Troubleshooting; Installing, Partitioning, And Formatting The Drive; Frequently Asked Questions - Western Digital My Passport Essential User Manual

Troubleshooting

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This chapter includes the following topics:

Installing, Partitioning, and Formatting the Drive

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have problems installing or using this product, refer to this troubleshooting section
or visit our support Web site at
more help.
Installing, Partitioning, and Formatting the Drive
How to
Install, partition, and format the drive in Windows XP and Vista
Install, partition, and format the drive to Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5+
Reformat from Mac GPT to Windows XP NTFS
Reformat the drive from Mac GPT to Windows Vista NTFS format
Obtain and reinstall the original software included with this product
Format the drive to the FAT32 file system*
Use the drive on a Mac and a PC simultaneously
*The FAT32 file system has a maximum individual file size of 4 GB and cannot create par-
titions larger than 32 GB in Windows; however, Windows users can overcome these file
size limitations by formatting the drive to NTFS using the Disk Management utility. See
answer ID 1287 at
port.microsoft.com
when reformatting the drive, download the External USB/FireWire FAT32 Formatting Util-
ity from support.wdc.com/download.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does the drive not power up?
A: Be sure the drive is plugged in to a power source. A special cable might be needed
for computers with limited bus power. For more information in the U.S., visit our
website at
in your region.
Q: Why is the drive not recognized under My Computer or on the computer desktop?
A: If your system has a USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 PCI adapter card, be sure that its drivers
are installed before connecting your WD USB 3.0 external storage product. The drive
is not recognized correctly unless USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 root hub and host controller
drivers are installed. Contact the adapter card manufacturer for installation
procedures.
Q: Why won't my computer boot when I connect my USB drive to the computer before
booting?
A: Depending on your system configuration, your computer may attempt to boot from
your WD portable USB drive. Refer to your system's motherboard BIOS setting
documentation to disable this feature or visit
Base answer ID 1201. For more information about booting from external drives, refer
to your system documentation or contact your system manufacturer.
Q: Why is the data transfer rate slow?
A: Your system may be operating at USB 1.1 speeds due to an incorrect driver
installation of the USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 adapter card or a system that does not
support USB 3,0 or USB 2.0.
support.wdc.com
support.wdc.com
for further details. To create partitions larger than 32 GB in FAT32
store.westerndigital.com
MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
and search our knowledge base for
and article IDs 314463 and 184006 at
. Outside the U.S., contact WD Technical Support
support.wdc.com
USER MANUAL
Answer ID
207, 3322
287, 3323
3645
3647
1425
1364
291
sup-
and see Knowledge
TROUBLESHOOTING – 54