External USB hard drive compatible with Acer Chromebook 15

acap82

I recently purchased a Acer Chromebook 15 to replace an old Windows laptop.  I had previously purchased a WD My Passport 2 TB external hard drive that i had pictures/music/videos saved to as a large flash drive with the Windows laptop.  When i attempted to use it with the new Chromebook, it would not recognize the drive (it showed up on the "Files" window, but it needed to be formatted.  I tried this after I backed everything up on the Windows laptop, but it would not format on the Chromebook.  After some digging, I read that WD external drives are miserable for Chromebooks due to their extra security.  Needless to say, the WD external drive is now useless.  

 

Are there any brands of external drives that are compatible with a Chromebook specifically to be used as a flash drive?  I don't want to purchase another if it will not work with the new Chromebook.  Any suggestions for this use?  I am basically using it to back up music, pictures, and video from Google Music and Photos as an emergency cloud backup.

 

Thanks for help/suggestions.

doughjohn

Hi

 

I do not see any real problem with device.

"Built-in 256-bit AES Hardware Encryption with WD Security software helps keep your content private and safe. Easily add a “return-if-found” message as the password prompt in case your My Passport drive ever gets lost."

 

I'm guessing the above is what caused a problem.  I would use Paragon Partition manager 14 to view the drive with a view to reformatting, and then re-using.  3rd party encryption tools should be available.

 

As to transfer speeds, USB 3 wont be quick and USB anything else less than a snail's pace.

 

So don't write it off completely.