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My Passport for Mac portable hard drive, with the WD Security and WD Drive Utilities software USB 3.0 cable Quick install guide Optional Accessories For information about optional accessories for WD products, visit www.wdc.com Operating System Compatibility Your My Passport for Mac drive and the WD Drive Utilities and WD Security. Aug 18, 2010 - So I picked up a 750GB WD My Passport at BB a couple days ago, oblivious. After formatting for Mac OS Extended, I mount the drive and an.
This answer explains how to setup and use WD Security and WD Drive Utilities on a Windows or Mac computer.END WD Security allows password protection and hardware encryption to be set to protect the drive from unauthorized use or access. To download WD Security, select. Important: The WD Security software uses the set password to electronically lock and unlock the drive. If you forget your password you will lose access to your data, THE DRIVE WILL NEED TO BE ERASED BEFORE IT CAN BE USED AGAIN. WD Drive Utilities allows the user to register the drive, set drive timer, run diagnostics, and perform a Drive Erase. To download WD Drive Utilities, select. Critical: Erasing the drive permanently deletes all of the data on the drive.
Always make sure that you have another copy of the files on a different drive before erasing it. Instructions for Installing and Using WD Security Instructions for Installing and Using WD Drive Utilities.
Please see for help installing WD Security Open the dialog by clicking either:. The WD Security icon, located within the WD App sub-folder, inside the Western Digital folder from the start menu. The numbered steps below was from this method. The WD Security icon on the desktop, if one was created when the application was installed.
If the WD Security icon was not chosen to be placed on the desktop, please follow the steps below, to open from the Program Files List. Start and select All Programs.
Select the folder labeled Western Digital. Click on WD Apps folder. Open WD Security application. About the WD Security Software The WD Security™ software implements password protection and the 256-bit hardware data encryption capabilities of the supported WD hard drive. Use the WD Security software to:. Create a password to keep others from accessing the files on the drive.
Change the password. Remove password protection. Unlock the drive on any computer—whether the WD Security software is installed there or not Operating System Compatibility The WD Security software is compatible with the following Windows operating systems:. Windows 10. Windows 8.1. Windows 8.
Windows7. Windows Vista. Note: The WD Security software does not support Other manufacturers hard drives or WD hard drives that were not originally configured for the WD Security software Creating a Password Important: The WD Security software uses the password to electronically lock and unlock the drive. If you forget the password, you will not be able to access the data that is on the drive or write new data to it. You will have to erase the drive before you can use it again. If there is more than one supported drive connected to the computer, select the drive to create a password. Read the warning about the possibility of data loss if you forget the password.
Type the desired password in the Password box, using up to 25 characters. Note: It's important to know, while it is possible to enter more than 25 characters in the Password and Verify Password fields, WD Security will only utilize the first 25 characters and omit any extra characters. Retype the password in the Verify Password box.
Type a hint to help remember the password in the Password Hint box. Select the Enable auto unlock for this computer. Check box if you want the WD Security software to remember the password for the selected drive on this computer. Read the explanation that WD cannot retrieve the password if you lose or forget it. Click Set Password Important: After creating a password, the drive remains unlocked for as long as the user continues the current work session.
Then the WD Security software:. Locks the drive when you shut down the computer, disconnect the drive, or—depending on its configuration—the computer goes into the sleep mode.
Requires the user to type the password to unlock the drive when the computer is restarted or reconnect the drive, UNLESS the user selected the Enable auto unlock for this computer. Check box when you created the password Unlocking the Drive After creating a password to protect the data stored on the drive, unless the user selected the Enable auto unlock for this computer. Check box, the user will have to type the password to unlock the drive whenever:. The computer is shut down or restarted. The drive was disconnected and reconnected. Depending on its configuration, the computer exits the sleep mode The user will have to do this even if the WD Security sofware was not installed on the computer Unlocking the drive with the WD Security software Unless the user selected the Enable auto unlock for this computer.
