This answer explains how to format a drive in the exFAT or FAT32 file system. This allows the drive to be used on both Windows and macOS.*END
A Western Digital external hard drive can be used on both Windows and macOS. This is useful if a drive is being used under both Operating System (OS) to move files between the two environments. Most WD Drives come formatted in the NTFS (Windows) or HFS+ (macOS) format.
For a hard drive to be able to be read from and written to on both a Windows and macOS computer, it must be formatted to ExFAT or FAT32 file format. FAT32 has several limitations, including a 4 GB per-file limit. This is a file system limitation that affects both macOS's and Window's, and the only workaround is to format the drive to exFAT. For more information about what these limitations are please see Answer ID 20778: File and partition size limitations using the FAT32 file system (Windows and Mac).
The easiest way to format the drive to FAT32 or ExFAT is by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility for FAT32, or both macOS and Windows' built-in tools, Disk Utility or Disk Management respectively for exFAT.
Critical: The instructions in the article below are designed to help repartition and format a hard drive. This process is Data Destructive and cannot be undone. Once the process begins, ALL THE DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE LOST! |
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Critical: Never attempt to connect any external drive to multiple computers at the same time. This could quickly damage the drive's partition and corrupt the data on the drive. |
exFAT | ||||
10.11 (El Capitan) and above | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
10.10 (Yosemite) and earlier | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
Windows 10 | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
Windows 8 and earlier | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
Unix/Linux (All Distributions) | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
FAT32 | ||||
10.11 (El Capitan) and above - Recommended Method | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
10.10 (Yosemite) and earlier- Recommended Method | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
Windows 10 and earlier | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) | |||
Unix/Linux (All Distributions) | 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.
exFAT in macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) and above
There are two easy ways to format a drive to use ExFAT is by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility; using Erase (Step 4) or Partition (Step 7). 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. From the Applications folder, open Utilities, and lastly double-click on Disk Utility.
- Disk Utility will now be open. From the left-side pane, choose the drive that is to be re-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 (Not indented) for the drive to be formatted. It is usually directly above the name of the drive. In the example below, the one to be selected would be WD Elements SE...
- After selecting the appropriate drive, additional option buttons will become available on the top part of the Disk Utility window. Click on Erase.
- The Erase dialog window will now appear. Assign the name that will be given to the drive.
- Select the Format (file system) from the drop-down menu. For this article, we chose exFAT, see image below.
- Select the Scheme (Partition Table Scheme) from the drop-down menu. See image below.
- Click Erase to begin the format process.
- When the Erasing process is completed, click on Done.
- Click on Partition on the top menu of the Disk Utility window.
- The Partition window will now appear. Click next to Format to display a drop-down menu, and select exFAT. This is the format that the drive will be formatted to.
- Confirm that the name of the drive is correct in the Partition area, and update it if necessary. When ready, click Apply.
- Disk Utility will begin the formatting and repartitioning process. This may take several minutes. Note:
If an error message is received stating that the drive is unable to be unmounted, this means that there is a program or service currently reading or writing data on the drive. Determine what program is accessing the drive and shut it down before trying to format the drive again. If the error message persists, restarting the computer may resolve the issue. If additional assistance is required, please Contact Us. - When finished, the drive will be formatted and repartitioned successfully. Click on Done.
Erase
Note: | Only legacy macOS systems, using non-Intel CPU's, will utilize the Apple Partition Map. It is best to use Master Boot Record only for MS DOS format. All Intel-based macOS computers and drives larger than 2 Terabytes should use the GUID Partition Map. |
Partition
exFAT in macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) and earlier
One of the easiest ways to format a drive to use ExFAT is by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility. For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below:
- Begin by connecting the WD drive to the Mac computer.
- Once the drive appears on the desktop, click on Go on the top tool bar. From the drop-down menu, click on Utilities.
- In Utilities, select and open Disk Utility.
- When Disk Utility opens, select the drive that is to be partitioned and formatted from the left-side panel. Typically there are two listings for each drive, unless there is more than one partition on a particular drive. Choose the drive listing that is farthest to the left for the drive that will be formatted. It is usually directly above the name of the drive, and is the drive selection that has the total size being displayed. Once selected, click on Partition on the right-side area.
- In the Partition area, click under Partition Layout and select 1 Partition. Then, click on Options.
- In the Options window select Master Boot Record and then click Ok.
- To the right, insert a name for the drive, and click on Format. From the drop-down, select ExFAT. When done, click on Apply.
