How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac

With a compact design, high capacity, and your choice of local or cloud backup, My Passport Ultra for Mac fits perfectly into the busy life of anyone with an on-the-go digital life. Password Protection with Hardware Encryption — The My Passport Ultra for Mac drive's built-in 256-bit AES Hardware Encryption with WD Security™ software helps. Transfer the files from your Mac to an external drive. The process of transferring files from your Mac to an external drive is simple, but if you are not sure how to do it, then following these steps will get you through it. Connect your external drive to your Mac and wait for the icon of the plugged-in drive to appear. Connect My Passport and follow the instructions (you'll be asked if you want to use use the external drive to make time machine backups) If you want to see the TimeMachine icon on the menubar (on the right sight), click on the apple icon on the menu bar and click on SystemPreferences Click on the TimeMachine icon (4th row). Install the WD Backup software by following the instructions on the screen. Once the software installation process is complete, click on the Finish button. Open the software and select your WD My Passport drive. Click the Customize My Backup option and select Create.

Hi,
I have purchased an external hard disk WD My Passport for Mac in order to backup my MacBook Air regularly (with time machine) and store films and pictures to save space from my mac.
I have just realised that I have several old backups from my MacBook air stored in the hard drive which are taking quite a lot of space. I have tried deleting the old backups manually (I only need the last one, why would I need a backup from January?), however, the folder disappears but the space doesn't clear up, I'm guessing it's not possible to fully delete back ups this way.
I have read that it's possible deleting those old backups connecting the hard drive to a Windows PC but I do not have one (or any of my family or friends for that matter), surely there has to be a simpler way to clear up space from the hard drive, right? I have read to save the backup and files on my computer and then delete everything through disk utility, but I don't have enough space to keep the old backup and all the media I have stored on my HD in my mac (or another HD) in order to delete everything. Besides, it just sounds stupid, I should be able to delete old back ups easily.
Thanks in advance!
Marta

Hi MadameMarta,
If you backed up your computer onto that external hard drive using Time Machine, then you will want to see the information in the following article to help you address this issue:
OS X Mavericks: Remove a backed-up item from your backup disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14221
You can move, copy, or delete the Backups.backupdb folder on your Time Machine backup disk as you would other folders. You can also delete folders within the Backups.backupdb folder. You can't delete individual items inside the dated folders.
Important: Do not use Terminal or any app other than the Finder to move, copy, or remove items from the Backups.backupdb folder.
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!
Cheers,
Braden

Similar Messages

• New MacBook Retina Pro 15.4 inch with 2.2 Ghz and running Yosemite 10.10.2 will not recognize LaCie Quadra H2 disk. Also will not complete Time Machine Backup onto My Passport for Mac which it does recognize. Plenty of disc space both externals.

  If you choose to use garbage such as 'Intego VirusBarrier' you are going to need more memory, a lot more. I suggest you uninstall it according to its instructions, and evaluate your Mac's performance without burdening it with completely useless junk. As long as Intego remains active, your Mac will have few resources remaining to do anything else.
  Using Intego's 'Virus Barrier' and 'Net Barrier' products on a brand new Mac containing nothing but one minimally configured user account resulted in performance degradation so severe that it became nearly unusable. No knowledgeable Mac user would consider using it even remotely tolerable.
  Intego should only be uninstalled using the uninstaller included with it. Don't use anything else. A successful uninstallation will result in the following:
  After that, restart your Mac. Other Intego components will remain but they will be inert and will not affect your Mac's operation.

• Could I use My Passport for mac to install everything thats on my Macbook to a new Macbook Air?

  Yes, although if you don't already have a backup on that Passport drive, you can just as easily use Migration Assistant to transfer your files directly from the Macbook. You would connect both computers to your wireless network (or wired to a router, if you have a Thunderbolt - Ethernet adaptor for the Air; this may be faster).
  Matt

• Cannot seem to get Time Machine to do a full backup of my NEW My Passport for Mac.
  I've:
  - Updated firmware on WD external drive (and formatted correctly for Apple)
  - Updated to latest IOS 10.10.3 (Yosemite)
  - Verified and repaired Mac HD via iOS Disk Utility and the WD Drive Utility (no issues found on either)
  Error message continues to be 'Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to My Passport for Mac. An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk.'
  I'm backing up about 250 GB and have done this numerous times on my Passport for Mac. Everything SEEMS to be fine during backup, until after about 2-3 hours, into a 4-hour backup, the error message appears without any error codes.
  Does anyone have any input? I don't think it is on the WD side. Anyone know if there an issue with Time Machine and this external drive? Help!
  Thanks,
  Dave

