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format WD portable hard drive on Mac

Most of the Windows users know how to format Western Digital external hard drive on a PC. With built-in quick format feature or third-party disk partition tool, it is very easy to format WD portable hard drive under Windows operating system. However, for some Mac users, formatting a WD portable hard drive on Mac is not as easy as formatting a hard drive on PC. Because there is no "quick format" feature in Mac OS and there is no disk partition tool for Mac hard disk drive. There may be some complicated instructions claim that can help you format WD portable hard drive on Mac. However, it takes too much time and is not 100% safe. Now, we have found two easy and secure solutions to help you format a WD portable hard drive under Mac OS.

1. Format WD Portable Hard Drive with Mac Disk Utility

Disk Utility is a built-in application in macOS or OS X. You can click Launchpad and find it. After you launch it, you will find all the hard drives and external hard drives on your Mac. If you are going to format the WD portable hard drive, just connect it with your Mac. Then select it and click on "Erase" button to format the WD portable hard drive under Mac OS.

format WD portable hard drive on Mac

Please note that Disk Utility will erase the WD portable hard drive and format it. It means all the data on WD portable hard drive will be removed. However, the erased data by Disk Utility can still be recovered by Mac data recovery software.

2. Format WD Portable Hard Drive with Super Eraser for Mac

If you want to permanently erase the data from the WD portable hard drive, the method above is not effective. It is completely possible to recover lost files after erasing hard drive with Mac disk utility. In some cases, you need to format the WD portable hard drive and permanently wipe all existing and deleted/lost data. For instance, when you are going to resell/giveaway/lend your device or just throw it into trash, you should make sure all the sensitive data into your WD portable hard drive has been permanently destroyed – at least, no room for data recovery.

In order to format the WD portable hard drive under Mac and permanently erase all data, you need this Mac data erasure software – DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac. It is able to help you format WD portable hard drive and permanently wipe all existing and history data on the portable hard drive at the meantime. Now, let’s see how to use DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac to format WD portable hard drive on Mac.

Step 1: Install and launch DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac on your Mac.

Step 2: Connect your WD portable hard drive with your Mac.

Step 3: Click "Wipe Hard Drive" -> Select your WD portable hard drive -> Click on "Wipe Now" button. Then DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac will format the WD portable hard drive and permanently wipe all existing data and history data.

format WD portable hard drive on Mac

Please note that DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac will permanently destroy and erase the data. So please back up your important files before you use it to format your WD portable hard drive under Mac OS.

DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac also can help you format and wipe NTFS WD portable hard drive on Mac. It is 100% safe data erasure software, will never cause any damage to your WD portable hard drive. Download and use it to format/wipe your WD hard drive under Mac OS.

DoYourData Author

Written & Updated by Shirly Chen

Shirly Chen has been writing data recovery, data erasure articles for DoYourData over 4 years. She has been working as a professional website content writer & editor for quite a long time. She also writes articles about disk clone, Mac optimization, disk backup, etc.

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