I am trying to find out if anyone else is experiencing the same problems I am with a third party external drive purchase at an Apple Store.
In the past two months I purchased a Western Digital My Book and My Book Studio from a local Apple Store. The devices are formatted for Mac. The problem is with the WD SmartWare software that comes with the units. For the first month on the My Book Studio everything was fine then the WD SmartWare quit operating. The drives function other than their software. WD support told me repeatedly to download the software from their site. I did several times but no luck in it operating. Their final solution was to return the unit to them for an exchange. My iTunes library resides on that external drive. I did not want to transfer my library back to my iMac so I decided since I wanted a redundant back up for my library I would buy another My Book for that purpose and to hold my library until the replacement unit came. However the same problem arose with the second unit.
Two things I now know. The problem with the WD SmartWare functioning began when I upgraded to 10.6.3 and the WD Support site has now withdrawn their software download while researching problems with the SmartWare working with Mac. I post this so others who might be experiencing this issue will be aware and also that those considering an external drive might be aware.
As I previously stated the drives will function without the WD SmartWare but it did have a couple of drive management and information features that I appreciated. Like most people when purchasing something I just want it to function as intended.
In the past two months I purchased a Western Digital My Book and My Book Studio from a local Apple Store. The devices are formatted for Mac. The problem is with the WD SmartWare software that comes with the units. For the first month on the My Book Studio everything was fine then the WD SmartWare quit operating. The drives function other than their software. WD support told me repeatedly to download the software from their site. I did several times but no luck in it operating. Their final solution was to return the unit to them for an exchange. My iTunes library resides on that external drive. I did not want to transfer my library back to my iMac so I decided since I wanted a redundant back up for my library I would buy another My Book for that purpose and to hold my library until the replacement unit came. However the same problem arose with the second unit.
Two things I now know. The problem with the WD SmartWare functioning began when I upgraded to 10.6.3 and the WD Support site has now withdrawn their software download while researching problems with the SmartWare working with Mac. I post this so others who might be experiencing this issue will be aware and also that those considering an external drive might be aware.
As I previously stated the drives will function without the WD SmartWare but it did have a couple of drive management and information features that I appreciated. Like most people when purchasing something I just want it to function as intended.
iMac 20 inch late 2007 1GB RAM 250 GB HD, Mac OS X (10.6.3), Time Capsule, Apple TV, My Book External Hard Drive
WD My Book 4TB USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive WDBBGB0040HBK-NESN Black. Dimensions: 6.73' x 1.93' x 5.47' Weight: 2.21 lbs. Package Contents: Desktop hard drive USB 3.0 cable AC adapter For Windows: WD Discovery software for WD Backup, WD Security and WD Drive Utilities For Mac: WD Discovery software for WD Security and WD Drive Utilities Quick install guide. Free wd software installer download software at UpdateStar - WD Smartware is a backup and restore software that, boots with your machine. It comes installed on Western Digital external hard drives. The program runs as a virtual CD-ROM drive on your system. Thank you for downloading WD SmartWare for Mac from our software library. Each download we provide is subject to periodical scanning, but we strongly recommend you check the package for viruses on your side before running the installation. The version of the Mac application you are about to download is 1.3.3.8. Aug 08, 2019 WD SmartWare does not offer a direct download link for Mac users, but the product can be found here under Software for Mac. Once on the site, you can find the download by expanding the WD SmartWare option and clicking the +. WD SmartWare for Mac supports the following operating systems: OSX 10.9 OSX 10.8.
Wd Smartware Download Passport
Posted on