  Hi Linc,
  I hope this helps you.
  Thanks,
  Dave
  4/21/15 2:30:48.894 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Starting manual backup
  4/21/15 2:30:48.924 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Backing up to /dev/disk3: /Volumes/My Passport/Backups.backupdb
  4/21/15 2:30:50.165 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Forcing deep traversal on source: 'Macintosh HD' (device: /dev/disk1 mount: '/' fsUUID: FAA966F2-1745-37AB-9FF9-CF4C23D771E4 eventDBUUID: B2005948-1DDE-40E6-ABC9-46245CA94AD1)
  4/21/15 2:30:50.175 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Didn't get valid migration dates.
  4/21/15 2:30:50.180 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Found 1181547 files (63.52 GB) needing backup
  4/21/15 2:30:50.187 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: 77.33 GB required (including padding), 819.06 GB available
  4/21/15 2:30:55.943 PM mdworker[699]: code validation failed in the process of getting signing information: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67062 'The operation couldn't be completed. (OSStatus error -67062.)'
  4/21/15 2:30:56.050 PM mdworker[700]: code validation failed in the process of getting signing information: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-67062 'The operation couldn't be completed. (OSStatus error -67062.)'
  4/21/15 2:32:39.865 PM com.apple.mtmd[688]: low disk space thinning needed for volume Macintosh HD with 2.8 <= 10.0 pct free space , no snapshots can be thinned
  4/21/15 2:32:39.866 PM com.apple.mtmd[688]: volume Macintosh HD is now in an emergency freespace condition
  4/21/15 2:34:39.000 PM kernel[0]: nspace-handler-set-snapshot-time: 1429641281
  4/21/15 2:34:39.893 PM com.apple.mtmd[688]: Set snapshot time: 2015-04-21 14:34:41 -0400 (current time: 2015-04-21 14:34:39 -0400)
  4/21/15 2:34:44.894 PM com.apple.mtmd[688]: attempting to thin because of low free space on Macintosh HD by removing 2015-04-21 14:30:39 -0400, estimate 18498 bytes to recover, 1 snapshot can be thinned
  4/21/15 2:36:51.268 PM com.apple.backupd-helper[687]: Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running
  4/21/15 2:37:01.460 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent) The _DirtyJetsamMemoryLimit key is not available on this platform.
  4/21/15 2:37:02.384 PM com.apple.iCloudHelper[838]: objc[838]: Class FALogging is implemented in both /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/FamilyCircle.framework/Versions/A/FamilyCircl e and /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/FamilyNotification.framework/Versions/A/Famil yNotification. One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined.
  4/21/15 2:37:02.402 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent) The _DirtyJetsamMemoryLimit key is not available on this platform.
  4/21/15 2:37:02.662 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.auditd[840]) Endpoint has been activated through legacy launch(3) APIs. Please switch to XPC or bootstrap_check_in(): com.apple.auditd
  4/21/15 2:37:02.673 PM david81968[844]: audit warning: soft /var/audit
  4/21/15 2:37:02.673 PM david81968[845]: audit warning: allsoft
  4/21/15 2:37:02.676 PM david81968[846]: audit warning: closefile /var/audit/20150421183034.20150421183702
  4/21/15 2:37:02.839 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent) The _DirtyJetsamMemoryLimit key is not available on this platform.
  4/21/15 2:38:59.000 PM kernel[0]: CoreStorageGroup::completeIORequest - error 0xe00002ca detected for LVG 'Macintosh HD' (D6FA6085-F105-4739-8C98-5794D7B5F901), pv 0759D4F3-CB92-452D-98FD-C34240DB00A7, near LV byte offset = 60459065344.
  4/21/15 2:38:59.000 PM kernel[0]: disk1: I/O error.
  4/21/15 2:38:59.999 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/david81968/Pictures/iPhoto Library.migratedphotolibrary/Masters/2011/10/08/20111008-103336/SAM_0979.JPG to (null)
  4/21/15 2:40:50.969 PM imagent[281]: : notification observer: com.apple.FaceTime notification: __CFNotification 0x7fd518f10980 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbEnabledNotification}
  4/21/15 2:40:50.970 PM identityservicesd[285]: : notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7f801a41a7a0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbEnabledNotification}
  4/21/15 2:40:51.010 PM imagent[281]: : NC Disabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:40:51.011 PM identityservicesd[285]: : NC Disabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:40:51.025 PM imagent[281]: : DND Enabled: YES
  4/21/15 2:40:51.025 PM identityservicesd[285]: : DND Enabled: YES
  4/21/15 2:40:51.025 PM imagent[281]: : Updating enabled: NO (Topics: (
  4/21/15 2:40:51.025 PM identityservicesd[285]: : Updating enabled: NO (Topics: (
  4/21/15 2:40:51.025 PM identityservicesd[285]: : notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7f801a533500 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbEnabledNotification}
  4/21/15 2:40:51.033 PM identityservicesd[285]: : NC Disabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:40:51.041 PM identityservicesd[285]: : DND Enabled: YES
  4/21/15 2:40:51.041 PM identityservicesd[285]: : Updating enabled: NO (Topics: (
