Western Digital My Passport Essential User Manual
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Western Digital My Passport Essential User Manual

Ultra-portable hard drives
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Essential™ and Essential SE
Ultra-Portable Hard Drives
User Manual
My Passport Essential and Essential SE User Manual

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Summary of Contents for Western Digital My Passport Essential

  • Page 1 ® My Passport Essential™ and Essential SE Ultra-Portable Hard Drives User Manual My Passport Essential and Essential SE User Manual...

  • Page 2: Wd Service And Support

    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, ®...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Table of Contents WD Service and Support ........... ii Accessing Online Support .
  • Page 4 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Locking and Unlocking the Drive ......26 Password Protecting the Drive .
  • Page 5 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Unlocking the Drive ............50 Unlocking the Drive with the WD SmartWare Software .

  • Page 6: About Your Wd Drive

    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.

  • Page 7: Kit Contents

    For the latest software, firmware, and product documentation and information, go to http://products.wdc.com/updates. 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 •...

  • Page 8: Operating System Compatibility

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Operating System Compatibility Your My Passport Essential or Essential SE drive and the WD SmartWare software are compatible with the following operating systems: ® ® ® Windows OS X ® • Windows XP •...

  • Page 9: Usb 3.0 Interface

    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 35. Another way is to register online at register.wdc.com.

  • Page 10: Connecting The Drive And Getting Started

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 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...
  • Page 11 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 6. For Windows XP, one or two screens might appear, depending on whether the AutoRun (AutoPlay) function is enabled or disabled: IF AutoRun (AutoPlay) is . . . on your computer, THEN . . .

  • Page 12: Getting Started With The Wd Smartware Software

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Note: If a Flash Player is installed on your computer, the screen is animated. Figure 4. Welcome to WD SmartWare Screen Getting Started with the WD SmartWare Software To get started with WD SmartWare software:...
  • Page 13 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 4. After the software installation completes: IF you clicked . . . at step 1, THEN the WD SmartWare software displays . . . Install WD SmartWare The initial Backup screen for performing your first backup Figure 5 on page 9).
  • Page 14 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL and skipping the backup. 7. After password protecting or registering your drive, click Finish to close the drive management initial Drive Settings screen. This completes the getting started procedure after selecting Install Drive Settings.
  • Page 15 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL WD SmartWare Initial Drive Settings Screen Drive Management Initial Drive Settings Screen Figure 6. Initial Drive Settings Screens Figure 7. WD SmartWare Home Screen CONNECTING THE DRIVE AND GETTING STARTED – 10...

  • Page 16: Wd Smartware Software Overview

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 8. Drive Management Home Screen WD SmartWare Software Overview The 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 drive from unauthorized access or data theft.

  • Page 17: Wd Smartware Home Screen

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL WD SmartWare Home Screen The WD SmartWare Home screen 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) •...

  • Page 18: Drive Management Home Screen

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 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.

  • Page 19: Getting Started Without The Wd Smartware Software

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 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: •...

  • Page 20: Backing Up Your Computer Files

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 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 your important data files to the My Passport drive—music, movies, photos, documents, e-...
  • Page 21 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 9. Backup Screen 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: •...

  • Page 22: Backing It All Up

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 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, working files like .tmp and .log files, and any files that are stored in a Temp folder.

  • Page 23: Advanced Backup Capabilities

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Important: Appearance of a Caution message indicating that your drive is full means that there is not enough free space on the drive to complete the backup. The best long-term solution would be to relegate the drive to long- term archive storage and: a.

  • Page 24: Changing The Backup Software Settings

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 2. In the backup files content box: • Select the check boxes for the categories of files that you want to include in the backup. • Clear the check boxes for the categories of files that you want to exclude from the backup.
  • Page 25 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 11. Software Settings Screen Specifying the Number of Backup Versions. The WD SmartWare software can keep up to 25 older versions of each file. If you overwrite or delete a file by mistake, or want to see the file a couple of versions ago, the WD SmartWare software has a copy for you.
  • Page 26 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Pausing Backups Until Your Computer is Idle. A large backup can take a lot of time, and can consume a lot of your system processing resources. The WD SmartWare software works in the background using minimal computer resources while you are working on your computer.

