Mac Studio: WD drives incompatible after update?

oleschwander wrote:

Thank you very much for your thorough explanation. Does this mean that if I format the hard drive to, for example, ExFAT, there will be no problems? Or is it safer to get a new hard drive?

There should be no need to get a new drive.

As ouir friends have posted, just delete/uninstall any WD drive software that you have installed on the Mac. After that, erase and reformat this drive using the Disk Utility app.

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

As our friend, @jeffreythefrog, has posted, use the ExFAT format if you plan to share this drive with a Windows PC.

Otherwise, use either the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS format with the GUID scheme if you will only use it with Macs.

There won't be problems with any of these on the Mac.

that message may be related to WD's drives that use their built in "drive management" software. when you use software from just about any manufacturer for their storage device you run the risk of that same software not being compatible with macOS updates / upgrades. it can cause the software to stop working. at best this will cause you a headache. at worst it can render your data inaccessible. it is always best to use disk utility to erase and format a drive before use to remove any preloaded software.

if you are NOT using such software, I believe you can just ignore that message. but if you ARE using such software, i think your options are somewhat limited. 

you may want to contact WD and see if there is an update for their software.

alternatively, if you have a backup you can revert your macOS to the version of macOS that the drive was working on and transfer your data to another storage device and then erase and format the WD device before putting it back into service.

+1 for jeffreythefrog's response.

If you are indeed using any of the junk software that came with the WD drive, get rid of it. All this junk does is add an unnecessary layer of complexity to file management. The OS does not need help from anything else to maintain its own file system.

if you need to use the drive between both windows and Mac, you can use ExFAT. but if it is only to be used with a Mac, I would choose either HFS+ or APFS. either way, WD's software will get removed.

but if you already have data on the drive, you will need to put that data elsewhere. formatting erases EVERYTHING that is currently on the drive.