  4/21/15 2:40:51.120 PM WindowServer[155]: device_generate_desktop_screenshot: authw 0x7fd09e980ad0(2000), shield 0x7fd099f396d0(2001)
  4/21/15 2:40:51.156 PM WindowServer[155]: device_generate_lock_screen_screenshot: authw 0x7fd09e980ad0(2000)[0, 0, 1440, 900] shield 0x7fd099f396d0(2001), dev [1440,900]
  4/21/15 2:41:03.172 PM loginwindow[90]: CoreAnimation: warning, deleted thread with uncommitted CATransaction; set CA_DEBUG_TRANSACTIONS=1 in environment to log backtraces.
  4/21/15 2:45:23.309 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Stopping backup.
  4/21/15 2:45:23.310 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Error: (-43) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/david81968/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/Masters/2011/10/08/20111008-103336/SAM_0979.JPG to /Volumes/My Passport/Backups.backupdb/David's MacBook Air/2015-04-21-143049.inProgress/442FA756-4F11-4553-B1AD-FD0D08D9DDF3/Macintosh HD/Users/david81968/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/Masters/2011/10/08/20111008-103336
  4/21/15 2:45:23.464 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Copied 22884 items (437.4 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 90492.
  4/21/15 2:45:23.546 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Copy stage failed with error:11
  4/21/15 2:45:23.605 PM com.apple.backupd[696]: Backup failed with error 11: 11
  4/21/15 2:45:23.644 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.auditd[1026]) Endpoint has been activated through legacy launch(3) APIs. Please switch to XPC or bootstrap_check_in(): com.apple.auditd
  4/21/15 2:45:23.658 PM david81968[1030]: audit warning: allsoft
  4/21/15 2:45:23.658 PM david81968[1031]: audit warning: soft /var/audit
  4/21/15 2:45:23.660 PM david81968[1032]: audit warning: closefile /var/audit/20150421183702.20150421184523
  4/21/15 2:47:24.762 PM SystemUIServer[258]: Attempt to use XPC with a MachService that has HideUntilCheckIn set. This will result in unpredictable behavior: com.apple.backupd.status.xpc
  4/21/15 2:47:24.764 PM com.apple.prefs.backup.remoteservice[683]: Attempt to use XPC with a MachService that has HideUntilCheckIn set. This will result in unpredictable behavior: com.apple.backupd.status.xpc
  4/21/15 2:48:21.585 PM WindowServer[155]: CGXDisplayDidWakeNotification [1669794395052]: posting kCGSDisplayDidWake
  4/21/15 2:48:21.586 PM WindowServer[155]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: Deferring.
  4/21/15 2:48:21.706 PM imagent[281]: : notification observer: com.apple.FaceTime notification: __CFNotification 0x7fd518c34ab0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbDisabledNotification}
  4/21/15 2:48:21.706 PM identityservicesd[285]: : notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7f801a531dd0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbDisabledNotification}
  4/21/15 2:48:21.750 PM identityservicesd[285]: : NC Disabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:48:21.750 PM imagent[281]: : NC Disabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:48:21.771 PM identityservicesd[285]: : DND Enabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:48:21.771 PM imagent[281]: : DND Enabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:48:21.771 PM imagent[281]: : Updating enabled: YES (Topics: (
  'com.apple.ess',
  'com.apple.private.ac'
  4/21/15 2:48:21.771 PM identityservicesd[285]: : Updating enabled: YES (Topics: (
  'com.apple.private.alloy.icloudpairing',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.encryption',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.activity',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.idstransfers',
  'com.apple.private.ids',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.phonecontinuity',
  'com.apple.ess',
  'com.apple.madrid',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.auth',
  'com.apple.private.ac',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.idsremoteurlconnection',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.sms',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.screensharing',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.maps',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.callhistorysync',
  'com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.tethering'
  4/21/15 2:48:21.772 PM identityservicesd[285]: : notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7f801a41a7a0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbDisabledNotification}
  4/21/15 2:48:21.782 PM identityservicesd[285]: : NC Disabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:48:21.788 PM identityservicesd[285]: : DND Enabled: NO
  4/21/15 2:48:21.789 PM identityservicesd[285]: : Updating enabled: YES (Topics: (
  'com.apple.madrid'
  4/21/15 2:48:26.347 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.auditd[1095]) Endpoint has been activated through legacy launch(3) APIs. Please switch to XPC or bootstrap_check_in(): com.apple.auditd
  4/21/15 2:48:26.357 PM david81968[1100]: audit warning: soft /var/audit
  4/21/15 2:48:26.357 PM david81968[1099]: audit warning: allsoft
  4/21/15 2:48:26.374 PM david81968[1102]: audit warning: closefile /var/audit/20150421184523.20150421184826

