Plus, I don’t really want to delete my old backup until I figure out what’s going on. If I DO need something on that old backup, then I’m really out of luck.
I do not what to tell you. I just ran a back up to test. It does run and simply opens when it is working properly. What is the harm of deleting the old back up if you system is working fine? If the program does not open anyway you are not really using the back up and can not make a current back up.
But again your choice.
Look in C:\ProgramData\Western Digital\Logs\WD Backup<UserName> for an error in the log file.
You probably have a bogus backup plan that causes the error.
Look in C:\ProgramData\Western Digital\Logs\WD Backup<UserName> for files with names similar to the bad backup plan and delete them! (move them somewhere else, if you’re skeptical)
Retry the backup.
Has anybody got to the bottom of this. First we had a screw up with firmware that stopped many devices working. (I’ve fixed that). I now have an effectively pristine factory reset WDMyCloud, but can’t use it because NONE of the WD software will open on my Windows 10 computer. What’s going on?
I have done all the stuff suggested above but simply none of it works. Where is the support from WD?
You should try downloading the software entirely (as in your entire Western Digital catalog) using their online links. You should first uninstall everything Western Digital and then restart or hard reboot (shut off and turn back on) your computer. Then you should follow these links to download the material and use these programs for your installation.
WD BackUp: Software and Firmware Downloads | WD Support
I would highly recommend downloading and installing WD Discovery first, since this program is designed for controlling the others on your computer.
If this does not help (I just did it, and it worked for me after about 4 hours of nothing), then I cannot offer much help else. I’m not a WD technician, but I do hope that you all find the help that you are looking for.
Let me see if I’ve got this straight … I bought a “backup” drive to “backup” my data, yet the only successful solutions I see here are to WIPE OUT MY “BACKUP” and start over, while my internal data drive is dying? If I wipe out my “backup” data to transfer data from my internal DATA and my “backup” drive dies during the data “backup”, what then? What is a “backup” drive intended to do? Oh, that’s right. 
I guess I should go buy another (non-WD drive to “backup” my “backup” WD drive. I will. P.s. I RARELY use my “backup” drive, but if WD can’t support it after only a few years, (and maybe 4 hours of total usage, I guess I will search elsewhere. This is pathetically counter-designed. In other words, WD Backup version for Windows 10 doesn’t launch on Windows 10 without “WIPING OUT BY BACKUP FIRST?” Really? Good luck with that one… I guess it’s a good thing WD doesn’t design redundant systems in airplanes.
Solved my issue: I updated my WD Backup software to the latest version, but still could not get “WD backup” to start.
I did some searches on this western digital community site and was lead to these threads about corrupt backup plans:
I found the backup logs listed under C:\ProgramData\Western Digital\Logs\WD Backup\username\
Looking at each of the logs one of them led me to the location of the backup plans in:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Western Digital\WD Backup\
I renamed the backup plans folder from “WD Backup” to “WD Backup-old”
Once I did that when I reran WD Backup suoftware it started immediately with no backup plans.
I had to create a new backup plan, and run my backup.
Conclusion I had a corrupt backup plan that was preventing “WD Backup” from running.
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I had the same issue as many here: WD backup would not open even after reinstalling/restarting machine (Windows 8.1). The solution in the previous post worked for me. Renaming or deleting a corrupted “WD Backup” file in directory
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Western Digital\
solved the problem, and I can now make a new backup plan and successfully back up to the drive. Thanks for the help!
You saved my day!
You LEGEND!
I’d tried uninstalling and even formating the Passport Drive with no joy.
It was still picking up on the last backup and wouldn’t let me open the ‘settings’
Once I renamed the folder to WD Backup-old it started a fresh backup and everything is running fine.
One thing I would say is you may need to change the settings in Windows Explorer to show hidden files and folders to see the C:\ProgramData folder
Many Thanks to adamsrb1
Thanks for this solution – took a long time to find it – pity it’s not at the top of the suggestions
This worked for me also, thanks for the solution!
