Although both operating systems can format your drive with the FAT32 system. To Format a WD External Hard Drive in FAT32 (to use in Windows or Mac OSX). Oct 25, 2018 Format Western Digital Passport to FAT32 with WD Quick Formatter. WD Quick Formatter, also known as WD Advanced Format Drivers (AFDs), is an external hard drive format utility for Windows and Mac, developed by Western Digital Technologies, Inc. External drive like WD Elements, My Book and My Passport can be formatted to FAT32 via this tool.
Why do we format WD Elements for Mac?Most WD Drives come formatted in the NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (Mac) format.If you own a WD Elements drive in NTFS, it will be only readable but not writable onMac. How frustrating it is!
There is a common need to make WD Elements drives usableon both Windows and Mac so that you can transfer data between the two environments.To achieve this goal, you are supposed to format WD Elements for Mac to FAT32 orexFAT which is compatible on both Windows and Mac. Format WD Elements failed on MacHowever, when trying to format WD Elements for Mac, some users encounter sucherrors: The drive cannot be dismountedThis error occurs when another program or service is actively using WD Elements, suchas a file transfer to or from the drive, or security software scanning the drive forproblems. You can fix the error in following ways:● Close all obviously open programs or files.● Boot your computer into Safe Boot.● Temporarily disable any anti-virus and other security software running onyour computer.● Format the drive using another USB/FireWire/eSATA cable and on anothercomputer if possible. Not enough space on device for requested operationIf the WD Elements to be formatted contains a GPT partition, DiskUtility will produce the error: “MediaKit reports not enough space ondevice for requested operation. Operation failed.” To solve this problem, you haveto erase the partition first and then format the drive with DiskUtility. You will get a prompt that erasing WD Elements will delete alldata stored on it and cannot be undone.When you suffer from WD external drive format failed on Mac, you must be wonderingwhether there are workarounds to formatting WD Elements for Mac. The answer is“Yes”.
Quick workarounds to formatting WD Elements for MacConnecting the WD Elements drive to a computer running Windows operating system, youwill get quick workarounds to formatting WD Elements for Mac. Find efficient methodsof WD external drive format for Mac here:Note: Formatting will erase all data on the disk, please save important data by or local backup beforehand. Method 1: format WD Elements for Mac via Command Prompt1. Hit Windows Key + X on your keyboard, andselect Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.2. Type diskpart and press Enter.3.
Type list disk and press Enter.4. Type select disk # (ex: disk 2) to select the WD Elementsdrive to be formatted and press Enter. You may get indication from the size of thedisk.5. Type clean to remove all information on the drive and pressEnter.6. Type create partition primary to create a partition andpress Enter.7. Type format fs=exfat quick to format the partition as exFATand press Enter.8.
Type assign letter=# (ex: letter=G) to assign a driveletter and press Enter.9. Type exit and press Enter twice to exit Diskpart and CommandPrompt continuously.Tips:Command Prompt is unable to format a partition over 32GB as FAT32. Due to the bigcapacity of WD Elements drives, you are recommended formatting them as exFAT. Method 2: format WD Elements for Mac with a free format toolas a comprehensive partition manager can assist you in formattingWD Elements for Mac and it is free of Command Prompt’s limitation. Learn detailedsteps below:Step 1. Download, install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant. Secure DownloadStep 2.
Right click theWD Elements drive that you need to format and hit “Format Partition”.Step 3. Reset the partition label, file system and cluster size(smaller cluster size makes less wasting of disk space, and we usually recommend youuse the default size if you don’t know which one is better) in the pop-up window.Select exFAT as file system here and click “OK” to confirm the changes.Step 4. Click “Apply” to view pending operations and then “Proceed”to commit the operations.Notes:● Before formatting a WD Elements external drive, you’d better back up all theimportant files and data because formatting will destroy all data. The freebackup software - couldhelp you create a backup for those data.● Wait for the format process to be finished before you start a new task onyour computer.● “” problem is solved in AOMEI Partition Assistant. You areable to format a 500GB, 1TB, 2TB WD Elements external drive to FAT32, thusmaking the drive readable and writable on Mac.● If you want to use to format WD Elements external drive as FAT32, you may upgrade to.
SummaryTo format WD Elements for Mac, FAT32 and exFAT are recommended file system becausethey are supported by both Windows and Mac. Two methods mentioned above apply toformatting WD Passport for Mac as well.
However, AOMEI Partition Assistant issuperior to Command Prompt as to FAT32 capacity requirement, let alone otherpowerful functions. You are capable of fixing the error of with AOMEI Partition Assistant. Give ita shot and you won’t regret!
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Unable to open WD Passport drive in Windows 7“I have a WD Passport 500GB portable external hard drive that has been formatted with Ext2 and it works well. But I find that it cannot be opened in File Explorer, after connecting it to my home computer that running Windows 7. And there is a message as follows:G: is not accessible. The volume does not contain a recognized file system. Please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted.What does the message mean? How can I make my WD Passport workable under Windows computer?” File systems compatible with WindowsWhen your WD Passport formatted with a file system not recognized by Windows operating system like Ext2, Ex3 or Ext4, you won’t be able to access and open it. You can format WD Passport for Windows with compatible file system to solve this problem.
Surely you’ll get conclusion about what file system you should choose among NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT, after having a basic understanding of them:.NTFS allows you to save single large file over 4GB and performs well in data security, data consistence. Secure DownloadHere is a step-by-step guide on how to format WD Passport.1. Install and run it. In the main console, locate the partition on the WD Passport external hard drive, right click it and choose Format Partition.2. On this pop-up screen, choose NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT among listed file systems and click OK. Here I choose FAT32.3.
You’ll go to main interface. Click Apply and Proceed to commit operation.Notice: To get more advanced functions including, converting dynamic disk into basic without data loss, etc., you can AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. ConclusionYou can format WD Passport and other external hard drive for Windows effortlessly and effectively with Diskaprt utility or free third party format tool – AOMEI Partition Assistant.
Choose one way according to your own situation.