• So I have a mid 2012 macbook pro without the new mavericks thing on it, and a wd passport for mac 2tb thats 6 months old. The passport has worked fine until suddenly it has stopped backing up time machine. Everytime i plug it in and start the back up it gets through 200mb max before stopping and showing this message - TimeMachine couldn't complete the backup to My Passport for Mac An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk.
  The disk utility doesnt appear to find anything wrong with it at all. Has anybody else had this problem? Or know how it can be fixed?

  I suggest you start with:
  See User Tips for Time Machine for help with TM problems. Also you can select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for 'time machine' to locate articles on how to use TM. See also Mac 101- Time Machine.
  See also, A whole lot about Time Machine
  Mac 101- Time Machine
  And, select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for 'time machine.' There should be numerous help articles including how to restore files from a TM backup.

• I have erased the passport for Mac and started all over. When there is ~15 minutes left in the initial backup of the mac mini hard drive (234 GB total), it gets weird and time machine states that it it calculating the time remaining. 24 hours later, it is still backing up but shows that <200 GB of 2 TB are available and it quits backing up stating that there is not enough room. HELP! The WD My Passport for Mac and the Mac mini are less than a year old.

  These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
  Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
  ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
  ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
  ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
  The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
  SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
  from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
  View ▹ Show Log List
  from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  In the top right corner of the Console window, there's a search box labeled Filter. Initially the words 'String Matching' are shown in that box. Enter the word 'Starting' (without the quotes.) You should now see log messages with the words 'Starting * backup,' where * represents any of the words 'automatic,' 'manual,' or 'standard.'
  Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Note the timestamp of the last 'Starting' message that corresponds to the beginning of an an abnormal backup. Now
  CLEAR THE WORD 'Starting' FROM THE TEXT FIELD
  so that all messages are showing, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
  ☞ If all you see are messages that contain the word 'Starting,' you didn't clear the text field.
  If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
  ☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
  Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
  ☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

• I am on 10.10.3 and am trying to backup up this particular machine for the first time. I had a 1TB WD My Passport for Mac that worked fine on my older Macbook Pro (which has not been updated to 10.10.3) and have been slow in getting around to backing up this new machine. I tried the 1TB after clearing space and it wasn't working. Figured it must be something with that drive, so I bought a new one (needed more space anyway) and just received a new 2TB WD My Passport for Mac. Tried the update again via Time Machine and it went through the entire process only to tell me it couldn't complete. The drive has something on it now because it doesn't have the full 2TB free and in finder the file says 'in progress' at the end of the file name under backup. Please help. I need to backup this machine and now think it is Apple related and not drive related.

  These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
  Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
  ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
  ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
  ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
  The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
  SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
  from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
  View ▹ Show Log List
  from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  In the top right corner of the Console window, there's a search box labeled Filter. Initially the words 'String Matching' are shown in that box. Enter the word 'Starting' (without the quotes.) You should now see log messages with the words 'Starting * backup,' where * represents any of the words 'automatic,' 'manual,' or 'standard.'
  Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Note the timestamp of the last 'Starting' message that corresponds to the beginning of an abnormal backup. Now
  CLEAR THE WORD 'Starting' FROM THE TEXT FIELD
  so that all messages are showing, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
  ☞ If all you see are messages that contain the word 'Starting,' you didn't clear the text field.
  ☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
  Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
  Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
  ☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

• Having trouble with disc space on my 120G mac air. I back up to a separate ' my passport for mac' disc , but my mac is also holding approx 40G of back ups as well when ive checked what is using space. Why is this?
  Ive started running iphoto from the separate passport to save space,
  and put all my music into the itunes match to save space as well
  but it is still saying it is almost full because of the back ups!
  I should of bought a bigger mac, but i need to make do at the moment, but it is hard when it constantly has only 10G or less space left.

  When you use TimeMachine to back up a Mac notebook the local backups feature is automatically enabled. The local backup is just like a TimeMachine backup but it is done to the internal drive rather than an external. The important thing about local backups is that the feature is smart - as you need more drive space for your own data and applications, TimeMachine automatically culls the local backup to give you that needed space. So yes, it will look like you have very little drive space left and that the backup is 'robbing' you of needed GBs. But it really isn't.

• What do I do if the time machine does not delete the oldest files on my passport for mac. I get the message backup failed not enough disc space available

  See Pondini's TM FAQs, for starters.

• I have a Western Digital 1TB My Passport for Mac which regularly backs up my iMac. It is creating a backup file apparently every day. I decided to remove all but the most recent 3 backup files and moved them to trash, but am unable to empty the trash. How do I empty the trash now?

  Time Machine back ups in the trash are not a good combination. You may find this link helpfull ...
  Solving Trash Problems
  and you should also look at Pondini's document ...
  http://pondini.org/TM/ Troubleshooting.html Section E6 in particular.

• IIMac doing upgrade of Elements 10 to Elementys 12. Did full backup of 10 on my external hard drive 'MY Passport'. Rec'd message backup successful. Did restore on 12 and rec'd message 'The disk in drive My Passport for Mac does not contain a valid backup'. Any help suggestions?

  The funniest part of the whole situation, Apple Care explained it to me as some kind of feature. The told me how to adjust the time when my computer sleeps and recommend I don't shut it down, let it sleep and 'instant wake'. I would bet if you called them about your Macbook, they would suggest you just close the lid and let it sleep rather than shutting it down.
  Basically shutdown and restart have a problem and the solution is to not shutdown is how they explained it to me. They kept saying buzz words like 'instant on' and 'fast wakeup'. My computer already could sleep and wakeup fast, but now shutdown and restart don't work right. I called them 3 times about it, but since they use these buzzwords, sounds like Lion is meant for a Macbook Air or a Mac with an SSD. If you have a normal hard disk, some of the saving/versions/resume features take too long to be written to the disk on shutdown. And when you start again, it takes a long time to reload the system to it's previous point.
  Even if I uncheck the box to reopen windows on next start, it reopens them anyways.
  If they can't give me a better explaination or some kind of fix, I will have to go back to Snow Leopard. I use my Mac in a production environment and depend on stability. They assured me before I upgraded that it would be stable and all the new saving and versions features could help my productivity. So far it's not helping me and downright annoying. You need to close all your windows before you close the program... if you have 5 windows open in terminal or textedit... every time you launch, they will launch all those windows. I just really want versions, not resume it seems.
  But I can deal with it opening a million windows, just can't take it getting stuck on booting or not shutting down properly. This is a 'feature' that should be fixed. LOL

• I have the new macbook pro with retina and I am trying to back it up, with wd passport for mac and is telling me it is going to take 7days. Any Ideas? Im afraid that means there is something wrong with my hard drive. I have verified the disk and it says everthing is ok.

