I bought this USB 3.0 2 terabyte drive to replace a USB 2.0 1 terabyte external drive that was using for a Time Machne drive on my Mac. I plugged the new drive in - I didn't even bother installing the utilities - and it was recognized immediately by the Mac. Getting it to 'adopt' my old Time Machine backups was straightforward but painfully slow. I would attribute that to my old drive being USB 2.0 but also the huge number of files.
I have a WD My Passport compatible with Mac. I have been using it for a few years, and now when I plugged it in and opened it up I can't see the files, even though they are there. It says that there are '45 items,' 129.18 GB available.' I never hide my files. I have only ever used the device with my Mac.
Save yourself grief: don't use 'Finder' to copy the files, use 'Super Duper!' Still, expect that it could take 30+ hours to migrate a terabyte of backup files. Once it finished, I told Time Machine to use the new drive and it's worked like a charm ever since. Now what I don't like: the white drive activity LED on the drive can either be OFF or it can be blinking. I would prefer a true activity indicator, and maybe a choice of colours (tricolour LEDs are cheap).
The utilities on the drive were much newer than what Western Digital had online. The utilities are quite limited in what they can set.
![My passport for mac help My passport for mac help](https://support.wdc.com/images/kb/20789_4C.png)
Other than that, I'm very pleased with it. And Walmart was by far the least expensive place to buy it.
Access Denied Error or File/Folder Permission Issues on an External Drive When connecting an external drive to a Windows 7, Vista, XP, or 2000 Pro computer, sometimes the permissions/privileges will need to be assigned. Since the ownership of the files belong to a different user account, you may see 'Access Denied' or 'Not accessible' errors when trying to open the drive or a folder within the drive. To change the ownership with Windows 7/Vista to the current user, please see. To change the ownership with XP Professional to the current user, follow the steps below. These instructions are also relevant for Windows Vista.
(.). Check My Computer Tools Folder Options View, and uncheck 'Use Simple File Sharing'. ( Windows Vista users may skip this step, as it is the default mode for Vista Home and Ultimate.). Right-click the file/folder you are trying to access, go to Properties. Go to Security Advanced Owner and highlight the user account on your machine that you would like to take ownership of these files/folders.
Be sure to check the box below, 'Replace owner on subcontainers and folders' so all files within the folder will inherit the changes (only if you are changing the permissions on a folder). At the message, 'You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?
All permissions will be replaced if you press Yes', click on Yes. ( Windows Vista users will need to press the Edit button to change settings.) To change the ownership with Windows XP HOME to the current user:. You must boot into Safe Mode. Right-click the file/folder you are trying to access, go to Properties. Go to Security Advanced Owner and highlight the user account on your machine that you would like to take ownership of these files/folders.
Be sure to check the box below, 'Replace owner on subcontainers and folders' so all files within the folder will inherit the changes (only if you are changing the permissions on a folder). At the message, 'You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control? All permissions will be replaced if you press Yes', click on Yes.
Please also see the following Microsoft Support articles:. If the permissions cannot be changed, please check to see if the files have been encrypted with the Windows encryption feature. The files will have a green font rather than the normal black font: The drive must be connected back to the original computer to recover these files. The files have not been encrypted with Seagate software. Please see these Microsoft KB articles for more information: A final issue could be corruption of the file structure.
on the drive in order to attempt to repair the corruption. Attempt the steps above for the problem of the corrupted partition. REFERENCE TO THIRD PARTIES AND THIRD PARTY WEB SITES. Seagate references third parties and third party products as an informational service only, it is not an endorsement or recommendation - implied or otherwise - of any of the listed companies. Seagate makes no warranty - implied or otherwise - regarding the performance or reliability of these companies or products.
Each company listed is independent from Seagate and is not under the control of Seagate; therefore, Seagate accepts no responsibility for and disclaims any liability from the actions or products of the listed companies. You should make your own independent evaluation before conducting business with any company. To obtain product specifications and warranty information, please contact the respective vendor directly. There are links in this document that will permit you to connect to third-party web sites over which Seagate has no control. These links are provided for your convenience only and your use of them is at your own risk.
Seagate makes no representations whatsoever about the content of any of these web sites. Seagate does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the content, or use, of any such web sites.