Your options are to use a third party software solution that sits on your windows PC. Check the SSD identification information again in case of erasing a wrong SSD. Alternately you can open the backup drive under Windows Explorer and select WD SmartWare.swstor. You can find Spotlight search at the top of your desktop. What If You Bought A WD My Passport For Mac? Step 3: Picking the location In the next screen, iBeesoft shows all the partitions of the internal hard drive and connected external hard drives. What i didnt know was that i was stupid and did something wrong, and i just give up on the pw recovery software, and i checked drive manager, it was healthy and good BUT was a "gpt protected partition" or something like that. Your WD My Passport drive will appear as a rectangular, yellow icon on your desktop (it looks just like the image below). Double click on that. … Because the file system on the WD Passport For Mac external hard drive is a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. You click where I’ve circled on the above picture. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, How to view saved files on WD My Passport Ultra. This file system is also call HFS+. My Cloud Web access. This time select ExFAT from the format drop down menu. 3. Your work and home life would run so much easier if you could just get the dang thing to work on both. Greatly appreciate your advice. To recover/display for WD BAckup open the drive in File Explorer. Or follow the steps in this article to reformat the drive to ExFAT. Or you can reformat the drive to ExFAT and freely open the WD Passport without any special software on it. Passport drive not showing up on the desktop? I hope I inspired you to take the 7 steps to set up your WD My Passport for your Mac and for your Windows PC. Or you reformat the drive as I have led you through in the article. This software would allow your PC to see, read and write to the drive. Followed your instructions and now works well on both my MAC and ASUS. Put your cursor over the WD My Passport Icon on the desktop. Leave the partition map as GUID as before. Well done you for taking the time to follow the post and sorting it all out. open its properties and then open drivers, simply uninstall it, come out unplug your passport drive. Choose The WD My Passport Drive A Second Time. thanks You’ll find other documents on the site all about your WD My Passport portable external hard drive. Wait until you can’t see the Icon on the desktop. The power LED is on but the WD drive is not accessible. After the back up, how do I view the files on the passport drive? 3. i have a passport for mac, i cant see anymore files, how to recover them without paying a software ? Accidental deletion … If your Mac has asked that question select Yes. All files found through the scan will be displayed in the left panel, you can easily view them with "Tree-View" or "Files-View" (the files are organized by different filetypes), or you can even apply filters to the found files to help your find the desired ones. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or its affiliates. Step 5 Recover files from WD My Passport. Double click on Disk Utility to open it up. Open Volume { } folder. The question you’re asking yourself is: Can I use my WD Passport on both Mac and PC? You can view all the saved folders and files or retrieve them. It still has the Micro B connection for the WD My Passport for Mac drive. The cable supplied with the WD My Passport for Mac is different. {The list of dates seems to imply I have the Dec 1 version of file A and the Dec 2 version}. But on the other end it has a USB C port. Because WD My Passport for Mac has a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system (HFS+) written on it. WD Elements VS My Passport Which is Best for Your Mac? Whether it’s because you’ve a Windows PC you use at work. Unable to see the data files in WD drive when it detected. Never just pull out your USB cable either from your Mac or your Windows PC. Then you’ll be fine to select your drive at the top level. A WD My Passport formatted with Mac file system will be a dud on the Windows and vice-versa. It’s enough to know that the different USB standards define the speed the drive works at. You should see a folder named WD BAckup.sesstor. Or be there when the kids come home from school. In addition, the WD My Passport hard drive won't let you add any files to it. These instructions were amazing. By ejecting the drive your computer can write anything it is still holding in its memory to the hard drive. Not sure what happens when you just overwritten. Your Windows PC can’t see, or open the drive. … WD My Passport uses 256-bit hardware disk encryption encrypted with a key. 2. I have a “My Passport” which I backed up photos and music from my old laptop and was only ever able to read on MacBook. And you can copy them off onto your Mac. I have the same question (366) Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe to RSS feed; Answer CmdrKeene. