Western Digital My Book Essential Edition (WDG1U5000N) 500 GB Hard Drive - Page 8 - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

Hi Guys,
Not all WD have inside the box a software product key for booldy Memeo Auto Backup thing. You need to buy the software and until wou get tha cash you can use free trial version.
They are quite pathetic how the trick the clients with unfriendly software provided by a "third party".
So we need to dig for more cash for the "master of puppets"
Next time I will buy only products with hard and soft inclucluded in the box. I on a learning "curve".
Here I attached the answer from teh WD site:
Cheers, Calin
WD Anywhere Backup
WD Anywhere Backup comes on our drives as a 30 day trial version software only. In order to use it, permanently, you will need the product key. The following Western Digital products come packaged with the product key:

• Drives With Product Key - My Book Home, My Book Office, My Book Studio, My Book World, Passport Elite, My Book Mirror, and WD ShareSpace
  
  
• Trial Version Only - My Book Essential

Your product key can be found in the installation manual, on a sticker, in the technical support section. If you have one of the drives that comes with a product key, and your installation manual does not have the product key sticker, please contact us using the Ask WD A Question page for a replacement product key.
Memeo AutoSync
We do not provide a product key for Memeo AutoSync. Memeo AutoSync is a 30 day trial version, and you will need to purchase it from Memeo in order to obtain a product key.

I hope that helps!

If you run windows, you can right-click on my computer, select management, and locate disk management on the left. Right click on the drive in question (make sure you have the right one!) and select format. If you are on a Mac, you can open Disk Utility (in the Utilities folder inside of Applications), select the drive you want on the left, and go to the Erase tab.

The easiest way to tell quickly, if you have an old PC fan, is to wire it together and you will find out pretty quick. Just touch them together. (I can't find a similar adapter right now or I would tell you which one is + and -)

It should not require any drivers to install and the software that is bundled with the drive is installed on the drive. When you plug it into your PC, it should open a setup program and show you the WD utilities and the accessory software, like backup software bundled with the drive.

When you boot up to the log in screen type in administrator as user to log in if you cant log in

during the boot up process you will see on the screen for a short amount of time press a certain key to enter set up press and hold that key during the boot up process to enter BIOS scroll down to set user password or supervisor password you can change or remove your password from there also

The most common way that most of us know on how to reset or clear the BIOS password is to physically remove the power from the computer by disconnecting the power plug and then removing a battery for 30 minutes from the motherboard. Another way is to reset the clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard itself. Both of the 2 methods mentioned works because most motherboards use a battery to sustain the BIOS/CMOS settings for the motherboards PROM chip. So by cutting off the battery power, the BIOS/CMOS settings will be erased. Hope this helps

Does the drive show up in Disk Management? Check your event logs for messages.

If you need data recovery this guy does it remotely for the cost of a donation.

http://FreeDataRecovery.us

When you boot up to the log in screen type in administrator as user to log in if you cant log in

during the boot up process you will see on the screen for a short amount of time press a certain key to enter set up press and hold that key during the boot up process to enter BIOS scroll down to set user password or supervisor password you can change or remove your password from there hope this helps

also

The most common way that most of us know on how to reset or clear the BIOS password is to physically remove the power from the computer by disconnecting the power plug and then removing a Cmos battery for 30 minutes from the motherboard. Another way is to reset the clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard itself. Both of the 2 methods mentioned works because most motherboards use a battery to sustain the BIOS/CMOS settings for the motherboards PROM chip. So by cutting off the battery power, the BIOS/CMOS settings will be erased. Hope this helps

Hello,
alright, so, it can be a number of problems. I will try to address everything that i think might be the problem.
Use these steps one by one until you get a solution.
1. First of all, update your anti virus software. The autorun.inf file on external drives gets attacked by viruses and corrupted quite often.
2. Try manualy deleting the Autorun.inf file from your hdd. (this is a hidden file, you will have to use the Folder Options "show all files" to see it.
3, Disable the Autorun option for the hdd from the operating system. (Sometimes the OS get's confused about the hard drives and their boot up sequences,) Refer to this link to do it in XP, if you are using Vista or Win 7, then do this: type "gpedit.msc" in Run...go to "Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > AutoPlay Policies > Turn Off auto play for all drives....." Repeat the same going to "User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > AutoPlay Policies > Turn Off auto play for all drives....." This will not work if you have Home Premium Editions, there's a optional workaround for this in those editions, but if you have Home preomiums, then skip this step.
4. If all of the above doesnt help, then try this: right click my computer, select manage. select disk administrator. right click each of your drives, select "change drive letter and path" and remove the drive letters for each. reboot. go back into disk administrator and give them drive letters again.
5. If none of these steps worked, the cable and connectors themselves may be damaged or not connected properly. Try to find another cable to connect ur hdd, see if it helps you. If not, then maybe you should take it to a service professional and see if they can help you.

click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x right click to reinstall drivers or if you can see your usb but its not working ports(com&lpt)right click update driver make sure the lead/s that attach to this drive have a secure seating and are not bad/faulty the light on only tells that its getting power it might not be getting enough power you might test the lead/s or just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again, sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable, check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems hope this helps

Better late than never. This guy does remote data recovery and only asks for donations. FreeDataRecovery.us

Here is the link to find out some info for your issue.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?wdc_lang=en&fid=wdsfMyBook_Essential

I have not seen one that requires any drivers to function on windows 7. Should be just plug and play.