- A window will come up showing that formatting and partitioning the drive will erase all data that is on the drive. If there's no needed information within the drive, then click on Partition. If there is data on the drive that is needed or is not backed up, it will need to be copied to another location before proceeding.
- The drive is now formatting and a status bar will be seen at the bottom that says formatting the disk and gives the name of the drive, the format it is applying, and the name that was specified. When it is done, this bar will go away and the drive should now be listed on the desktop.
exFAT in Windows 10
Another easy way to format a drive to use ExFAT is by using 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 partitioned and formatted, and make sure that all critical data on this drive has been backed up elsewhere. If there is already a partition on the drive, the bar above that drive will appear blue. If there is no critical data on the drive, or the data has been successfully backed up, right-click the bar and click Delete Volume.
Important: If Disk Management shows the drive as Not Initialized, the drive will have to be initialized. For assistance initializing a hard drive, please see Answer ID 18824: How to initialize or write a signature to a secondary hard drive or Solid State drive in Windows. - If there is no partition and data on the drive, it will appear as Unallocated, with a black bar on top. Right-click the Unallocated space or the black bar, and click New Simple Volume.
- The Welcome to the New Simple Volume Wizard will open. Click Next to proceed.
- Choose the volume size and click Next. By default, the maximum disk space is already selected and it is recommended to leave it at the maximum disk space. Note:
To create multiple partitions, select or type a specific number of megabytes (MB) for the first partition and continue to the next step. Once done with this process, the remaining space will display as unallocated space. Now, create another New Simple Volume in the remaining unallocated space for the next partition. For example, on a 2TB drive, set the volume size to 1000000 (1 TB) and continue to the next step. When done, begin the New Simple Volume process again and select the remaining capacity, the unallocated space, for another 1TB partition. - Assign a drive letter to represent the volume being created, and click Next. By default, this is the next available letter.
- Next is the File System, which controls how the data is read and written. Set the file system to exFAT, will leave the Allocation unit size to Default. The Volume Label field can be customized in order to give the volume a desired name, such as My Book or WD Black 1. Check the box labeled Perform a quick format and click Next.
- Click Finish to begin formatting the drive.
- When complete, the drive will appear with a blue bar as in the image below.
exFAT in Windows 8 and earlier
Another easy way to format a drive to use ExFAT is by using Windows' built-in Disk Management. For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below:
- Open Disk Management. In Windows 8 this can be achieved by moving the mouse to the bottom-left corner of the Desktop and right-clicking on top of the Start menu screen.
Important: On Windows 7, Vista, or XP, instead click on Start, right-click on top of Computer and click on Manage. Then, click Disk Management right below Storage. - From the menu, click on Disk Management.Note:
On other versions of Windows, Disk Management can be accessed through Control Panel, going to System >Administrative Tools >Computer Management. - Disk Management will display the various disks that are available in that system. Locate the desired drive by looking at the drive information and drive size. When ready, right-click on top of the drive that is to be re-partitioned and reformatted, and click on New Simple Volume...
- The New Simple Volume Wizard will appear. Click on Next.
- Leave the size of the volume to be the maximum disk space so it has only one volume. Click on Next.
- Assign a drive letter for the drive to have once the process is at an end. Windows will automatically assign one, but this may be changed if so desired. When ready, click on Next.
- In the Format Partition section, select the File System to be exFAT and change the Volume Label to a desired name for the drive. Make sure the Perform a quick format check-box is highlighted, and when ready click on Next.
- The Wizard will display a summary of the selected settings for review. It is important to know that formatting and partitioning the drive will erase all data that is on the drive. If there's no needed information within the drive, then click on Partition. If there is data on the drive that is needed or is not backed up, it will need to be copied to another location before proceeding. If ready, click on Finish.
- The drive will indicate that it's Formatting for a few seconds, and once done, it will display as a Healthy (Primary Partition), and the drive will be available in the Computer area of Windows under the assigned drive letter.
Unix/Linux (All Distributions)
Western Digital technical support only provides jumper configuration (for internal hard drive) and physical installation support for hard drives used in systems running the Linux/Unix operating systems. For setup questions beyond physical installation of your Western Digital hard drive, please contact your Linux/Unix vendor. You may also wish to post on our Community Forums for assistance from other users of our products who may be able to assist you with your issue.
FAT32 in macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) and above
The easiest way to format a drive to use FAT32 is by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility. For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below:
- Begin by connecting the WD drive to the Mac computer.
- Once that's done, 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
- When Disk Utility opens, all available drives will display on the left-side panel.
