Reformatting WD passport Mac to microsoft

WD External and Portable SSD My Passport Wireless SSD
1

Hello ! I have been using my WD passport on my mac for years. All of a sudden, my Mac can no longer identify the external harddrive because it has been reformatted to Windows (Microsoft NTFS (compressed)).

Has this ever happened to anyone else !? I’m not sure what to do or how to recover the data. and im confused as to why all of a sudden the passport is now configured for Windows…

thanks in advance

2

Hi @ella1,

Please contact the WD Technical Support team for best assistance and troubleshooting:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask

3

Well, most external hard drives are designed to work for Windows computers. Windows was mainly optimized for NTFS (New Technology file system) format, on the other hand, APFS was created for the Mac OS. NTFS is not compatible with Mac and similarly APFS does not get along with Windows. So if you’re trying to connect an external hard drive to a Mac, you might have to format the drive before you can use it.

Further, I suggest you to check the below link that explains all the methods to format your external drive for mac without any data loss:

Hope it helps!

4

This is because the external hard drive is currently formatted as NTFS. NTFS is the native format for Microsoft Windows; on macOS, it is read-only by default (meaning you can view files but cannot write to the drive—i.e., you cannot drag, modify, or delete files). The “circle with a slash” icon that appears when you try to drag a file is the Mac’s way of indicating that writing is prohibited.

Here are two possible solutions:

Solution 1: Enable read/write access using third-party software (without formatting)

If you prefer not to go through the hassle of moving files, or if you need to use the drive interchangeably between Windows and Mac computers in the future, you do not need to format it.

You simply need to install NTFS read/write driver software on your Mac, which will allow the Mac to read from and write to the drive just as a Windows PC would.

[ A related blog - How to move files from Mac to an NTFS drive? ]

Solution 2: Back up existing files and reformat the drive

Step 1: Back up files

Create a new folder on your Mac desktop, open the Passport external hard drive, select all photos and files, and copy and paste (or drag) them into the newly created folder.

Step 2: Format the drive

Open “Disk Utility” on your Mac → select the hard drive → click “Erase.”

Choose a format: Select ExFAT if you plan to use the drive on Windows computers in the future;

Select APFS if you intend to use it only on a Mac.

Step 3: Move files back

Simply drag the photos from the desktop folder back onto the hard drive.