WD SmartWare Update, Powerbutton and Driver

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
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Hi all,

Currently I’m experiencing some issues with updating the WD SmartWare software.

At first, I installed SmartWare from the VCD, which went perfectly fine.

Then I tried to apply the software update via the WD SmartWare Software Updater, which seems to actually have removed the whole SmartWare software… It’s just gone… even the directory in Program Files… gone.

What could be the cause of this problem?

I have another question about the power button on the back of the WD MyBook.

It doesn’t really seem to do much, when I press the button when the drive is on (white led is on) nothing happens…

It does work when I (re)connect the power cable to the hdd, it starts in the off state, and will only turn on when I press the button.

Is it designed to do nothing more than that? I mean, am I not able to shutdown the drive with this button?

There is a little problem with the driver as well.

When I first connected the driver to the computer, Windows gave me a message that the hardware was correctly installed and was ready for use.

However, I thought that these are just very basic and standard Windows drivers, so I tried to install the drivers from the VCD.

But Windows seems to completely ignore these drivers.

When I try to install these drivers through the Found new hardware wizard, I get the message that Windows did not install the drivers, because “No better drivers were found”.

Other than that, it seems to be a great HDD! :smileyvery-happy:

Thanks in advance,

Kind regards,

Thomas

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Anyone?

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The drive will try to turn on/off with the computer but it looks to the power signal on the USB cable as the final say on whether to turn on/off via the power switch.  Nonetheless, what version of Windows do you have on your computer?  Can you install SmartWare 1.3.0.16 directly from the updater without the drive connected?  Also, what device does Windows ask for a driver?  Have you tried rebooting the computer since reinstalling SmartWare?

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Thank you for your reply.

The part about the powerswitch is clear to me now. :wink:

I run Windows XP SP3.

I have tried to install SmartWare directly from the updater, although not with the MyBook disconnected.

Should I try to do so? (It seemed quite illogical to me to install SmartWare without the drive connected).

Regarding the driver, Windows just installed a driver on it’s own (default Windows drivers).

Should I just go with these drivers? I mean, are the drivers that come with the MyBook not better?

Yes, I have tried to reboot after installing SmartWare, but it’s just completely gone after the update via the software updater.

The updater seems to be more like a removal tool than an update tool, haha :stuck_out_tongue:

Kind regards,

Thomas

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SmartWare runs independently of the drive so you can certainly install it that way.  Also, Microsoft has the same WDSES driver that we bundled with your drive so you don’t have to do anything if you already have a driver installed.  What Microsoft .NET frameworks do you see on your computer if you go into Add/Remove Programs within the Windows Control Panel?  You should have 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5 installed.

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Ok, well that solves my driver question. :smiley: Only thing left now is the SmartWare issue.

I have all .NET frameworks installed.

I just gave it a retry, but unfortunately the software has once again been removed by the updater.

What should I do now?

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The power swithch is about as useless at the Smartware.

Joe

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Well, according to Jeremy it is not.

I think it’s even a good thing that the powerswitch won’t turn off the drive instantly.

If you cut off power to a drive while it’s writing you could damage the cache/drive/data etc.

Although I’m not sure about this, it’s just my thoughts.

(Correct me if I’m wrong)

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Thomas02, do you have the same issue after installing SmartWare 1.4.1.1?

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Nope, this update is working like a charm! :smileyvery-happy:

Thank you Jeremy for the great support you gave me! :wink:

I would also like to thank the WD team for the update!