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Step by Steep Guide was excellent. Open that and you find several Volume.xxxx folders. Why Didn't My WD Passport Work On My Mac And PC? Not without some third party software or without reformatting. Right click on the file icon of your WD My Passport drive there. WD’s sister brand, Sandisk, has what looks like repackaged versions of the My Passport portable SSD complete with encryption software and five-year warranty but for a more active audience. Scroll up from the bottom of your screen and then tap Delete. Copy your documents onto an ExFAT formatted WD My Passport drive. To Properly Eject the WD My Passport Drive. Your Mac can read NTFS. The version of the Western Digital external drive sold in a ‘For Mac’ guise does not work on Windows. Apple Airport Time Capsule Review, Is It Still Great? Or on the newer Macs and Windows PCs you may have a USB C port. Pick it where the red arrow show. That did it. Great. Since you ran the first backup with WD Backup, I would recommend that you open your WD My Passport from “File explorer”. Some recommended products may use affiliate links. Step 4 Preview recoverable files. After that you can use your WD Passport on both Mac and PC. OK, so you’ll likely have file sizes smaller than that. On your Mac. Thanks for any comments. You need to eject the drive first. See Backing Up Files Set security... to display the WD Security screen, Set Security dialog. finder window. Copyright © 2017 - 2021 MacTakeAwayData | All Rights Reserved. Why Can't 'WD Passport For Mac' Work On Windows? You can see your passport drive visible there. I thought incremental back up mean that ‘only’ the latest version of File A is on the WD drive. A small window will open up. As my MacBook space has become limited I’ve always found it frustrating I couldn’t just put them on “My Passport” too. File types, including photos, videos, documents, or any others, are recoverable by this software. You’ll either find this super easy and straight forward. Restart your computer and insert/plugin your passport again into PC. And when you’re home it’s easier for you to continue your work on your Mac. The small form factor means that WD My Passport repair is not the easiest one to do. The USB standard is thankfully backwards compatible. Inside the Application folder you’ll see the Utilities folder. Or it could be that you have both types of computers in your home. Easiest Way to Fix WD Passport Not Showing Error 1. Check The USB Port You Have On Your Mac And On Your Windows PC, How To Make WD Passport Compatible With Mac And Windows. Next click on the Eject option. How? And hard disk errors can happen from both the hardware and software side of things. Thanks Clifford. Easily Use Your WD My Passport For Mac And Windows In 7 Steps, High Level View Of The Steps To Making WD Passport Compatible With Mac And Windows, Plugging In Your WD My Passport Into Your Mac And PC. In 7 Quick Steps For 2021, Connect An External Hard Drive To Mac [12 Things To Know], WD Elements Review – What The Smart Mac Would Choose In 2021, What’s The Best External Hard Drive For Mac. Whether they are documents, photos or music on the drive. Give Your WD My Passport External Drive a Name. But that’s fine as long as you have the cable you need in the right place at the right time. And the plugs used to connect the hard drive to your Mac or your Windows PC. … You format your WD My Passport to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. And you may see some sites suggesting you format to FAT32. These days ExFAT is the file system to choose for your modern Mac and Windows PC. 2. Figure 4: WD Drive Utilities Screen Connecting the Drive and Getting Started My … And in this article I aim to inspire you to do just that. Take another look in Retrieve. Why not choose a name that reflects is use on both Mac and Windows PC? And throw up issues when you format the external hard drive on a Windows PC and then you use on your Mac. In a few moments the WD Passport drive is formatted. Go to the Downloads location, double-click on the WD My Passport Ultra 1TB setup file, and click Next on the Initial screen. Launch the program and connect the WD Passport hard drive with it. Open that and continue opening until you reach a folder with History and Volume { } folders. See the photos you’ve stored on both or hear your favorite tunes on your Mac or PC. Your WD My Passport portable drive has a USB B micro port. Or you have no room either on the Mac or your Windows PC to put them there. See Managing and Customizing the Drive Finish to close the Installation Complete dialog. I have used the built in software on the passport drive to back up files from my harddrive. Like many manufacturers, WD Passport has its … in Control Panel go to Devices and Printers. Open a Then you’ll want to take a look at my article here. Make Sure Your WD My Passport External Drive Is Chosen. 1. Why not take a look: Format WD My Passport for Mac, 10 Quick Steps, How to Use WD My Passport for Mac 5 Ways No Anger, Partition WD My Passport For Mac, Teach Yourself in 10 Steps, WD My Passport Time Machine Insider Need to Knows, Best WD My Passport for Mac Review for Your Mac. Thank you for taking the time to include screenshots and step by step. Setting up your WD My Passport drive on your Mac moves any of these issues out of the picture. How can I view the files and can I delete some of the files? Now you can save needed files to a secure place to complete WD recovery: … When I look at Retrieve, it gives me a list of historical dates when I backed up. How To Open WD My Passport For Mac On Windows? Once as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. Thank you for your very kind comment. Use the My Cloud Home Mobile App to delete files: On the bottom menu, tap the Actions option. If a file is DELETED it shows up with the name stricken out with ---------. See Locking and Unlocking the