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WD My Passport for Mac on Windows: read it safely

Western Digital sells a version of its portable drive formatted for Macs. Plugged into Windows it shows no files, and Windows may offer to format it. Your files are still there.

How WD formats it

From WD's own My Passport for Mac manual (checked October 30, 2026): "Your My Passport for Mac drive is formatted as a single HSF+J partition for compatibility with Mac OS X operating systems. If you want to use the drive with a Windows computer, see Reformatting the Drive". HFS+J is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). WD's answer for Windows is to reformat, which erases the drive. If your files are already on it, copy them off first.

Someone may also have erased the drive as APFS on a newer Mac. Either way, it is a Mac drive to Windows.

Copy the files to your PC

  1. Plug in the drive

    If Windows offers to format it, choose Cancel.

  2. Find Mac drives

    In Diskferry, click Find Mac drives and allow the Windows prompt. The My Passport appears with its volume and format.

  3. Browse for free

    Open folders and preview photos and text files before paying anything.

  4. Copy and verify

    Copy to a folder on your PC; every file is compared with the original by SHA-256.

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If you set a WD password

The drive has "256-bit AES Hardware Encryption with WD Security". With a password set, the manual says WD Security "Locks the drive when you shut down your computer, disconnect your drive, or your computer goes into the sleep mode". A locked drive has to be unlocked with WD's software before any app can read the files; Diskferry cannot unlock WD hardware encryption. WD lists Windows among the systems its WD Security software supports. We have not tested unlocking on Windows and then reading the drive with Diskferry.

Afterwards: use it on both Mac and PC

Once your files are safe, WD's manual offers exFAT as the format for the drive, and Seagate and Apple recommend exFAT for drives shared between Mac and Windows. Format a drive for Mac and Windows

Questions

Do I need WD's software to read the drive on Windows?

Only if a WD Security password is set. Otherwise the drive is an ordinary Mac OS Extended (or APFS) drive, which Diskferry reads without any WD software.

Will reading it on Windows change anything for my Mac?

No. Diskferry opens the drive read only. It works on the Mac exactly as before.

Last updated October 30, 2026. Still stuck? Support replies in person.

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