  It seems to be a common problem that those drives don't perform well, at least not with Time Machine.
  If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
  Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
  ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
  ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
  ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
  Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left.
  Enter the word 'Starting' (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words 'Starting * backup,' where * represents any of the words 'automatic,' 'manual,' or 'standard.' Note the timestamp of the last such message. Clear the text field and scroll back in the log to that time. Post the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear.
  Post the log text, please, not a screenshot. If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
  When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
  Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into a message.
  Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — edit that out, too, but don't remove the context.

• I have a customer who uses a Macbook air (a year old), running Maverick. She uses timemachine and has a new 'My passport for MAC' for her backup. When she shuts down her laptop with the passport plugged in to her USB slot (but the passport has been ejected via finder) she finds when she returns to the laptop her battery has been drained. The light on the passport continues to flash even when ejected. Could you explain what is happening and why it drains the battery?
  Thanks
  Jane Askew

  thanks for your reply. it is USB powered. What confuses me is if it has been ejected and the laptop is off, what is the passport actualy doing to need power or keep its charge?

• I recently had to purchase a new MacBook Pro, and when I tried to get files off of my Passport for Mac external hard drive. I get an error stating 'The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.' And when I try to initalize, and verify disk, I get this message 'Partition map check failed because no slices were found.'. I have already updated firmware for the external hard drive. One site I found stated that it could be that the USB port is not strong enough, and I would need a 2.0 Booster cable. Does anyone know if this would work?

  What did you old Macbook die from? Likely the HD in it is still ok, yes?
  You can remove the HD inside your old dead Mac and put it into a $20 HD enclosure or HD dock, and remove the photos that way, very easy.........IF your old Macbook died from something other than ALSO a bad HD.
  You said----my OLD Macbook pro which recently lost video
  What happened with your old 'dead' macbook? Still have it?

• I have a Mac Book Pro that I use iphoto 6 for my pictures. However, I noticed my hard drive was filling up too rapidly so I purchased a WD My Passport for Mac 500GB. I select photos(the number does not matter), click File>export, and select the location(and yes, I specify the size of picture's maximum, and the file extension, and I click Export and the export initializes and then stops. Telling me that it is unable to create the volumes ont the My Passport. There is plenty of space on the hard drive. I don't know what I am doing wrong. It seems like the process should be very simple to MOVE, COPY, EXPORT photos. Why is this so difficult? What am I doing wrong?

  My photo library cumulative is maybe 1.3 GB tops, however I back it up to the external drive every upload. I don't think the issue is converting calculations because as I said in my previous post, sometimes when I stop transfer to the SD flash drive and restart the copying process it will complete the library of 60-80 photos in about 2 minutes like it should. The issue is that it will not proceed to copy most of the time, and the copying status bar says preparing for a long time

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Nov 23, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

This is a question often asked by Mac users only. Windows users don't need to do much other than plug in the WD Passport to use it, but for Mac, it's not as straightforward as that.

The difference in Mac and Windows' native format systems are to blame for this. But don't fret, because this article will show you simple ways to go about formatting your WD Passport so you can easily use it on both Mac and Windows.

Part 1 - Overview of WD My Passport File System

Technology has reached a point where it pretty much seeps into every aspect of our daily life. We're always using our phones and computers to send messages, host meetings, shop online, etc.

Of course, there is much exchange of valuable data as these happen, and where you keep this data is extremely important; that's where WD's My Passport comes in.

My Passport is a hard drive that's trustworthy and portable enough to be given a 5-star rating on almost any website you check. Coupled with the WD Backup TM app and password protection feature, My Passport helps to keep your data safe. That being said, situations arise when you'll need to format or reformat the drive.

Default File System of WD my passport

Western Digital (WD) hard drives are formatted with NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (Mac) by default to make them more compatible with both operating systems.

Granted, FAT32 is less efficient than NTFS in Windows, but it has inherent benefits too, like its compatibility. And to connect your NTFS-formatted My Passport to macOS, you'll need to utilize a formatting tool.

This is especially true if you regularly use your WD drive on both Windows and macOS. So always remember to check if the drive is formatted or not.

Why WD my Passport can't be used on mac?

A significant number of users trust West Digital hard drives. Their auto backup, password protection, and high reliability are second to none.

But nothing is perfect, right? Sometimes when you connect the WD My Passport drive to your Mac, it's grayed out in Disk Utility.

The drive's external light can be on too but it still doesn't work. Worse still, it could become unreadable on your Mac. You know what that means, right? Your data can't be accessible now.

What Are the Reasons for My Passport Not Showing Up on Mac?

More often than not, an external hard drive doesn't show up on Mac simply because your Mac's USB cable or USB port is bad. But the following factors may also contribute to WD not showing up.

• Latest macOS update

What happens here is when you update your macOS to the latest build or release, issues of incompatibility could arise. So, you might have to update the WD My Passport's drivers to at least meet the minimum requirements of the newly-installed macOS.

