Western Digital WDBAAA2500Axx - My Passport Essential User manual

External Portable
My Passport®
Essential™ and Essential SE
Ultra-Portable Hard Drives
User Manual
My Passport Essential and Essential SE User Manual

ii
WD Service and Support
Should you encounter any problem, please give us an opportunity to address it before returning
this product. Most technical support questions can be answered through our knowledge base
or e-mail support service at support.wdc.com. If the answer is not available or if you prefer,
please contact WD®at the best telephone number shown below.
Your product includes 30 days of free telephone support during the warranty period. This 30-
day period starts on the date of your first telephone contact with WD Technical Support. E-mail
support is free for the entire warranty period and our extensive knowledge base is available 24/
7. To help us keep you informed of new features and services, remember to register your
product online at http://register.wdc.com.
Accessing Online Support
Visit our product support website at support.wdc.com and choose from these topics:
• Downloads—Download drivers, software, and updates for your WD product.
• Registration—Register your WD product to get the latest updates and special offers.
• Warranty & RMA Services—Get warranty, product replacement (RMA), RMA status, and
data recovery information.
• Knowledge Base—Search by keyword, phrase, or answer ID.
• Installation—Get online installation help for your WD product or software.
Contacting WD Technical Support
When contacting WD for support, have your WD product serial number, system hardware, and
system software versions available.
North America Asia Pacific
English 800.ASK.4WDC Australia 1 800 42 9861
(800.275.4932) China 800 820 6682/[phone]
Spanish 800.832.4778 Hong Kong [phone]
India 1 800 11 9393 (MNTL)/1 800 200 5789 (Reliance)
011 26384700 (Pilot Line)
Europe (toll free)* 00800 ASK4 WDEU Indonesia [phone]
(00800 27549338) Japan 00 531 650442
Korea 02 703 6550
Europe [phone] Malaysia [phone]/1 800 88 1908/[phone]
Middle East [phone] Philippines 1 800 1441 0159
Africa [phone] Singapore [phone]/[phone]/[phone]
Taiwan [phone]/[phone]
* Toll free number is available in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS – iii
Table of Contents
WD Service and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Accessing Online Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Contacting WD Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
1 About Your WD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Kit Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Optional Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Operating System Compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Disk Drive Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Physical Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Power/Activity LED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
USB 3.0 Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Registering the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Handling Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Connecting the Drive and Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Connecting the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting Started with the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
WD SmartWare Software Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
WD SmartWare Home Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Drive Management Home Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Viewing the Info/Online Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Getting Started Without the WD SmartWare Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Backing Up Your Computer Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
About Backing Up Your Computer Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Backing It All Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Advanced Backup Capabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Selecting Specific Content to Back Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Changing the Backup Software Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4 Retrieving Backed Up Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
About Retrieving Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Retrieving a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Retrieving a Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Retrieving an Earlier Version of a File or Deleted Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Retrieving All Your Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS – iv
5 Locking and Unlocking the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Password Protecting the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Unlocking the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Unlocking the Drive with the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Unlocking the Drive Without the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Changing Your Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Turning Off the Drive Lock Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6 Managing and Customizing Your Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using the WD SmartWare Icon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Opening the WD SmartWare Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Checking Drive Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Monitoring Icon Alerts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Safely Disconnecting the Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Customizing Your Software Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Specifying a Different Retrieve Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Setting the Preferences Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Customizing Your Drive Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Registering the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Setting the Drive Sleep Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Erasing the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Enabling the Backup and Retrieve Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Uninstalling the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Uninstalling on Windows XP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Uninstalling on Windows Vista or Windows 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Restoring the WD SmartWare Software and Disk Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7 Checking Drive Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8 Using the Drive with a Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Reformatting the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Restoring the WD SmartWare Software and Disk Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Connecting the Drive and Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Enhancing Performance with WD +TURBO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Installing the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
WD SmartWare Home Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using the WD SmartWare Icon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Opening the WD SmartWare Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Checking Drive Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Safely Dismounting the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using the WD SmartWare Icon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using the My Passport Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
TABLE O F C ONTENT S – v
Unlocking the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Unlocking the Drive with the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Unlocking the Drive Without the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Uninstalling the WD SmartWare Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
9 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Installing, Partitioning, and Formatting the Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Frequently Asked Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
A Installing the SES Driver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Installing on Windows XP Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Installing the Driver Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Installing the Driver Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Installing on Windows Vista Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Installing the Driver Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Installing the Driver Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Installing on Windows 7 Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
B Compliance and Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Regulatory Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
FCC Class B Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
ICES-003/NMB-003 Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Safety Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
CE Compliance For Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
KCC Notice (Republic of Korea only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Environmental Compliance (China). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Obtaining Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
ABOUT YOUR WD DRIVE – 1
About Your WD Drive
Welcome to your My Passport™ Essential™ or Essential SE ultra-portable hard drive, an
elegant, high-capacity storage solution for all the chapters of your digital life. Our latest
edition features visual, easy-to-use, automatic, continuous backup software, and drive
lock security protection.
WD's best-selling My Passport Essential and Essential SE USB ultra-portable hard
drives feature WD SmartWare software that backs up your data automatically and
continuously, shows your backup as it happens, and brings back lost files effortlessly.
This introductory chapter includes the following topics:
Features
Kit Contents
Optional Accessories
Operating System Compatibility
Disk Drive Format
Physical Description
Registering the Drive
Handling Precautions
Features
Major features of the My Passport Essential and Essential SE drives include:
Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design—We've designed a smaller, high-quality
integrated USB hard drive inside a stylish package in a variety of fun colors.
WD SmartWare™ software—An easy-to-use backup solution for your drive that gives
you the power to:
• Protect your data automatically—Relax! Your data is secure. Automatic,
continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or
change a file.
• See your backup as it happens—Seeing is believing. Visual backup organizes and
displays your content into categories and shows the progress of your backup.
• Bring back lost files effortlessly—Retrieve your valuable data to its original
location whether you've lost all your data, deleted a file, or just overwritten an
important file.
• Take control—Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics,
manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.
• Drive lock—Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from
unauthorized access or theft with password protection and 256-bit hardware-
based encryption.
USB 3.0 interface—A simple connection that offers convenience and compatibility
among multiple computers.
Power miser—My Passport portable drives are designed to save energy.
WD GreenPower Technology™ lowers internal drive power consumption by up to 30%,
a sleep mode reduces power during idle times, and a power-saving feature turns the
drive on and off with your computer.
1
1

