Fat32 so that you mac can read it too.The reason your TV, can not read the contents of your drive is because it is formatted with HFS, which is a format compatible with MAC but not with your TV. There are several formats for hard drives, ntfs, fat32, (fat16, fat), ext2, ext3, ext4, hfs, etc. The most widely used format for PC is NTFS, which is the default for most new computers. Fat32 is an older format which can be used in linux, mac and pc. Fat16 and fat are the precursors of Fat32 and are not widely used anymore. Ext2,3,4 are formats compatible with linux. Hfs is compatible with mac.If you want to format your external hard drive to Fat32 in a mac you can use the mac utilities to format it. Before doing that, make sure to copy any files you have in your hard drive to a folder in your mac. Once you format a drive, you loose all the information on it. You can do the following to format drive:-- connect external to mac
-- go to Applications
-- select utilities
-- select disk utility
-- click on partition
belonging to your external hard drive
-- select the partition (there should be only one)
-- choose msdos(fat) as your format
-- click on
applyOnce your external is formatted with Fat32, copy/move the files back to your external from your mac. Once that is donw, all you have to do is connect your external hard drive to your TV and provided the files in your drive are compatible with TV, it should be able to read files and you should be able to view your movies.You would have to read in the TV's manual about the formats that the TV recognizes. I am sure that .avi an mp4 should be read by your TV. I am not sure about .mv4.- My External Harddrive is formated to NTFS and plays videos of my HD ..however it fails to open up some folders which contain videos in them. it presents an error sign saying the folder cannot be opened have any ideas in which why this maybe the case ..funny enough my friend has a samsung tv of a lower model d5000 which plays all these vids with no issue despite it being formatted to NTFS whilse mine the d8000 fails to do so
- Hello, what kind of files are stored in the folder your Tv cannot open?
- If you read through your HDTVs manual you will find that it only supports FAT32 ~ maybe also NTFS.Mac OS Extended Journal (HFS+) is a proprietary file system and even a Windows PC can't read it without the appropriate tools or drivers installed ~ let alone a TV.Sftp for mac. I'm afraid you will have to reformat your Hard Drive
* This will delete all data on the drive1. open up Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities/
)
2. select your external drive ('1TB WD Elements' or whatever it is called)
3. click on the Partition tab
4. select the following settings:
Partition Layout: 1 Partition
Format: MS-DOS (FAT)
the name will change to 'UNTITLED' but you can change it to whatever you want
click the Options button at the bottom and select 'Master Boot Record'When everything is set click Apply at the bottom right.
Again, this will delete all data from the drive so you will want to backup it beforehand.- This works great for me! Thanks so much for the advice!
You’ve justbought yourself a new WD Elements hard drive for your MacBook Pro. You’vehooked it up to your MacBook ok.
But darn. Tryas hard as you can you can’t drag any files onto it. It’s why you bought the thing. But your WDElements drive seems blocked.
Your Macwon’t put anything on it. So what use is it to you now?
Why is thishappening?
Or
Is ityou’ve heard that your WD Elements drive can work fine on a Mac. And you’rehere to find out how.
Can I use aWD Elements External Hard Drive on my Mac?
The answeris Yes!
It doesn’tmatter whether you have an iMac, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air you can.
You onlyneed to get it ready for your Mac to use first.
Do I needto Format WD Elements for Mac
Yes and No.
Yes.
If you wantto use your WD Elements drive without any special software on your Mac. Thenyes you need to put the WD Elements drive in a format your Mac can read andwrite to.
And yes ifyou want to use your WD Elements drive for a Time Machine backup.
And No. Youcan skip the formatting.
And insteadget some software so that you can use on your Mac. The software is useful ifyou have files already on the Elements drive. And you don’t want to loose themby reformatting.
I have a document on the site that tells you all about this option here.
Want toformat your WD Elements drive?
Yes? Good.Then read on.
Format WD Elementsfor the Mac OS you Have
Whether youhave Mac OS Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave the way you format your WD Elementsdrive for Mac is the same.
For earlierversions of the Mac operating system, screens may be slightly different.
And you canbe confident that Apple hasn’t changed the way you format an external drive ona Mac.
Preparingto Format WD Elements for Mac?
Turn onyour Mac and log in.
Put the USB Micro B cable end into your WD Elements drive.
Put your WD Elements drive on a firm steady surface.
Then plugyour WD Elements drive into your Mac.
Havingtrouble at this point because you don’t have a port on your Mac that fits theUSB cable end? Bleachbit for mac.
Then you’llneed to get yourself an adaptor cable.
Go take a look at my document all about it here.
Allconnected up? 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 ElementsDrive not Showing Up?
You mayneed to set a couple of things in your finder window preferences.
Open up afinder window and select preferences.
You’ll needto make sure you choose ‘Hard Drive’ and ‘External Drive’ in the preferenceswindow.
If yourElements external drive is still not showing then:
- Try another port on your Mac or.
- Reboot your Mac to reset the software on all your Mac’s ports.
Now you’reready to format.
How to FormatWD Elements for Mac?
You have inyour Mac’s operating system a piece of software called
Disk Utility. It’s freely available for you to use.
It’s thesoftware you use to format your WD Elements drive. And should you want toreformat the drive again later, you use Disk Utility.
Warning: Formatting the WD Elements drive will wipe anything on there. If you’ve files you want to use then copy them off first. Save them somewhere else before you format your WD Elements drive.
1. Open up DiskUtility.
Your DiskUtility program lives within a folder called Utilities.
