Windows can’t normally read Mac-formatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. But third-party tools fill the gap and provide access to drives formatted with Apple’s HFS+ file system on Windows. This also allows you to restore Time Machine backups on Windows.

• Wd Passport For Mac

If you know you’re going to use a drive on both Mac and Windows, you should use the exFAT file system, which is compatible with both. But if you didn’t foresee that, you may have formatted your drive with Apple’s HFS Plus, which Windows can’t read by default. In fact, some manufacturers sell “Mac” drives pre-formatted with this Mac-only file system.

WD my passport 1 TB doesnt show all the files on mac and windows but fully accessible when connected to my TV via WDTV. Solved External Seagate 1tb Backup Drive read as 'Corrupted' in.

Don’t Format the Drive! (Yet)

When you connect a Mac-formatted drive to Windows, you’ll be informed that “you need to format the disk in drive X: before you can use it.” Don’t click the “Format disk” button or Windows will erase the contents of the drive–click “Cancel”!

This message appears because Windows doesn’t understand Apple’s HFS+ file system. That’s fine, because other applications do. Just don’t format the drive until you get the important files off the drive.

Of course, if the drive doesn’t have any important files on it, you can go ahead and format it. But be absolutely sure there’s nothing you need before you do.

Option One: HFSExplorer Is Free and Basic

RELATED:How to Restore Files From a Time Machine Backup on Windows

If you only need to get a couple files off the drive, we recommend HFSExplorer. It’s the only completely free way to access a Mac-formatted drive. It does require Java, however, so you’ll have to install that first. Then, install HFSExplorer like you would any other Windows program.

HFSExplorer isn’t fancy, though, and doesn’t have a lot of features. You can’t use it to write to Mac-formatted drives, and it doesn’t install a file system driver that integrates into File Explorer. But you can open HFSExplorer, read a Mac-formatted drive, and copy the files to your Windows PC without paying a dime. It can also mount Mac .dmg disk images to get at the files inside them.

This application’s read-only nature isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It ensures that no bug in the third-party driver can damage your Mac-formatted drive and the files on it. You can set read-only mode in other applications, too–but, if you’re not going to use their write support, there’s less reason to pay for them.

To use HFSExplorer, connect your Mac-formatted drive to your Windows PC and launch HFSExplorer. Click the “File” menu and select “Load File System From Device.” It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. You’ll see the contents of the HFS+ drive in the graphical window. Just select the files or folders you want, click “Extract,” and choose a folder. They’ll be copied to the location you choose on your PC.

Option Two: Paragon HFS+ is $20, But Offers Write Access and Better Integration

Paragon’s HFS+ for Windows is a bit fancier, but it’ll cost you. This tool installs a file system driver that allows you to access a Mac-formatted drive like any other drive in File Explorer, or any other Windows application with an open or save dialog. It boasts improved speed, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it were faster than HFSExplorer. And, unlike HFSExplorer, it offers full read/write access to Mac-formatted drives, so you can write to them from within Windows. Just install it, and Mac drives will show up like any other drive.

If you need to work with Mac-formatted drives on a regular basis and you want the operating system integration, speed, and write access, Paragon HFS+ is a great choice and will be worth it for you. But, if you just need to get some files off a Mac-formatted drive occasionally, this is overkill and you can save $20 by sticking with HFSExplorer.

Paragon does offer a 10-day free trial of HFS+ for Windows, so you can give it a try and see if it works for you. And, if you just need to get files off of a Mac-formatted drive once, you can just use the trial and be done with the application by the time it expires.

Option Three: Mediafour MacDrive Costs $50 to $70, But Includes More Features

Mediafour’s MacDrive is similar to Paragon’s HFS+ for Windows, but with more features and polish. It’s noticeably more expensive than Paragon HFS+ too, at $50 for the Standard version and $70 for the Pro version.

For most people, this software won’t really be worth it. But it offers a few unique features, like support for Mac-formatted RAID disks. It also offers a graphical interface with support for verifying, repairing, and formatting Mac-formatted drives. Paragon’s HFS+ gets out of your way and doesn’t provide a graphical interface–it just enables access to HFS+ drives in File Explorer and other applications.

If you need all these tools, go for it–this is the most full-featured solution for working with Mac-formatted drives on Windows. But you probably don’t need all these tools.

Mediafour does offer a 5-day free trial of MacDrive–both the Standard and Pro versions–so you can give it a try and see if those features are worth it for you.

Option Four: Format the Drive as exFAT–But Warning, This Will Erase Your Data!

RELATED:What’s the Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS?

Once you’ve gotten all the data off the Mac-formatted drive, you’ll probably want to format it with the exFAT file system. Both Windows and Mac OS X have full read-write support for exFAT drives without any additional third-party software. FAT32 has some serious limitations–individual files can only be up to 4GB in size each, for example–but exFAT doesn’t.

Rather than use a Mac-formatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exFAT-formatted drives for moving data between Macs and PCs.

To format the drive in Windows, right-click it in the File Explorer window and select “Format.” Choose the “exFAT” file system in the list and click “Start.” Remember, this will erase all the files on the drive! Be absolutely sure you have your files off the drive and that you’ve selected the correct drive you want to format!

When you’re done, the drive should work on both Windows PCs and Macs with no problem.

By the way, this works great for Windows users too–Macs can’t natively write to the Windows NTFS file system, although they can read files from NTFS drives. So no matter what your primary platform, exFAT is probably the way to go.

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Hi Donna,

Welcome to Microsoft Community and thank you for posting your query.

Let’s try installing the WD passport driver in compatibility mode and check if this helps. I suggest you to install the drivers supplied by the manufacturer any disc or USB which came along with the WD passport drive.

1. Right-click on the setup file of the driver and select Properties.

2. Select Compatibility tab.

3. Check Run this program in Compatibility mode.

4. Let the driver install and then check the functionality.

You can also visit the below link and try updating the driver and check.

If the issue still persist, I recommend you to contact WD passport team for further assistance.

Hope this helps. Keep posting us with the status we will be glad to help you.

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Hello,

thank you for replying to my query.

Firstly I have a couple of questions-

do I uninstall the WD security and WD utilities files before I reinstall them?

do I then try and start the install process again from the Manual I downloaded?

Also, I wasn't able to find a compatibility tab.

regards,

Donna

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2 people were helped by this reply

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Hello Billion and Captain_WD,

Thank you for your help.

Billion,

I did get so far with your advice but wasn't quite sure what software to download from the website you gave me.

I did try but it said I didn't have privileges.

My next step which was what you Captain_WD suggested was online support.

I've now done that and everything is working perfectly

Than you to both of you, much appreciated.

Donna

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Thank you for keeping us updated. If you need further assistance with Windows in future, let us know and will be happy to help.

Thanks.

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Hello,

Well my WD passport is working but I still get the message that my File History Drive has been disconnected for too long.

I went in Settings / back up/options and it is still saying last back up was 25/09/15 which was probably just before I installed windows 10 and today I'm getting the same notification.

I did a 'back up now' but the back up date didn't update.

Thank you for replying to my questions.

Donna

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Hello Captain_WD,

Thank you for your reply. How do I know that date of the back up? The online tech remote support did a back up yesterday after he downloaded the compatible win 10 version and the files backed up mirror those on my PC but there's no date that I can see?

Also in settings on Win 10 and I do 'back up now' nothing seems to happen. The date stills says Sept and immediately the 'reconnect your drive' error message comes up.

Sorry, not great with this stuff,

Donna

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Wd Passport For Mac

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