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
ABOUT YOUR WD DRIVE – 2
Planet friendly—We designed a small box from recycled materials to minimize waste.
We encourage you to recycle it.
Ready to plug-and-play with Windows computers—NTFS-formatted for compatibility
with all Windows operating systems.
Support for multiple devices—One installation of the software supports up to three WD
drives (My Passport or My Book drives with WD SmartWare software).
Kit Contents
As shown in Figure 1, your My Passport Essential or Essential SE disk drive kit includes
the following:
• My Passport Essential or Essential SE ultra-portable hard drive
• WD SmartWare software (included on the drive)
• USB cable
• Quick Install Guide
Optional Accessories
You can use the following accessories with the My Passport drive:
• A special USB cable that might be needed for computers with limited bus power
• Replacement or additional USB cables
For information about optional accessories for this product, visit:
Important: For the latest WD product information and news, visit our website at
www.westerndigital.com. For the latest software, firmware, and product documentation
and information, go to http://products.wdc.com/updates.
Figure 1. My Passport Drive Kit Contents
US www.shopwd.com or www.wdstore.com
Canada www.shopwd.ca or www.wdstore.ca
Europe www.shopwd.eu or www.wdstore.eu
All others Contact WD Technical Support in your region. For a list of Technical Support
contacts, visit support.wdc.com and see Knowledge Base Answer ID 1048.
My Passport Essential or Essential SE
Ultra-Portable Hard Drive
Quick Install Guide
USB Cable

