Newby with a quick question

WD External Drives WD Portable Drives
1

Hi, everyone.

i just bought myself a my passport esential SE 1tb drive, and had a quick question.

I’ve taken off all the extra software etc since I don’t plan to use it, and have coppied it to my desktop just in case.

Now, for my question. The hd shows that 300 something mb are still being used. Is it ok to format the drive in windows xp’s my computer? Or will this damage something. I just want to use all available space and back up files myself. Will formatting the drive allow me to do this?

Thanks,

Cheryl

2

Hi there!! You can format it to clean it, but it will always show some space as used/missing, which is normal as long as it shows 0 files inside, i.e. a drive that is 1tb will most likely show 930GB :slight_smile:

Hope it helps :slight_smile:

3

If you reformat make sure you delete the partition first to avoid errors http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3865

Joe

4

I tried deleting the partition by following the instructions on wd’s site, but now the hd isn’t showing in my computer.

Help, I’d really like to use my drive, i’ll even leave the 393 mb alone.

5

Thank god, i’ve managed to fix the drive using TestDisc.

One last question, the drive doesn’t ask me what to do when I connect it anymore, is that just because there aren’t any files on it?

Also, under properties it’s listed as a local disc. Do all WD USB hds show up that way? If not how do I change it to show removable disc?

If something doesn’t make sense feel free to ask and I’ll try to explain better.

6

If you can see the drive in Windows explorer, you can rename it to whatever you like. Just right click on drive icon and choose rename from the pull down list.