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Reformatting Your WD Elements For Mac

WD Elements is a very popular external hard drive and many people buy it because of its reliability. Since WD Elements comes in the NTFS format, it will not be supported by Mac devices by default. The NTFS format is supported only by Windows computers.Therefore, it is essential to check the format of your external hard drives when you purchase them from the store. However, many external drives come with the FAT32 and ExFAT formats, which are widely supported by various operating systems and devices. So, let us now see how to reformat WD Elements for Mac.

So, if you plan to buy an external storage device to use on your Mac computer/device, you have to buy one that comes with the HFS+ (known as Mac OS Extended or HFS Extended), FAT32, or ExFAT format.The only way to use WD Elements on a Mac computer is by reformatting it into the HFS+, FAT32, or ExFAT format.

You can reformat your WD Elements for Mac either on a Windows or a Mac operating system. Let us first see how to do it on Windows.

How To Reformat WD Elements For Mac?

Reformatting WD Elements For Mac On Windows OS

  • First, connect the WD Elements drive to your Windows computer using a USB cable. Wait for the external drive to be detected by your computer.
  • When the drive is detected, click on the This PC option. Under This PC, locate the icon that represents the WD Elements drive.
  • Right-click on the icon and browse through the options until you locate the format option. Click on the format option to continue with the steps to reformatting WD Elements for Mac.
  • You will now find a new dialog box with some options, such as File System and Volume Label.
  • Click the drop-down menu for the File system option and then search for a suitable format like exFAT. Choose that option and type a relevant name for it in the textbox for the Volume Label option.
  • After you have filled in all the fields as per your needs, select the checkbox next to the Quick Format option.
  • Click on the Start button.
  • Wait patiently till the WD Elements drive is reformatted.
  • You have now successfully reformat WD Elements for Mac.

Reformatting WD Elements For Mac On Mac OS

  • Connect the WD Elements drive to your Mac computer.
  • When the drive is recognized, you will find a hard disk-shaped icon on your Mac’s desktop. Now, from the desktop, select the Finder option and then open the same.
  • Choose the Go option from the menu bar and then click on Utilities.
  • Under Utilities, select the Disk Utility option.
  • When you are inside Disk Utility, click on the WD Elements external drive.
  • From the Disk Utility file menu, choose the Erase option to continue to reformat your WD Elements for Mac.
  • You can now see a new dialog box. Here, you can customize the way in which you want your WD Elements drive to be formatted. You can select a suitable format like exFAT and can also set a new name for the drive, depending on your preferences.
  • Finally, click on the Erase button. In the next few seconds, your WD Elements drive will be reformatted.
  • You have now successfully reformat WD elements for mac.