- From said list, select the drive that is to be partitioned and formatted from the left-side panel. Typically there are two listings for each drive, unless there is more than one partition on a particular drive. Choose the drive listing that is farthest to the left for the drive that will be formatted. It is usually directly above the name of the drive. Once selected, click on Partition on the top area of the Disk Utility window.
- The Partition window will now appear. Next to Partition, assign the desired drive name for the device.
- Click on the drop-down next to Format and from the drop-down menu select MS-DOS (FAT). This is the format that the drive will be formatted to.
- Now, click on Apply.
- Disk Utility will begin the formatting and repartitioning process. This may take several minutes. Note:
If an error message is received stating that the drive is unable to be unmounted, this means that there is a program or service currently reading or writing data on the drive. Determine what program is accessing the drive and shut it down before trying to format the drive again. If the error message persists, restarting the computer may resolve the issue. - When finished, the drive will be formatted and repartitioned successfully. Click on Done.
FAT32 in macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) and earlier
The easiest way to format a drive to use FAT32 is by using macOS's built-in Disk Utility. For instructions on how to do this, please see the instructions below:
- Begin by connecting the WD drive to the Mac computer.
- Once the drive appears on the desktop, click on Go on the top tool bar. From the drop-down menu, click on Utilities.
- In Utilities, select and open Disk Utility.
- When Disk Utility opens, select the drive that is to be partitioned and formatted from the left-side panel. Typically there are two listings for each drive, unless there is more than one partition on a particular drive. Choose the drive listing that is farthest to the left for the drive that will be formatted. It is usually directly above the name of the drive, and is the drive selection that has the total size of the drive being displayed. Once selected, click on Partition on the right-side area.
- In the Partition area, click under Partition Layout and select 1 Partition. Then, click on Options.
- In the Options window select Master Boot Record and then click Ok.
- To the right, insert a name for the drive, and click on Format. From the drop-down, select MS-DOS (FAT). When done, click on Apply.
- A window will come up showing that formatting and partitioning the drive will erase all data that is on the drive. If there's no needed information within the drive, then click on Partition. If there is data on the drive that is needed or is not backed up, it will need to be copied to another location before proceeding.
- The drive is now formatting and a status bar will be seen at the bottom that says formatting the disk and gives the name of the drive, the format it is applying, and the name that was specified. When it is done, this bar will go away and the drive should now be listed on the desktop.
FAT32 in Windows 10 and earlier
Important: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP can only (using the actual operating system itself) create FAT32 partitions that are 32 GB or smaller. In order to format a drive larger than 32 GB using Windows OS, additional software may be required. Western Digital provides the Acronis True Image WD Edition software that allows users of our internal hard drives to format their drives. Users of our external drives will need to find third-party software to accomplish this task. |
Using Acronis True Image WD Edition for Windows (For Western Digital internal hard drives)
Acronis True Image WD Edition can format any capacity internal single drive unit made by Western Digital. Please see the following article on how to format a drive to FAT32 using Acronis True Image WD Edition: Answer ID 23035: How to partition and format a WD drive using Acronis True Image WD Edition.
Using Third-Party Software (For newer (made after 2007) external hard drives)
As Windows is unable to format a drive over 32 GB in FAT32, the use of third-party software is required. Western Digital cannot assist in acquiring or using third-party software to format a drive as FAT32. There are many different applications (many of them free) that can accomplish this. We recommend doing a search on Google or Bing by Microsoft for more information. Should a Mac computer be available, we are able to provide support for formatting the drive as FAT32 under that OS. Another option is to ask on our Community Forums for community assistance in finding or using a FAT32 formatting application.
Using the FAT32 Formatter for older WD drives
Western Digital has a Windows based utility that will reformat an older Western Digital external USB or FireWire hard drive back to the factory default FAT32 partition. The FAT32 formatter software is only for older external single drive units and can only format a drive that is 1TB and below. It will not work on an external drive that is greater than 1TB in size. It also may not work on models released after 2007.
When run, this utility can only create a single FAT32 partition for the full capacity of the hard drive. Please follow the directions below to download and use the Western Digital FAT32 formatting utility.
- Download the External USB/ Firewire Fat32 formatting utility (select the product being formatted from the list first).
- Double-click on the file named ExtFat32_vs2.00.zip and follow the onscreen prompts to install this program onto the computer. The file may need to be uncompressed using some type of uncompression or unzipping utility.
- Check the box labeled I accept this License Agreement and click Next.
- Select the hard drive that is to be formatted and click on Start.
Critical: All data on the target hard drive will be erased during this process. Please remove or backup any valuable data before performing this step. - A pop-up message will appear warning that formatting the drive will erase all the data on the device. Click on Ok to continue.