• Device malfunction

The simple fact is, your Mac could malfunction due to one error or another, and that could tamper with how your macOS identifies your WD My Passport. Computers are susceptible to unexpected or unforeseen glitches and errors, so never rule this out as a possible cause.

• Anti-virus

Yes, an anti-virus is meant to protect your system, but it can also have 'side effects' that won't bode too well for it. For example, most anti-virus is notorious for identifying laptop games as a virus, even though they aren't. Sometimes, they prevent the games from launching.

They can also stop some software from starting. This applies to your hard drives too.

Likewise, the antivirus could stop your system from accessing your WD Passport, perhaps because there is already a virus in it. Thus, it's imperative you install the right anti-virus that will work well and won't tamper with your system's settings too much,

• Virus

Not much needs to be said because everyone knows the kind of damage virus is capable of. There's a virus out there that can even hide your hard drive. So even if you plug it into your My Passport into your Mac, you won't see it.

• Motherboard errors

Without a motherboard, a system is pretty much a screen and keyboard. So, if your Mac's motherboard suffers software or hardware damage, almost nothing will work properly, and that includes your USB ports. So, your drive, even if it's functioning properly, might not even be recognized.

• WD My Passport causes damage or corruption

This time, the problem stems from your WD My Passport. Maybe the drive fell or a malfunctioning system corrupted it. Either of these issues could lead to the drive malfunctioning or not showing up when you plug it into your Mac.

Part 2 - How to Format WD my Passport for Mac?

The simple step-by-step guide below will show you how to format your WD My Passport on your computer, so pay attention. The information you'll find here touches on formatting and reformatting WD's My Passport for your Mac.

• Login into your Mac

Just turn on your Mac and when it boots up, plug in your My Passport drive to your WD. Your WD My Passport drive will appear as a rectangular, yellow icon on your desktop (it looks just like the image below).

• Navigate to Finder if Your Drive Isn't Visible

If your My Passport drive doesn't turn up for some reason, click on 'Finder', then select 'Preferences'.

• A small window will open up. Make sure you tick the checkboxes 'Hard Disks' and 'External Disks.'

• Your WD My Mac Passport drive should now be running on your screen.
• Launch Disk Utility

You can find disk utility by clicking on the spotlight search button, then type 'Disk Utility'.

• Highlight 'Disk Utility', then double-click it.

• Access your Drives

You'll see your internal and external hard drives on the left-hand side of the Disk Utility window.

• Click on the dropdown arrow to expand or collapse the drives on the list.

• Look under the 'External' category and you'll find your My Passport drive there. If it has not appeared, your Mac's USB port could be malfunctioning. So, unplug your drive and restart your Mac. That will probably fix the issue.
• Make sure you have your drive selected. By the way, choose the first drive you see on the list; you know, the one at the top. Doing otherwise might lead to issues when formatting the WD Passport for Mac.
• Format Your Drive

Find the 'View' button at the top left of your Disk Utility window and click it. A drop-down menu will open up.

• Remember, what comes next is formatting. So, make sure your files have been copied off the drive if there are any on it.

• Click on 'Erase'

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Nov 23, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

This is a question often asked by Mac users only. Windows users don't need to do much other than plug in the WD Passport to use it, but for Mac, it's not as straightforward as that.

The difference in Mac and Windows' native format systems are to blame for this. But don't fret, because this article will show you simple ways to go about formatting your WD Passport so you can easily use it on both Mac and Windows.

Part 1 - Overview of WD My Passport File System

Technology has reached a point where it pretty much seeps into every aspect of our daily life. We're always using our phones and computers to send messages, host meetings, shop online, etc.

Of course, there is much exchange of valuable data as these happen, and where you keep this data is extremely important; that's where WD's My Passport comes in.

My Passport is a hard drive that's trustworthy and portable enough to be given a 5-star rating on almost any website you check. Coupled with the WD Backup TM app and password protection feature, My Passport helps to keep your data safe. That being said, situations arise when you'll need to format or reformat the drive.

Default File System of WD my passport

Western Digital (WD) hard drives are formatted with NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (Mac) by default to make them more compatible with both operating systems.

Granted, FAT32 is less efficient than NTFS in Windows, but it has inherent benefits too, like its compatibility. And to connect your NTFS-formatted My Passport to macOS, you'll need to utilize a formatting tool.

This is especially true if you regularly use your WD drive on both Windows and macOS. So always remember to check if the drive is formatted or not.

Why WD my Passport can't be used on mac?

A significant number of users trust West Digital hard drives. Their auto backup, password protection, and high reliability are second to none.

But nothing is perfect, right? Sometimes when you connect the WD My Passport drive to your Mac, it's grayed out in Disk Utility.

The drive's external light can be on too but it still doesn't work. Worse still, it could become unreadable on your Mac. You know what that means, right? Your data can't be accessible now.

What Are the Reasons for My Passport Not Showing Up on Mac?

More often than not, an external hard drive doesn't show up on Mac simply because your Mac's USB cable or USB port is bad. But the following factors may also contribute to WD not showing up.

• Latest macOS update

What happens here is when you update your macOS to the latest build or release, issues of incompatibility could arise. So, you might have to update the WD My Passport's drivers to at least meet the minimum requirements of the newly-installed macOS.