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
ABOUT YOUR WD DRIVE – 3
Operating System Compatibility
Your My Passport Essential or Essential SE drive and the WD SmartWare software are
compatible with the following operating systems:
Compatibility can vary, depending on hardware configuration and operating system.
For highest performance and reliability, always install the latest updates and service
pack (SP). For Windows computers, go to the Start menu and select Windows Update.
For Mac computers, go to the Apple menu and select Software Update.
Disk Drive Format
Your My Passport Essential or Essential SE drive is preformatted as a single NTFS
partition for compatibility with all updated Windows operating systems. If you want to
use this drive with a Mac computer, see “Reformatting the Drive” on page 41 and
“Troubleshooting” on page 54.
Physical Description
As shown in Figure 2, the My Passport Essential and Essential SE drives have:
• A power/activity LED indicator
• A USB 3.0 interface port
Power/Activity LED
The power/activity LED shows the drive’s power state as follows:
Windows®Mac®OS X®
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista®
• Windows 7
• Leopard®
• Snow Leopard™
Figure 2. My Passport Essential and Essential SE Drive
LED Appearance Power State/Activity
On steady Idle
Fast flashing, approximately 3 times per second Activity
Slow flashing, approximately every 2.5 seconds System standby
USB 3.0 Interface Port
Power/Activity LED

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
ABOUT YOUR WD DRIVE – 4
USB 3.0 Interface
Super-Speed USB 3.0 supports data transfer rates up to 5 Gb/s. USB 3.0 is backward-
compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1. Connection to a USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 port
transfers data at the port speed:
• USB 2.0—up to 480 Mb/s
• USB 1.1—up to 12 Mb/s
Registering the Drive
Always register your My Passport Essential or Essential SE drive to get the latest
updates and special offers. You can easily register your drive using the WD SmartWare
software, as described in “Registering the Drive” on page 34. Another way is to register
online at register.wdc.com.
Handling Precautions
WD products are precision instruments and must be handled with care during unpacking
and installation. Drives can be damaged by rough handling, shock, or vibration. Always
observe the following precautions when unpacking and installing your external storage
product:
• Do not drop or jolt the drive.
• Do not move the drive during activity.

MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE
USER MANUAL
CONNECTING THE DRIVE AND GETTING STARTED – 5
Connecting the Drive and Getting Started
This chapter provides step-by-step instructions for connecting the drive and installing
the WD SmartWare software on your computer. It includes the following topics:
Connecting the Drive
Getting Started with the WD SmartWare Software
Getting Started Without the WD SmartWare Software
Connecting the Drive
Note: If you have reformatted the drive for use on a Mac computer, skip this
procedure and see “Connecting the Drive and Getting Started” on
page 41 instead.
To connect the My Passport drive to your Windows computer:
1. Turn on your computer.
2. Connect the My Passport drive to your computer using the USB micro cable as
shown in Figure 3.
3. If a Found New Hardware screen appears, click Cancel to close it.
The WD SmartWare software that is on the drive installs the proper driver for your
My Passport drive.
4. Verify that the new My Passport drive appears under My Computer in Windows
Explorer.
5. Several different screens might also appear, depending on your computer’s
operating system:
IF your operating system is . . . THEN . . .
Windows XP Proceed to step 6.
Windows Vista or Windows 7 Skip to step 8.
Figure 3. Connecting the My Passport Drive
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6. For Windows XP, one or two screens might appear, depending on whether the
AutoRun (AutoPlay) function is enabled or disabled:
a. On Windows XP with AutoRun (AutoPlay) enabled, the Welcome to
WD SmartWare screen displays (see Figure 4).
b. On Windows XP with AutoRun (AutoPlay) disabled, click to open the My Passport
drive listing in Windows Explorer and double-click the WD SmartWare.exe file to
display the Welcome to WD SmartWare screen (see Figure 4).
7. Continue to “Getting Started with the WD SmartWare Software” on page 7.
If you do not want to install the WD SmartWare software, go to “Getting Started
Without the WD SmartWare Software” on page 13 instead.
8. For Windows Vista or Windows 7, two or three screens might appear, depending on
whether the AutoRun (AutoPlay) function is enabled or disabled:
IF AutoRun (AutoPlay) is . . . on your computer, THEN . . .
Enabled Proceed to step a.
Disabled Skip to step b.
IF AutoRun (AutoPlay) is . . . on your computer, THEN . . .
Enabled Proceed to step a on page 7.
Disabled Skip to step b on page 7.
Figure 4. Welcome to WD SmartWare Screen
Note: If a Flash Player is installed on
your computer, the screen is
animated.

