For Mac computers, go to the Apple menu and select Software Update. None the less, I would prefer WD drives all day over other brands, however, if you are going for a My Passport drive 2.5', I would NOT recommend going. I have been a power user of WD drives, and have about 11 WD My Passports, and over 8 WD Elements Drives, 2 WD My Books, this is the first time a WD drive has failed on me.Slightly rounded edges and ripples over part of the surface give the My Passport drive the look and tactile-friendly feel of a consumer gadget. Step 3: Select the partition where you lost data and click 'Next' to scan all lost files on this partition.One of the differences between a generic external hard drive and a top contender like the WD My Passport ($149.99 for the 5TB model tested here) is the manufacturer's added effort to make a simple plastic box look attractive. Step 2: Click 'Find Lost APFS Partitions' on the top right corner and then choose the uninitialized WD My Passport to scan all lost partitions on this drive. Best Malware Removal and Protection SoftwareStep 1: Download, install and launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on your Mac.
![]() Pick up the drive, and it feels like a solid, well-built product.WD touts it as the slimmest 5TB drive in the companys portfolio. The partially rippled surface covers half of both the top and bottom, running from one corner to the diagonal center line on both, while an understated WD logo occupies the upper right corner of the top. Fit and finish are excellent, with no screws needed to hold the case together and no sharp edges to catch on clothing or a bag. Click on 'Erase'.The My Passport at least arguably earns WD's description of it as "stylish." The drive I have for testing, pictured here, is black, but you can also get versions formatted for Windows in a red or blue case, or one formatted for the Mac in a darker blue case only. So, make sure your files have been copied off the drive if there are any on it. Outlook for mac 1533Just be sure to back up any files on the drive first, so you can copy them back when you're done. You can, of course, reformat either version with the other file system to use the drive with the other OS, or reformat with exFAT if you want to move the drive freely between Windows systems and Macs. Keep in mind that while you can connect the drive to a USB 2.0 port, that will slow data transfer to USB 2.0 speeds.My Passport drives for Windows come formatted in the NTFS file system the Mac versions come with HFS+. When the drive is connected and working, you can see a status light near the port. The port uses a Micro-USB Type-B connector to match the included cable (or cables, if you get the Mac version more on that in a minute). More precisely, the Aside from the seam that joins the top and bottom sections of the case together, the only obvious detail on the smooth sides of the case is a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port on the short side (top edge) near the logo. Based on list prices, the slightly higher cost per gigabyte for the larger drive argues against choosing it, but current street prices make the 5TB model an equal or even better deal. Even so, the difference in price is so small that it's hard to justify choosing the 1TB version if there's any possibility you might someday need 2TB.The choice between the 4TB and 5TB drives is a little more complicated. All four models are readily available for less at this writing, which gives them lower costs per gigabyte in the real world. That equals a cost per gigabyte of 6 cents for the 1TB drive, 4 cents for the 2TB model, 2.8 cents for the 4TB unit, and 3 cents for 5TB. That said, even the 5TB drive I had for testing fits comfortably in a shirt pocket. All four versions have the same 4.2 by 3-inch footprint, but where the 4TB and 5TB drives are 0.75 inch thick, the 1TB and 2TB devices are a much slimmer 0.44 inch thick, as well as a good deal lighter (4.3 ounces versus 7.4 ounces). WD isn't the only maker offering a 5TB portable (Seagate, LaCie, and ADATA also have 5TB portable offerings), but this is the capacity you want if what you need is the roomiest possible pocketable USB storage.Note, too, that the My Passport's size and weight varies with its capacity. All that said, the 5TB is special in that 5TB is the single highest-capacity portable drive you can get at the moment. That often leaves features like built-in data encryption (or the lack of it) and bundled software as the best reasons to pick one brand over another. Security and SoftwarePlatter drive technology is mature enough that there is little difference in performance, reliability, or even price from one vendor to the next for 2.5-inch, 5,400rpm hard drives like the one inside the My Passport case. There is no 1TB Mac version, but if you really want a 1TB Mac drive, you can buy the Windows version, find the appropriate cable somewhere, and reformat the drive. If you already have a spare cable, you can buy the Windows version, reformat it for HFS+, and save a few dollars. Both Mac and Windows versions come with a USB-A-to-Micro-B cable the Mac drives add a USB-C-to-Micro-B cable, as well. More precisely, the list price is $10 more for the 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB capacities, with the higher price justified by a second cable. Reformatting My Passport Drive Plus Documents WithBy default, whenever you connect the drive to a computer or reboot, you'll be prompted for the password before you can access your data.You can optionally set the program to automatically unlock the drive for computers you use regularly. Assuming it's implemented properly, AES-256 is currently considered essentially unbreakable.To take advantage of the encryption, you simply install and launch the WD Security app that comes on the drive, enter a password, and optionally add a password hint. The My Passport addresses that potential problem the same way as the Editors' Choice Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch does, with AES-256 hardware encryption and password protection. If you've backed up sensitive information—say, all your financial data plus documents with your social security number and birthday—that's a nightmare in waiting. WD Discovery can download data from cloud storage and social media accounts. The WD Drive Utility lets you reformat, diagnose the drive condition, and manage the drive's power use. Both versions offer most of the same features. The default setting will help you remember the password by forcing you to enter it on a regular basis.Both the Windows and Mac versions of the drive come with assorted utilities for their respective operating systems, but if you reformat your drive, you can download the utilities for the right OS from the WD website. Reformatting the drive will remove the password and let you use the drive again, but doing that will also erase all your data. If you forget the password, there's no way to recover it, and you can't change it without knowing the current password. However, even the slowest drive in the group managed to score 1,148, which makes the difference from top to bottom too small to matter in most real-world applications. (Frankly, with little significant difference between first and last place in many of the tests, a win doesn't mean much.) PCMark 7 Secondary Storage TestThe PCMark 7 Secondary Storage test generates a proprietary score based on a mix of simulated workloads, including a Windows Defender scan, video editing tasks, and application launches.The My Passport finished a close second to the ADATA HD710M Pro, with a score of 1,783 versus 1,822. Performance: On Par for PlattersThe 5TB My Passport turned in the performance you'd expect from a 5,400rpm drive from a reputable manufacturer, coming in tied for first or a close second in several of the PC Labs benchmarks below. If you connect a drive with a mismatched format to your computer with WD Discovery running, you'll see an option to download the appropriate Paragon driver. For the Mac, WD relies on Apple Time Machine for backup.One notable plus is that WD Discovery lets you download Paragon drivers at no charge, which will let you use an NTFS-formatted drive with a Mac or one formatted with HFS+ in Windows. PCMag Folder Transfer TestFor our own folder transfer test, we use a MacBook Pro laptop. But in both tests, four of the five drives are all but even for practical purposes. Results are in megabytes per second (MBps).The 5TB My Passport is a close second here for sequential reads and tied for a close third for sequential writes.
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