• Device malfunction

The simple fact is, your Mac could malfunction due to one error or another, and that could tamper with how your macOS identifies your WD My Passport. Computers are susceptible to unexpected or unforeseen glitches and errors, so never rule this out as a possible cause.

• Anti-virus

Yes, an anti-virus is meant to protect your system, but it can also have 'side effects' that won't bode too well for it. For example, most anti-virus is notorious for identifying laptop games as a virus, even though they aren't. Sometimes, they prevent the games from launching.

They can also stop some software from starting. This applies to your hard drives too.

Likewise, the antivirus could stop your system from accessing your WD Passport, perhaps because there is already a virus in it. Thus, it's imperative you install the right anti-virus that will work well and won't tamper with your system's settings too much,

• Virus

Not much needs to be said because everyone knows the kind of damage virus is capable of. There's a virus out there that can even hide your hard drive. So even if you plug it into your My Passport into your Mac, you won't see it.

• Motherboard errors

Without a motherboard, a system is pretty much a screen and keyboard. So, if your Mac's motherboard suffers software or hardware damage, almost nothing will work properly, and that includes your USB ports. So, your drive, even if it's functioning properly, might not even be recognized.

• WD My Passport causes damage or corruption

This time, the problem stems from your WD My Passport. Maybe the drive fell or a malfunctioning system corrupted it. Either of these issues could lead to the drive malfunctioning or not showing up when you plug it into your Mac.

Part 2 - How to Format WD my Passport for Mac?

The simple step-by-step guide below will show you how to format your WD My Passport on your computer, so pay attention. The information you'll find here touches on formatting and reformatting WD's My Passport for your Mac.

• Login into your Mac

Just turn on your Mac and when it boots up, plug in your My Passport drive to your WD. Your WD My Passport drive will appear as a rectangular, yellow icon on your desktop (it looks just like the image below).

• Navigate to Finder if Your Drive Isn't Visible

If your My Passport drive doesn't turn up for some reason, click on 'Finder', then select 'Preferences'.

• A small window will open up. Make sure you tick the checkboxes 'Hard Disks' and 'External Disks.'

• Your WD My Mac Passport drive should now be running on your screen.
• Launch Disk Utility

You can find disk utility by clicking on the spotlight search button, then type 'Disk Utility'.

• Highlight 'Disk Utility', then double-click it.

• Access your Drives

You'll see your internal and external hard drives on the left-hand side of the Disk Utility window.

• Click on the dropdown arrow to expand or collapse the drives on the list.

• Look under the 'External' category and you'll find your My Passport drive there. If it has not appeared, your Mac's USB port could be malfunctioning. So, unplug your drive and restart your Mac. That will probably fix the issue.
• Make sure you have your drive selected. By the way, choose the first drive you see on the list; you know, the one at the top. Doing otherwise might lead to issues when formatting the WD Passport for Mac.
• Format Your Drive

Find the 'View' button at the top left of your Disk Utility window and click it. A drop-down menu will open up.

• Remember, what comes next is formatting. So, make sure your files have been copied off the drive if there are any on it.

• Click on 'Erase'

• In the small window that pops up, you'll have to input a name for the My Passport drive first.
• You'll find it useful to give a name to your drive to show what you'll be using the drive for.
• Right below that is the 'Format' field. There are a few formats you can choose from but you only need one.
• Choose Format Type

Select 'Extended Mac OS (Journaled)'.

This is the file system you will need if you want to be able to easily transfer files back and forth between your Mac and you're My Passport drive. The format is also what makes the drive compatible with Time Machine for backup on your Mac

• Next, for the Scheme option, select 'GUID Partition Map.'
• Finally, click on the 'Erase' button. It will just take a few seconds for the drive to be formatted. Once, look at your desktop and you'll see the icon of WD my Passport on it.

• Eject Your Drive

Oh, and always remember to safely eject your drive before unplugging its cable. Failure to do this could lead to the driver crashing or suffering some issues.

• To eject your WD my Passport drive from your Mac, just right-click on its icon on your desktop.
• In the dropdown menu you see, click on 'Eject'.

Part 3 - Recover Accidentally Formatted WD Files

If you are unable to locate or access the data on your Western Digital (WD) external hard drive, it can be devastating, particularly when the lost data contains precious images and invaluable backups.

The tips and shortcuts below will give you the necessary info and tidbits you need to format WD elements for mac. The loss of data from your WD hard drive can be caused by numerous things: Accidental deletion, disk formatting, computer corruption or damage, etc.

But all that doesn't mean you can't get your data back. There are some great solutions you can utilize to recover deleted, corrupted, or lost files and you'll learn of them before the end of this post.

Why Formatted Data Can Be Recovered?

It makes perfect sense for you to worry if you lose your data, but sometimes, formatting becomes necessary too, doesn't it?

• Accidental Deletion or Redesign

Sometimes when you reinstall the operating system, the drive or partition gets deleted, even if you don't intend for it to happen.

• Unexpected Data Loss Situations:

Due to carelessness or haste, some people can unknowingly format or delete the wrong partition. It takes little more than a few clicks for the damage to be done, so you must exercise caution here.

Then, of course, you can't rule out other possible causes like a virus, power failure, or hardware damage to your drive. They are all likely causes of data loss.

