MY PASSPORT ESSENTIAL
USER MANUAL
MANAGING AND CUSTOMIZING YOUR DRIVE – 34
Disconnecting the Drive Safely
1. Right-click the WD SmartWare icon in the system tray, and then click Safely
remove My Passport Essential USB HDD. You may hear the drive power down.
2. Wait for the drive icon to be removed from the desktop before disconnecting the
drive from the system.
Customizing Your Software Settings
The WD SmartWare software makes it easy for you to quickly customize its own
software settings for the best possible performance with your drive by:
• Specifying the number of backup versions that you want to keep for each file
• Inhibiting backups until times when your computer is idle
• Specifying a unique folder on your computer to store files retrieved from your
drive
• Automatically:
- Displaying the WD SmartWare Home screen whenever you connect your drive
to your computer
- Checking for WD SmartWare software updates
To customize your WD SmartWare software settings for the best possible performance
with your drive, on the Software Settings screen (see Figure 11 on page 20):
CAUTION! To prevent data loss, close all active windows and applications before
shutting down or removing the drive.
IF you want to . . . THEN click . . . AND see . . .
Change the number of backup
versions to keep for each file,
File History, “Specifying the Number of
Backup Versions” on page 20.
Enable anytime backups or inhibit
them until your computer is idle,
Backup Speed, “Pausing Backups Until Your
Computer is Idle” on page 21.
Specify a path to a different retrieve
folder,
Retrieve Folder, “Specifying a Different Retrieve
Folder” on page 35.
Change the options that whenever
you reconnect your WD SmartWare
drive to your computer:
• Display the WD SmartWare Home
screen
• Check for software updates
Preferences, “Setting the Preferences
Options” on page 35.
