Resolved Oops... reformatted palm drive. Now what?

I grew weary of dealing with the Western Digital "unlocker" software on my WD My Passport Ultra so in a fit of digital frustration I reformatted the little sucker.

As always when one is seized of such angst, regret seeps in -- but this time only in the form of a question.

Here 'tis: Before I unplug it from my Windows 7 laptop (USB 3.0 connection) is there a piece of driver software I need to put on it?

Or, will the laptop (or any other computer) just sense it and find it automatically without any special software being on the drive itself?

Thanks in advance,
Rick

 

I use WD My Passport software with a password to unlock it and never had any problems. Microsoft should load drivers for it.

 

Are you saying that your Passport is expired/void. You have no OS to operate? Neil.

 

Because this drive is enclosed inside a USB device, the drive "should" be detected and usable as a drive without any special drivers.

 

Thanks to all for the feedback. Unfortunately, after all the angst I am still at square one.

The data section reformatted but the WD tools stayed, so after I finished and renamed the drive the unlocker popped up again like a proverbial ground squirrel.

However, the drive was read as before as a USB device and showed up. So, no harm no foul on the format issue.

I still get annoyed at the unlock prompts and now, at the fact that WD does not let me remove it. I will keep it in mind the next time I shop for a portable drive.

 

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3835

"...a small portion of drive space has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD)...it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer...There is no way to remove it from the disk. "

You can hide it, but it isn't easy. (click the link)

"Critical: Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. "

 

All the more reason to buy standard drives and put them in your own enclosure or docking station. Or better yet, repurpose an old XP system as a backup server on your network. Just block Internet access to it in your router.

 

I take it you uninstalled the WD Quick View, WD SmartWare, and WD SmartWare Installer in the Control Panel\Programs and Features.

 

Navigate C:\ProgramFiles. If there is a Western Digital Folder with a SmartWare file in it delete the folder. Do the same with C:\ProgramFiles(x86). If you can back up your registry. Then go to Start\Orb\Type regedit(in search box) click ok. Navigate to H_KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstasll. When in Uninstall. Check each of the numbered that are in between the Braces{}. Delete Western Digital entries related to SmartWare.