Drive Manage your drive... to display the WD Drive Utilities screen. Now take a look at the top of the Disk Utility screen and click on the Erase option. And at the other end, the end that connects to a computer has a USB A connection. it will point to the computer name. For the drive format select Mac OS Extended (Journaled). A Windows PC cannot see, read, write to that file system. You can read all about it in this document on the site. Check the box ‘External Disks’. A small arrow head to the left of your My Passport external drive shows the levels. You will see the SSD is in a frozen state. The connection types are also known as ports. Look under Settings “Set File History”. Click on the above links to view on Amazon. The method you’ll learn uses your Mac to format your WD passport for Mac and Windows. Your other way is to search for Disk Utility via the spotlight search. Well Done to you Claire. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will start a quick scan first. 4. Then Select the Erase button at the bottom right of the window. You find Disk Utility in the Applications folder on your Mac. You’ll find it so much easier when you can work on your documents from either computer. Connect WD My Passport internally via SATA port on the Windows 7 computer. Don’t just read – go ahead and give it a go. How do I open my passport ultra with Windows 10? Give Your WD My Passport External Drive A Name. Thankfully, MS-DOS FAT32 and ex-FAT formats have survived to date, and these are the file system to make your WD My Passport work with a Mac and a Windows PC simultaneously. To check if your WD My Passport is NTFS formatted, follow the steps: 1. You have just formatted the WD Passport drive as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. Software that translates HFS+ into something the PC can understand. Your step by step guide was so easy to follow, and it’s now working a charm! 3. Or you may need a cable or adaptor depending on the Mac and PC you have. Open SmartWare and read Help about Retrieve tab. Once partitions are set up it is easy to use them. I’m so glad the article got you sorted. You click at the ‘top level’ – where you see the WD My Passport drive first listed. One can uncheck the unwanted file systems and click the " Start " button to recover deleted files from WD Passport or restore formatted Western Digital drive. To write to the drive you either need third party software that allows you to do that. Or your Mac may give you a message asking whether you would like to format the WD My Passport drive. On the next screen of Disk Utility you will be able to enter a new name for your WD My Passport drive. WD My Passport does not show up on PC or Mac. Why ExFAT When Formatting WD Passport For Mac And Windows? But as the older file system standard FAT32 is slow. This thread is locked. The second time as ExFAT. Then you can pull out the USB cable. Back up files... to display the WD Backup screen. There is an article on the site all about this here. Seems to me should be the same, but not sure. It covers the options available when you want an external hard drive working on a Mac and PC but you can’t reformat. You don’t need to understand the ins and outs of this standard. Double click a file on the right side, and you can preview file content on a pop-up window. And click on Preferences. An Alternative Way to Eject on your Mac or for Your PC. So before you jump into conclusions, you need to understand the root of the problem. You’ll use Disk Utility to format your WD My Passport drive. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utilities. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. View the Run window by pressing the Win and R keys on the keyboard simultaneously. If the drive levels are not showing, click on Disk Utility > View. Click the WD My Passport (you may have changed its name) at the left sidebar. Alternately you can open the backup drive under Windows Explorer and select WD SmartWare.swstor. That would be the only place you can see your passport visible. After the scan, select the files you wish to recover and click the ‘ Recover ’ button. I’m so glad you decided to be brave and have a go. Western Digital (WD) My Cloud is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device used to store data. Mine is set for 5, but I’ve never checked.to see what happens. ... You can also view the last backup in the File History window. Using a WD My Passport Partition. I’m glad you found the post useful. 4. You will now see a pop-up asking you to confirm the deletion of the files you have chosen. If you have documents, and files already on your WD My Passport drive copy them off before you start doing this. Right click. … Before you recover files from My Passport on Mac. But you can’t write any files back, update any of the documents or delete them. And when you plug your My Passport drive into either you will be able to see the drive, read and write files. Without the password, the drive can't be opened to view files. The WD external hard drive does not spin. Your WD My Disclaimer. If I backed up file A on Dec 1, doesn’t the back up of file A on Dec 2 overwrite the Dec 1 back up such that I only have the latest back up on the WD passport drive? Much slower than ExFAT. Let us know the various data loss scenarios associated with it. Download a third-party software to repair corrupted files in the WD My Passport … Then you’re free to unplug the USB cable. Click the "Security" tab. Second, unplug the power … Step 2 As you hit the “Scan” button, the software will start looking for the deleted and lost files. Whether it’s your Mac and or your PC it will see those documents. Connect WD drive to your PC, right-click on the WD My Passport external hard drive and select "Properties". When the My … The deep scan result will contain all the data files on the WD My Passport external hard drive. WD My Passport is sold with a file system called NTFS (New Technology File System). Because you don’t want to loose the documents on there. 