Please see for help installing WD Utilities Open the WD Drive Utilities dialog by clicking either:. The WD Drive Utilities icon, located within the WD App sub-folder, inside the Western Digital folder from the start menu. The numbered steps below was from this method. The WD Drive Utilities desktop shortcut icon, if one was created when the application was installed. If the WD Drive Utilities icon was not chosen to be placed on the desktop, please follow the steps below, to open from the Program Files List. Click on:.
Start and select All Programs. Select the folder labeled Western Digital. Click on WD Apps folder. Open WD Drive Utilities application About WD Drive Utilities The WD Drive Utilities™ software makes it easy for you to keep your drive performing at its best. Use the WD Drive Utilities software to:. Register the drive.
Set the drive sleep timer. Check drive health. Erase the drive Operating System Compatibility The WD Drive Utilities™ software is compatible with the following Windows operating systems:. Windows 10. Windows 8.1. Windows 8. Windows 7 Compatibility can vary, depending on hardware configuration and operating system.
For the best performance and reliability, always install the latest updates. Go to the Control Panel menu and select Windows Update. Note: The sleep timer function is not available for RAID-enabled WD dual-drive storage devices. If ther are more than one supported drive connected to the computer, select the one with the password that you want to change.
Toggle the Sleep Timer On or Off. Select idle time before drive enters Sleep Mode.
LED Settings Toggle the switch to trun the drive's LED on or off. Checking Drive Health The WD Drive Utilities™ software provides three diagnostic tools to help make sure that your supported drive is performing well. Run the following tests if you are concerned that your drive is not operating properly:. Drive status check: The drive status check is a failure-prediction function that continuously monitors key internal performance attributes of the drive.
A detected increase in drive temperature, noise, or read/write errors, for example, can provide an indication that the drive is approaching a serious failure condition. With advanced warning, you could take precautionary measures, like moving your data to another drive, before a failure occurs. The result of a drive status check is a pass or fail evaluation of the drive's condition.
Quick drive test: Your supported drive has a built-in diagnostic utility that tests the drive for error conditions. The quick drive test checks the drive for major performance problems. The result of a quick drive test is a pass or fail evaluation of the drive's condition. Complete drive test: The most comprehensive drive diagnostic is the complete drive test. It checks every sector for error conditions, and inserts bad sector markers as required. Note: It is not necessary to wait for the drive test to complete.
If you want to run drive diagnostics and status checks on another drive, just select the drive and the test you want to run. Managing the RAID Configuration The initial/default configuration of RAID-enabled WD dual-drive storage devices is as a striped RAID 0 disk array for high-speed/maximum-storage performance. You can use the WD Drive Utilities™ software to check the device status and reconfigure the device as either:. A mirrored RAID 1 disk array for maximum-protection/reduced-storage performance. JBOD (individual drives) that can be formatted differently for enhanced flexibility Checking the device status The WD Drive Utilities software provides a status indication of the device configuration. Note: In the Status displays for RAID-enabled My Book devices, Drive A Status and Drive 1 Status refer to the drive installed in the left slot of the device enclosure, viewed from the front, and Drive B Status and Drive 2 Status refer to the drive installed in the right slot, regardless of the actual label on the drive. Changing the Device Configuration Important: Changing the device configuration reformats both drives, which erases all of the data on them.
If you have been using the device in one mode and then want to switch to a different mode, back up your files to another storage device before changing the configuration. Note: Changing the device configuration also deletes the WD software and all of the support files, utilities, and user manual files. You can download these to restore the device to its original configuration after the change. See the Restoring the WD Software and Disk Image section. If there are more than one supported device connected on the computer, select the RIAD-enabled WD dual-drive storage device to change. Click RAID Management, then Configuration to display the configuration dialog. On the configuration dialog, select the option for the mode that you want to change to:.
Stripe - Maximum capacity and performance (RAID 0), not fault tolerance. Mirror - Maximum data protection (RAID 1), but half the capacity. Indifidual Drives (JBOD). Change the name of the volume, type over the name in the Volume Name box. Select the volume file format either.
