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?
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.
186128
Yes. Drive comes formatted and can be recofnized by pc or mac. You could also reformat using Disk Utility if you choose
2275022
I am not quite sure since this was for my son and he used it. I said Used it because just last week when he turned it on he was asked to format it. We took it to a computer store to get it looked at and they said it was no data on the drive to recover. It had a bad sector and won't work. So we are in the process to see what we should do now. Soooo upset since we had just bought this November 26, 2011. Sorry that I could not help you.
119875
Yes, you can reformat this card as NTFS. It will come shipped with exFAT formatting.
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).
1185050
Recently I added a drive with data to mine. and I was able to restore the data, Back it up and format the drive for a new use. it worked well. I was using windows 7, I am not sure of the format I believe it was NTFS.
541888
It's definitely OEM with no media. There is a recovery partition which contains everything you need should you need to rebuild, etc...and as a side note, the drive is partitioned C: and D: by default. I was able to delete D: and extend C:, since I prefer one contiguous space...cheers
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.
1392537
I need to swap the print circuit board, since PC cannot detect this drive any more. I have tons of data on this drive that needs retrieval. So I placed another order again. Hope I will get exact model as I bought in Nov, 2010. The model I received last time is also WD20EARS-00MVWB0. Can someone report what's their model number now, if they bought it recently? Thank you. I will report mine once I get it on Monday.
97021
Ronald T. Lintz did you reformat from windows or with the c250 detached from the Settings menu? Could someone please list the steps in order since I am slow and didn't get the USB after the firmware update. I picked Europe.
1289057
On a windows 7 pc you simply go to start menu - computer - right click the flash drive - left click "format" - left click the drop down menu - left click NTFS or Ex-FAT - and then press START. If I was going to use as a boot drive for, say restoring my operating system, I'd uncheck the quick format box and do a full format. I think this method works the same or similarly for XP or Windows 8, I haven't tried either in awhile. Cheers!
1678665
Not if it isn't retail. I usually buy oem drives, they just arrive in bulk. If you are loading any Windows version, it will format the drive.
1467436
Yes. You'll have to go to the WD website to get.instructions on how to format it using Disk Utility. Not hard, but not plug and play.Hope this helps. Cheers,Steve
135684
Yes--but you will need to use Disk Utility to reformat it. Takes just a couple of minutes.
736710
Thanks Terence!This is exactly the info I was looking for! One more question, do you know if the copy of Windows 7 that is factory-installed comes already activated or do you have to activate it on first-boot? If I am to replace the hard drive with a new one (that being the only change) I don't want to face potential activation lock-out because Microsoft thinks I'm trying to install it on an entirely different machine.
1343732
".......with Windows 8.1?"&gt;&gt;Don't see any reason why not. It's an electro-mechanical switch. It doesn't know what your running nor does it care. "Can same copy of Windows be loaded on each drive?"&gt;&gt;Anytime you install a Windows OS from a disk to a drive as a new install you are risking key number and activation issues. It reads the HDD serial number and MB type etc and thinks it's a new machine. Clone your existing HDD's. You shouldn't have any issues. I cloned my primary HDD to another HDD of the same brand and specs (bought them both at the same time) and I have had zero issues with activation etc when I boot to the clone. I don't like "back-ups". I do a full blown clone at least once a month or even less. So far, so good. The other 4 channels on the Orico are devoted to Linux OS's. Hope this helps.
684476
Sorr y my first answer was not complete. You can down load software for wd and seagate drives that will recognize and format them.