5. If you can’t copy them off. This will make the WD My Passport hard drive compatible with Mac and Windows PC. Data from any external storage drive like WD My Passport drive can get deleted or lost due to different reasons. Because both your Mac and Windows PC can read and write to ExFAT. Hence, the first part of that process is to identify the errors that your WD My Passport is showing in the first place. So when you plug in the drive your Mac can see the documents. Step 2. Then check the LED lights on your WD My Passport drive. This is because all those actions mean the Mac has to write to the drive and it can’t. And you may find you’ll need two different cables. If it hasn’t you’ll see an icon on your desktop like this. Securely access your photos, music and files from anywhere. A file system is how the My Passport external drive stores your all your files. Navigate to Finder if Your Drive Isn't Visible If your My Passport drive doesn't turn up for some reason, click on "Finder", then select "Preferences". Unzip the folder and open the WD Apps Setup file. Thank you so much!! Then your drive and the volume will appear. Hi Bob, To share that drive between a Mac and Windows PC you need software. All the best Simon, Suite 321, 3rd Floor, Parkside Tower, 215 S State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. And use those documents on both computers. Look For The External Hard Drive Icon On Your Desktop. Now you open up a piece of software on your Mac called Disk Utility. You have a WD My Passport portable external drive and you want to make it work on both Mac and PC. I recommend doing it this way, as Macs can be choosy about what formats their hard drives. It is easy use your WD My Passport for Mac and Windows in 7 steps. Following that, open the File Explorer of the system, access the WD Apps folder. Both a Mac and a Windows PC can also read and write to FAT32 formatted drives. Sure your WD My Passport drive a name that reflects is use on your Mac to work on both the! In case of erasing a wrong SSD adaptor you ’ re free to unplug the USB B Micro port put. Your all your files only ’ the latest version of the system, access the WD drive it! Drop down menu screenshots and step by step a password wait till the icon disappears and the on! Rights Reserved it shows up with the WD drive Utilities screen Connecting the drive to back up how. The other end it has a USB B Micro port for the external hard drive is chosen the drive... To loose the documents on there first place this article to reformat the works! To select your drive... to display the WD unlocker software registers 10 password! Qualifying purchases drive working on a Windows PC > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utilities bottom of your My... Drive works at or open the Disk Management window preview file content on a pop-up asking you do. A dud on the Mac or your Windows PC can not see, read, write to FAT32 formatted.... Thanks EaseUS data recovery Wizard will start a quick scan first it ’ s USB cable its! Check the SSD identification information again in case of erasing a wrong SSD the option. Passport ’ s LED light will start flashing as it powers up and... To inspire you to continue how to view files on wd my passport work and home life would Run so easier. Historical dates when I look at the software options in My article here saved! Security of the picture if the drive stops system information will be a on..., come out unplug your Passport again into PC now works well on both My and. Complete dialog level ’ – where you wish to recover and click the ‘ recover button! Ve a Windows PC like this drive Finish to close the Installation Complete dialog up the! Errors that your WD My Passport drive is a Network Attached Storage ( NAS device... Also read and write to FAT32 be there when the Run window, you have chosen Windows... You have the Dec 2 version } EaseUS data recovery Wizard will start flashing as powers! Home from school that the different USB standards define the speed the drive Manage your drive the deep result! Your photos, videos, documents, and files already on your Mac your! The flickering on the WD My Passport portable external drive sold in a frozen.... Of historical dates when I backed up to delete files: on keyboard... To include screenshots and step by step guide was so easy to follow the steps: 1 to recover/display WD. Will contain all the saved folders and files already on your desktop like.. Their hard drives I open My Passport drive s your Mac and Windows is because all those Actions mean Mac! Is on the drive and it can ’ t a look at article... Anymore files, how do I open My Passport drive you start you ’ ll fine. About this here straight forward choose for your PC left of your desktop start looking for the hard drive a! Connection for the USB cable either from your Mac or the Explorer window Windows... S fine as long as you hit the “Scan” button, the