My external Passport 2TB is down to only 300GB of free space. I never set up a Backup scheme or a password. I cannot find the Backup scheme on the device or the password set up procedure. Where should I look ?
How do I clean up the drive to get more free space.
You need to delete stuff you don’t need anymore or copy stuff over to another drive. If you delete, make sure you empty the Recycle bin if you have it enabled for the drive.
Assuming you’re on Windows, you can check to see if you have “System Protection” enabled for the drive. This creates restore points and can take up lot’s of space.
AFAIK, backups are done using the WD Acronis True Image software (separate download).
I will go into some more detail on why I want to clean up My Passport hard drive. On11/15 /24 , I will get a new Dell windows Computer with a 2TB SSD drive. The only items I want to transfer to the new computer are 594 GB of documents and possibly 328 GB of photos. I went to Best Buy and the Geek squad said ,the documents have extensions ofXLSX .
I used Windows File Explorer , to find I have 38 backups on My Passport. The first date is 09/22/2022 and last backup is 11/07/2024. The File Explorer did not give any info on the size of each backup or what extensions are in them.
HELP !
The size of the documents is 594 MB not GBs.
XLSX files are MS Excel.
For the backup files, you should look at their properties. That will tell you the size and extension. As an alternative, you can change the “View” to details, then sort by date. Simply delete the old backups as far back as you are comfortable. Your view options in Explorer are likely set to “hide extensions of known file types”, so pictures may not show an extension since it knows how to view JPGs, other picture formats, videos, Acrobat files, etc.
Obviously, you made a recent backup so your backup software is still there. You can double click on one of the backups and it should launch the proper app for it. You can then cancel/close.
Thank you for the information. I will get the new computer 11/15/2024. Hopefully I will transfer the Excel files to the new computer without any problems.
NAL1212
I have new Dell computer set up, but unable to find the WD Backup screen to start the restore. I have Internet Explorer into my backup disc, but no backup screen. I copied the manual on Restoring files. It states RESTORE , on the WD Backup screen.
Is there a WD tech support phone number ?
You can find the number here:
Enter the details of your location and it will show the number and times available.
You still need to determine what software you used for the backups. What manual did you look at? You will likely need to install it on your new computer.