  • Page 27: Retrieving Backed Up Files

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Retrieving Backed Up Files This chapter includes the following topics: About Retrieving Files Retrieving Files Retrieving Folders Retrieving an Earlier Version of a File or Deleted Files Retrieving All Your Files About Retrieving Files...
  • Page 28 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 12. Retrieve Screen Figure 13. Select a Destination for Retrieved Files Screen RETRIEVING BACKED UP FILES – 23...
  • Page 29 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 14. Select Content to Retrieve Screen 4. On the Select content to retrieve... screen, select Retrieve Some Files to display the retrieve files selection box (see Figure 15 on page 25).

  • Page 30: Retrieving Folders

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 15. Retrieve Files Selection Box 7. During the retrieve: • The Retrieve screen displays a progress bar and a message indicating the amount of data that has been copied to the specified retrieve location.

  • Page 31: Locking And Unlocking The Drive

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Locking and Unlocking the Drive This chapter includes the following topics: Password Protecting the Drive Unlocking the Drive Changing Your Password Turning Off the Drive Lock Feature Password Protecting the Drive You should password protect your drive if you are worried that someone else will gain access to your drive and you do not want them to see your files on the drive.

  • Page 32: Unlocking The Drive

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 3. On either screen, click Security to display the Set Security dialog: 4. Type your password in the Choose a password box. 5. Retype your password in the Verify password box. 6. Type a hint to help remind yourself of your password in the Password hint box.

  • Page 33: Unlocking The Drive With The Wd Smartware Software

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Unlocking the Drive with the WD SmartWare Software Whenever you shut down and restart your computer, or disconnect and reconnect the drive to your computer, the WD SmartWare software displays a Drive is locked...

  • Page 34: Changing Your Password

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL To unlock the drive without the WD SmartWare software installed: Start the WD SmartWare Drive Unlock utility by either: • Using your computer’s file management utility to open the WD Unlocker virtual CD and double-clicking the Unlock.exe file...

  • Page 35: Turning Off The Drive Lock Feature

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Turning Off the Drive Lock Feature To remove password protection from your drive: Click Security on either the WD SmartWare Drive Settings screen or the drive management Drive Settings screen (Figure 16 on page 26) to display the Your Drive is Secure dialog: 2.

  • Page 36: Managing And Customizing Your Drive

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Managing and Customizing Your Drive This chapter includes the following topics: Using the WD SmartWare Icon Opening the WD SmartWare Software Checking Drive Status Monitoring Icon Alerts Safely Disconnecting the Drive Customizing Your Software Settings...

  • Page 37: Monitoring Icon Alerts

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Monitoring Icon Alerts The WD SmartWare icon in the taskbar flashes to indicate drive status: IF the WD SmartWare icon flashes . . . THEN the drive might be . . .

  • Page 38: Specifying A Different Retrieve Folder

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Specifying a Different Retrieve Folder When you start a retrieve, you can choose whether you want to store the retrieved files in either: • Their original locations on your computer • A Retrieved Content folder By default, the WD SmartWare software creates and uses a Retrieved Content subfolder in your My Documents folder.

  • Page 39: Customizing Your Drive Settings

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Customizing Your Drive Settings The WD SmartWare software makes it easy for you to quickly customize the settings of your drive for the best possible performance: • Security—Create, modify, and disable passwords that keep others from accessing the files on your drive.

  • Page 40: Registering The Drive

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Registering the Drive The WD SmartWare software uses your computer’s Internet connection to register your drive. To register your drive to receive free technical support during the warranty period and be kept up-to-date on the latest WD products: Make sure that your computer is connected to the Internet.

  • Page 41: Erasing The Drive

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 2. In the Turn off Drive box, select the inactivity time interval at which you want to turn off the drive. 3. Click Set Timer to save and implement your sleep timer setting.
  • Page 42 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Using the Drive Unlock Utility. To erase your My Passport when the drive is locked and you have forgotten or lost your password: If you do not see a prompt to provide your password, then either: •...

