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Knowledge Base Frequently Asked Questions Log In | Sign Up Username Password Forgot your username or password? # Search Advanced Search Search terms Screen Reader users press enter to Limit by product. Limit by product Screen Reader users press enter to Limit by category. Limit by category Sort by Direction Search Type Search Tips Find the answer to your question # How to remove (disable / hide) WD SmartWare Virtual CD (VCD) for Windows or Mac OSX on a WD My Book or WD My Passport Answer ID 3835 | Last Updated 11/18/2011 Share Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Print Email this page Recipient Email *Required Your Email *Required Your Name *Required Notify Me Username Password Forgot your username or password? This answer explains how to disable/hide the WD SmartWare VCD on a My Book or My Passport drive using either Windows or Mac OSX. Please note that this is different from uninstalling the WD SmartWare software from the computer.*END <-- -->
| Note: Before following these instructions, there are several things you need to consider: The Virtual CD manager only disables the VCD image. There is no way to remove it from the disk. Current versions of the VCD are only about 20 MB in size- this is about the size of a few pictures. Once the VCD is disabled you will be unable to access the WD SmartWare installer on the VCD image (on older model drives). You can download a copy of SmartWare from our website. Network drives such as the My Book Live that include the WD SmartWare software do not have a VCD. Because there is no VCD, these instructions do not apply to the product. The software will only show the Enable/Disable VCD option if the drive supports it. If this option does not appear, then you can't disable or enable the VCD on your specific model drive.
Select an Operating System (OS)
Operating System and Preferred Method | Instructions
--- | ---
Windows 7, Vista, and XP using WD SmartWare | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table)
Windows 7, Vista, and XP without using WD SmartWare | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table)
Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard) and 10.6.x (Snow Leopard) using WD SmartWare | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table)
Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard) and 10.6.x (Snow Leopard) without using WD SmartWare | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table)
Linux/Unix | Click Here for Instructions (instructions will appear below this table)
### Please select an Operating System (OS) from the list above to display instructions for your specific OS. #### How to Disable/Enable VCD with SmartWare Installed in Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer. The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature. If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
| Critical: Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: Updating firmware on a My Book or My Passport.
Download and install the latest version of WD Smartware from the Western Digital website. Once updated launch the WD Smartware software. Click on the Settings Tab. Select Set Up Drive. Click on the Virtual CD button on the left side of the screen. On the right side of the screen, click the radial button for either Enable VCD if you want to show the VCD, or Disable VCD if you wish to hide it. Click on Apply VCD Settings. Power Cycle your drive. Open My Computer (Windows XP) or Computer (Windows Vista and Windows 7), and verify that the VCD does not appear. #### How to Disable/Enable VCD without SmartWare Installed in Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer. The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature. If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
| Critical: Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: Updating firmware on a My Book or My Passport.
Download the VCD Manager for Windows utility from our website. Unzip the executable. (Extract the file using an extraction utility) Double click WDSmartWareVirtualCDManagerforWindows-v1.0.7.4.exe. Wait for the program to extract. Click Continue. Once the utility has found your drive, verify the serial number shown is the same as the one you wish to hide the VCD on and click Configure Drive. Click Exit. Power Cycle the drive. Open My Computer (Windows XP) or Computer (Windows Vista and Windows 7), and verify that the VCD does not appear. #### How to Disable/Enable VCD with SmartWare Installed in 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard) On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer. The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature. If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
| Critical: Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: Updating firmware on a My Book or My Passport.
Download and install the latest version of WD Smartware from the Western Digital website. Once updated launch the WD Smartware software. Click on the Settings Tab. Select Set Up Drive. Click on the Virtual CD button on the left side of the screen. On the right side of the screen, click the radial button for either Enable VCD if you want to show the VCD, or Disable VCD if you wish to hide it. Click on Apply VCD Settings. Power Cycle the drive. Open Finder and verify that the VCD does not appear. #### How to Disable/Enable VCD without SmartWare Installed in 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard) On your My Passport or My Book hard drive is a small portion of drive space which has been used to create a Virtual CD (VCD) which appears on your computer as an actual CD volume. Depending on your model of drive the content of the VCD will vary, however it will always contain the WD Unlocker application, and it appears on the screen each time you connect your WD drive to the computer. The VCD cannot be disabled if you wish to use the Drive Lock feature. If you don't wish to use the Drive Lock feature, you can safely disable the VCD. The VCD can be re-enabled at any time you want to enable the Drive Lock function. To disable the VCD, follow the steps below.
| Critical: Before disabling your VCD you must update your drive firmware. For assistance updating the firmware on your drive please see Answer ID 5460: Updating firmware on a My Book or My Passport.
Download the VCD Manager for Mac utility from our website. Open the application folder. Double click Virtual CD Manager.app Wait for the program to launch. Click Continue. Once the utility has found your drive, verify the serial number shown is the same as the one you wish to hide the VCD on and click Configure Drive. Click Exit. Power Cycle the drive. Open Finder and verify that the VCD does not appear. #### How to Disable/Enable the VCD in Linux or Unix Neither the VCD Manager or WD SmartWare is available for Linux or Unix. As a result, there is no known way to disable the Virtual CD (VCD) in these operating systems. Western Digital technical support only provides jumper configuration (for internal hard drive) and physical installation support for hard drives used in systems running the Linux/Unix operating systems. For setup questions beyond physical installation of your Western Digital hard drive, please contact your Linux/Unix vendor. You may also wish to post on our Community Forums for assistance from other users of our products who may be able to assist you with your issue. Please rate the helpfulness of this answer Rate answer 1 of 5 Rate answer 2 of 5 Rate answer 3 of 5 Rate answer 4 of 5 Rate answer 5 of 5 Please tell us how we can make this answer more useful. Email *Required Your Feedback *Required ## Answers others found helpful How to uninstall WD SmartWare from Windows (7, Vista, or XP) and Mac OSX (10.4, 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7) Updating firmware on a My Book or My Passport How to partition and format a WD drive on Windows (7, Vista, XP) and Mac OSX Where to find a driver for a WD product or the operating system (OS) fails to recognize a WD drive What is the SES driver, why is it needed, and how to get the driver popup to stop