When it comes to Western Digital disk recovery, the first option that comes to mind is using third party data recovery applications. This is considerably better than the complicated and time-consuming manual data recovery options out there.

How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac Os

Restoring lost WD data takes only minutes, depending on the size of the drive and the amount of data to be recovered. The data recovery tool in question supports all Western Digital hard disk drives, such as My Book Pro, My Book, WD Elements, My Book Studio, etc.

Sometimes, there will be a need to learn how to reformat my passport for Mac, so once you're acquainted with formatting, you should enlighten yourself on how to reformat WD my passport for Mac.

How to Recover Formatted WD Drive Files using Recoverit Data Recovery?

If you know anything about data recovery, then it's very likely you're familiar with Recoverit Data Recovery. If you aren't, you've been missing out a lot!

Recoverit Data Recovery is a data recovery tool that's extremely capable of recovering data or any kind of file you lost from your drive. So, if you lost your data via formatting, accidental deletion, virus attacks, and more, Recoverit will get them all back.

Recoverit's data recovery steps are often very similar irrespective of which type of system you own; Windows or Mac. But since you're dealing with Mac today, that will be the focus here. So, go on and follow the 3 steps below to get back data on a Mac.

1. Select the WD drive
2. Scan the drive
3. Preview and retrieve data

Step 1: Select the WD Drive

Start Recoverit and look under the 'External Devices' section. You'll see some drives connected to your Mac. Select the WD drive and click on 'Start'.

Step 2: Scan Your WD Drive

Recoverit will start scanning the drive. Look to the left of the software and you'll see checkboxes that detail the types of files the software is finding. You can tick the checkboxes if you're only looking for particular files; that will actually make the scan process faster, but it's just an option.

Step 3: Preview and Recover Pen Drive Data

Once the scan ends, you'll see the list of files Recoverit found. You can even preview them if you want. Recovering the files is pretty easy too.

Just tick the ones you want to recover or tick one checkbox that highlights everything. For the last step, click 'Recover'.

All you have to do is wait for all your files to be recovered. See? Easy as pie. But here's an important tip: Don't save the files to the same WD drive they are being recovered from.

How to use WD my Passport on Mac?

Files and getting bigger and bigger, so you'll need the best drive out there to capable of storing these files, right? There are countless hard drives you can choose from but the keyword here is the 'best', and WD is exactly that.

If you need a new backup solution for your photos or videos, the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB drive can more than handle the job. It's a compact external hard drive with 1 TB capacity coupled with high transmission speeds.

To use a WD my passport on Mac, you need to know how to reformat it. The same goes for using any kind of WD drive on Mac.

Benefits of WD my Passport

The simple fact is, you'll be very happy with the shape, weight, look, and even feel of the WD My Passport drive. This 1 TB size is wonderful and can comfortably store even the large Digital SLR data files for many years to come.

For those who really love music, all their favorite songs can be stored on this drive too. These large and powerful drives even find use in hospitals and educational facilities, among other places.

The WD Passport is also patronized by computer programmers, innovative artists, and several other professionals in various business fields.

What makes this external hard drive so reliable and easily the best portable drive is the fact it was manufactured by the popular Western Digital Company. It's a trusted company that has filled homes, offices, and institutions with hard drives for over 20 years; that's over 20 years of experience and satisfied customers!

Because of how compact the drive is, it easily fits into your shirt or purse's pocket. And the fact it weighs just about 0.44 pounds means it won't feel uncomfortable or be obtrusive in any way.

This new device is excellent and doesn't need external power, eliminating the need for an extra power cord. It also works almost soundlessly, so no annoying grinding noises to distract you while you work.

If your WD drive is plugged into a USB 3.0 port, you can easily access and save files 3 times faster than what USB 2.0 port is capable of. To elaborate, you can upload a 2-hour HD video in just 5 minutes! But if it was USB 2.0, it will take at least 13 minutes or more. The difference is clear, isn't it?

Tips on using WD my Passport for Mac

How To Backup Mac Onto My Passport For Mac Mojave

• Plug the wall/power bar and let power enter it.
• Plug one end of the USB cable into the drive and the other end in your system. If you have a USB 3.0 port on your system (it's usually blue, especially for Windows systems), use it because it can make a big difference in the speed of the transfer of files.
• If you're using Windows, the drive will now be turned on, showing up in 'My Computer'. It might take a few seconds to do this, so be a little patient.
• If you're on a Mac, navigate to 'My Machine' to see the new hard disk. It's going to be called 'My Book'.
• Double-click it and select 'Create WD Applications'. This will start the Backup software installation process. If you don't see the 'WD Apps Setup', search for a folder called 'WD Apps for Windows'. But if you're using macOS or OS X, you'll see 'WD Apps for Mac'.
• Only follow the Program Setup prompts. Don't stray from them and tamper with instructions you don't understand.

Final words

So, there you have it. A simple yet effective tutorial on making your WD drive work on Mac. Remember that the most important thing here is the safety of your files, so it is highly recommended you use a WD My Passport because it's a drive that promises nothing but the highest quality.

And if anything does happen to your WD drive and you lose your files, there's never a need to worry because Recoverit is ready and willing to get all those files back.

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