Sounds like your best recourse would be to pull the hard drive and test it in a Windows Machine, or dual-boot Windows on your Mac. About Your WD Drive My Passport. If you want to use the drive with a Windows computer, see Reformatting the Drive and Troubleshooting. Disk Drive Format Your My Passport for Mac drive is formatted as a single HSF+J partition for compatibility with Mac OS X operating systems. For Windows computers, go to the Start menu and select Windows Update.While still in that folder, the files can be recovered easily. Please bear in mind that to encrypt a USB drive using FileVault you will need to format it first.Delete: Deleting data actually just moves it into a folder, out of sight, like the Recycle Bin in Windows or the Trash on Mac. To encrypt an external hard drive or USB dongle with FileVault follow the steps below. If you want to encrypt an external hard drive on a Mac, you can do so by using the native FileVault 2 application. But people often use other terms like delete and format interchangeably, while they’re actually quite different.Encrypt an external hard drive on Mac. First, hard disk and hard drive have the same meaning.If you want to use the device again (or sell it), you’ll probably want to use the former method.Format: Depending on your operating system (OS), you’ll probably have a few options available. As with erasing, you can use data destruction software — or just break out a hammer. However, Windows was mainly optimized for NTFS (New Technology file system) format, on the other hand, APFS was created for the Mac OS.Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Paragon Software provides blazing fast, unlimited read/write access to Microsoft NTFS hard drives, SSDs or thumb drives formatted for Windows computers A no-brainer upgrade for those installing macOS 10.14 Mojave, Paragon NTFS for Mac remains the best cross-platform utility money can buy, especially now that it plays nice with Apple’s new dark mode.Reflect 7 Free Create images of running Windows OS Browse backup contents in Windows Explorer Restore non-booting systems Direct disk cloning Boot backups.Erase: Erasing or scrubbing a file gets rid of it for good.Wipe: Wiping refers to erasing everything on a given storage device or hard drive. The more recently the files were deleted, the more likely it is that you can recover them.An external hard drive that supports both Windows and Mac operating systems can be extremely helpful to users who work on both the operating systems. Before they get overwritten, though, you can still recover the files using data recovery software. That means when your device needs to save new data, it can (and will) use the space occupied by the deleted files.
You may also have additional internal drives to store more files on your computer. Identify which type of hard drive you haveThere are different types of hard drives you may be looking to reformat.Your primary hard drive or C drive (C:) is the internal hard disk where the operating system (OS) resides. This ensures that you don’t end up with corrupted files down the line.Reformat: Some people use the term reformat — it’s the same as format!Now that we’ve got that down, there are a few more things you should know about the formatting process, for both Windows and Mac computers. A full format will also scan your disk for any bad sectors and remove them. The drive in question can be your hard drive, or a removable drive such as a USB. Mac disk cleaner reviewWith basic file security and support for files over 4 GB in size, NTFS is your best bet if you want to transfer a large file. NTFS is also a good choice for external drives because it’s compatible with a wide range of devices. When you format a hard drive, you’ll be asked to choose your desired file system.If you’re using Windows, you can choose between NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT:NTFS: If you want to format your primary drive (which contains your OS), you must use NTFS (NT file system), which is the default Windows file system. File systems are rules that govern how an OS stores and reads files. Choose the right file systemNow that you’re clear on the differences between erasing and wiping, and between internal and external drives, it’s time to select a file system. An external hard drive is located outside of your computer, and it can take the form of a flash drive (also called thumb drive or USB) or a larger enclosure that can contain either a solid-state drive (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD). It’ll work on all types of hard drives, but is optimized for flash-based storage, including SSDs.OS Extended (HFS+) was used from 1998 to 2017, but was replaced by APFS.If you want to move files between Windows and Mac, go for exFAT.ExFAT: This file system is intended for removable storage like USB drives, SD cards, and other external hard drives. It’s compatible with the largest range of file types, but it can’t store anything over 4 GB.Both NTFS and FAT32 will eventually become fragmented, meaning you’ll need to occasionally defragment them.If you’re using a Mac, you’ll generally use the APFS (Apple File System).APFS became the default file system when macOS High Sierra was introduced. Also, NTFS allows you to set advanced permissions, which can come in handy.FAT32: FAT32 is an older file system dating back to Windows 95. How to format a primary (C:) drive on WindowsRecall that the primary drive, or C drive, contains the operating system. A secondary internal drive or an external drive. But it’s a little different if you’re formatting the primary drive vs. How to format a hard drive on WindowsFormatting a hard drive on Windows is largely the same whether you’re using Windows 10, 8, or 7. Make sure you have an external USB (also called a thumb drive or flash drive) ready. That means your primary drive won’t be in use, so we’re able to work on it.Note that this process will delete the OS and all files, but it won’t permanently erase them.Got your Windows 10 or Windows 7 startup DVD on hand? Great, you can skip the next paragraph.If not, you’ll need to create a bootable Windows USB drive. So how can we get around this? We’ll run Windows from an installation DVD or a USB drive. It will ask you where you want to install Windows. When you’re prompted with a choice of Types of Installation, choose Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) for Windows 10 or Custom (advanced) and then Drive options (advanced) for Windows 7.On the next screen, select Format. Note that Windows is not actually installing, so don’t worry if you don’t have a product key (and if necessary, select the box for no product key).Follow the next steps to choose your desired version of Windows and accept the terms. Select your desired language and time, and click Next.Click on Install now and then wait while Windows completes some setup procedures. Do so, and you might see a message that says Windows is loading files.The Windows setup wizard will launch. App To Read Windows Hard Drive Download Windows OSLuckily, it’s much easier to reformat all of those drives, because they don’t contain the OS.Here’s how to format either an internal or external hard drive:Start up your computer as usual, but hold down the WINDOWS key and type in R to open the Run dialog box.When the box opens, type in diskmgmt.msc and then click OK.The Disk Management window will open. External drives are, again, hardware like USB drives or other external storage devices. Aside from your primary C drive, you may have smaller internal drives with names like D, E, F, etc. (That’s the only sign that the formatting has been completed.)At this point, your drive is formatted, and everything is gone! But now you don’t have an OS on your computer.Download Windows OS from your DVD or USB drive.How to format an internal or external drive on WindowsYour Windows hard drive may be partitioned into several different drives. Click OK if you’re sure.Your mouse will show a busy sign during the formatting process, and will then turn back into an arrow once it’s complete. If you want to format this partition, any data stored on it will be lost.” So you want to make sure that you’ve correctly selected your primary (or C) drive and that you’re okay with deleting all the data on it. It’ll do a basic delete of the hard drive in just a few seconds, but it doesn’t truly erase or wipe anything, meaning that it’s out of sight but not irretrievable. A quick format is — wait for it — quick. (See above for our guidance on file systems.) You’ll also have the choice to do a “quick” format or not. That’s where you'll choose the file system for your drive. You can also rename drives here if you wish.A Format box will pop up. ![]() If you don’t clear it out regularly, your machine will start to slow down, freeze, and serve up error messages. Why is this necessary? During the normal computing process, Windows accumulates a ton of junk that bogs it down: residual files, leftover installers, temporary files, cached data, and more.
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