  • Page 43: Enabling The Backup And Retrieve Functions

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL After the drive erase operation completes, go to support.wdc.com and see Knowledge Base Answer ID #5419 for information about downloading and restoring the WD SmartWare software and disk image on your My Passport drive.

  • Page 44: Uninstalling On Windows Xp

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Uninstalling on Windows XP To uninstall the WD SmartWare software on Windows XP: Click Start > Control Panel. 2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs. 3. Select WD SmartWare and click Remove. 4. Click Yes at the Are you sure... prompt.

  • Page 45: Checking Drive Health

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Checking Drive Health The data files on your My Passport drive are important to you. The WD SmartWare software has several built-in diagnostic tools to help make sure that your drive is performing well.

  • Page 46: Using The Drive With A Mac

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Using the Drive with a Mac The My Passport drive is preformatted as a single NTFS partition for compatibility with all updated Windows operating systems. To use the drive with Mac OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard operating systems, and to use Time Machine, if you want, you must first: •...

  • Page 47: Enhancing Performance With Wd +Turbo

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 3. Verify that the My Passport icon displays on your desktop, where “MY PASSPORT” is the name you assigned to the volume when you reformatted the drive for use with the Mac computer: 4.
  • Page 48 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL To install WD +TURBO: Double-click the My Passport icon, and then double-click the Extras folder on the screen that displays: 2. Double-click the WD +TURBO Installer icon: 3. Click Install on the WD +TURBO Driver Installer screen: 4.

  • Page 49: Installing The Wd Smartware Software

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 6. Type the password that you normally use to access the computer in the Password box and click OK: 7. As prompted, when the installation completes, click Yes to restart the computer: 8.
  • Page 50 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 2. The WD SmartWare Software Installer screen displays: 3. Click Continue to Install and the installer utility detects that the WD SmartWare software is not installed: 4. Click Install WD SmartWare to begin the installation.

  • Page 51: The Wd Smartware Home Screen

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Figure 17. WD SmartWare Home Screen The WD SmartWare Home Screen On the Home screen, you can change the drive being categorized by using the drop- down selection box under the name of your computer. If you select a different drive, the WD SmartWare software identifies the categories of files on that drive.

  • Page 52: Using The Wd Smartware Icon

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 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, working files, and any files that are stored in a Temp folder.

  • Page 53: Checking Drive Status

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL • Double-clicking WD SmartWare in the Applications list: Checking Drive Status Use the WD SmartWare icon to determine whether the drive is encrypted (locked), how full the drive is, the drive’s serial number, and the temperature condition of the drive:...

  • Page 54: Safely Dismounting The Drive

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL b. Type your password in the Password box and click Unlock. c. Click Exit at the Your drive is now unlocked prompt to close the WD SmartWare Drive Unlock utility screen. d. Repeat step 1 and step 2 to display the drive status.

  • Page 55: Using The My Passport Icon

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Using the My Passport Icon To safely dismount the drive using the My Passport icon: Right- or control-click the My Passport icon on the desktop and select Eject “MY PASSPORT” where “MY PASSPORT” is the name you assigned to the volume when you reformatted the drive for use with the Mac computer: You might hear the drive power down.

  • Page 56: Unlocking The Drive Without The Wd Smartware Software

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL To unlock your drive: Type your password in the Password box. 2. Click Unlock to unlock your drive and enable the WD SmartWare software. Manually. If your computer goes into sleep mode, an unlock screen might not display when you reactivate it.

  • Page 57: Uninstalling The Wd Smartware Software

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL To unlock the drive without the WD SmartWare software installed: Double-click the WD Unlocker VCD icon and double-click the Drive Unlock icon on the screen that appears: 2. Type your password in the Password box and click Unlock on the WD SmartWare Drive Unlock utility screen: 3.
  • Page 58 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 2. Double-click the WD SmartWare Uninstaller icon: 3. Click Uninstall on the WD SmartWare Uninstall screen: USING THE DRIVE WITH A MAC – 53...

