Can I use a WD 2TB hard drive on my mac?

Question

Can I use a WD 2TB hard drive on my mac?

Hi,

I'm planning on buying this " http://www.xcite.com/wd-my-passport-ultra-metal-edition-2tb-3-0-portable-hard-dr ive-wdbezw0020bba-metal-blue.html" "

WD My Passport Ultra Metal Edition 2TB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive (WDBEZW0020BBA)" hard drive to empty my Mac and store some of my files on this HD.

I also want to use it as a HD for Time Machine to backup my full Mac separately and I also want it to work with Windows simultaneously.

Is this hard drive a good option for me?

(My MacBook Pro has 750GB storage)

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Dec 11, 2015 5:17 AM

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Answer 1

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Dec 11, 2015 6:20 AM in response to craigsequeira

yes you can use it but you can't use it for Time Machine if you format for windows (NFTS, FAT32 or EXFat), it must be mac format so windows won't read it (at least in bootcamp) without a 3rd party utility for windows to read Mac Extended formatted drives.

If you want to use it for a mac AND windows drive w/o time machine you can format to Fat32 or EXFat (Windows XP requires thispatch to read ExFat from Microsoft, it is not bundled with any service pack)

if you go with Fat32 or EXFat formats you will not be able to store Mac permissions but you can read or write. Or if you go with NTFS it is read only on mac without a 3rd party tool or a hack that I do not recommend (demolishes data) And other inherent problems with these 3rd party solutions to read formats on Mac is they can break when you update your OS and leave you in a lurch.

the drive link page you provided shows:

Requires reformatting for Mac OS X

Formatted NTFS for Windows 8 or higher, Windows 7 or Windows Vista OS

so the drive comes READ only for mac until for format it

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