Wd My Passport For Mac/ How To Saftly Remove Disc After Backing Up
Western Digital (WD) Portable Hard Drives are capable of storing quite a bit of information. Modern Western Digital drives come with a firmware called “SmartWare,” which can be useful to some users. The SmartWare can provide backup solutions that may not be available with the operating system in use.
Provides the steps necessary to safely remove an external drive from your computer. Backup & Explore ▹. A pop-up window displays notifying you that it is now safe to remove the device. In Mac OS the drive appears as an icon on the desktop. Wait a few seconds after the drive has gone into the Trash Can; once the.
WD hard drives with SmartWare also have some utilities that some users will find useful if their computer can support them. The WD SmartWare may also be useless to some users who may want to remove it. Ie in chrome. The most common reasons for removing SmartWare are: Storage Capacity – A hard drive that has SmartWare on it no longer has full storage capacity. The software is located on a hidden drive partition, which removes a reasonable amount of storage capacity. Therefore, less than a gigabyte to more than a few gigabytes are missing on the main partition due to the hidden partition and software that are included. Virtual Drive Appearance – The virtual drive loads onto both Windows and Apple computers’ desktops. Based systems can also see the partition, but cannot make changes to the partition due to the drive’s onboard hardware.
The drive may be an eyesore for those who keep the hard drive loaded on their system and it normally cannot be removed easily. Resource Usage – When the SmartWare is loaded, it takes up a sizable portion of the computer’s resources. Memory and CPU use can easily be overwhelmed when the SmartWare is on the WD drive. Removing the WD SmartWare prevents these resources from being consumed while the drive is connected to the system. Removing the SmartWare from the Desktop Note: This method does not delete the SmartWare from the WD drive, but simply prevents it from loading. This process will not regain lost storage on the disk and simply makes the partition and the virtual drive that loads from it disappear.
The virtual disk will no longer load when the drive is connected. Disabling the Virtual Drive in Windows This process is meant for Microsoft Windows OS users. Navigate to the machine’s Device Manager. In order to access the Device Manager, head to the Start Menu through the Task Bar and click “Control Panel.” Select “Hardware,” then select the Device Manager from the available list.
Windows Vista or Windows 7 users should type in “Device Manager” in the search bar on the start menu and wait for the option to load. Clicking “Device Manager” will open it directly. Another way to do this directly is to open a run prompt by holding down the “Windows” key on the keyboard and pressing “R.” Type “devmgmt.msc” in the run prompt and select “OK” to run the direct process for the Device Manager. Once in the Device Manager, look at the list of devices. Click the “+” sign to open up the list of CD/DVD drives that are installed on the system. Right click “WD Virtual CD XXXX USB Device” (where XXXX is a number assigned to the drive) and select the option to disable the drive.
This disables the Virtual Drive. If the drive is connected to another PC or compatible computer, the WD SmartWare virtual disk will still show up unless the process is repeated on that computer. Disabling the Virtual Drive in Apple Computers The process is different for Apple computers and must be built into an AppleScript, which automatically ejects the WD SmartWare upon startup.
Note: This will not remove the SmartWare, but tells the drive to eject and prevents it from being seen from the desktop. Within the AppleScript Editor, it is easy to create a script that automatically takes the VCD down. The AppleScript: ScriptEditor.app is located in the Applications folder and displays an editable text field when opened. Type or copy the following commands into the app: tell application “Finder” activate try eject disk “WD SmartWare” end try end tell Running this script and keeping it active helps to prevent the WD SmartWare software from loading the VCD on the desktop. Simply compile the script so that it can be loaded again without having to rewrite it each time.