Western Digital My Book USB with virtual disk drive and WD SmartWare backup

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KublaiKhan

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May 24, 2015
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Years ago, we lost our minds when we first connected our new USB drives and found them installing two drives: the one we thought we bought and a virtual drive containing backup software.

I remember that, at the time, hiding this virtual drive was as easy as disabling a particular device driver: WD SES Device USB Device.

This seems no longer the case.

I just did a complete reinstall on an old XP rig with two USB drives, one a bit older than the other.

When the system wanted to install a device driver for the older USB drive, I canceled and disabled the device already detected and installed in Device Manager, as listed above.

When I was finally ready to connect it, I attempted the same routine for the second, newer USB drive. While it worked in the past, it did not work this time. Although I disabled the second instance of the above driver, the virtual drive still appears on my computer.

And now I read that I must first update firmware and then run a special program that prevents the virtual drive from powering up.

Really?

The thought of applying a firmware update to a drive with essential data on it makes me sick.

I'm going to backup my backups before doing so. I am not happy.

I've read that Western Digital continues putting this tool on their USB drives. Is it still such a PITA to disable?

I'm certain many users find the tool useful and convenient, but I'm just not one of them. The initial implementation was nightmarish. The trouble it takes to disable is excessive. I'm wondering if it's the same for any My Book I buy today.

Thanks.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, KublaiKhan!

I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with the WD My Book. No matter how risky a firmware may sound, it's an important part for any hardware in order to work properly. Doing a backup of your data and having at least two copies of it elsewhere is ALWAYS the recommended, regardless if you are updating the firmware or not. Having backups is the best way to avoid the fear and headaches of potential data loss.

I'd recommend you to follow the instructions listed in the firmware update page for the WD My Book external here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=ZrT4z6

Keep me posted if you encounter any issues! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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KublaiKhan

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Well, since you're around and would likely be the best person to ask:

It's still said that Windows XP cannot access any drives larger that 2 TB. Obviously, that's not true today. It may have been true once. But I know people routinely connect larger USB drives to old Windows XP rigs without issue.

So, what is the actual drive size limit for Windows XP? Does a USB drive allow for greater size than an internal IDE drive? Or a SATA drive?

I've read that USB drives feature special interfaces that allow for greater size, but reduce speed. I've also read that Windows XP had been updated to allow for large drive sizes.

Too many stories, not enough facts. Can you help?
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Hey there again, KublaiKhan!

This really depends on the Windows XP version really. A 32-bit system XP wouldn't be able to access more than 2 TB of a drive, due to the fact that such systems don't support the GUID partition table (GPT). However, if your Windows XP is a 64-bit, you shouldn't have any issues partitioning and formatting the drive in GPT and having access to the whole capacity. Check this article from MS, it might shed some light the whole GUID partition table in XP: https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/guid_partition_table.mspx?mfr=true

Well, the only difference between internal and external drives is that the latter have an enclosure. Inside that enclosure, there is a regular internal HDD that is just like any other SATA drive. On the other hand, different HDD models incorporate different features like transfer speed (RPM), form factor, capabilities, capacities, etc.
Indeed, an external power source (USB) cannot compare to the power of the motherboard's (SATA) connection. However, there is no difference in the capacities, since - as I already mentioned - the external is actually an internal drive with an enclosure and a SATA-to-USB converter.

I hope this answers your questions! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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KublaiKhan

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I read that some USB drives featured interfaces that enabled 32-bit Windows to access drives over 2 TB. If not, you've just put another nail in my old PC's coffin. Though I suppose I could just use two smaller drives.
 
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