Unlocking Your Drive

If you used the WD SmartWare™ Security option to set a password to secure and lock your drive, you must unlock your drive using the Unlock application on the Virtual CD (VCD) of the WD hard drive you want to unlock. If you have more than one WD hard drive attached to your computer, you must unlock the drive from the VCD specific to the drive you want to unlock.

To unlock a drive:

1. From the WD SmartWare VCD of the drive you want to unlock, locate and start the Unlock application in one of the following ways:

• For Windows, right-click the WD SmartWare VCD icon and choose Open from the drop-down menu; then double-click Unlock to start the application.
• For Macintosh, double-click the WD SmartWare VCD icon to open it; then double-click Unlock to start the application.

Be sure that you open the VCD associated with the WD drive you want to unlock.

2. Enter your password and click Unlock.
3. If you cannot remember your password, and have entered a Password hint, click the triangle below the Password field to reveal your hint.

You have an opportunity to enter your password five (5) times. After that, a message appears to indicate that too many attempts have been made, and you must safely unplug your drive, turn it off and then on, plug your drive back into the computer, and then try again.

For this reason, it is helpful to have your password written and stored somewhere away from your computer, especially if you use many password-protected devices and have multiple passwords. If you forget or lose your password, WD cannot retrieve it for you, and you must erase your drive before you can use it again.