Do I have to reformat this drive to use it with a iMac? null

I didn't have to reformat it. I use it as my mac time machine automatic back up drive.

It is formatted exFAT for out-of-the-box compatibility with Windows and Mac. Operating System: Windows® 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite or Mavericks.

Yes. It's very easy to do through the Disk Utility application on your iMac (I use an iMac). Search how to do it, and it will probably take 2 minutes.

It comes formatted exFat, so should work with macOS. If not, you can reformat on the Mac, but should save the files that come on it first. An alternative for better quality file system and ability to move to a Windows machine, if needed, is to add Paragon NTFS on your Mac and reformat the drive for NTFS. Both Apple HFS+ and NTFS are or can be setup as journaling, which is safer than systems that are not.

It comes in exFAT, which means you can use it with both Windows and Mac OS. But if you are just using it in a Mac environment, you can just format it to HFS, which is the native file system.

i had to reformat mine in order to use it for time machine backup on my Mac OS 10.14, after purchasing in June 2019. Worked great up till Oct. 2020. Now my mac doesn't even allow to mount or I would erase it and start over. WD say's it must be an Apple thing even though every other WD product similar to this that I own work just fine. One over 10 years old. Apple Care can't find any past errors reported for this issue. Tried to get it to mount on other computers but no such luck. Tried Best Buy for help but they only offer computerized answering, with a transfer to a department related to or Geek squad but no one answers, just music that goes on and on till out of frustration one is encouraged to give up.

“Do I have to reformat this drive to use it with a iMac?”

Asked by EPM 8 years ago

Answer This Question

See all questions & answers

WD - My Book 4TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive - Black-Angle_Standard

1-6 of 6 Answers

I didn't have to reformat it. I use it as my mac time machine automatic back up drive.
Answered by Dogmom01 8 years ago
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.
It is formatted exFAT for out-of-the-box compatibility with Windows and Mac. Operating System: Windows® 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite or Mavericks.
Answered by CommunityAnswer 8 years ago
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.
Yes. It's very easy to do through the Disk Utility application on your iMac (I use an iMac). Search how to do it, and it will probably take 2 minutes.
Answered by mrlaw 8 years ago
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.
It comes formatted exFat, so should work with macOS. If not, you can reformat on the Mac, but should save the files that come on it first. An alternative for better quality file system and ability to move to a Windows machine, if needed, is to add Paragon NTFS on your Mac and reformat the drive for NTFS. Both Apple HFS+ and NTFS are or can be setup as journaling, which is safer than systems that are not.
Answered by JonO 8 years ago
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.
It comes in exFAT, which means you can use it with both Windows and Mac OS. But if you are just using it in a Mac environment, you can just format it to HFS, which is the native file system.
Answered by Kbox1717 8 years ago
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.
i had to reformat mine in order to use it for time machine backup on my Mac OS 10.14, after purchasing in June 2019. Worked great up till Oct. 2020. Now my mac doesn't even allow to mount or I would erase it and start over. WD say's it must be an Apple thing even though every other WD product similar to this that I own work just fine. One over 10 years old. Apple Care can't find any past errors reported for this issue. Tried to get it to mount on other computers but no such luck. Tried Best Buy for help but they only offer computerized answering, with a transfer to a department related to or Geek squad but no one answers, just music that goes on and on till out of frustration one is encouraged to give up.
Answered by 1619Jay 5 years ago
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.