  • Page 59: Troubleshooting

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Troubleshooting This chapter includes the following topics: Installing, Partitioning, and Formatting the Drive Frequently Asked Questions If you have problems installing or using this product, refer to this troubleshooting section or visit our support Web site at support.wdc.com...
  • Page 60 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Q: How do I determine whether or not my system supports USB 3.0 or USB 2.0? A: Refer to your USB card documentation or contact your USB card manufacturer. Note: If your USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller is built in to the system motherboard, be sure to install the appropriate chipset support for your motherboard.

  • Page 61: Installing The Ses Driver

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Installing the SES Driver This appendix includes the following topics: Installing on Windows XP Computers Installing on Windows Vista Computers Installing on Windows 7 Computers If you decide to not install the WD SmartWare software, you must have an SES driver installed on computers running Windows to keep the hardware popup wizard from displaying every time you connect your My Passport drive to your computer.
  • Page 62 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 4. Select Install the software automatically and click Next: 5. When the installation completes, click Finish: INSTALLING THE SES DRIVER – 57...

  • Page 63: Installing The Driver Manually

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Installing the Driver Manually If your computer is not connected to the Internet, install the driver manually: On the Found New Hardware Wizard screen, select No, not this time to inhibit a connection attempt to Windows Update: 2.
  • Page 64 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL d. Click Next: 5. When the installation completes, click Finish: INSTALLING THE SES DRIVER – 59...

  • Page 65: Installing On Windows Vista Computers

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Installing on Windows Vista Computers After you physically connect the drive as shown in Figure 3 on page 5, the Found New Hardware screen displays. Note: If Autoplay is enabled, two additional screens might appear at the same time as the Found New Hardware screen.

  • Page 66: Installing The Driver Manually

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Installing the Driver Manually If your computer is not connected to the Internet, install the driver manually: On the Found New Hardware wizard screen, click Locate and install driver software: 2. On the Found New Hardware - WD SES Device wizard screen, click Don’t search online: 3.
  • Page 67 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 4. Browse to Computer and: a. Double-click the My Passport drive. b. Double-click the Extras folder. c. Select WD SES Device Driver. d. Click Next: 5. When the installation completes, click Close:...

  • Page 68: Installing On Windows 7 Computers

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Installing on Windows 7 Computers After you physically connect the drive as shown in Figure 3 on page 5, use the Windows 7 Computer Management utility to install the SES driver: Open All Programs and click Computer > Manage: 2.
  • Page 69 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL 3. Click Browse my computer for driver software. 4. Browse to Computer, double-click the My Passport drive, double-click the Extras folder, and select WD SES Device Driver: 5. Click Next. 6. When the installation completes, click Close:...

  • Page 70: Compliance And Warranty Information

    Directives of the European Union, including the EMC Directive (2004/108/EC) and the Low Voltage Directive (2006/95/EC). A “Declaration of Conformity” in accordance with the applicable directives has been made and is on file at Western Digital Europe. COMPLIANCE AND WARRANTY INFORMATION – 65...

  • Page 71: Kcc Notice (Republic Of Korea Only)

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL KCC Notice (Republic of Korea only) Class B Device 1 Please note that this device has been approved for non-business purposes and may be used in any environment, including residential areas. Environmental Compliance (China)

  • Page 72: Limited Warranty

    Modification of or tampering with the Software, including but not limited to any Open Source Software, is solely at your own risk. Western Digital is not responsible for any such modification or tampering. Western Digital will not support any product in which you have or have attempted to modify the Software supplied by Western Digital.

  • Page 73: Index

    MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL Index FCC Class B information 65 File categories, defined 12 Accessories, optional 2 history, drive setting 32 history, screen 20 Backup Formatting the drive 54 about backing up files 15 Full Media Scan 40...
  • Page 74 MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL SE USER MANUAL System file category defined 47 Password protecting your drive 26 file category, defined 12 CAUTION about lost passwords 26 throttling software setting 32 Performance enhancement 47 System compatibility 3 Physical description 3...
  • Page 75 WD. WD reserves the right to change specifications at any time without notice. Western Digital, WD, the WD logo, My Book, and My Passport are registered trademarks and My Passport Essential, WD SmartWare, and Data Lifeguard are trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies.

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