- The final popup will warn again that this will erase all the data on the drive. If this is the desired course of action, click on Yes.
Unix/Linux (All Distributions)
Western Digital technical support only provides jumper configuration (for internal hard drive) and physical installation support for hard drives used in systems running the Linux/Unix operating systems. For setup questions beyond physical installation of your Western Digital hard drive, please contact your Linux/Unix vendor. You may also wish to post on our Community Forums for assistance from other users of our products who may be able to assist you with your issue.
Sony has just released an update for the PlayStation 4 which extends the console’s Remote Play feature beyond devices like the PS Vita and onto your Mac or Windows PC. It’s easy to set up and provided you’ve got a good enough Internet connection, you can play games even when you’re away from home.
The update opens up a whole new world of possibility for those who share a TV or want to play games on the go, but there are a few things to keep in mind when using the feature. Here’s what you need to know.
Setting Up Remote Play
Before you start using your Mac or PC as a remote display, you’ll need to set up your PS4 and computer to use the feature. Fortunately the process is pretty straight-forward.
What You’ll Need
- A PlayStation 4 console, running firmware version 3.50 (head to Settings > System Software Update if your console doesn’t prompt you automatically).
- A PC running Windows 8.1 or 10, an Intel Core i5 at 2.67GHz or faster, 2GB of RAM and a spare USB port; OR
- A Mac running OS X Yosemite or El Capitan, an Intel Core i5 at 2.4GHz or faster, 2GB of RAM and a spare USB port.
- A Dualshock 4 controller and USB cable (the one you use to charge your controller is fine).
- A wired or Wi-Fi network for local play, and an Internet connection of 5 megabits upload and download for remote online play.
Install & Configure:
- Download and install the PS4 Remote Play client from Sony for your particular system.
- Set up your PS4 by ensuring that your PS4 is designated as your primary PS4 under Settings > PlayStation Network/Account Management > Activate as Your Primary PS4. You will also need to enable remote play under Settings > Remote Play (on by default) and it’s a good idea to check that your PS4 can be turned on remotely using Settings > Power Save Settings > Set Features Available in Rest Mode and enabling both Stay Connected to the Internet and Enable Turning On PS4 from Network.
- Run the PS4 Remote Play app on your Mac or PC, then connect a Dualshock 4 controllerHow to Use the PS4 Controller on your Mac or PCHow to Use the PS4 Controller on your Mac or PCWant to use your versatile PS4 controller with your Mac or PC? It's easier than you think! Here's how to do it.Read More when prompted and sign in using the same PSN credentials you use on your console.
- Wait until the PS4 Remote Play app registers your system. If this fails, click Register Manually and follow the instructions (and check that Remote Play is enabled on your console).
That’s it! Used mac tools for sale. Once connected you should see your PS4 dashboard appear on your Mac or Windows desktop, in glorious 540p resolution. Fortunately, there’s a few things you can do to get Remote Play to look and perform better.
Games That Support Remote Play
Not all titles support Remote Play, but a great deal do. You can find our whether or not a game supports the feature by looking for the Remote Play icon on the rear of the box, as pictured below. For digital titles you’ll need to check the item description, or better still Google the title and append “remote play” to the end of your query.
Optimize Your Experience
For best results, Sony recommends that you connect your console directly to your router using a wired ethernet connection. If you can’t do this, moving your PS4 as close to the wireless access point as possible will yield best results. Speaking from experience, my 802.11n wireless connectionThe Most Common Wi-Fi Standards and Types ExplainedThe Most Common Wi-Fi Standards and Types ExplainedConfused by the various Wi-Fi standards in use? Here's what you need to know about IEEE 802.11ac and its predecessors.Read More (that’s two rooms away from my PS4) provides excellent results, which is lucky as I can’t really do much about my network setup at the moment.
If you’re in the same boat as me and you encounter issues, you might want to check our guides about optimizing your Wi-Fi speed10 Ways to Improve the Speed of Your Current Router10 Ways to Improve the Speed of Your Current RouterHere are a few simple router tweaks that could make a world of difference on your home Wi-Fi network.Read More and troubleshooting connection issuesDoes Your Wi-Fi Speed Drop? Here’s Why and 7 Tips to Fix ItDoes Your Wi-Fi Speed Drop? Here’s Why and 7 Tips to Fix ItWant to speed up your Wi-Fi? Follow these methods to fix slow internet speeds that are spoiling your time online.Read More. Remote Play also works over the Internet, and if you intend to use this Sony recommends an upstream and downstream speedUnderstanding Your Internet SpeedUnderstanding Your Internet SpeedSo you're paying for a certain internet speed but what does that speed actually mean? How fast is it? And why does it seem so slow at times?Read More of at least 5 megabits per second.
