This answer explains how to erase a WD drive in Windows OS and macOS.*END
It is possible to erase the drive by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility or Windows' built-in Disk Management.
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Critical: It is best to only connect the drive you want to erase and safely eject all other devices. Erasing the drive permanently deletes all of the data on the drive. Always make sure that you have another copy of the files on a different drive before erasing it. |
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| mac OS | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
| Windows OS | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Please select the Operating System (OS) in which the drive is to be formatted from the list above to display the instructions.
mac OS
For erasing the drive, it is possible to use Mac OSX's built-in Disk Utility; using Erase (Step 4). For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below:
- Connect the WD drive to the Mac computer.
- Double left-click on the Mac HD, the internal Mac hard drive visible on the top-right corner of the desktop screen. Choose Applications from the left-side panel. While in there, open Utilities, and lastly double-click on Disk Utility.
- Disk Utility will now be open. In the left-side pane, choose the drive that is to be partitioned and formatted. Typically there are two listings for each drive unless more than one partition exists on a particular drive. Choose the drive listing that is farthest to the left for the drive that will be erased. It is usually directly above the name of the drive. In the example below, the one to be selected would be WD My Passport 07BA Media.
- After selecting the appropriate drive, additional options will become available on the top part of the Disk Utility window. Click on Erase.
- The Erase window will now appear. Assign the name that will be given to the drive, and click on Erase.
- When the Erasing process is completed, click on Done.
Erase
Windows OS
For erasing the drive, it is possible to use Windows' built-in Disk Management. For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below:
- Right-click on Start, the Windows logo on the bottom-left of the screen, and click Disk Management.
- In the Disk Management window, the lower pane will display a list of available drives. Identify the drive that needs to be erased, right-click the bar and click Delete Volume.
