Formatting WD Elements for Mac OS X: A Step-by-Step Guide

The Western Digital Elements external hard drive is a popular choice among users, and it's widely compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. However, when it comes to writing files to an NTFS-formatted drive on a Mac, things can get a bit tricky. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of formatting your WD Elements for Mac OS X.

To begin, make sure that your WD Elements is properly connected to your Mac and recognized by the system. You can check this by opening the Finder and looking for the drive in the sidebar or desktop. If it's not showing up, you may need to restart your Mac or try connecting it to a different USB port.

Once your drive is recognized, you'll need to remount it using Terminal. To do this, click on 'Go' in the menu bar and select 'Go to Folder.' In the dialog box that appears, type '/Volumes' and press Enter. This will take you directly to the folder where your external drives are mounted.

Next, open Terminal by searching for it in Spotlight or navigating to Applications > Utilities. Once you're in Terminal, type the following command and press Enter:

nano /Volumes/DRIVENAME/info.plist

Replace 'DRIVENAME' with the actual name of your drive. This will open the info.plist file in Nano, a basic text editor.

Now, you'll need to add the following line to the file, replacing 'DRIVENAME' with the actual name of your drive:

LABEL=DRIVENAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse

Hit Ctrl + O to save the file and then Ctrl + X to quit Nano. Repeat these steps for each drive you want to write to.

It's worth noting that while this method allows you to write files to NTFS drives on your Mac, it's not a recommended solution for writing important data or using as a long-term solution. The experimental NTFS support in macOS is still considered beta-quality software, and there's a risk of data loss if something goes wrong.

In summary, formatting your WD Elements for Mac OS X requires some technical know-how, but by following these steps, you should be able to get started with writing files to your external hard drive. Just remember to exercise caution when using this method, as it's not foolproof.

How to format wd elements for mac os x