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I have a 1TB MyBook Essentials w/Smartware. I do not want the Smartware so I uninstalled it from control panel. I also do not want the WD Smartware 668mb partition but I cannot figure out how to get rid of it. Went into Computer Management & tried to format it, delete it but you just can’t. All I want is a storage drive not all this Smartware. WD My Passport not recognized or become inaccessible in Windows or Mac due to No writable WD SmartWare partition found error? Here, useful instructions and tutorials are created to help you fix the issue on Western digital hard drive and recover lost partition data.
Important: WD Smartware Pro and Dropbox Notice Dropbox
WD Smartware Pro
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USB Flash, thumb drives, SD Cards, USB SSD, drives are not supported by WD SmartWare.
WD SmartWare and WD SmartWare Pro support WD external drives that are formatted with the following file systems; NTFS, FAT32, FAT, exFAT.
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Click here to see the list of drives not supported by WD Smartware and SmartWare Pro
Below are drives supported by WD SmartWare below
My Cloud Family
WD Drive | Model numbers that begin with |
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My Cloud | WDBCTL |
My Cloud Mirror | WDBZVM |
My Cloud Mirror Gen2 | WDBWVZ td |
My Cloud EX2 | WDBVKW |
My Cloud EX2 Ultra | WDBVBZ |
My Cloud EX4 | WDBWWD |
My Cloud EX2100 | WDBWAZ |
My Cloud EX4100 | WDBWZE |
My Cloud DL2100 | WDBBAZ |
My Cloud DL4100 | WDBNEZ |
My Cloud PR2100 | WDBBCL |
My Cloud PR4100 | WDBNFA |
My Passport Family
WD Drive | Model numbers that begin with |
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My Passport | WDBY8L, WDBZZZ, WDBKXH, WDBFBW, WDBEMM, WDBBEP |
My Passport for Mac | WDBAAB |
My Passport Edge | WDBJBH, WDBK6Z |
My Passport Ultra | WDBBKD, WDBGPU, WDBNFV, WDBDDE, WDBWWM, WDBBRL, WDBMTA |
My Passport Ultra Metal | WDBEZW, WDBTYH |
My Passport Slim | WDBWPU, WDBPDZ |
My Passport Studio | WDBS8P, WDBU4M, WDBAAE |
My Passport For Mac | WDBL1D, WDBLUV, WDBLUZ, WDBZ9S, WDBZYL, WDBP6A, WDBFKF |
My Passport Essential | WDBACX, WDBACY, WDBADB, WDBAAA |
My Passport Essential SE | WDBGYS, WDBABM |
My Passport Edge | WDBK6Z |
My Passport Edge for Mac | WDBJBH |
My Passport Elite | WDBAAC |
My Passport Wireless Family
WD Drive | Model numbers that begin with |
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My Passport Wireless | WDBDAF, WDBK8Z, WDBLJT |
My Passport Wireless Drives are supported in USB connected DAS mode. |
My Book Family
WD Drive | Model numbers that begin with |
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My Book | WDBFJK |
My Book for Mac | WDBYCC, WDBAAG |
My Book Elite | WDBAAH |
My Book Studio | WDBAAJ |
My Book Studio LX | WDBACH |
My Book Essential | WDBAAF, WDBACW |
My Book Mac Edition | WDBAAG |
My Book Duo | WDBLWE |
My Book Live/Duo | WDBACG, WDBVHT |
My Book for MAC | WDBYCC, WDBEKS |
Unsupported WD Drives
WD SmartWare and WD SmartWare Pro does not support the following WD external drives
Acronis True Image WD Edition, WD Backup, or another 3rd party backup software should be used instead.
USB Flash drives are not supported by WD SmartWare.
WD Drive | Model numbers that begin with |
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My Passport SSD | WDBK3E |
My Passport | WDBYFT, WDBYNN, WDBP6A |
My Passport Ultra | WDBFKT, WDBTLG |
My Passport Wireless Pro | WDBP2P, WDBSMT, WDBVPL |
My Book | WDBBGB |
My Book 6TB | WDBFJK0060HBK-NA |
My Book 8TB | WDBFJK0080HBK |
My Book Duo | WDBFBE |
WD easystore Portable | WDBDNK, WDBKUZ |
WD easystore Desktop | WDBCKA |
WD Elements SE | WDBEPK |
WD Elements Desktop | WDBWLG |
WD Elements Portable | WDBU6Y, WDBUZG |
Please refer to the articles below for more information regarding unsupported WD External Drives.