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a. For Windows Vista or Windows 7 with AutoRun (AutoPlay) enabled:
Click Open folder to view files on the AutoPlay screen and double-click the
WD SmartWare.exe file to display the Welcome to WD SmartWare screen (see
Figure 4 on page 6).
b. For Windows Vista or Windows 7 with AutoRun (AutoPlay) disabled, open
Computer, click to open the My Passport drive listing in Windows Explorer and
double-click the WD SmartWare.exe file to display the Welcome to
WD SmartWare screen (see Figure 4 on page 6).
9. Continue to “Getting Started with the WD SmartWare Software” in the next section.
If you do not want to install the WD SmartWare software, go to “Getting Started
Without the WD SmartWare Software” on page 13 instead.
Getting Started with the WD SmartWare Software
To get started with WD SmartWare software:
1. The What would you like to do? prompt on the Welcome to WD SmartWare screen
provides three options for getting started with the WD SmartWare software:
2. Read the license agreement and click Accept to continue.
3. Wait for the software installation to complete. This could take several minutes.
IF you want to install . . . THEN click the . . .
The full version of the WD SmartWare software, with
continuous automatic backup, retrieve, drive lock
password protection, and drive management features and:
• Run your first backup
• Password protect or register your drive
Install WD SmartWare button.
Only the WD SmartWare software drive lock password
protection and drive management features, and password
protect or register your drive,
Install Drive Settings button.
The full version of the WD SmartWare software and
retrieve files that you have already backed up to your
My Passport drive on another computer,
Retrieve a backup link.

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4. After the software installation completes:
Note: The initial Backup and Drive Settings screens only appear one time—the
first time you install the WD SmartWare software on your computer. After
that, launching the software displays the Home screen so you can choose
what you want to do.
5. After completing your initial backup, click Continue on the initial Backup screen to
display the WD SmartWare Home screen (Figure 7 on page 10).
This completes the getting started procedure after selecting Install WD SmartWare.
6. After making your drive security selections or registering the drive, click Finish to
close the initial Drive Settings screen.
This completes the getting started procedure after selecting Install Drive Settings.
In this case, however:
• Opening the WD SmartWare software displays the drive management Home
screen (see Figure 8 on page 10) with the Settings tab for performing all drive
management functions (see “Customizing Your Drive Settings” on page 33).
•Clicking the Settings tab displays the drive management Drive Settings screen
with a Preferences button that you can use to enable the WD SmartWare
Backup and Retrieve functions (see Figure 16 on page 25 and “Enabling the
Backup and Retrieve Functions” on page 37).
IF you clicked . . . at step 1, THEN the WD SmartWare software displays . . .
Install WD SmartWare The initial Backup screen for performing your first backup
(see Figure 5 on page 9). Here you can either:
• Run your first backup—See “Backing Up Your
Computer Files” on page 14 before clicking
Start Backup and then proceed to step 5.
• Skip the backup for now and display the initial Drive
Settings screen (Figure 6 on page 9)—See
“Password Protecting the Drive” on page 25 and
“Registering the Drive” on page 34 before clicking
Skip Backup and then skip to step 6.
Note: In this case, the initial Drive
Settings screen includes a Return
to Backup button for returning to
the initial Backup screen.
Install Drive Settings The initial Drive Settings screen for securing and
registering your drive (Figure 6 on page 9).
a. See:
• “Password Protecting the Drive” on page 25
• “Registering the Drive” on page 34
b. Skip to step 6.
Retrieve a backup The Home screen for accessing all WD SmartWare
functions:
a. See Figure 7 on page 10 and “Retrieving Backed
Up Files” on page 21.
b. This completes the getting started procedure after
selecting Retrieve a backup.

