I understand the intent of SmartWare to assist the average user in backing up critical files on their computer. However, for the experienced/professional user they should be able to delete the Smartware from the drive and recover the lost diskspace and disable the VCD in the firmware. We resell thes drives and expected to have the advertised storage space on the drives. The expectation was to connect the drive to any computer which would recognise it as a standard storage device. We have already had several clients return the drives and this is creating an issue.
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I already own back up software. In addition, my Lenovo laptop comes with back up software. So I have LOTS of back up options. What I needed is a drive space to back up to.
I have no problem with the drive Shipping with the software. I do mind that my 750 GB drive ends up with less than 700 GB useable space, and access to the available drive is impaired by clumsy software. It does not play well with the other software I am using.
Please, go ahead & install your software on the drive - but allow us the option to not install it and delete it off the dirve, reclaim the space, and use the dirve as a simple external hard drive.
I too wish to recover the lost space dedicated to the Smartware software partition, hiding the partition is not sufficient, I bought a 1TB drive because I need 1TB of storage. Anything less that 1TB is just misleading advertising.
I agree. An option to completely remove the Smartware is needed. On my Macbook the Smartware volume kept reappearing, ejecting lasted only a few seconds. If I unplugged the Passport Esential after the icon reappeared I got the msg re. needing to eject first. I took the time to find and install the “hide” software, which worked as far as eliminating the folder on the desktop, but the files are still on the drive.
These files and the partitioning to support them may be the reason the Essential 500G will not boot the Macbook. My WD Elite, which does not have this software on the drive (after I repartitioned) boots fine thru the USB.
I was very disappointed to hear, after I spent much time with WD tech support, getting as far as Level II, that WD had not even tried using their external drives as a Mac boot device and that they were suprised to learn that I had succeeded in doing so with my Elite.
I fully endorse the views above. I object strongly to being sold a drive which has less capacity than stated because WD has taken up space with unwanted (and pretty useless) software. I bought the drive to use with my laptop because I was happy with the MyBook that I already use with my PC (including the basic backup software it came with).
I canniot get on with Smartware - it is difficult to understand just what is and isn’t being backed up and leaving it running in the background severly impeded the machine’s speed in other programmes. i have ‘hidden’ the ‘virtual drive’ but it is still wasting space, and it also tries to load itself each time I plug the drive in and it has to be cancelled out.
I only wanted a drive to plug in from time to time and am quite happy to use the MS back-up sofware. I would not have bought this drive had the marketing blurb made any mention of the smartware - but it didn’t.
When will WD give is a removal tool. It can’t be that hard…
I am in COMPLETE AGREEMENT with this thread. I do NOT like being forced to use software that I don’t need, and the fact that I can even REMOVE what I do not want to use is a slap in my face!! At least put a WARNING MESSAGE on the packaging of product!! Yeah, I’ve hidden it…but its still there TAKING UP VALUABLE space. 668MB??? thats an .ISO file!!! I think its insulting to even think that EVERY person/consumer would be grateful for such non-sense. It is effectively a root/kit!!! And before anyone starts blasting away at me about rootkit accusations, reseach what a rootkit effectively is and the fact that there are trusted and non-trusted root/kits. I paid money for a 500GB storage device, not a 4.5GB storage device that provides home to someone else’s software. Sufficed to say that I will be returning the drive and not purchasing anymore WD products until this MAJOR ISSUE is resolved. I will also have not much of a choice but to alert my colleagues and clients to stay away from WD products until this issue is resolved.
I have to agree with all of the above. I’d also add that the packing the drives come in do not even mention that you are getting something that includes a virtual drive or a hidden partition full of software that cannot be removed. Add to that the stupid driver installation screen that pops up when it is plugged into computers. I am definitely looking to send this drive back. I consider this scheme very misleading and dishonest on the part of Western Digital. In the past, they would place a folder on the drive and allow you the option to use their software or not. Now, it’s almost not an option. Sure, you can hide the VCD but, doing so means that you cannot install all the drivers that windows is searching for once you plug the drive into another PC.
