We are starting to use the WD Passport Ultra Metal (2TB I think).
When I install the WD tools on my late model Dell i7 Win7 Pro/Enterprise desktop, everything works great. I can set the password on the drive from the installed WD tools, read encrypted files, turn off the password, etc, no problem.
Now I go into our lab environment. We work on a secure system and the Dell laptops with Win 7 Pro are loaded with Group policies to lock down the software. Dell M6800 and E6530 laptops are the ones I was working with for this problem.
The WD SES driver is already installed on these laptop images along with the WD Security and and Drive utilities. We don’t use the Smartware backup software.
If I mount a Passport Ultra Metal drive with an existing password protection on the USB 3.0 port, and click on the WD Unlocker program on the virtual CD Drive, the unlock menu pops up and I can unlock the drive.
If I mount a Passport Ultra Metal drive with an existing password protection on the USB 3.0 port, and try to unlock the drive via the WD programs installed in the Start Program list the following happens:
WD Security - I enter the correct password and get the Authentication Failed error message.
WD Drive Utilities - I enter the correct password and get the Authentication Failed error message.
WD Drive Unlocker - after clicking on the program, nothing happens. No prompt, no error, no nothing.
I also can not set the password using the above utilities on a drive that does not have a password enabled.
I tried putting the Passport drive on the USB 2.0 port, and got the same results.
I tried to uninstall and reinstall the WD softare. No change. Run as administrator… no change.
I don’t believe this is a USB port hardware problem because I can unlock the drive when running the WD Unlocker off the virtual CD drive created when I plug in the drive.
I suspect that there is some local or group policy restriction in our secure environment that is interfering with proper lock/unlock operation. The problem is, what restriction is causing the problem. I have looked at *all* these various policies and tried tweaking some with no positive effect.
Has anyone else encountered this problem? It seems like some tasks are running under the logged in user, and others are Local Service. What policies/permissions are needed to make the security features work when running from the Start Programs list. I think the WD unlocker running under the virtual CD drive is skirting some permission issues…
Is it possible to get the WD software to install in some directory other than the Program Files directory?
I have checked the event logs, and I don’t see any errors or anything unusual.
Can anyone suggest a tool I can run to help figure out what is going on?
Thanks in advance,
Jim
