Hey everybody! So, I'd like to get this very popular drive: But technically these are for Windows, and they make a Mac version here: I'd rather get the black version, and I read some of the reviews stating that you can just reformat the Windows version and it will work fine for Mac.
While I'm sure I could get it to mount, would there be any possible performance issues by doing this? In other words, is there any reason to buy the Mac version, or are they identical, but just come formatted differently? Hey everybody!
![Western digital wd passport edge for mac driver Western digital wd passport edge for mac driver](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125392222/965593443.png)
So, I'd like to get this very popular drive: But technically these are for Windows, and they make a Mac version here: I'd rather get the black version, and I read some of the reviews stating that you can just reformat the Windows version and it will work fine for Mac. While I'm sure I could get it to mount, would there be any possible performance issues by doing this? In other words, is there any reason to buy the Mac version, or are they identical, but just come formatted differently?
Click to expand.Do you have a 2012 Mac with USB 3? If not, and you have a Firewire 800 port, then you'll get better performance with a Firewire drive rather than USB.
Getting Started with a My Passport Edge for Mac How to Partition and Format a WD Drive on Windows and macOS Answer ID 3865| This answer explains how to format a WD drive for use on Windows and macOS.
E.g.however, Firewire is on the way out and you might not find one at the physical size and capacity you want, and will probably pay a bit of a premium. Plus, if you have an Air or a vanilla MacBook its USB or nothing. I've had one of these in the past.which was great because it fas FW800 iand/i USB3, but it was a bit overpriced and I don't think they do them bigger than 500GB. Thanks for all the advice. I'm only using this drive for extra storage/backups, so speed isn't really the focus, but I definitely want a USB 3.0 drive. I'm mostly concerned with reliability, and I'm really drawn to the My Passport series because of the WD Nomad case they make: I'm a very big fan of excessive protection when it comes to HDDs, so I'd plan on leaving in that case essentially all the time. The other option I'm considering is going with the 1TB LaCie Rugged Mini (3.0).
I'm planning on getting the Rugged 3.0/Thunderbolt SSD as a speed drive, and it would be nice to 2 Rugged's, as I really like those drives.they essentially have cases built in. But that would mean I lose a whole terabyte of storage from the WD My Passport. Anyone have any experience with the WD My Passport vs. LaCie Rugged Mini?
I'd assume the LaCie has a bit of an advantage in terms of performance. I got this one and it partitioned and formatted just fine for the Mac for use with Time Machine. The 'for Mac' designation looks to be a money grab as they anticipate many people won't know it's the same device just formatted differently. Interesting, if you use the Product Selector on and select Mac and PC in the compatibility list it returns NO RESULTS. The WDC site has no ability to directly compare the devices. Sadly, Newegg's comparison tool seems to choke on comparing the standard drive and the 'For Mac' drive.
I think you'll find the devices identical with the exception of the formatting. The actual HDD are the same, they are just formatted differently. A lot of external drives actually come formatted FAT32 by default so that there is not a problem with it being 'picked up' by Windows or OS X. Even in NTFS OS X can read it but it can't write to it without a 3rd party software. Whether you buy a 'for Mac' drive or one not marked for Mac, OS X will still initially see the drive then you can open Disk Utility and format the drive to HFS then be able to read and write. Or like mentioned before you can install 3rd party software and format the drive to NTFS is you would be using this drive in between OS X and Windows machines.
The actual HDD are the same, they are just formatted differently. A lot of external drives actually come formatted FAT32 by default so that there is not a problem with it being 'picked up' by Windows or OS X. Even in NTFS OS X can read it but it can't write to it without a 3rd party software. Whether you buy a 'for Mac' drive or one not marked for Mac, OS X will still initially see the drive then you can open Disk Utility and format the drive to HFS then be able to read and write. Or like mentioned before you can install 3rd party software and format the drive to NTFS is you would be using this drive in between OS X and Windows machines.