So I have dragged the irritating 'WD Smartware' CD icon to the far left of my screen (where I tend to keep other junk). Since Leopard, OSX remembers the position of drives and disks on the desktop. While waiting for a proper solution (ie a way to zap this firmware) I have one tiny workaraound that makes it a bit less annoying for me on my Mac. This makes it hard to share the drive with others, for sending files over to a client for instance. I think it is even worse for Windows users - when the drive is plugged into a Windows machine the 'Found New Hardware' wizard pops up, just for the Virtual CD. I can't understand why WD would include such an obviously annoying feature with such a good product. The silly thing is that apart from this, the drive is amazing. Hopefully WD will release a removal tool in the near future. I searched around the internet and couldn't find a solution. Even if I eject this virtual CD disk, it pops back again instantly. Like the others, I have tried to format it to remove the annoying 'WD Smartware' but it keeps popping up on the desktop. I have just bought the 1TB version of WD's Passport drive. Answer warnings about erasing all data and continueĪfter I was done the virtual drive was gone and so was Smartware - good luck. Then check the box next to the partition and click NEXT Then highlight 'WD MY PASSPORT.' and click NEXT Select REFORMAT PARTITIONS and click 'NEXT.' From the opening screen choose UTILITIES. If you can get a hold of it and install it: It found my usb passport drive and fixed the problem. I installed it on my PC and ran the program. It's WD's diagnostic/setup software for their drives. I have a utility cd that came with an internal WD harddrive I installed a couple of years ago - DATA LIFEGUARD TOOL Version 11.3. Remove the Smartware on a PC, then make the drive ready for your mac. I assume in this forum you are on a Mac - maybe this will help you. I didn't find any help from searching google, but I did find you post and thought I'd let you know what I did. This may work for other passports and My Books. I'm just got rid of the smartware from my Passport Essential 500GB.

My passport wd unlocker