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Figure 5. Initial Backup Screen
Figure 6. Initial Drive Settings Screens
WD SmartWare Initial Drive Settings Screen Drive Management Initial Drive Settings Screen

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Figure 7. WD SmartWare Home Screen
Figure 8. Drive Management Home Screen

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WD SmartWare Software Overview
WD SmartWare software is an easy-to-use tool that gives you the power to:
• Secure your drive—In drive settings, create a password to protect your encrypted
drive from unauthorized access or data theft.
• Protect your data automatically—Automatic, continuous backup instantly makes
a copy whenever you add or change a file.
Note: Automatic backup protection is continuous for as long as your
My Passport drive is connected to your computer. Then, whenever you
disconnect and reconnect the drive to your computer, the WD SmartWare
software rescans your computer for new or changed files and resumes
automatic, continuous backup as before.
• See your backup as it happens—Seeing is believing. Visual backup organizes and
displays your content into categories and shows the progress of your backup.
• Retrieve lost files effortlessly—Bring back your valuable data to its original
location whether you’ve lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.
WD SmartWare Home Screen
The WD SmartWare Home screen is available after selecting Install WD SmartWare or
Retrieve a backup and installing the software. It has four tab-selected screen options:
• Home—Provides a Content Gauge with the capacity of each hard drive in or
connected to your computer (see Figure 7 on page 10)
• Backup—Manages existing backups or creates new backups of your important
data, including movies, music, documents, e-mail, and photos (see Figure 9 on
page 15)
• Retrieve—Brings back valuable data that has been lost or overwritten (see
Figure 12 on page 22)
• Settings—Manages security, diagnostics, power settings, and backup parameters
(see Figure 10 on page 18)
On the WD SmartWare Home screen, you can modify the primary drive being
categorized with the drop-down selection box under the name of your computer. By
selecting a different drive, the system will identify the categories of files on that drive.
Then click the:
• Backup tab to back up files from the selected drive to your My Passport drive
• Retrieve tab to retrieve backed up files from your My Passport drive to any
location on your computer

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In the Content Gauge for your computer’s hard drive, all of your files that are available for
backup are shown against a blue background in six categories where:
For a complete list of all included file extensions, search for Answer ID 3644 in the WD
Knowledge Base at support.wdc.com.
Note that:
• The System category, shown against a dark gray background, includes all of your
operating system files that are not available for backup. Files that are not backed
up include system files, program files, applications, and working files like .tmp and
.log files.
• The Retrieved category, also shown against a dark gray background, shows the
files that you have retrieved from a prior backup. They, too, are not available for
backup.
• Hovering the pointer over a category shows the number of files in the category.
In the Content Gauge for your My Passport drive, the Additional Files category includes
all of the files shown in the used space portion of your drive properties. This space is not
available for backups.
Note: The small number of files that are shown in the Additional Files category
when you first install the WD SmartWare software—before performing
your first backup—represents the system and hidden files that your
computer’s operating system put there when you installed the drive.
Drive Management Home Screen
The drive management Home screen is available after selecting Install Drive Settings,
installing the software, completing the initial drive settings, and opening the
WD SmartWare software. It has two tab-selected screen options:
• Home—Provides a Content Gauge showing the capacity and contents of your
My Passport drive (see Figure 8 on page 10)
• Settings—Manages the same security, diagnostics, and power settings as the
WD SmartWare Drive Settings screen (see Figure 16 on page 25) and provides a
Preferences button for enabling the Backup and Retrieve functions (see
Figure 16 on page 25)
This file category Includes files with these extensions
Documents .doc, .txt, .htm, .html, .ppt, .xls, .xml, and other document
extensions
Mail .mail, .msg, .pst., and other mail extensions
Music .mp3, .wav, .wma, and other music extensions
Movies .avi, .mov, .mp4, and other movie extensions
Pictures .gif, .jpg, .png, and other picture extensions
Other Others that do not belong in the five main categories

