DriveErase

WD Drive Utilities Help

Erasing the drive

CAUTION! Erasing your drive permanently deletes all of the data on the drive. Always back up the data on the drive before erasing it.

Note: Erasing your drive also deletes the WD software and all of the support files, utilities, and user manual files. You can download these to restore your My Passport® or My Book® drive to its original configuration after erasing the drive. See Restoring the WD software and disk image.

The WD  Drive Utilities™ software provides two ways to erase your drive, depending on whether it is locked or not:

 

Using the WD Drive Utilities Drive Erase function

To erase your drive when it is not locked:

  1. If you have more than one supported device connected to your computer, select the one that you want to erase.
  2. Click Drive Erase to display the Drive Erase dialog.
  3. On the Drive Erase dialog:
    1. For a My Book Thunderbolt™ Duo or My Book VelociRaptor™ Duo dual-drive storage device configured as individual drives, select the check box for each drive that you want to erase:
      • Erase Drive A
      • Erase Drive B
    2. If you want to perform a secure erase operation on a drive, select its Perform a secure erase check box.

      Note: Selecting this option ensures all data on the device is erased. This will take several hours to complete. If you choose not to select this option, a quick erase will be performed and the data may be recoverable using disk recovery software.

    3. If you want to change the name of a volume, type over the name in the Volume Name box.
    4. Select the option to specify the file format for each volume:
      • HFS+J
      • ExFAT

      Note that the exFAT (extended File Allocation Table) format is not RAID configurable on My Book Thunderbolt Duo and My Book VelociRaptor Duo devices.

    5. Read the warning about the loss of data if you erase your drive.
    6. Click the I understand check box to signify that you accept the risk.

      Important: If you want to save any of the data that is on the drive, back it up to another storage device before continuing with the drive erase.

    7. Click Erase Drive.
  4. When prompted, type your password and click OK to continue.
  5. When the erase completes, click OK to close the message display and see Restoring the WD software and disk image.

Using the WD Drive Unlock utility

Encrypted drives with the drive lock function provide the WD Drive Unlock utility on a virtual CD (VCD) drive that appears on your desktop display.

Note: The WD Drive Unlock utility and the VCD are only available on WD hard drives that support password protection. Neither the WD Drive Unlock utility nor a VCD is available on My Book Thunderbolt Duo and My Book VelociRaptor Duo devices or on unencrypted My Passport drives.

To erase your drive when it is locked and you have forgotten or lost your password:

  1. Double-click the WD Unlocker VCD drive listing in Finder or its icon on your desktop.
  2. Double-click the WD Drive Unlock application on the screen that appears.
  3. Make five attempts to unlock the drive by:
    1. Typing a password in the Password box.
    2. Clicking Unlock Drive.
  4. The fifth invalid password attempt displays the too many password attempts prompt.
  5. Click Erase Drive to display a warning about erasing all of the data on the drive.
  6. Read the warning and select the I understand check box to signify that you accept the risk.
  7. Click Erase.

After the erase operation completes, see Restoring the WD software and disk image in the next section.

Restoring the WD software and disk image

In addition to deleting all of the data on your My Passport or My Book drive, erasing the drive also deletes the WD software and all of the support files, utilities, and user manual files.

If you ever need to remove and reinstall the WD software on your computer, or move the drive to another computer and install the software there, you will need to restore the WD software and disk image on your drive. To do this, after you have erased the drive, see Knowledge Base answer ID 7 at http://support.wdc.com.

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