Western Digital’s My Book Duo is a high-capacity external storage solution often used for backups, media libraries, and professional data storage. While it offers ample space (from 4TB up to 36TB or more), even the largest drives can fill up over time—especially when working with large video files, photos, or system backups.
If your My Book Duo is running out of space, here’s how you can clean things up, reclaim storage, and keep your data organized without compromising important files.
1. Check Available Space and File Types
Start by checking how your space is being used:
On Windows, right-click the drive > Properties > View used/free space.
On Mac, select the drive > Press Command + I.
Use tools like WinDirStat (Windows) or Disk Inventory X (Mac) to visualize what’s taking up space by file type and size. You’ll often find old backups, duplicate files, or large media folders that can be cleaned.
2. Delete Unnecessary Files
Be cautious, but strategic:
Old backups: Many users forget that backup software (like Time Machine or WD Backup) stores multiple versions of the same file. Clean older versions or reduce the backup frequency.
Duplicates: Use duplicate file finder tools like CCleaner, Gemini 2 (Mac), or dupe Guru to detect and delete redundant files.
Temporary files or cache folders used in video editing or graphics design may take up gigabytes unnecessarily.
3. Move Files Off the Drive
If you don’t want to delete anything, consider offloading:
Archive old projects to cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) or a second external drive.
Burn to Blu-ray/DVD (if appropriate), or move infrequently accessed files to a slower but cheaper backup solution.
4. Change RAID Configuration (Advanced Users)
The My Book Duo supports RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD configurations:
RAID 0 (striping) gives you full capacity but no redundancy.
RAID 1 (mirroring) cuts capacity in half but offers redundancy.
JBOD lets you use each disk independently.
If you’re using RAID 1 and need more space (and can risk not having redundancy), switching to RAID 0 will double your usable capacity. Warning: Changing RAID configurations will erase all data — back up everything before making changes.
You can change RAID modes using WD Drive Utilities software or from Disk Management tools.
5. Clear WD Software Logs and Hidden Files
WD utilities and some backup software create hidden logs and temporary files:
Navigate to .wdtemp, .Trash, or .Spotlight-V100 folders (especially on macOS).
Delete logs or temporary files safely.
Enable hidden file view in your system settings to check these areas.
6. Reformat the Drive (Last Resort)
If the drive is cluttered beyond cleaning and you’ve backed up what you need, a full reformat can give you a fresh start:
Use Disk Utility (Mac) or Disk Management (Windows).
Choose the right file system (exFAT is good for cross-platform use).
Final Tips
Regularly review and organize your files.
Automate cleanups with backup retention settings.
Use folder structures and tags for easier future maintenance.
Freeing up space on your My Book Duo is mostly about awareness and proactive file management. With the right strategy, you’ll keep your drive running smoothly for years.