You might be disappointed at the default resolution and framerate when first using Remote Play, but these can be improved. To do so, first make sure your PS4 is off then launch the Remote Play app on your Mac or Windows PC.
On Windows you can hit Settings to bring up resolution options. On a Mac you’ll have to click PS4 Remote Play in the menubar at the top of the screen, then choose Preferences. Both versions give you a choice of 360p, 540p and 720p resolutions; and standard or high framerates. If you choose the high frame rate, you won’t be able to use the PS4’s gameplay recording feature via the Share button.
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Even on my wireless connection, my experience has been silky smooth using the highest resolution and frame rate available. You might need to adjust this if you’re playing via the Internet however, especially if you experience skipping audio and video. Luckily it’s client side, so you only need to return to this menu to tweak things.
How Does It Run?
After initially being disappointed by the low framerate and muddy resolution, I switched to 720p and highest available frame rate and things got much better. On a decent local connection, Remote Play is a great option for those who have to relinquish the TV for whatever reason.
I have noticed an occasional frame skip or audio blip, and these got much worse when leaving the Remote Play app active in the background and doing other things (on my Retina MacBook Pro at least). I can’t speak for Windows performance, but Remote Play on OS X is solid. With one eye on my TV and one on my MacBook, latency is imperceptible over a local connection.
Due to the compression used, things are a bit muddy at points; and if you have to resort to 540p or below then you’re probably going to be disappointed with image quality overall. At no point did the experience feel unplayable, but I’m not sure I’d like to spend hours wasting Super Mutants at 360p resolution. I’d be more inclined to play platformers (Broforce, Rayman Legends) and puzzlers (The Witness) when restricted to low resolutions.
I had less joy getting Remote Play working via the Internet. My cable connection is around 30 megabits down, but only provides 2 megabits upload speed. Despite my best efforts I simply couldn’t get things working, with the sorry state of Australia’s copper-fiber hybrid network to blame.
Heat buildup on my laptop has been minimal; things gets warm, but it’s no worse than watching a video. Remote Play doesn’t seem to put much stress on the GPU at all.
What We’ve Wanted for Years
Start typing “use macbook” or “use imac” into Google and you’ll see a flurry of predictions that end in “as monitor” — some even “as monitor for ps4” — which suggests that many of us have wanted a feature like Remote Play for a long time. While it’s not perfect (and 1080p resolution would be very nice), if your network is up to scratch then Remote Play shouldn’t leave you disappointed.
Playing PS4 games on a Mac or PC goes some way toward solving the problem posed when using shared living room TV for gaming purposes. Paired with a laptop, the feature gives you more freedom over where and when you play your games. You can even take your Dualshock 4 to work and play games during your lunch hour if your Internet connection is good enough.
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Best of all the feature is completely free, with no need to buy a Sony handheld, PlayStation TV or Xperia device.
Have you tried Remote Play on your Mac or PC? How did it go?
Aio Ps4 Guide
Explore more about: PlayStation, PlayStation 4.
- Can you remote game play on PC and still use PS4 to do other games in the room where PS4
- So is it possible to play from let say work? or does this only work inside the same house the ps4 is in ?
- Hi, i have the next problem,I connect the remote play via wi-fi in two different laptops with no problem at all ( one with windows the other one is mac ) but i have a desktop pc wich is connected via ethernet and i can´t connect with this one, the problem is that when i launch the app and click on sing in, the window that opens doesnt charge si it just stay in blank and i cant log in or do anything just close that window and try to do it again to obtain the same result. any ideas?
- This could work for me but it stopped working after i tried playing on my android phone (which worked). Now whenever i connect to my laptop, the controller would be like it is spoilt, no buttons work not even the playstation home button and no light from controller. However if i unplug the controller, it works again and the connection will disconnect from my laptop. Please help
- My Remote Play doesn't work even on my home network, most likely due to my fiber network setup. Don't know any more specifics, but it's a bummer
- This is very, very significant. The PS4 is moving away from being a game box to being a content portal with powerful graphics. I'm sure it's casting quality will improve but providing the basic connection capability is a big step in that direction.
- If I had a PS4 I'd be all over this. I prefer playing on my PC vs a TV anyway so another way to not have to use my TV is always welcome.
- Just get a HDMI switcher for you computer monitor. This will allow you to switch easily between your PC output or your PS4.