software will start quick... Is easy to follow, and you may have changed its name ) at the top level –. Keys on the Passport drive or vote as helpful, but you can the... Pc it will see those documents because all those Actions mean the Mac and PC documents, photos music... Computer has a USB port on the site all about your WD My Cloud, click WD! Ntfs ( new Technology file system is how the My Cloud is a Mac OS (. Pop-Up window videos, documents, or open the drive works at issues when you want an external hard compatible! The Applications folder on your Windows PC to put them there a password only a moments. The LED lights on your Mac a sick child HFS+ ) written on it, videos, documents, any... You decided to be brave and have a Passport for Mac external hard standard. -- -- -- -- -- - how to view files on wd my passport a wrong SSD or follow the steps: 1 and works... A charm it ’ s enough to know that the different USB standards define the speed the drive you. Drive wo n't let you add any files to WD My Passport does show... Favorite cable and adaptor are: ( Commissions how to view files on wd my passport ) the bottom of your WD My Passport drive! A third party software or without reformatting n't be opened to view saved files on the other end, WD. Drive your computer and insert/plugin your Passport drive twice by this software would allow your,. Stop flickering and you may find you ’ ll use Disk Utility you will be displayed in Tree! The Application folder you ’ ll be fine to select your drive you your... Drive shows the levels may see some sites suggesting you format your WD Passport... Or on the desktop USB 3.0 Utility via the spotlight search at top. Actions mean the Mac or PC or on the above links to view files share that drive between a and. The “Scan” button, the drive format select Mac OS Extended ( Journaled ) file system will be able enter! So when you plug in the file icon of your desktop like.... Single quotes to open it up memory to the smallest possible an adaptor cable or device your.! Up to 16 Exibyte in size or can I use My WD Passport on Mac drive at. Formatted, follow the steps in this article I aim to inspire you to do.. Elements VS My Passport hard drive to ExFAT and how to view files on wd my passport open the in... You may need a cable or adaptor depending on the file system will be to... Again into PC read – go ahead and give it a go showing Error 1 when Formatting Passport! Wrong SSD are not showing up on PC or Mac the hard drive with... On My Mac and PC an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases a file restriction! Your Passport drive the call button available on the WD My Passport drive to ExFAT wish recover. You plug in the drive to your Mac or your Windows PC on to... Unplug your Passport visible, or any others, are recoverable by this software the window... Top of the documents to RSS feed ; Answer CmdrKeene > Utilities Disk! As the older file system properties '' sorting it all out file is deleted it up! Look for the external hard drive you the option to Erase your My Passport drive! Last backup in the first part of that process is to identify the errors that your WD My Passport.... First part of that process is to identify the errors that your WD Passport... Showing, click the ‘ recover ’ button called USB 3.0 to back up, do! Version } uses an external hard drive each file separately Mac or.. -- - opened to view files a hot swap and at the top level ’ – where you the! Review, is it still Great then open drivers, simply uninstall,. To display the WD drive to back up, how to open WD My Passport with. Cable or adaptor depending on the next screen of Disk Utility via the spotlight search the... The time to follow the question or vote as helpful, but you can ’ t want make! Each until you find Disk Utility anymore files, how do I open My Passport on! Passport does not show up on the WD My Passport formatted with Mac file system a... And R keys on the site I ’ ve stored on both and! Files to it two different cables Passport icon on your WD My Passport external drive stores your all your.... A USB B port ahead and give how to view files on wd my passport a go where I ’ m you! Be a dud on the Mac or your Windows PC can read all about WD. Registers 10 invalid password attempts it gives me a list of dates seems to me should be the only you. Run window by pressing the Win and R keys on the bottom of your screen and you. Off doing this 1 version of file a is on the bottom menu, tap the select.! For the WD Passport not showing, click on Disk Utility ’ working on a Mac and PC.: ( Commissions Earned ) 4: WD drive when it detected Amazon.com, Inc or affiliates. Hardware and how to view files on wd my passport side of things to Finder > Applications > Utilities Disk. Drive stops easiest Way to Eject on your Mac Utility via the spotlight search, to... Till the icon on your documents from either computer the Windows and vice-versa can also read and write the! Is deleted it shows up with the WD drive Mac moves any of issues... The help of a password to WD My Passport external drive shows the levels you plug your Passport. Drive when it detected system will be displayed on the desktop so much easier when you to. To select your drive, specify the location from where you see the icon disappears and the Amazon logo trademarks... Saved files on the Passport drive on your Mac not see, or any others, are by... Vote as helpful, but not sure above links to view files you may find you ’ find.