Hello,

Is this your first time of using this external drive with your computer?

Connect the external drive to another computer and observe if it's going to work perfectly on that computer.

Which ever the case ma be, here is what you need to do on your computer;

Insert the external drive into your computer

Go to device manager.

Go to the name of the external drive.

Right click on the external drive and click 'Uninstall"

Allow the external drive uninstall from your computer.

If possible uninstall every other device under the "Universal serial bus controller (usb).

Once this is done, disconnect/remove the external drive from your computer.

Restart your computer.

Wait a while for the computer to boot computer. Also whatever you have uninstalled from the device manager, might install automatically. Which ever the case maybe, make sure your computer has finished booting or installing any device before you attempt to insert the external drive into the usb.

Now insert the external drive and wait for the computer to install the external drive, then observe if it will open this time around.

By now it should open. But if it doesn't open, please let me know so that I may direct you further on what next to do.

I wish you good luck.

Regards.

If you dropped the drive, you can send it to http://techrxgb.com and they can try to "un stick" the damage on the drive. It certainly will cost you a few dollars, but it's possible your data is okay.

One or more of the hints below will probably sort out most USB problems with most USB portable / external hard drives and OTHER devices (though not always)

A few things to check but assumes USB and Windows for other interfaces / operating systems (mac/ Linux) similar steps may be adapted to suit.

1. Ensure it is connected directly to the computer to a USB 2.0 port not a USB 1.0 port as this can have effects on performance and reliability

2. Use only the cables that came with it NOT one that fits that may have been lying around or is longer. Not all USB cables are equal even though they should be)

3. Do not connect through an external USB HUB unless that hub is USB 2.0 AND has its own power supply.

4. Use ONLY the power supply that came with it if it has an external power supply Don’t use any other unless you know it has both the same voltage and current rating e.g. 12V 500mA anything rated below that would not work properly.

5. Always use the same port for connecting your devices. Some devices do not like being switched about. If switched they may want to install software / drivers again. This can be especially true if you move a HUB to another port

6. For FLASH DRIVES you should ensure that the device is set for "quick removal" using the drive control panel properties or use the USB "Safely Remove Hardware" option. If you don’t do this there is a very strong chance that any files you transfer may not be there when you plug into another computer.


7. It is possible to remove drives from the enclosures in most cases and connect directly inside a PC to fully check it.
You should also do this to check the drives connections are not bad inside the enclosure.

8. If none of the above steps help look at updating the drivers from the manufacturers web site in the support section.

9. If you checked and fixed anything there and still have issues then check your hardware from CONTROL PANEL / SYSTEM / HARDWARE.
Any exclamation marks by hardware need fixing before you investigate any further


10. Ensure that you have set removable drives for "quick removal" or that you use the "Safely Remove Hardware" option often shown on the lower toolbar. It is possible that files my not be fully written to external devices before they are removed. This corrupts the file itself and even on occasion the drive.
SPECIAL NOTES
USB flash drives can fail for no apparent reason.
Sandisk Cruzers are especially bad for this.

USB hard drives should be treated with extreme care.
This is a real hard drive ! And knocks and bumps can quite literally kill them.

Note that if you hear a drive clicking or pinging this could be the worst thing you would hear.
Known as "The Click of Death"
Hope this gives you the information you need

Hi

Try run the system restore of your computer and it might help solve your problem.

Please rate and make a comment if you find this solution very helpful and might help others as well. Post more comments if you need more help.

Regards and thank you for using Fixya !

If you are using a usb hub disconnect it completely and try connecting your Western Digital directly to a usb port on your laptop. If that doesn't work try booting into safe mode and see if it shows up then. If it works in safe mode a recent update to your virus program or another program could be blocking it. Hope I was of some help , Thanks for using FixYa

You can find the install program here. Click on the link associated with your device and it will take you to a page with all the available downloads for it. Download the install ISO and burn it to a CD or DVD, whichever you have access to and capability to burn. After making the disk, insert into the machine you want to install the device on and run the install file.

you external hd is infected with a malware, try to scan your hd with other pc, and remove any remaining malware

click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x right click to reinstall drivers or if you can see your usb but its not working ports(com&lpt)right click update driver make sure the lead/s that attach to this drive have a secure seating and are not bad/faulty the light on only tells that its getting power it might not be getting enough power you might test the lead/s or just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again, sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable, check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems hope this helps