Need New Software

I have a WD My Passport Essential SE.  The csoftware was accidentally deleted from my computer, a PC.  It has 1 TB and it;'s USB 3.0.  How and where do I locate the correct backup software?

Go to  this page and pick the appropriate one (there are a few variants of the MyPassport SE) based on the model ID (or just enter your model number at the top of the page).

That should take you to the appropriate software download page for your device. From your description, I guess it’s  this one, but I link above to the page a level up just to be sure.

I installed the software with no problem except I can’t find it!  No shortcut on my computer and not in the list of programs.  What to do now?

Hmm odd, it should be in the program list (at the bottom, under Western Digital).

If you go into Programs and Features under control panel, is WD Smartware and/or WD Quickview (whatever you actually installed) listed there?

I know it should be there, but it’s not!  Any suggestions?

If it’s not listed under the “Programs and Features” section in your control panel (in the list that is populated once you click on the P&F icon) then it’s not installed.

All I can think of is either your user account doesn’t have access to the relevant administrative priviledges to install things, or your computer is locked down under a policy that does not allow installations (as can happen on for example corporate machines like the one I’m typing this on - being only a humble minion here I’m not deemed trustworthy enough to install things myself).

Are you able to install other programs on the machine and have them work correctly? Also when you did the smartware install what exactly did you install, and did you get options for creating icons/links (desktop, start menu etc)? It’s been a while since I last installed Smartware so I can’t remember if it asks you about making such links or not.

Also if you look under c:\program files (x86) do you see a folder called “Western Digital”? If so, what sub-folders are within that WD folder? That’s where the software should be installed into. Mine has 5 sub-folders containing the various bits of WD software I have installed on my home machine (WD Discovery, WD Drive Manager, WD Quick View, WD Smartware and WDCSMAM).