My passport • Read online or download PDF • Western Digital My Passport Essential SE User Manual User Manual Manuals Directory ManualsDir.com - online owner manuals library Search.
Kathy,
Whoever at WD told you that you couldn't pin their icons to the desktop is looney tunes; mine have been glued on there since prior to WIndows 10. WD Smartware/Quickview are kind of notoriously unstable: that's why they discontinued including it on most of the newest models but kept up with WD Backup (you can still download Smartware and Pro from the WD site). When I ran on continuous backup with Smartware, I realized after a while that it wasn't actually recording any file changes. As a test, I made a small change to one document and added a new document, saved them, left my computer and Smartware running for three hours, came back, and it hadn't yet found the change or the new file but gave me the 'files backed up' notice. Between that and it crashing all the time or acting weird after every update, I uninstalled Smartware and started using WD Backup, and it's been flawless ever since. I'm not bashing WD; I love my WD external hard drive, but beware the Smartware and consider switching over to WD Backup. It would be really tough to lose all your files even though you were responsible enough to buy a hard drive and run backups regularly like every good pc owner should.
- Review title of James works great. If having issues on windows 10 you might need to download a patch for your my book to change from Twonky media to DLNA took a little bit but you need to access your my books dashboard and go in and update it manually.
- Disconnect all other external drives from the computer except for the My Book or My Passport drive you want to update. Ensure that the My Book or My Passport drive is connected to a USB port on your computer. Download the Firmware Updater for Windows. Unzip the file and double click to open the Firmware Updater.
- MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL PORTABLE HARD DRIVE USER MANUAL ABOUT YOUR WD DRIVE – 3 About Your WD Drive Features LED The power/activity LED is located on the bottom panel of the device.
Important: | Before following these instructions, there are several things you need to consider:
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Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP using WD SmartWare | Click here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista and XP without using WD SmartWare | Click here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard), 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), and 10.8.x (Mountain Lion) using WD SmartWare | Click here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard), 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), and 10.8.x (Mountain Lion) without using WD SmartWare | Click here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Linux/Unix | Click here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Please select an Operating System (OS) from the list above to display instructions for your specific OS.
How to Disable/Enable VCD with SmartWare Installed in Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP
On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer.
The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature.
If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
Critical:Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: How to update the firmware on a My Book or My Passport. |
- Download and install the latest version of WD Smartware from the Western Digital website.
- Once updated launch the WD Smartware software.
- Click on the Settings Tab.
- Select Set Up Drive.
- Click on the Virtual CD button on the left side of the screen.
- On the right side of the screen, click the radial button for either Enable VCD if you want to show the VCD, or Disable VCD if you wish to hide it.
- Click on Apply VCD Settings.
- Power Cycle your drive.
- Open My Computer (Windows XP), Computer (Windows Vista and Windows 7), or File Explorer (Windows 8), and verify that the VCD does not appear.
How to Disable/Enable VCD without SmartWare Installed in Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP
On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer.
The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature.
If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
Critical:Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: How to update the firmware on a My Book or My Passport. |
- Download the VCD Manager for Windows utility from our website.
- Unzip the executable. (Extract the file using an extraction utility)
- Double click WDSmartWareVirtualCDManagerforWindows-v1.0.7.4.exe.
- Wait for the program to extract.
- Click Continue.
- Once the utility has found your drive, verify the serial number shown is the same as the one you wish to hide the VCD on and click Configure Drive.
- Click Exit.
- Power Cycle the drive.
- Open My Computer (Windows XP), Computer (Windows Vista and Windows 7), or File Explorer (Windows 8), and verify that the VCD does not appear.
How to Disable/Enable VCD with SmartWare Installed in Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), or 10.8.x (Mountain Lion)
On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer.
The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature.
If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
Critical:Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: How to update the firmware on a My Book or My Passport. |
- Download and install the latest version of WD Smartware from the Western Digital website.
- Once updated launch the WD Smartware software.
- Click on the Settings Tab.
- Select Set Up Drive.
- Click on the Virtual CD button on the left side of the screen.
- On the right side of the screen, click the radial button for either Enable VCD if you want to show the VCD, or Disable VCD if you wish to hide it.
- Click on Apply VCD Settings.
- Power Cycle the drive.
- Open Finder and verify that the VCD does not appear.
How to Disable/Enable VCD without SmartWare Installed in Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), or 10.8.x (Mountain Lion)
On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer.
The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature.
If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
Critical:Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: How to update the firmware on a My Book or My Passport. |
- Download the VCD Manager for Mac utility from our website.
- Open the application folder.
- Double click Virtual CD Manager.app
- Wait for the program to launch.
- Click Continue.
- Once the utility has found your drive, verify the serial number shown is the same as the one you wish to hide the VCD on and click Configure Drive.
- Click Exit.
- Power Cycle the drive.
- Open Finder and verify that the VCD does not appear.
How to Disable/Enable the VCD in Linux or Unix
Western Digital My Passport Download
Neither the VCD Manager or WD SmartWare is available for Linux or Unix. As a result, there is no known way to disable the Virtual CD (VCD) in these operating systems.
Western Digital My Passport Smartware Download For Windows 7
Western Digital technical support only provides jumper configuration (for internal hard drive) and physical installation support for hard drives used in systems running the Linux/Unix operating systems. For setup questions beyond physical installation of your Western Digital hard drive, please contact your Linux/Unix vendor. You may also wish to post on our Community Forums for assistance from other users of our products who may be able to assist you with your issue.