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Beware the WD MyBook Studio 2TB External HDD

If you read the manual it has a section that explains how to disable the virtual CD. At least my 640gb my book essential came with a utility to disable it.

You have to copy the utility out of the virtual cd to the desktop, and run it. It works perfectly, you can disable the CD or re-enable it.

Unless your drive did not come with this (I doubt it) then this is just a case of user needing to read the manual syndrome.

edit: just read the post before mine. Instead of doing all of that hubbub, first check to see if your drive has the vcd manager. it works. If not I guess the 2TB is hindered.
 
elmateo487 said:
If you read the manual it has a section that explains how to disable the virtual CD. At least my 640gb my book essential came with a utility to disable it.

You have to copy the utility out of the virtual cd to the desktop, and run it. It works perfectly, you can disable the CD or re-enable it.

Unless your drive did not come with this (I doubt it) then this is just a case of user needing to read the manual syndrome.

edit: just read the post before mine. Instead of doing all of that hubbub, first check to see if your drive has the vcd manager. it works. If not I guess the 2TB is hindered.
Click to expand...

Yes, I did all of those things and found that indeed the VCD Manager did not work because the Firmware Updater will not recognize the new 2TB drive. Most (maybe all) of the other drives can be disabled, but as of my purchase, the 2TB could not.
 
MacDawg said:
Yes, I did all of those things and found that indeed the VCD Manager did not work because the Firmware Updater will not recognize the new 2TB drive. Most (maybe all) of the other drives can be disabled, but as of my purchase, the 2TB could not.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you already realize this but I have the 2TB MyBook (Without the fancy digital display) and I was able to remove it. I don't think mine has FireWire though...
 
Mac Dawg I had exactly the same issue with the 1tb version of the drive.

Unable to change the firmware as it was a higher version than the application was written for. I like WD disks, but this forced software is crap.

I'm looking to replace the 2 HDD's in my Freecom Datatank instead (Freecom said it'll work with 2 1tb drives). I should've done this in the first place.
 
MacDawg said:
I don't think so, but try checking the reviews on Amazon
I believe you can update the Firmware on that drive and remove the crapware
Click to expand...

But for sure on any of the My Studio versions (1 or 2 TB?)?

Dread.... and I was all set to buy one....:(
 
without this software issue, are you happy with the HD ?

is it quiet ?

does it go on sleep after a few minutes if you don't use it while connected?
 
shareef777 said:
I have the 1TB and it doesn't work.
Click to expand...

What doesn't work? The firmware? Or do you have an option to install the software or not?

I've purchased the 1TB "My Book for Mac" but haven't hooked it up yet. I don't want to plug it in and then have to deal with the crapware issue.

Any other solutions?
 
Try skipping firmware update

I've just received, today, a 1TB MyBook Studio drive complete with the annoying virtual CD. And likewise, I tried the firmware update only to find it wasn't compatible with the Studio drives. Nevertheless, I also downloaded the "VCD Manager" manager and ran it, and found that it worked anyway – no more virtual CD.

I haven't tried rebooting my Mac, but have rebooted the drive a couple of times, and the virtual CD hasn't come back.

Might be worth trying.
 
onerob said:
I've just received, today, a 1TB MyBook Studio drive complete with the annoying virtual CD. And likewise, I tried the firmware update only to find it wasn't compatible with the Studio drives. Nevertheless, I also downloaded the "VCD Manager" manager and ran it, and found that it worked anyway – no more virtual CD.

I haven't tried rebooting my Mac, but have rebooted the drive a couple of times, and the virtual CD hasn't come back.

Might be worth trying.
Click to expand...

Good for you!
Maybe it came with the new firmware on it already

I tried downloading the VCD Manager as well and it failed on me
It said I needed the firmware update, which I was unable to complete

Glad you were able to get rid of it!
Hopefully that means progress is being made with this!

I would love to hear someone with a 2TB share the same!
 
Yeah, hopefully they'll fix it for everyone soon. I can't believe they thought it was a good idea to provide the software in this way.

Since posting, I have restarted my Mac and found the VCD is still hidden, although it hasn't freed up the space it uses.

I don't know if it makes any difference, but I was connected via Firewire (400) when I ran the VCD Manager.
 
onerob said:
Yeah, hopefully they'll fix it for everyone soon. I can't believe they thought it was a good idea to provide the software in this way.

Since posting, I have restarted my Mac and found the VCD is still hidden, although it hasn't freed up the space it uses.

I don't know if it makes any difference, but I was connected via Firewire (400) when I ran the VCD Manager.
Click to expand...

So where do you get this VCD manager from? Is it part of the firmware update?
 
if there is an issue with the software, then why do you install it ?

the drive is recognized by OSX, do you need the software to use the drive?

is it just for the backup feature or is there other functions managed by it ?
 
macchiato2009 said:
if there is an issue with the software, then why do you install it ?

the drive is recognized by OSX, do you need the software to use the drive?

is it just for the backup feature or is there other functions managed by it ?
Click to expand...
I think that's the whole point of the original poster -- one can't NOT install it as it is built into it.
 
I'm going to be buying my "wd 2tb fw" next week, and hopefully I'll be able to disable this crapware. It seems like only one poster has had joy disabling this, so I'm not too optimistic. I always by WD and have had nothing but joy so far, so I'm going to keep the faith!
 
ayzee said:
I'm going to be buying my "wd 2tb fw" next week, and hopefully I'll be able to disable this crapware. It seems like only one poster has had joy disabling this, so I'm not too optimistic. I always by WD and have had nothing but joy so far, so I'm going to keep the faith!
Click to expand...

Please post back and let us know if the new firmware is installed and you are able to do this... I would love to hear it has been resolved
 
rgomes said:
What do you hate most about the Smart Ware?
Click to expand...

1. It is useless to me... I choose to use Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner
2. It is intrusive because it cannot be removed, uninstalled or erased
3. The Virtual CD stays mounted on the desktop and cannot be ejected or even hidden
 
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