Compatible External Hard Drive for MacBookPro

[RonW.]

What is a good external hard drive to run with time machine, the WD 2 tb my passport did not work. It's for my daughter at college and didn't want to spend for a time machine/capsule....

Thanks,

RonW.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

How did the WD 2TB My Passport not work?
Normally all HDDs work with Macs, unless it is a shoddy controller inside the housing.

 

[glenthompson]

What is a good external hard drive to run with time machine, the WD 2 tb my passport did not work. It's for my daughter at college and didn't want to spend for a time machine/capsule....

Thanks,

RonW.

Did she format it for the Mac using Mac OS Extended? If it came pre-formatted using Fat32 or ExFat then the Mac will read it but can't use it for Time Machine. I have used WD Passport drives with no problem.

 

[RonW.]

Did she format it for the Mac using Mac OS Extended? If it came pre-formatted using Fat32 or ExFat then the Mac will read it but can't use it for Time Machine. I have used WD Passport drives with no problem.

Not sure, box said WD Passport for Mac so I assumed it was formatted correctly. Installed drive it ran for 18 hours, error message said unable to complete back up, error creating back up folder. Uninstalled it and same error after another 18 plus hours.

Thanks,

RonW.

 

[glenthompson]

Not sure, box said WD Passport for Mac so I assumed it was formatted correctly. Installed drive it ran for 18 hours, error message said unable to complete back up, error creating back up folder. Uninstalled it and same error after another 18 plus hours.

Thanks,

RonW.

It may not have the correct format. Just use Disk Utility to erase the drive from scratch to the proper format. First backup can take some time depending on how much space is used.