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As you copy files to your drive, the Content Gauge shows them in six categories:
• Documents
• Mail
• Music
• Pictures
• Other
See “WD SmartWare Home Screen” on page 11 for a description of the file categories.
Note: The small number of files that are shown in the Additional Files category
when you first install the WD SmartWare software—before copying any
files to the drive—represents the system and hidden files that your
computer’s operating system put there when you installed the drive.
Viewing the Info/Online Help Topics
Each WD SmartWare screen provides easy access to online help information to quickly
guide you through your backup, retrieve, and settings tasks. Whenever you are uncertain
about what to do, just click the info/online help icon in the upper-right corner of any
screen:
To close the info/help screen after reading the online help, click the X icon in the upper-
right corner of the screen.
Getting Started Without the WD SmartWare Software
If you do not install the WD SmartWare software, you can still use your My Passport as
an external hard drive. In this case, however, you will not be able to:
• Protect your data with automatic continuous backups (see “Backing Up Your
Computer Files” on page 14)
• Retrieve earlier versions of lost, or damaged files (see “Retrieving Backed Up
Files” on page 21)
• Secure your drive and all of the files on it with a password (see “Locking and
Unlocking the Drive” on page 25)
• Customize your software and drive settings for the best possible performance
(see “Managing and Customizing Your Drive” on page 30)
• Check the operational condition of your drive with built-in diagnostic features (see
“Checking Drive Health” on page 39)
To forego these performance features and get started without installing the
WD SmartWare software, click Do Not Install at the What would you like to do?
prompt on the Welcome to WD SmartWare screen.

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Backing Up Your Computer Files
This chapter includes the following topics:
About Backing Up Your Computer Files
Backing It All Up
Advanced Backup Capabilities
About Backing Up Your Computer Files
The WD SmartWare software automatically and continuously backs up all of the content
on your computer to your My Passport drive—music, movies, photos, documents, e-
mail, and other files.
Note: One installation of the WD SmartWare software supports up to three
backup drives that are configured with WD SmartWare software.
After the WD SmartWare software categorizes the different types of content you have,
simply clicking the Start Backup button will back all of them up. Or, you can select
specific types of content to back up.
After performing a backup, the WD SmartWare software protects your files by backing
up any:
• New file that is created on your computer or copied to your hard drive
• Existing file that is changed in any way
This protection is automatic—the WD SmartWare software does it for you without any
action on your part—just make sure to leave your My Passport drive connected to your
computer.
Note: Automatic backup protection is continuous for as long as your
My Passport drive is connected to your computer. Then, whenever you
disconnect and reconnect the drive to your computer, the WD SmartWare
software rescans your computer for new or changed files and resumes
automatic, continuous backup as before.
Additionally, the Backup screen (see Figure 9 on page 15) provides:
• Content Gauges for your computer’s disk drives, so you can see the number of
files and the storage size for each content category
• A Detailed View content box that you can use to select specific categories of files
or folders to back up, with an Apply Changes button for implementing your
selections
• Start Backup and Stop Backup buttons for starting and stopping backups
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In the Content Gauges for your computer’s disk drives, the categories of files that would
be included in the backup if you click Start Backup are shown where a:
• Light blue background in the Content Gauge for your computer’s hard drive
identifies the original files that are available for backup
• Gray background in the Content Gauge for your My Passport drive identifies the
potential backup copies of the original files
• Dark blue background identifies categories of files that have been backed up
In the Content Gauge for your My Passport drive, the Additional Files category includes
all of the files shown in the used space portion of your drive properties. This space is not
available for backups.
In the Content Gauges and the Detailed View content box:
Figure 9. Backup Screen
This file category Includes files with these extensions
Documents .doc, .txt, .htm, .html, .ppt, .xls, .xml, and other document
extensions
Mail .mail, .msg, .pst., and other mail extensions
Music .mp3, .wav, .wma, and other music extensions
Movies .avi, .mov, .mp4, and other movie extensions
Pictures .gif, .jpg, .png, and other picture extensions
Other Others that do not belong in the five main categories