Answer ID 15175 My Book 6TB or 8TB Not Detected by WD Smartware
Answer ID 15063 WD SmartWare does not recognize My Book or My Passport as a backup destination
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Wd Smartware Macbook
-->Important:This article is about removing the WD SmartWare 1.6.X software (This allows the user to backup their data, controls the drive lock function, and the drive label function) from the PC or Mac. It does not assist with hiding or removing the VCD. For assistance with doing this see Answer ID 3835: How to remove (disable/hide) the Virtual CD (VCD) for Windows or Mac OSX on a WD My Book or WD My Passport |
Use of Third-Party Software or Websites
We may recommend use of software, information, products, or websites that are owned or operated by other companies. We offer or facilitate this recommendation by hyperlinks or other methods to aid your access to the third-party resource. While we endeavor to direct you to helpful, trustworthy resources, We cannot endorse, approve, or guarantee software, information, products, or services provided by or at a third-party resource or track changes in the resource. Thus, we are not responsible for the content or accuracy of any third-party resource or for any loss or damage of any sort resulting from the use of, or for any failure of, products or services provided at or from a third party resource. WD recommends these resources on an 'as is' basis. When you use a third party resource, you will be subject to its terms and licenses and no longer be protected by our privacy policy or security practices, which may differ from the third policy or practices or other terms. You should familiarize yourself with any license or use terms of, and the privacy policy and security practices of, the third party resource, which will govern your use of that resource.
A third party utility may be used to uninstall WD Smartware in the event that Windows is unable to uninstall it. Please see Wise uninstaller
Windows 10 | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Windows 8 | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Windows 7 & Vista | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Windows XP | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard), 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion), 10.8.x (Mountain Lion), 10.9.x (Mavericks), and 10.10.x (Yosemite) | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table) |
Windows 10:
- Start by right-clicking on Start and selecting the Control Panel.
- Under Programs select Uninstall a Program.
- Find WD SmartWare in the list of programs and right click on it. Left-click on Uninstall on the menu that appears. Double-clicking on WD SmartWare will also uninstall it.
- Windows will ask if the user is sure they wish to remove WD SmartWare from the computer. Click Yes if the user wants to remove it, or No to cancel.
- A status bar will pop up while Windows configures the software. Wait until this bar completely fills (It may fill multiple times depending on how the system is configured).Note:
The user may receive a windows security message during this step asking if they wish to perform this action. Select Yes if this appears - WD SmartWare should now be removed. Check in the Uninstall a Program list to verify that it has been uninstalled.
- If an error message is received during this process, please Contact Us for additional assistance.
Windows 8:
- Start by opening the Control Panel.
- Under Programs select Uninstall a Program.
- Find WD SmartWare in the list of programs and right click on it.
- Left-click on Uninstall on the menu that appears.
- Windows will ask if the user is sure they wish to remove WD SmartWare from the computer. Click Yes if the user wants to remove it, or No to cancel.
- A status bar will pop up while Windows configures the software. Wait until this bar completely fills (It may fill multiple times depending on how the system is configured).Note:
The user may receive a windows security message during this step asking if they wish to perform this action. Select Yes if this appears - WD SmartWare should now be removed. Check in the Uninstall a Program list to verify that it has been uninstalled.
- If an error message is received during this process, please Contact Us for additional assistance.
Wd Smartware For Mac Download
- Start by opening the Control Panel.
- Under Programs select Uninstall a Program.
- Find WD SmartWare in the list of programs and right-click on it.
- Left-click on Uninstall on the menu that appears.
- Windows will ask if the user is sure they wish to remove WD SmartWare from the computer. Click Yes if the user wants to remove it, or No to cancel.
- A status bar will pop up while Windows configures the software. Wait until this bar completely fills (It may fill multiple times depending on how the system is configured).Note:
The user may receive a windows security message during this step asking if they wish to perform this action. Select Yes if this appears. - WD SmartWare should now be removed. Check in the Uninstall a Program list to verify that it has been uninstalled.
- If an error message is received during this process, please Contact Us for additional assistance.
- Start by opening the Control Panel.
- If the screen looks like the image below click on the Switch to Classic View link in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Otherwise skip to step 3 below.
- Find 'Add or Remove Programs' in the list of options and double click on it.
- Find WD SmartWare in the list of programs and click on the Remove button.
- Windows will ask if the user is sure they wish to remove WD SmartWare from the computer. Click Yes if the user wants to remove it, or No to cancel.
- A status bar will pop up while Windows configures the software. Wait until this bar completely fills (It may fill multiple times depending on how the system is configured).
- WD SmartWare should now be removed. Check in the 'Add Remove Programs' list to verify that it has been uninstalled.
- If an error message is received during this process, please Contact Us for additional assistance.
- Start by opening Finder with the WD External Drive (including WD SmartWare) attached to the Mac.
- Select the WD SmartWare Virtual CD from the list of attached drives.
- Open the Extras folder on the VCD.
- Find the WD SmartWare Uninstaller.app icon and double-click on it.
- The uninstaller will ask if the user wishes to remove WD SmartWare. Click Yes if it wants to be removed, or No to cancel.
- A password prompt will show. Enter the username and password of an administrator account for the Mac. If there is only one user on the Mac enter the username and password usually used to log in.
- A reminder will be received that a reboot of the system is needed. Simply select OK on this prompt.
- On the following screen select Exit to close the uninstaller. WD Smartware should now be removed from the system.
- Reboot the system when the installation is complete.
- If an error message is received during this process, please Contact Us for additional assistance.