Cannot install Terrible software! Please HELP

This is the second time I’ve had this problem with WD products…

I’ve just bought the 1 TB My book live And spent all of last night And this morning trying to install the software So I can run a backup!!!

I have Windows XP…

I install the disk… Then I get to the next steps And click the first “open my drive option” And get a run time error…

Since Then I’ve bought software on-line to clean my registry…

No luck

I Then thought I would install the software And re-install it… IMPOSSIBLE TO UN-INSTALL!!!

I Then downloaded more software to invoke a forced un-install!!

Any other way of mapping the drive is not working… And running a backup from window XP does not find the drive…

So… I Then install the software on a laptop running Vista…

All installed - Great And drive mapped in my desktop…

However when I go to run the backup from the smartware it takes me back to the install page… So I have to install the software again!!!

Anyway its not this pc I want to back up… So I guess this is pointless anyway…

I bought this instead of the iomega one as I thought it would be simple… ITS NOT!!

Im not a technical person And I work away from home during the week So I only have the weekends to do these sort of things and no weekend support available…

Im really fed up with this… Any advice anyone can give?

In fact Im going to package this back up and hopefully exchange for the Iomega network drive… I cannot bare to was anymore of my weekend on this garbage!!

Sorry for the rant!

PLEASE SOMEONE - AT LEAST TELL ME HOW TO MAP THE DRIVE!!!

Ive tried mapping the drive through XP… it wont find the drive when i browse so if I type in the path it asks for a user name and password… when i give the user name and password i set up - it just keeps re-popping the same box asking for a password!

I’ll wade in.

For one you DO NOT need to install any software.

Quick run though things and if anything is unclear then can expand on the “unclear bits”.

  1. Ensure Microsoft Networking Client is enabled.
  2. Ensure there is not a firewall issue. With the XP naitive firewall there should not be a problem.
  3. Open the command prompt and issue a command to disconnect from any and all shares that may already be established on your computer:   NET USE * /DELETE
  4. Using Windows Explorer navigate to the share on your MyBook Live to which you wish to map a drive letter.
  5. The username is admin.  The password is the MyBook Live’s owners password.
  6. Windows XP Home will not remember the login credentials but Windows XP Professional will remember the login credentials.  A workaround to semi-remember login credentials is to hibernate the OS and not shut it down.

What may be happening is that the Windows XP operating system is for some reason authenticating itself to the MyBook Live as a guest user to the Public share.  If the MyBook Live does not recognise the username then it accepts the connection as a guest.  You then try connecto to a share with a username but you can’t be authenticated to the MyBook Live as a guest user and a known user at the same time.

I had a similar problem with Windows Vista and an Iomega StorStation.  I knew the username and password was right but Vista kept on telling me the login was rejected.  It’s because some process within Vista (possibly seeing what resources are available to it) has authenticated itself to to the Iomega StorStation anonymously.

It ended up being an issue with the Windows operating system and NOT the network addressed storage.

(At least I think that the MyBook Live will authenticate a connection as a guest if the username sent to it by the connectee is unknown to the MyBook Live.)

Top man Myron - thaks so much for taking the time to reply…

I’ll give all this a try and let you know how I get on…

Thanks again.

Cheers,

S

Confiused me for a while may years ago but that was because even though I could login locally on the same computer to sun a process as a lower provilages user, a server will only allow a single login with one set of credentials unless something out of the ordinary is configured on the server.

If some process on the computer authenticates on to the MyBook Live’s Samba service before you do then you’re the one getting the short straw.  It’s a bit like enabling the Guest account on a Windows operating system.  If someone tries to connect with a username that the OS does not know then that process/user is signed on the OS acting as the server as user Guest.

Obviously even with the Guest account enabled of the connecting process/user/computer used a username known to the OS being connected too then the password must be correct for the account used.

You don’t need to use any of the Smartware software if you don’t need the features of the SmartWare software. You can happily use your own back-up software but don’t use Microsoft’s SyncToy.  The Samba service used within the MyBook Live can’t cope, crashes, the MyBook Live’s watchdog loads then loads it up after a crash/panic.  Don’t know why the Samba service can’t cope with SyncToy because it’s an awesome synchronisation/back-up software tool.

Thanks again for this but im not sure how i do all this while setting the OS to hibernate…

I map the drive via windows explorer… enter the path [\MyBookLive\Share](file://%5C%5CMyBookLive%5CShare)

Up pops the log-in - i enter admin and the password i set and it just keeps on re-popping up again looking for the password…

Ive turned off the firewall and performed that command you mentioned

I think im really struggling with this one I think…

I’ll phone WD helpline tomorrow and hope they can help.

Really fed up with this - more becuase the so called simple software doesnt work! These things are supposed to be simple for the non technical folk like me!

Thanks again for trying to help though - really apprecaite it.

Try this…  Open the command prompt and enter the two commands one after another…

(This is assuming you have created a share called Share.)

NET USE * /DELETE
NET USE * \\MyBookLive\Share /USER:Admin *

 Obviously replace Share with a share name that you have created on the MyBook Live.  Let me know what happens and what responses you get to the NET USE command.

(Passwords are case sensitive and when you type the password to the second command the text won’t show-up on the screen.)

Myron - not sure if you are still about but this problem has been a nightmare…

Not long after your help I mapped the drive only to establish it was corrupt - only 260gb of memory…

WD told me to take it back… Since i got the new one  - I have had all the same problems and CANNOT Map the drive!

I took your advice on the NET USE Command and when I enter the password I get the following:

System Error 5 has occured.

Access is denied

Im using the password I set up for the drive!!!

This is the worst experience I have ever had with a bit of kit in my life!!

Any advice on what this response means?

What version of Windows are you using?  Is is Window XP Home or Windows XP Professional?

The reason I ash that is that the Home version of XP will not persistantly store network credentials.

Also try this before trying my instructions again…

Open-up Windows Explorer.

  1. Select Tools menu.
  2. Select Folder options...
  3. Select View tab.
  4. If it’s ticked, remove the tick from Automatically search for network folders and printers.
  5. Click OK
  6. Log off and log on.

Make sure your computer can see your MBL and can talk to it …

PING MyBookLive

 Also try . . .

NBTSTAT -a MyBookLive

 Both the above commands should complete without errors.

That should stop the operating system scanning the network for what’s on the network and signing onto the MBL using the MBL’s anonymous logon.  Try sign-on to the MyBook Live after that.

Try a username of MyBookLive\admin.  I’m using XP Professional and that’s the username storied in the saved network credentials list.  On my Netbook when I sign-in I use the following command when the computer’s booted up as after that I usually keep it in a hibernated or standby state.  The * at the end only make the NET command ask me to yupr in the password which is not shown on the screen as it’s being typed.

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\NET.EXE USE \\MyBookLive /user:admin

( This is assuming the network name of your MBL is MyBookLive.)

Are you ABSOLUTLY sure you’re typing in the password correctly. I’m assuming you have assigned an owners password to your replacement MBL.

Is there any other program on your computer that’s scanning for network resources?