Does it work interchangeably between PC & Mac systems without reformatting?
1116562
I have not used this drive personally. But, there is a program called Paragon Software, which has written drivers for OSX to mount NTFS drives, and also drivers for Windows to mount HSF+ drives, so for $19 you'd be golden! They even have a free version for personal use on Windows 8 (and I'm using it on W10 with no problems)
1116563
I'm really only using them (I have several) on a Mac but I think they are interchangeable between platforms. It is a great drive. It is my "go to" whenever I need an external drive.
1116564
If formatted for FAT32 initially, it should go between systems without difficulty. On one of my LaCie units I formatted only a small section of it for PC just to enable me to take images back & forth between systems.
1511167
Yes, in fact it takes a bit of reformatting to get it set up on a Mac - no big deal - but a couple of minutes extra
730074
yes, it comes formatted as Fat32. It can be used as is or reformatted using the disk utility in OS X
1475760
I did not try it on mac, but when i was downloading an upgrade i saw a version for mac. It works fine on windows pc
1955090
Yes it will. It comes formatted as NTFS which is Windows only but it is very simple to reformat it to FAT32 on your Mac to make it work. Don't spend the extra money on the Mac specific drive. Search youtube for Reformatting a drive from NTFS to FAT32.
255777
yeah works fine if you format it right. Fat32 works good unless files are over 4gigs in size. also ntsf with macfuze installed is a good bet too..
1929159
yes as long as the software is available to convert the files from windows to mac and vise versa.
2136758
Yes, but accessing the data will depend on how the drive is formatted. I think (you'll have to check) the drive comes formatted in NTSF. For use with both PC and Mac, you'll have to re-format the drive in something like FAT 23. Both Mac and PC should recognize the drive, but FAT 23 has file size limitations.
301968
Tabitha. I am not certain because I do not normally use MACs. However....note the tech specs on Amazon.com. It says "Preformatted for PCs, easily reformatted for Macs" What this PROBABLY means is the drive is NTFS formatted (Microsoft proprietary formatted) so will work plug and play with PCs running Microsoft operating systems. Which is why I can just plug it into a USB port and begin using it. For a MAC user you will probably have to format it (to HFS) for your specific MAC operating system. It should be fairly straight-forward. The manufacturer gives directions for this here: http://www.hgst.com/support/faqs/how-format-my-drive-mac-only-hfsHope this helps.Tim Tabitha. I am not certain because I do not normally use MACs. However....note the tech specs on Amazon.com. It says "Preformatted for PCs, easily reformatted for Macs" What this PROBABLY means is the drive is NTFS formatted (Microsoft proprietary formatted) so will work plug and play with PCs running Microsoft operating systems. Which is why I can just plug it into a USB port and begin using it. For a MAC user you will probably have to format it (to HFS) for your specific MAC operating system. It should be fairly straight-forward. The manufacturer gives directions for this here:... » Read More Tabitha. I am not certain because I do not normally use MACs. However....note the tech specs on Amazon.com. It says "Preformatted for PCs, easily reformatted for Macs" What this PROBABLY means is the drive is NTFS formatted (Microsoft proprietary formatted) so will work plug and play with PCs running Microsoft operating systems. Which is why I can just plug it into a USB port and begin using it. For a MAC user you will probably have to format it (to HFS) for your specific MAC operating system. It should be fairly straight-forward. The manufacturer gives directions for this here: http://www.hgst.com/support/faqs/how-format-my-drive-mac-only-hfsHope this helps.Tim « Show Less
361681
The one for the Mac, no - it's formatted for Mac only. If you get the Windows version, then it should work for both.
1510454
I have not done that but I see no reason you can't. When a disk is formatted it is optimized for the PC or Mac operating system but the files are not affected. My Rocstore has been a solid performer since it was installed but at the moment I am an all Mac operation.
135684
Yes--but you will need to use Disk Utility to reformat it. Takes just a couple of minutes.
2202175
Here is a quick tutorial for reformatting this drive to work on a Mac. Very easy and helpfulhttp://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/291/#exfatmac
260995
Yes. The Mac version is (obviously) formatted to be fully compatible with all Macs. You can very easily format it to an exFAT file system (look for tutorials online) to make it work seamlessly with any modern Mac AND Windows computer. BTW, consider upgrading from Mountain Lion to the latest OS X Mavericks. It's easy and free.
1370072
"Can I use it for switching back and forth between a Mac and a PC without reformatting?" - Only if you reformat with a filesystem that is compatible with both OSX and Windows."If so, does this remove the option to use Time Machine?" - Yes and no. Time Machine requires HFS+ filesystem, and Windows cannot read/write to HFS+. However, it is possible to partition the disk and have part of the disk using NTFS and the other part using HFS+.
1765380
Yes, but... As it comes, the drive is pre formatted as a single HFS+J partition for compatibility with Mac OSX operating systems. To use the drive with Windows operating systems you must: 1) Reformat the drive to a single NTFS partition; 2) restore the WD SmartWare software and disk image. For me that sounds complicated. You have to go to http://support.wdc.com and refer to Knowledge Base Answer ID 3865 for information about reformatting a Mac drive.
305285
It works well on a Mac with the original formatting; I didn't reformat it to HFS+ because I have to use it also with various Unix, Linux and Windows machines, as well as Macs.