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How to partition and format a WD drive on Windows (8, 7, Vista, XP) and Mac OSX

Answer ID 3865   |    Last Updated 09/24/2014
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CRITICAL
Critical: The instructions in the article below are designed to help you reformat and repartition your drive. This process is Data Destructive and cannot be undone. Once the process begins, ALL THE DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE LOST!

Select an Operating System (OS)

Operating System
Instructions
Windows 8 Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Windows 7 Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Windows Vista Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Windows XP Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard), 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), and 10.8.x (Mountain Lion) Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Mac OSX 10.4.x (Tiger) Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Both Windows and Mac OSX (FAT32) Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Linux/Unix Click Here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)

IMPORTANT
Important: If at any time you receive an error stating that your drive can not be dismounted or unmounted, this is not caused by an issue with your hard drive. Please see Answer ID 8575: When formatting or partitioning a drive, an error occurs stating the drive can not be dismounted or unmounted for additional information.

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