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How to partition and format a WD drive on Windows and macOS

Answer ID 3865   |    Last Updated 09/22/2016
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External hard drives come pre-formatted and ready for use. Internal hard drives do not ship pre-formatted and will need to be formatted before being used.

Select an Operating System (OS)

Operating System
Instructions
Windows 10 and 8.1 Click here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Windows 7 and Windows Vista Click here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Mac 10.11.x (El Capitan) Click here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Mac 10.9.x (Mavericks), and 10.10.x (Yosemite) Click here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Mac 10.7.x (Lion), 10.8.x (Mountain Lion) Click here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)
Both Windows and Mac OSX (exFAT & FAT32) Click here for Instructions
(instructions will appear below this table)

IMPORTANT Important: If at any time an error occurs stating that the drive can not be dismounted or unmounted, this is not caused by an issue with the 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 on this particular issue.


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