I just received my hard drive and it seems to be set on READ ONLY and formatted for windows. Can I reformat this?
1944722
If you're running a mac, use the disk utility to see what format it is. If you need to reformat it you can use FAT32 or MAC OS Journaled. http://macs.about.com/od/applications/ss/diskutilformat.htm
1944723
Yes, you should be able to change that setting through your PC. It comes formatted for Windows, but you can reformat once you change the read only setting.
1944724
Go to computer see the device and right click you will see properties see if gives you format click it
312569
I don't know. My problem with the drive was the format function would fail to ever complete.
1029925
I installed Windows Vista on this drive, and did not have to separately format it. I just followed the instructions to install Windows, and the installation wizard did the rest. Whether or not the install application formatted the drive before actually doing the install of Windows, I don't know, and it didn't concern me one way or the other.
1029924
with any hard drive, it depends on what you're going to be using it on, or with what OS. Usually you will need to format it.
684477
Probably is not initialized of formatted yet. Check under Windows' "Disk Management".
2186785
It comes formatted for PC (NTFS), but like most hard drives, it can be formatted with the Disk Utility on a Mac to HFS+.First link from Bing gives a good walk through of how to format it: http://www.ehow.com/how_2063795_format-hard-drive-mac-os.html Hope that helps!
603727
Can't help with any specific advice as I am using my drive with a Mac, but I can't see why there would be a problem. If you received a drive pre-formatted for a Macintosh, then doubtless, you need to use a Windows program to reformat it. Good Luck!
1467436
Yes. You'll have to go to the WD website to get.instructions on how to format it using Disk Utility. Not hard, but not plug and play.Hope this helps. Cheers,Steve
1218848
I bought this drive and when it wasn't showing up on my windows computer I looked up how to make it useable in windows and even though at first I didn't know how it would be formatted, I was finally able to and now I'm very satisfied. For formatting it on windows all you do is follow the instruction on this pdf http://www.g-technology.com/windows/
624648
I've would suggest not installing a previously used drive (assuming you have an old 5400rpm drive lying around, hence your question). When I installed a used drive (not formatted) it crashed the system. It only seems to like new, formatted drives. Mine does happen to be a 7200rpm WD
1476645
The hard drive may not have a partition created on it yet. Follow the instructions in the link below to create a simple partition on the HDD. If there is already 1 or more partitions on the HDD, it may just be unreadable. http://www.howtogeek.com/101862/how-to-manage-partitions-on-windows-without-downloading-any-other-software/
2184714
I did not format the drive as it was from an older computer and I needed the files from it. If it was a new drive you may need to format it. Most new ones are formatted to use with a Windows computer. I have a Mac and they pretty much will read anything. If it was a new drive I would format it just to make sure it worked with my computer, Mac or PC.
1038969
I'm not sure but maybe you have to reformat the drive! Right click on the drive and then select format. Be careful, if you have any files there it will deleted. Hope this helps.
980276
As the others have said, it's just like hooking it up inside your computer as far as that goes. You can do the same things you could if it were installed as a permanent HDD, including formatting.
747540
I don't know. I am unsure if the adapter I had works properly. Your system sees something, but if you reformat, you will lose the info on the drive.
1185050
Recently I added a drive with data to mine. and I was able to restore the data, Back it up and format the drive for a new use. it worked well. I was using windows 7, I am not sure of the format I believe it was NTFS.
1038846
You need to download "DiscWizardSetup-16005840.en" form Seagate support site. Software will then format HD for use.