Note: For RAID-enabled My Book devices, Drive A and Drive 1 refer to the drive installed in the left slot of the device enclosure, viewed from the front, and Drive B and Drive 2 refer to the drive installed in the right slot, regardless of the actual label on the drive. Read the warning about permanently erasing all of the data when you change the device configuration and select the I understand.
Check box to signify that you accept the risk Important: If you want to save any of the data that is on the device drives, back it up to another storage device before continuing with the configuration change. Click Configure to begin the configuration change. When prompted, type the computer logon password and click OK to continue During he configuration change, the software displays a status bar to show the progress of the conversion, clears and redisplays the Finder listin and desktop icon display to support the new device mode.
The device power/activity indicatior blinks rapidly to show:. Read/write activity for RAID 0 stripe or JBOD individual drives configurations.
Reguild activity for a RAID 1 mirror configuration After the configuration change completes, see Restoring the WD Software and Disk Image in the next section Restoring the WD Software and Disk Image In addition to deleting all of the data on a RAID-enabled WD dual-drive storage device, changing the device configuration also deletes the WD software and all of the support files, utilities, and user manual files. If it's necessary to remove and reinstall the WD software on the computer, or move the device to another computer and install the software there, the user will need to restore the WD software and disk image on the device. Please see for more information. Please see for help installing WD Security About the WD Security Software The WD Security™ software implements password protection and the 256-bit hardware data encryption capabilities of the supported WD hard drive. Use the WD Security software to:. Create a password to keep others from accessing the files on the drive. Change the password.
Remove password protection. Unlock the drive on any computer—whether the WD Security software is installed there or not Operating System Compatibility The WD Security software is compatible with the following macOS operating systems:. Sierra. El Capitan. Yosemite.
Mavericks. Mountain Lion.
High Sierra. Please see for help installing WD Utilities About WD Drive Utilities The WD Drive Utilities™ software makes it easy for you to keep your drive performing at its best. Use the WD Drive Utilities software to:. Register the drive.
Set the drive sleep timer. Check drive health.
Erase the drive Operating System Compatibility The WD Drive Utilities™ software is compatible with the following Mac OS X operating systems:. Sierra. El Capitan.
Yosemite. Mavericks. Mountain Lion Compatibility can vary, depending on hardware configuration and operating system.
For the best performance and reliability, always install the latest updates. Go to the Apple menu and select Software Update.
Note: The WD Drive Utilities software does not support:. Other manufacturers' hard drives. WD ard drives that were not originally configured for the WD Drive Utilities software If the WD Security icon was not chosen to be placed on the desktop, please follow the steps below, to open from the Aplications folder in Finder. Open Finder and select Applications. Select the icon labeled WD Drive Utilities. Open WD Security application. Settings Setting the Drive Sleep Timer The drive sleep timer turns off power to your drive after a certain period of inactivity to conserve power and minimize long-term wear on the drive.
Note: The sleep timer function is not available for RAID-enabled WD dual-drive storage devices. If ther are more than one supported drive connected to the computer, select the one with the password that you want to change.
Toggle the Sleep Timer On or Off. Select idle time before drive enters Sleep Mode. LED Settings Toggle the switch to trun the drive's LED on or off. Checking Drive Health The WD Drive Utilities™ software provides three diagnostic tools to help make sure that your supported drive is performing well.
Run the following tests if you are concerned that your drive is not operating properly:. Drive status check: The drive status check is a failure-prediction function that continuously monitors key internal performance attributes of the drive. A detected increase in drive temperature, noise, or read/write errors, for example, can provide an indication that the drive is approaching a serious failure condition. With advanced warning, you could take precautionary measures, like moving your data to another drive, before a failure occurs. The result of a drive status check is a pass or fail evaluation of the drive's condition. Quick drive test: Your supported drive has a built-in diagnostic utility that tests the drive for error conditions.