I AGREE with the suggestion to allow removal of the SMARTWARE from the External Drive to allow use of the space.
However, I would continue to use SmartWare if I had a choice to select a simple BACKUP program that takes your entire C:\ drive and backs it up like a mirror image. I even noted that Bill_S made this suggestion to someone who didn’t want to use ShareWare because of its idiosyncracies. I can see the advantage to automatically backing up new files rather than running a backup program once a week.
It also took me awhile to figure out that the ShareWare software that was installed automatically backed up my files using Music, Photos, Documents, Movies, Email, etc as the main Directories on the storage device. I was really hoping that it would have copied ALL my files to a second location without creating a new directory structure. And why create directories with such long alpha-numeric names? Why not call the directories Movies, Music, Documents, Email, etc.? Who creates a meaningless directory name these days?
I also found that while Smartware was first backing up my files, my PC was extremely slow until the backup was complete. There were 4 programs running: WDDMService, WDDMStatus, WD SmartwareBackground Service and WESmartware. The latter two programs used 18–25% and 50-75% of my CPU time. This left me waiting 2 to 3 minutes for my other programs like email to open. I wish someone had told me as I kept clicking on various programs trying to get them to start, and all I got were error messages.
It seems everyone goes through this same problem, but WD has not provided a trail of bread crumbs so that new purchases like myself do not have to go through this frustration.
When I buy a Terabyte of disk space I expect to get a Terabyte of disk space. And this means a Terabyte of AVAILABLE disk space.
When I buy a kilogram of sugar I expect to get a kilogram of sugar. And this means a kilogram of EDIBLE sugar.
Selling a Terabyte of disk space and providing less is like selling a kilogram of sugar and providing less. It is illegal.
Full acknowledgement! WD clearly needs to listen to a lot of customers and provide a firmware solution! WD Service told me that I was appearently talked into the wrong device (granted), but there was “only a few hundred customers out in the internet complaining while hundred thousends of devices were sold”… It would be unfortunate that they received hardly positive feedback from the obviously contented customers… It would be interesting to know which relative rank this issue in the WD service stats has. Well - If you don’t have the stats, just look at your own forum and extrapolate: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is clearly THE issue with the most customer responses in the section for non-TV ideas! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is only naturaly that absolute numbers are not representative: Obviously, not every disappointed customer takes the effort to complain to the manufacturer - Some returned it angrily directly to the vendor, others complained with the vendors, and many just resigned to accept the facts. And just if they do not write “Never again a WD”, it doesn’t mean they don’t think it… It is normal to include software that might not be needed by all customers. It is understanable from the perspective of money-saving to include it on the drive itself as a seperate partition instead of on a separate CD. BUT: It is a highly questionable practice to block a siginificant capacity of the drive from the user, by a firmware that forbids repartitioning, thereby reducing the effective storage capacity the customer paid for - especially if there is not mentioning of it whatsoever on the box! The vendor told me that the difference between MyBook Essential and Elements was the quality of the drive (positively selected drives in MyBook) - He had appearently no clue that there was this little “feature bug” that limits operation. What would WD actually lose of they gave the many angry customers (who ran unknowingly into this trap) at least the option to remove the UTF partition…?!
I’d also like to be able to remove the partitions from my MyBook Essential’s and re-claim the space, and it’s nice to see WD acknowledge that this is wanted by users.
I don’t quite get the panties-in-a-bunch attitude, however.
My boxes say “Total accessible capacity varies…”
implemented — how, where, when available?
Yes, I see that the issue of being able to remove smart software is the major issue in the forum. It is time WD did something about this. Unfortunatlley I cannot recommend, this good drive, to my customers because it is too difficult to remove this software. You can’t believe how many customers don’t want the extra icon on their desktop. I use the drives because I have the time and knowledge to go to the site and download the firmware update to remove it.
This Idea has been implemented, it is now being closed in order to favor votes on active Ideas.
Please provide a program which will allow people to completely and permanently delete the SmartWare package from portable USB drives.
And completely remove the VCD partition.
Smartware partition is a big annoyance and waste of usefull space,
Can you please explain how usefull is this software on a linux system?
