Passport shouldn't require any software installation to work properly

WD External Drives External Drives
1

When you plug in the new “My Passport” drives, you are prompted to install drivers for “WD SES Device” This means that new “My Passport” units requires a non-built-in drivers that makes the disk not portable anymore.

We demand the hability to disable “WD SES Device”

Thanks.

6 Likes
2

Yes please. As long as I am forced to install this ‘WD SES Device’ thing, my portable drive is hardly more then useless brick for me.

3

Google it - I recall reading that there is some kind of hack to disable that.  Or perhaps I read it in the reviews on Amazon?  Probably the latter.  This is exactly why I haven’t bought one yet.  When they fix this, I’m buying a 500 GB drive the next day.

4

SES driver is not requiredfor data storage (copy files), but its purpose is to communicate to drive (such as fuel gauage LEDs, WD SmartWare, drive mount state, etc.).

You do not need to install SES driver to simply use the drive.

Windows will recognize and prompt to install the driver which is annoying

Jefferson17, there is utiltiy to disable VCD (Virtual CD) not SES driver.

5

i agree with this becasue i want to use my passport and school and becasue of rm the schools o.s i can’t install the VD becasue i am not the admin

6

Agreed. If the SES driver isn’t required for the drive to be used as a storage device, then the user should have a clearly described option/choice to install it or not.

7

This is terrible.  WD please give us a firmware that lets us disable the SES device.

An ultra portable USB external, should simply offer a usb storage device and thats it.  If WD wants to offer extra features and/or drivers, they should offer it only as an OPTION.  Those options should not be default, and certainly we should have the option to disable them.

8

Just reformat the drive. Right click, format is about as easy as you could possibly ask for.

9

@jonj678

does this get around the vcd load from the firmware or in other words, will the full capacity of the drive be available?  thanks.

11

This is a duplicate of http://community.wdc.com/t5/External-Drive-Ideas/Passport-shouldn-t-require-any-software-installation-to-work/idi-p/1823.