restore external hard drive to factory settings mac

Restore external hard drive to factory settings mac full#
Restore external hard drive to factory settings mac windows#

To delete files, first, connect the external hard drive to your computer. However, before you start to delete any files, make sure that you have two copies of the files you are deleting and are comfortable with permanently deleting them from the hard drive. How do I delete files from my WD external hard drive?ĭeleting files from a Western Digital (WD) external hard drive is simple and straightforward. If none of the above solutions work to help you delete the files, then it might be time to seek out technical support from WD in order to get the issue resolved. If this is the case, then you will need to access the drive using a different computer or operating system to be able to delete the files. Lastly, it is possible that the files you are trying to delete are corrupted. To do this, you will need to enable Show protected system files in the View tab of File Explorer.Īfter this, you should be able to delete the files.

Restore external hard drive to factory settings mac windows#

If this is the case, then you will need to manually delete them from Windows Explorer. Thirdly, the files could be flagged as protected system files. Try rebooting the device and then attempting the delete again. Secondly, it might be that the system is holding onto the files somehow. Once you grant these permissions, you should be able to delete the files. When you connect your WD Passport to a computer, depending on the settings, you might have to grant certain permissions to allow changes to the device, such as deleting files. There are a few common reasons why you may be unable to delete files from your WD Passport.įirstly, it could be a permissions issue. Why can’t I delete files from my WD Passport? When the process is complete, our WD Passport will be back to its original, factory settings.

Quick Erase only deletes files, not the partition or formatting then re-creates the folders such as My Documents, Music, etc.Īfter considering your options, click the ‘Erase Now’ button to confirm.

Restore external hard drive to factory settings mac full#

Full Erase will wipe all data, which will make your WD Passport completely clean and reset it back to its factory settings. On the Erase window, choose either Full Erase or Quick Erase. When the WD SmartWare window opens, click the ‘Options’ tab, then select ‘Erase’ from the list of available tasks. Next, connect your WD Passport drive to your computer using the supplied USB cable. First, make sure you back up all of your important data and files to an external hard drive or an online storage service once you reset your Passport, all data stored on it will be erased. Resetting your WD Passport back to its factory settings is an easy process.