Reformatting to fresh start without software? Hi,I was just wondering, is it possible to reformat this particular drive, (leaving no traces of western digital software on the drive) and still have plug-n-play ability?I hope it doesn't require software to actually work..Otherwise, it's a sure buy. Reformatting to fresh start without software? Hi,I was just wondering, is it possible to reformat this particular drive, (leaving no traces of western digital software on the drive) and... » Read More Reformatting to fresh start without software? Hi,I was just wondering, is it possible to reformat this particular drive, (leaving no traces of western digital software on the drive) and still have plug-n-play ability?I hope it doesn't require software to actually work..Otherwise, it's a sure buy. « Show Less
587481
I reformatted using just my MacBook Pro -no software needed. Also, u can call WD and their tech person will walk u thru it. No charge, very easy & fast.
587482
yep, format it and delete all WD crap, mine has 3 partitioni use gparted live cd
374227
If you still need the help, you may can use the "Disk Management" program in windows 7. Once you find the program that lets you reformat the volume, it should be simple to follow the rest of the instructions.
2184715
I first tried an existing hard drive. It did not need formatting. When I installed a new hard drive and it didn't work, I assumed the Mediasonic wasn't working and returned it. Later when I installed the new hard drive in my PC, I found that it did need to be formatted. Therefore, I'm not sure if formatting was an issue in my case. Based on the other answer you received, maybe I did return the case when I really didn't have to.
2034942
Wouldn't you rather reinstall your programs and such onto the new drive and not copy everything over? I have had less issues starting from scratch than imaging it.Alienware should use standard sized drives unless everything is on a mSSD.
910725
Always worth the shot. But: What OS? External Drive or Internal? Do other Drives work ok? I've never known DW to damage a drive, but it will tell you if it can't do it.You tried rebooting? Does the errant drive show up on Disk Utility from a different drive? Checked cable connections are intact? (try a different cable) . Tried Data Rescue 2 to salvage data?
250487
Trying formatting (full not quick) in NTFS on your PC before plugging it in. This worked for me on a similar HP Flash Drive. Then leave it plugged in, XBOX doesn't like it plugged and unplugged will attempt reformat when detected. I lost a almost a month of save files that I had stored by removing it.Good luck.Neil
489158
It should work. What do you mean not recognized? Can you not see the drive in Disk Utilities in order to format the drive?
1813387
Thanks for the info, guys. I use Windows XP, plan on downloading well over 4GB in musical CDs, audiobooks, and mp3's, so, if I'm reading you right, I SHOULD reformat to NTFS. Is this correct? And thanks again for your help.
204694
Hey Mark, well the funny thing is that I sent this thing back. It just wouldn't format. No matter what I did, or cable I used it didn't work. It also had problems with using the firewire cable. I think I got it to recognize the HD ONCE, and then it said it would take almost 17 hours to format it. I honestly think something was wrong with the drive itself, but I didn't want another one to try. I figured I'd wait.
1128746
I only have experience with the Western Digital one, and it works fine once you use Acronis to format it. It's up to you. But, keep in mind if you do get the Western Digital one, they send the drive alone, no screws and no cables, just the drive.
1975928
You should be able to. I was able to reformat it to ext4 for a Linux data drive with no problems.
1526711
First Question: There is a way to do a clean install with the upgrade version on an empty formatted hard drive. At windowssecret.com there are complete instructions. Second Question: You actually need to buy the 64 bit version
450048
As I understand it you have to choose one or the other and stick with it. Reformatting loses data. It will work for either one though, but once you store you are stuck with that format.
1573880
No. Simply plug in the drive and start copying files. It may be necessary to reformat the drive depending on your preferred file system (I reformat to "HFS+" for my Mac), but you absolutely do not to install software to use this. I believe both Judith and Vitalino are speaking of device drivers (on a Windows system), rather than the software included with the drive.
250489
I'm having the same problem as Anthony - I have two of these, but one keeps reformatting itself whenever I turn off the XBOX. I tried formatting the drive into NTFS, but to no avail. Any other ideas?
1424646
probably if you can get it work at all! Every restart I did resulted in it loosing the date and needing reformat (that was two new drives! both same problem).
1029925
I installed Windows Vista on this drive, and did not have to separately format it. I just followed the instructions to install Windows, and the installation wizard did the rest. Whether or not the install application formatted the drive before actually doing the install of Windows, I don't know, and it didn't concern me one way or the other.
62528
I think my drive was formatted with ntfs but I can't remember for sure. I have received drives both formatted and blank. Drives I have received with back up software already installed have, for the most part, been formatted with ntfs.