And theUtilities folder lives in your Application’s folder on your Mac.
If yourApplication’s folder is in your dock, double click on it. Double Click onUtilities. And then double click to start up Disk Utility.
Or
Click onyour Spotlight search. It’s the magnifying glass icon at the top of yourdesktop.
Type inDisk Utility.
Then Doubleclick to start up your Disk Utility software.
2. In YourDisk Utility Window.
Once yourDisk Utility pop up window appears, look to the left of the window.
You’ll seea list. Your Mac’s internal drive is listed first. Underneath, under theheading ‘External’ is where you’ll find your WD Elements drive.
If the listisn’t expanded in your pop up window, you can click on the small arrow to theleft of the drive icon.
Is there nosmall arrow?
Are youthinking help! I have no expanding list.
Apple addeda setting from Mac OS 10.13.
Look to thetop left of your Disk Utility popup window. Do you see the ‘View’ drop downmenu?
Pick thereto see the drive and the volume – show all devices.
3. Click onyour WD Elements Drive
Western Digital Elements Mac
Choose yourWD Elements external hard drive on your Mac’s external drives list.
Be sure tochoose your WD Elements drive at the top level. You can have problems with yourMac refusing to format your Elements drive if its not picked at the rightlevel.
The yellow arrow in the Internal/External picture above shows you where to click.
4. Look atthe Top of your Disk Utility Pop Up Window.
Click onthe Erase button.
Don’tworry. You’re not erasing yet. There are a couple more settings you need tofill in first.
5. Fillingin your WD Elements Formatting Options
On thisnext popup window is where you set up how you want your formatting.
Under nameyou’ll give your WD Elements external hard drive a name.
Pick a namethat makes it easy to find on your desktop. Perhaps one that reminds you of whatyou’re using your WD Elements for.
The nextthing to choose is the Format.
The up downarrows at the end expand to allow you to choose different options. The redarrow in the picture above shows you where.
Pick:
Mac OSExtended (Journaled) if you want to use your WD Elements drive to drag and dropfiles too.
This is also the option you choose if you want to use your WD Elements drive for a Time Machine backup.
Next make sure you pick GUID Partition Map for the Scheme.
Check yoursettings.
6. Clickthe Erase Button.
When youclick the Erase button at the bottom right of the popup window you start theformatting.
Your formattingonly takes only a few minutes.
You candismiss the Disk Utility popup window when it’s done.
Your WDElements drive will show up on your desktop as a drive Icon. You’ll find it hasthe name you gave it on the format screen.
And now youcan use the WD Elements External hard drive as you use your internal harddrive.
7. DoubleClick on Your WD Elements Drive Icon on Your Desktop.
That will openup a finder window for you.
You’ll see your WD Elements drive is lovely and empty. Ready for you to use.
You’re freeto create new folders. Drag and drop files to it as you would on your internalhard drive.
You can go on to hook it up to Time Machine for a Time Machine backup.
And should you want to go on and partition your Elements drive you can find out how. You can read an article site all about it at this link.
When You’reFinished using your WD Elements Drive
Once you’vefinished with the drive don’t forget to right click on the drive icon. Thenpick Eject from the menu. This ejects the drive. Do this before pulling outyour USB cable.
If youdon’t do that you risk corrupting the files on your disk.
WD ElementsFor Mac Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn’tMy WD Elements drive work on My Mac out of the Box?
Your WD Elements drive comes in something called NTFS. NTFS is plug and play on a Windows PC but not quite on a Mac.
You canconnect up an NTFS Elements drive onto your Mac. And your Mac will see it fine.But you can’t put files on there.
Your Macwill read any file on the Elements drive but not write to it.
How To Format Wd Elements Drive For Mac
WD ElementsMac not Recognized
If you’veplugging in your WD Elements drive and your Mac seems to do nothing. It doesn’tseem to recognize it.
1. Tryanother port on your Mac.
2. Shutdownand restart your Mac to see if that clears the problem.
3. Checkyour USB cable. A bad USB cable can cause your WD Elements drive not to showup.
4. Makesure you’ve picked show ‘Hard Drive’ and ‘External Drive’ in your finderpreferences window. (See how in the WDElements not Showing Up section above)
WD ElementsFormat for Mac Error
Getting anError when formatting with Disk Utility?
Be sureyou’ve selected your WD Elements drive at the right level in the Disk Utilityscreen. See Step 3 and picture above.
If you’restill having a problem with the erase on your Mac then watch this video. Thetext is a little small but the video is incredibly useful. The instructions youtype into your Mac’s Terminal window are:
diskutillist
Followed by:
diskutilunmountdisk force (paste in the copied item here)
Erase Process has failed. Click Done to Continue
VideoCredit: Tech & Design
How To Format Wd Elements For Mac And Pc
How toformat WD Elements for Mac 2017?
On a 2017 Mac you’ll have USB C (Thunderbolt) ports. You’ll need a USB C to USB An adaptor as your first step to plugging in your WD Elements drive.
How To Format Wd Elements Se For Mac And Pc
Plugged in?
Then allthe steps I have described above will work for you. Pay particular attention tostep 2. Be sure your Disk Utility view is set to show drives and volumes. Asthis is a specific issue you might have.
Last Words
How To Format Wd Elements External Hard Drive For Mac
Found my ‘FormatWD Elements for Mac. How? In 7 quick Steps’ article useful?
How To Format Wd Elements For Mac And Pc
Whileyou’re here do feel free to take a look at the other WD Elements documents Ihave on the site.