Aug 14, 2013 Question: Q: My Passport for Mac external Hard drive is not recognized. I don't know what format the passport is in. It's WD for Mac. I used it in my old Macbook pro which recently lost video, so I cannot plug it back into that one to check to see if it works in that one again. It also still says on the media line that SMART. Sep 7, 2018 - To format a Western Digital My Passport external hard drive in. To get your drive reformatted with the FAT32 file system, so that you can use it.
![Instructions Instructions](http://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/split-hard-drive-time-machine-and-storage.jpg)
This answer explains how to use a WD external drive (that includes the WD SmartWare software), without using WD SmartWare on Windows or Mac OSX.END is included with many WD external drives. This software is completely optional and does not need to be installed in order to use the drive. Important Notes:.
The Virtual CD (VCD) included on these drives can only be disabled and cannot be removed from the drive. For assistance disabling the VCD please see. WD SmartWare is required in order to use the label included on some drives such as the. Please see for assistance using the label. Once the label is set you can uninstall WD SmartWare.
If WD SmartWare is already installed and you would like to remove it, please see. There are several different ways you can use the drive without WD SmartWare:.
You can use the drive without any backup software. Both Windows and Mac OSX allow you to move files to and from the drive without any special software installed. Please see or for assistance using the drive in this manner. You can use the drive with Windows Backup (on Windows) or Time Machine (on a Mac). If you are having trouble using Windows Backup please see. Please see for assistance using Time Machine. Your WD drive should work with most third-party backup applications.
Please contact the manufacturer of the software you would like to use prior to purchase to ensure it is compatible with your model drive. Western Digital does not keep a list of compatible backup software and would not be able to confirm compatibility with any specific third party backup software. When using these applications be sure to point your backup to the actual external drive and not the Virtual CD (VCD). If your drive is locked, third party applications will not see the drive until the password is entered. In case the answer did not answer your question, you can always visit the for help from WD users.