Formatting a WD My Passport External Hard Drive for Mac

Are you having trouble formatting your WD My Passport external hard drive for use with your Mac? If so, you're not alone. Many users have reported issues with getting their Passport drives to work on new Macs running Monterey. In this article, we'll walk you through the steps to format a WD My Passport external hard drive for Mac.

The Issue

I recently purchased two brand new MacBook Pro 14in laptops and upgraded to Monterey. However, I encountered an issue where my WD My Passport external hard drives would not mount on either of my new machines. The same drives have been working fine on my older MacBook 15in and iMac for years.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To format a WD My Passport external hard drive for Mac, you can use the Disk Utility application that comes pre-installed with your Mac. Here's how:

1. Connect your WD My Passport external hard drive to your Mac.

2. Click on the 'Applications' folder in the Finder and select 'Utilities.'

3. Double-click on the 'Disk Utility' icon to launch the application.

4. In the Disk Utility window, click on the 'View' dropdown menu on the top left of the window and select 'Show All Devices.'

5. In the list of devices, find your WD My Passport external hard drive and select it.

6. Click on the 'Erase' button in the top middle of the window to format the drive.

Alternative Method

If you're having trouble using Disk Utility to format your drive, you can try using the WD My Passport software from the App Store. Here's how:

1. Download and install the WD Discovery software from the App Store.

2. Launch the WD Discovery application on your Mac.

3. Connect your WD My Passport external hard drive to your Mac.

4. In the main panel of the WD Discovery application, click on the icon for your WD My Passport external hard drive and select the 'Format' button.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you're still having trouble getting your WD My Passport external hard drive to mount or format on your new Mac running Monterey, here are a few troubleshooting tips:

* Run diagnostic tests on your external hard drive using Disk Utility to ensure there are no issues with the drive itself.

* Check for any errors or warnings in the Disk Utility window that may indicate a problem with the drive or the connection.

* Try connecting your external hard drive to a different Mac or USB port to rule out any issues with the device or cable.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

Format my passport for mac