Hi, everyone, I just bought a new WD My Passport for Mac 1 TB. I am going to use it to run Time Machine and then drag and drop pertinent files that I need. From there, I am doing a clean install of Mountain Lion. I have a 2012 MacBook Pro. I just have a few questions.

I read that there are big issues with this and Mavericks/Yosemite. If I ever upgrade, am I am going to lose everything or has that since been resolved? How do I install it? When I read the manual, I am not sure if I am supposed to install the software (because of issues with point 1), just plug & play, how to do Time Machine, and so on. I have another My Passport from a few years back, but don't remember how to set it up.

Last night I was going to backup my laptop using My Passport for Mac. The WD software told me to update my firmware, which I did, and then updated the software itself. Once the firmware was updated my computer no longer recognized the external harddrive when it was plugged in through USB. * If your product is not listed above, please visit the product page.

If someone can dumb it down for me, I'd really appreciate it. I am looking to do a Time Machine, then drag over various documents, my Music folder, iPhoto Library, Mail exports, and a few other things.

There is more to your question that I did not completely address. I am looking to do a Time Machine, then drag over various documents, my Music folder, iPhoto Library, Mail exports, and a few other things. Office 365 for mac.

After you perform the Time Machine backup, erase your Mac, and reinstall OS X, don't plan on dragging and dropping anything from the Time Machine backup volume. Time Machine isn't designed to work that way. If you do simply want to copy files and folders to the backup device, and drag them back after you erase the source volume, that's OK too. You don't need to use Time Machine for that purpose. For Time Machine, follow these instructions: • Create a backup of your existing system, and verify that it is complete. To do that read.

• Ideally, create two or more backups using different methods, such as one Time Machine and one 'clone', for redundancy. Neither method is particularly advantageous over the other for this purpose.

• Erase the Mac using, and selecting Disk Utility to erase the Mac. That action will be followed by selecting Reinstall Mac OS X. After that, you will be prompted to migrate your essential documents including photos, music, work products and other essential files from the Time Machine backup. To erase and install Mountain Lion read: To migrate your essential documents read: and follow the procedure under Transfer info from a Time Machine backup or other storage device. The procedure is identical for Mountain Lion. • When doing so, select your previous User account but do not select 'Applications', 'Computer and Network Settings' or 'Other files and folders'.

De-select those choices. • Subsequent to using Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant you will need to reinstall the essential software you may require. Install software only from their original or otherwise authorized sources, and omit all non-essential software. • Printer queues, network settings and other preferences found in System Preferences will need to be re-created as well.

The indented one. It's not an absolute requirement, but I suggest using a simpler name than ' My Passport for Mac'. It's childish and insipid and illustrates the same Western Digital cluelessness that resulted in them distributing software on their drives that caused the problem you originally expressed concern about. It goes without saying it's yours and it's your Mac. Give it a name that makes sense to you, like 'Backup' or something equally descriptive. Another reason is that space characters in a Time Machine backup destination name caused problems in the distant past. That's no longer a concern but why ask for trouble.

Don't install any software that exists on the WD My Passport. The first thing you should do with any hard disk dedicated to Time Machine usage is to erase it. That will obviate any concerns with incompatible or poorly written third party software. You will lose nothing, other than whatever exists on the brand new hard disk drive, which should be regarded as trash and disposed of accordingly. Using Time Machine really couldn't be simpler. For step by step instructions read.