As I said I did everything as was already indicated but still do not succeed in updating. According to my observation, the new version installs a service called anything from “Shadows Copy” that cannot be started and, consequently, the update is aborted by deleting all files. In your development version this service is being properly performed, but when it is installed on another computer, something goes wrong. As you can see in several posts there are more customers with the same difficulty related to the installation of the update. I have Windows 7 but I’ll try installing enabling compatibility system and then inform you the result.
I try installing enabling compatibility system without success too.
To WDJeremy:
I have ALL the MS windows updates for Windows Vista, including the “microsoft.net framework”. It would seem that WD needs to look at its update process for users and make it simple to update like any other software vendor…as suggested my my earlier post. Smartware simply is not working as marketed and it seems it’s in WD’s court to fix it for its customer base.
Thanks…Garry
I have to say I agree with original poster. I too have a my book essential, no problem using the smartware to perform initial backup, tried to do backup yesterday, could NOT get it to do anything despite more than two hours of work. After sitting on hold for more than thirty min with customer service I was told to update firmware and software. I have now updated everything to the latest version, 1.3.0.16, and left it “backing up” all night. My external drive now has 2/3rds of the info I am trying to backup. In fact, it now says it has LESS photos on it than it said was on it before I updated the firmware and software! I didn’t buy an external drive to have to spend this much time on it, and it seems that both by phone and here online WD’s support’s only answer is “update software and firmware”.
This product touts the smartware as an easy way to perform backups, and then doesn’t work, and asks non-techie users to play with their windows settings? Ridiculous. A techie would not be calling in for help. A non-techie like myself (and, it seems, the orignal poster), does not want to screw up their whole system simply because WD is producing a product that doesnt’ work consistently.
Is there any other WD support people who can suggest how to make the newly updated Smartware ACTUALLY backup my files? I have 90gb out of 112 gb backed up, and despite leaving the computer untouched and backing up overnight, NOTHING was done overnight. I hit “stop backup”, since it wasn’t doing anything (windows task manager showed my computer was idling), it said “partial backup accomplished”. Then I went back and hit backup, the screen doesn’t change at all, and once again the windows task manager shows nothing is running in the background. The WD smartware backup screen does not show anything to indicate it is doing ANYTHING. No files seem to be moving. And I cannot click on “run backup” since it is already clicked.
PLEASE SOMEONE HELP, I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME AND MONEY ON THIS DRIVE FOR IT TO BE NON-FUNCTIONING! THIS SOFTWARE IS RIDICULOUSLY POOR, AND I WILL NOT HESITATE TO PASS ON MY EXPERIENCE TO OTHERS IF IT IS NOT PROMPTLY FIXED.
Original poster, sorry if I have jumped in and hijacked your thread, but it seems we are having the same issue with the same lack of assistance from WD.
To Nuinta:
Hi…you did not ‘steal my thunde’ as they say. Point is, like me, WD’s product (software) does not work for you as marketed …in my case after the initial back up way back at the end of May, 2010. I can’t even get the updates to firmware and software…and yes, WD’s staffs’ solution is to change settings on my computer. ( Don’t have to do this for any other software updates!!!)
Hope you are able to get your external HD to work.
Cheers…Garry
Garry after downloading firmware and software updates, you need to use a decompressor, like WinZip, 7Zip or another to decompress. The firmware was updated successfully, only the software update is not installed at all, either looks like it will install, because I look at the directory and check that it is copying files there, but in the end the files are deleted, not installing the software. The absurdity of this software updater is that neither warns that there was some problem as still says that the software was updated successfully. Engineers from WD, don’t you think it is time to give some satisfaction conclusive about this inconvenience? Continuing so I can see that I’ll end up using other backup programs, but if I knew that your HD would give a lot of work, I neither had purchased.
If you have installed all the Windows Updates, unfortunately, the other solution is to reinstall Windows itself. However, you can certainly contact our technical support to see if there is anything else that they can recommend that I have not.
And all others users who cannot install will also have to reinstall the SO? Has nothing to do with the SO, but with the upgrade program. WD needs to install the program on a computer just been installed the SO, and determine if they can perform the upgrade. Call support for just saying to perform all the procedures which have already been announced, is a waste of time and money.
Here is the error message from events, I’m administrator of my computer.
Product: WD SmartWare – Error 1920. Service ‘WD File Management Shadow Engine’ (WDSC) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services.
More users exactly with the same problem.
http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-Smartware/Version-1-3-0-16-not-updating-installing/td-p/24420/page/10
To ALL frustrated users of WD’s MyBook Essential Ext HD and associated software:
Don’t mean to be ‘mean’ …but it would appear that WD, as a corporation, has a flawed product in ‘Mybook Essentials’ for so many users. My posts speak for themselves…have not been able to update ‘firmware and software’ and the so-called smartware has not updated my documents et al, since the first installation going way back to the end of May, 2010.
Hope that WD recognizes this problem for so many of its users and ‘does the right thing’…and fix it…so that updates and its software work like any other vendors’!
Till then, I’m ‘dragging and dropping’ my key documents over to the Ext. HD…appears to work OK at the present time.
Good luck to ALL users having problems with this product!
Garry
