Post 2: Mount/Dismount Problem

WD Software & Mobile Apps WD Software
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  1. When I plug the USB cable in, the drive appears as a CD disc. I can enter a password, and am good to go.

  2. When I am done, I have no way to dismount (protect the data) except to use the “Safely remove hardware…” function. Most of the time this fails because the drive is somehow “in use” even when I have closed ALL windows and all tasks that seem related to WD.

  3. If I log off, the encryption remains off, and files can be copied by others using a good data-recovery program.

  4. If I successfully manage to "dismount the drive with “Safely remove hardware”, the drive disappears, and only a physical unplug/replug makes the CD reappear so Smartware can remount it. I leave my drive connected during the day, but would like to keep it encrypted when I am not at my desk.

5, USB 2 connectors are only rated for 1500 plug/unplug cycles, and get less reliable with use. Connector failure causes random connect/disconnects and possible data loss; eventually perhaps a motherboard or computer replacement. I already have a notebook with 3 flaky USB ports.

SO the question is how do I mount/dismount the drive without having to unplug/replug the cr-ppy USB connectors?

Bob

BTW: I could solve the problem by uninstalling one of the the “Enhanced host controllers” using Device Manager. It immediately reinstalls and thereby finds the drive. However, this will affect ALL USB drives on the computer.

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The most efficiant way would be to completly shut down the computer then physicaly disconnect the drive.

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Lawrence; Thanks for the reply!

But OUCH! Rebooting is not a pleasant solution. It would do a better, if still incomplete, job of removing traces of my work, but I am not trying for an NSA-proof security level.

My trick of uninstalling the enhanced USB driver takes a lot less time than rebooting, since Windows 7/64 (sorry I didn’t mention the OS) immediately and automatically reinstalls the driver and finds attached USB drives within a few seconds of the reinstall. This works to disconnect the drive; running SmartWare or the unlock program remounts the drive when I want to resume work. I don’t need to have the drive unplugged while I am away from my desk (although it would be much safer in my pocket, now that I think about it.)

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It would be GREAT if (after a quick warning) SmartWare were smart enough to force a write of the write-behind buffer and disconnect the drive even if there’s a file open. And then to be able to force a scan to reconnect the disconnected  drive without having to crudely unplug/replug the drive.

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I understand USB 3.0 connectors are rated much higher than 1500 disconnects, so maybe I can go back to the Yankee system of getting the drive to reappear in my device list. Maybe on my next computer…  :slight_smile:

Bob