WD My passport Ultra for Mac drag and drop feature will not work for Ventura

[Michelle Pena]

Hey Brian, I have the new Mac mini and always used WD external hard drives. I found out that Western Digital is compatible, but Apple does not allow drag and drop feature as of now. This is essential for me as I'm transferring files from the old external to the new external drive for the new Mac. It's due to Ventura, is what they told me. What other hard drive do you suggest for my drive to be able to backup and where I am able to drag and drop files from the desktop to the new external? Thank you !

[Brian]

18 hours ago, Michelle Pena said:

Apple does not allow drag and drop feature as of now.

WTF? This is the first time I've heard of this. Let me do some Googling...

[Brian]

OK...learn something new everyday!! Apparently this is a macOS Ventura Bug, so it will not work on ANY HDs, regardless of brand!

Believe it or not, this is probably a good thing. When you Drag & Drop, what you are essentially doing is "Cutting and Pasting" or moving the file, which is deleting the original as it copies. So while it is convenient to have that visual confirmation that you "got everything," if something were to go wrong during the Data Transfer, you're screwed. 

So for now, if your WD Drive that you are reformatting, make sure it is setup for macOS Extended (Journaled) and it's formatted. Then all you should be able to do is find your drive you want to copy, open it and do a Command+A which will select all the files. Then right-click and select Copy, then go to the destination drive and right-click and select "Paste." This will copy the files and will allow you to make sure that everything copied over and is fine, THEN you can do a select all on the originals and delete them.  

[Michelle Pena]

Shit, I returned it lol Thinking it was the brand. Well this sucks, I plug in my camera card reader to transfer raw files to the external because the D850 files are huge. I never place the raw files on my mac just if only i'm working on that session. SO now i have to directly place the raw files on my mac ?? ughh Do you know of another way?  Thank you for the research!

"So for now, if your WD Drive that you are reformatting, make sure it is setup for macOS Extended (Journaled) and it's formatted. Then all you should be able to do is find your drive you want to copy, open it and do a Command+A which will select all the files. Then right-click and select Copy, then go to the destination drive and right-click and select "Paste." This will copy the files and will allow you to make sure that everything copied over and is fine, THEN you can do a select all on the originals and delete them.  "    

 

This what i do with the raw camera files?
 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Michelle Pena

[Michelle Pena]

3 hours ago, Brian said:

OK...learn something new everyday!! Apparently this is a macOS Ventura Bug, so it will not work on ANY HDs, regardless of brand!

Believe it or not, this is probably a good thing. When you Drag & Drop, what you are essentially doing is "Cutting and Pasting" or moving the file, which is deleting the original as it copies. So while it is convenient to have that visual confirmation that you "got everything," if something were to go wrong during the Data Transfer, you're screwed. 

So for now, if your WD Drive that you are reformatting, make sure it is setup for macOS Extended (Journaled) and it's formatted. Then all you should be able to do is find your drive you want to copy, open it and do a Command+A which will select all the files. Then right-click and select Copy, then go to the destination drive and right-click and select "Paste." This will copy the files and will allow you to make sure that everything copied over and is fine, THEN you can do a select all on the originals and delete them.  

 

[Brian]

OK, you are making a bigger deal out of this than you need to. Buy whatever HD you prefer, I like Thunderbolt G-Drives. I also have a Nikon D850, so I know exactly what you mean about the Raw File Sizes. I have a 12TB Drive, which has served me well over the years. The first thing I want you to do, is turn on the Mounted Devices Icons to be displayed on the Mac Desktop. This makes copying things a breeze...

• Open the Finder. The easiest way is to click the Smiley Face on your DockBar:

 

• Then head to the Finder Menu (Next to the Apple Menu) and select Preferences:

• Once there put check-marks next to these items and change the bottom to "Macintosh HD" if you want:

• Finally, Click the Red Circle in the Upper Left Corner to save the new changes and close the Preferences box. Now when you insert an External HD or Camera Memory Card into a Card Reader, they will appear on the Mac Desktop. For example:
   

 

• To access my images, I simply double-click on the Nikon D850 Icon and navigate to where the camera stores the images:
   

• When you are in the correct folder, press Command Key + A to select all the Raw Files, then Right-Cick and choose "Copy."
   
• Then it's a simple matter of creating a folder on my Hard Drive of choice and then Right-Click and then select "Paste." Your files will then start copying. When you are 110% sure your images have successfully transferred over, you can then format the card in camera, or better yet...pull it out of rotation until your images are delivered to the client.
   

  Quote

  Please note!!! Always Eject your Memory Card and External HDs before removing them!! To accomplish this, simply right-click on the icon located on the Mac Desktop and select "Eject." Or the Traditional Way is to Drag the Icon to the Trash Can. (Don't worry, this won't erase anything, it just Ejects the Mounted Device. We used to do things this way before Mac had a "Right" Mouse Button.)

   

• It is IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ALWAYS Copy-and-Paste and never-ever perform a Move / Cut-and-Paste!!  You just have been doing it "wrong" for the longest time, and now you are being forced to change your routine, which is a good thing in this case.

Why?

If something were to go wrong during the Data Transfer, with a Copy-and-Paste Method, you can simply either click Cancel or try Copying again. Unfortunately, you will not have that option with a Move or Cut-and-Paste! Your images could go "Poof!" Without you realizing and then we are thinking about performing data-recovery to get those images back; with a Cut-and-Paste Method, you are not only copying but deleting the source-file as it does the Data Transfer. Save yourself the potential stress and frustration and always "Copy & Paste." Life is too short as it is.

First Step: Buy a new External HD. Preferably 12TB or larger. I like Thunderbolt 3 G-Drives, and not only do they include all the necessary cables, they often come Mac-Formatted. That said, I still want to check that drive to see if the partition is set correctly before you start backing up images. Yes, those G-Drives are Beefy and Expensive, but I do not f*ck around with my Data Drives. You will NEVER see me recommend a $79 Special EHD from a Big-Box Store.

With the Devices on the Mac Desktop, you just open the Card Reader, you do have a Card Reader, right? RIGHT?!?!! You do not want to be using your camera to transfer images and please give this article a read to see the reasons why.  If you need one, I'd recommend the Sony XQD / CF Express Type B Reader. Transferring images is a breeze with a Card Reader, and copying and pasting them from one device to another is so straightforward that I wouldn't worry for a second of not being able to drag-and-drop. It's not a big deal and you aren't supposed to be doing it anyway, regardless what anyone tells you. Too risky to lose stuff, I'd rather waste and extra 10 seconds then have to fork out thousands for Professional Data Recovery, because recovering files on a Mac is a REAL PAIN IN THE ASS.

Bottom Line: Lets get you that new EHD and we will go from there. When you get that drive, create a new thread and I will give you steps to make sure things are set properly, BEFORE you store anything on it.

[Michelle Pena]

Thank you.