I have a WD My Book Live 1TB network HD that I received as a gift. I ran into a problem that I can't seem to come up with a solution for.
It installed to my network fine, and I transfered all my personal files/folders to it from my existing NAS. Long story short; I decided I wanted to return it, but first I needed to securely erase my personal files. So, I used the WD software to "Quick Restore" it to factory condition. After deciding that probably wasn't good enough, I ran the "Thorough" factory restore which takes much longer. In the midst of the restore/format, it stopped with a cryptic error message. Worse, it removed the system files in the Public Share\Software folder. Now the drive is unusable, can't be re-installed with the installation DVD, won't complete another format/restore, and Win7 won't even map it anymore.
I would just pack it up and send it back as is, but I'm afraid my personal files/folders aren't truely gone, and may still be accessible on the drive to someone with the right ability. Does anyone know of a way to get its Public Share\Software folder re-populated with the original system files so I can run through the process again? Or a sure way to low level format it in Win 7?
It installed to my network fine, and I transfered all my personal files/folders to it from my existing NAS. Long story short; I decided I wanted to return it, but first I needed to securely erase my personal files. So, I used the WD software to "Quick Restore" it to factory condition. After deciding that probably wasn't good enough, I ran the "Thorough" factory restore which takes much longer. In the midst of the restore/format, it stopped with a cryptic error message. Worse, it removed the system files in the Public Share\Software folder. Now the drive is unusable, can't be re-installed with the installation DVD, won't complete another format/restore, and Win7 won't even map it anymore.
I would just pack it up and send it back as is, but I'm afraid my personal files/folders aren't truely gone, and may still be accessible on the drive to someone with the right ability. Does anyone know of a way to get its Public Share\Software folder re-populated with the original system files so I can run through the process again? Or a sure way to low level format it in Win 7?