How to Install and Use WD Drive Utilities Software

Learn how to install WD Drive Utility. These features allow drive registration, test for errors, and more.*END

Guided Assist
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WD Drive Utilities features the ability to:

Run drive diagnostics
Manage RAID configuration (For RAID supported models)
Erase and format drive
Set drive sleep timer (on supported drives)
Register drive

Software Download

WD Drive Utilities for Windows
WD Drive Utilities for macOS

Instructions for Windows and macOS

About WD Drive Utilities
Download and Install on Windows
Download and Install on macOS
Check Drive Health
Erase and Format Drive
Drive Sleep Timer
LED Settings
RAID Management
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Need more help?

Answer ID 6265: WD Security & WD Drive Utilities: Attach a Supported WD Drive

Download and Install on Windows

Follow the steps to install WD Drive Utilities for Windows.

Download and install WD Drive Utilities.
- WD Drive Utilities for Windows

Click Save.

Click Open folder.

Right-clickWDDriveUtilitiesSetup.zip.

Select Extract All ...

Accept the default location.
Click Extract.

Double-click WDDriveUtilitiesSetup.

Read the EULA (End User License Agreement).

Check the box to agree.
Click Install.

Click Finish.

Start WD Drive Utilities

Connect a supported drive to the computer.
- Direct Attached Storage (DAS) Drives: My Book, My Book for Mac, My Book Duo, My Book Pro, WD Drive Plus, WD easystore Desktop, WD easystore Portable, My Passport works with USB-C, My Passport, My Passport for Mac, My Passport Ultra, My Passport Ultra for Mac, My Passport Ultra (USB-C), My Passport Ultra for Mac (USB-C),My Passport Ultra Metal, WD Elements SE, WD Backup Drive Desktop
- Drives not listed above are NOT supported.
- Attach a Supported WD Drive message.
  
  Need more help?
  Answer ID 6265: WD Security & WD Drive Utilities: Attach a Supported WD Drive

Enter WD Drive Utilities in the search bar.

Double-click WD Drive Utilities app.

Check Drive Health

Check the drive for errors.

Select a drive to test.
Click Diagnose.

Click a drive test type.
- Drive Status Check
  The drive status check is a S.M.A.R.T. failure-prediction function that monitors key internal performance attributes of the drive.
- Quick Drive Test
  The quick drive test checks the drive for major performance problems.
- Complete Drive Test
  The complete drive test checks every sector for error conditions, and inserts bad sector markers as needed.

Drive Test Failed

A drive that fail any test should not be used for storage.
The drive should be replaced.

Need more help?

$EN_ANSWER_4666
Answer ID 12163: WD S.M.A.R.T. - Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology
Answer ID 33498: Western Digital Warranty Replacement and Data Recovery

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Erase and Format Drive

Erase and format the drive.

Critical:

The process is Data Destructive and cannot be undone.
ALL THE DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE LOST!

Select a drive.

Enter a Volume Name for the drive.
Select NTFS or exFAT File System Format.
Check the Box.
Click Erase Drive.

Critical:

Do Not close the window until the Drive Erase is done.

Click Close

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Drive Sleep Timer

The drive sleep timer turns off power to the drive after a set of amount non-use time, conserves power, and lessens long-term wear.

Sleep timer does not work for for My Passport SSD, My Passport Go, My Passport Pro, My Book Thunderbolt Duo, and My Book Studio II.

Connect a supported drive.

Open WD Drive Utilities.

Select a drive.

Click Settings.
- Click to Toggle OFF and ON Sleep Timer. (default=ON)
- Select a different time from the menu (default=30 minutes)

Timer Setting Details

Default Timer Setting

Default Time

30 minutes

Timer Intervals

10, 15, 30, 24 and 90 minutes

LED Settings

Turn Off and On the LED of a supported drive. (Default=On)

Connect a supported drive with an LED.

Open WD Drive Utilities.

Select a drive.

Click Settings.

Click to Toggle OFF and ON the drive LED.

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RAID Management

IMPORTANT:

The RAID screen will not who unless the drive has two drives and supports RAID.

Check the drive status and change the RAID mode.

RAID 0 - (default) max capacity and speed, no data protection
RAID 1 - max data protection, half capacity
JBOD - individual drives, max capacity, no data protection

Need more help?
Answer ID 659: RAID Levels Supported with Western Digital Products

Check RAID Status

Check the current RAID mode and status of a drive.

Open WD Drive Utilities.

Connect a RAID model drive to the computer.
Select the drive.
Click RAID Management.
Click RAID Status

RAID Types

Stripe or RAID 0 (Striped) - (default) max capacity, speed, no fault tolerance
Mirror or RAID 1 (Mirrored) -
Individual Drives or JBOD (Individual Drives) -max capacity, no data protection

RAID Status

Healthy
Degraded
Failed
Cannot Access Data
Data Loss Detected
Not Configured
Offline
Online
Rebuild Failed
Rebuilding (x%)
Unknown

Drive Status

Failed - The drive has failed
Online - Drive is online and available
Rebuilding - The drive is being rebuilt
Removed - The drive has been removed
Standby - The drive is part of the RAID array but needs to be rebuilt
Unknown - The drive has some other undetermined status

Drive #1 and Drive #2 Status

Drive Not Supported - The drive model is not supported
Empty - There is no drive installed, but none was expected
Failed - The drive has failed
ID Mismatch - Thedrive metadata information does not match its serial number
Insufficient Capacity - The drive installed has insufficient capacity to be part of the mirrored RAID array
Missing - The expected drive is not installed
New Drive - The installed drive has not been configured
Online - The drive is healthy and part of the RAID disk array
Rebuilding - The drive is the target disk of the rebuild operation and that operation is still in progress

My Book Duo Drive Status Location Regardless of Drive Label Number

Drive A or Drive 1 Status refer to the drive in the LEFT bay from the front view.
Drive B or Drive 2 Status refer to the drive in the RIGHT bay from the front view.

Change Drive Configuration

Changing the RAID mode reformats both drives.

Critical:

The process is Data Destructive and cannot be undone.
ALL THE DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE LOST!

Select RAID Management.

Select Configuration.

Select a RAID mode.
- Stripe - (default) max capacity performance (RAID 0), not fault tolerance
- Mirror - max data protection (RAID 1), but half the capacity
- Individual Drives (JBOD) - max capacity, no data protection

Enter a Volume Name(s) for the drive.
Select NTFS or exFAT File System Format.

JBOD requires two Volume Names and two Format slections.
Volumes should not have the same name.

Check the Box.
Click Configure.

Critical:

Do Not close the window until the RAID change is done.

Click Close

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Download and Install on macOS

Follow the steps to install WD Drive Utilities for macOS.

Download and install WD Drive Utilities.
- WD Drive Utilities for macOS

Go to Downloads folder.
Unzip WDDriveUtilities_MACOS.zip.

Open WD_Utilities_Installer_for_Mac.dmg.
Open exec folder.

Double-click WD Drive Utilities Installer.

Click Open to accept.

Read the EULA (End User License Agreement).

Check the box to agree.
Click Install.

Enter the admin user password for macOS.
Click OK.

Click Finish.