The quick drive test checks the drive for major performance problems. The result of a quick drive test is a pass or fail evaluation of the drive's condition. Complete drive test: The most comprehensive drive diagnostic is the complete drive test. It checks every sector for error conditions, and inserts bad sector markers as required. Note: It is not necessary to wait for the drive test to complete.
If you want to run drive diagnostics and status checks on another drive, just select the drive and the test you want to run. Managing the RAID Configuration The initial/default configuration of RAID-enabled WD dual-drive storage devices is as a striped RAID 0 disk array for high-speed/maximum-storage performance. You can use the WD Drive Utilities™ software to check the device status and reconfigure the device as either:. A mirrored RAID 1 disk array for maximum-protection/reduced-storage performance. JBOD (individual drives) that can be formatted differently for enhanced flexibility Checking the device status The WD Drive Utilities software provides a status indication of the device configuration. Note: In the Status displays for RAID-enabled My Book devices, Drive A Status and Drive 1 Status refer to the drive installed in the left slot of the device enclosure, viewed from the front, and Drive B Status and Drive 2 Status refer to the drive installed in the right slot, regardless of the actual label on the drive.
Changing the Device Configuration Important: Changing the device configuration reformats both drives, which erases all of the data on them. If you have been using the device in one mode and then want to switch to a different mode, back up your files to another storage device before changing the configuration. Note: Changing the device configuration also deletes the WD software and all of the support files, utilities, and user manual files. You can download these to restore the device to its original configuration after the change. See the Restoring the WD Software and Disk Image section. If there are more than one supported device connected on the computer, select the RIAD-enabled WD dual-drive storage device to change. Click RAID Management, then Configuration to display the configuration dialog.
On the configuration dialog, select the option for the mode that you want to change to:. Stripe - Maximum capacity and performance (RAID 0), not fault tolerance.
Mirror - Maximum data protection (RAID 1), but half the capacity. Indifidual Drives (JBOD). Change the name of the volume, type over the name in the Volume Name box. Select the volume file format either. Note: For RAID-enabled My Book devices, Drive A and Drive 1 refer to the drive installed in the left slot of the device enclosure, viewed from the front, and Drive B and Drive 2 refer to the drive installed in the right slot, regardless of the actual label on the drive.
Read the warning about permanently erasing all of the data when you change the device configuration and select the I understand. Check box to signify that you accept the risk Important: If you want to save any of the data that is on the device drives, back it up to another storage device before continuing with the configuration change. Click Configure to begin the configuration change.
When prompted, type the computer logon password and click OK to continue During he configuration change, the software displays a status bar to show the progress of the conversion, clears and redisplays the Finder listin and desktop icon display to support the new device mode. The device power/activity indicatior blinks rapidly to show:. Read/write activity for RAID 0 stripe or JBOD individual drives configurations. Reguild activity for a RAID 1 mirror configuration After the configuration change completes, see Restoring the WD Software and Disk Image in the next section Restoring the WD Software and Disk Image In addition to deleting all of the data on a RAID-enabled WD dual-drive storage device, changing the device configuration also deletes the WD software and all of the support files, utilities, and user manual files. If it's necessary to remove and reinstall the WD software on the computer, or move the device to another computer and install the software there, the user will need to restore the WD software and disk image on the device.
Please see for more information. In case the answer did not answer your question, you can always visit the for help from WD users.
Okay, so guys (and girls:p) I bought a WD My Passport Essentials SE external HDD, and I was wondering what is the proper way to eject it? I just right click on it in My Computer, click Eject, and then remove the USB cable? Asking because even after click Eject, and the drive removes itself from My Computer, it is actually still spinning.
Is this a normal thing for external drives? I have the same experience. Usually I just leave the drive plugged in for an extra 30mins, so it's not being used, and then just remove the cable - you should notice that the drive has stopped spinning so you won't hear that spin-down. Note: after the 30mins, if you open My Computer, or empty the recycle bin etc, you'll hear it spin up again.