Unlocking your drive

The WD SmartWare™ software provides the Drive Unlock utility on a virtual CD (VCD) drive that appears under My Computer in the Windows Explorer display.

To unlock your drive:

  1. Locate and open the WD Unlocker utility on the drive you want to unlock by either:
  2. Type your password in the Password box.
  3. Click Unlock to unlock your drive.
  4. At the Your drive is now unlocked prompt, click Exit to close the Drive Unlock utility.

IMPORTANT! The WD SmartWare software allows five invalid password entry attempts before displaying the Too Many Password Attempts dialog.

To try again:

  1. Safely disconnect the drive from your computer.
  2. Power cycle the drive off, then on, and reconnect it to your computer.
  3. Repeat the unlock procedure.

If you forget or lose your password, WD cannot retrieve it for you, and you will have erase the drive before you can use it again. For this reason, it is helpful to record your password and keep it in a safe place away from your computer, especially if you use many password-protected devices and have multiple passwords.