I've just bought a Western Digital 2TB external hard drive as my 500GB external drive was full. So it arrived today and I unpacked it, connected it up and then found I couldn't actually use it until I had bought a activation code and licence from Western Digital!!! Is everyone following the example of Photoshop by either going to monthly subscription or licensing a device, after you've paid good money for it, before you can get it to work??
Are you serious? Have they gone mad? This "code", is it at a (boot) sector level or micro-code level? By that I mean is it part of the firmware that runs on the drives internal controller or is it running in some partition unseen by Windows. It would be worth connecting it to a nix box and running Gparted which will detect all partitions and simply nuke them by doing a low level format of the whole drive. Then do either a FAT32 or NTFS format (still on the nix box) and then try it on the windows machine. The other option is to take the drive back, show them two fingers and get from another manufacturer with some sense left.
That is very cheeky Armandii, a quick google and it seems the WD activation code is for using some of the supplied WD apps on the cloud (using Dropbox or similar), that's something you can live without if you're just backing up stuff from your local PC drive. Try firing up Windows Explorer, does the external drive appear there? I reckon it will allowing you to copy files outside of using the WD apps.
Yes, I could live without it for sure. I've gone the Windows Explorer way but to be honest it's a bit long winded. I'm not happy with having to buy a activation code, to say the least, but buying this hard drive has a bit of history. I originally ordered it from Currys, got it the next day only to find they'd sent me the wrong one. So I rang them up and they apologised saying they would send a courier the next day to pick up the wrong item and supply me with the right item as soon as they'd received the return at the Warehouse. They picked the item up as promised and I waited for over a week only to get an e-mail from them saying that the correct item was no longer in stock but would I like something else, but that they had no other 2TB external drive alternative I cancelled the order and asked for a refund which they promised they would do. At the time they were the cheapest around but going on the Net, not in a happy mood, I found the same 2TB External drive for £10 cheaper from another company so I ordered it. But to find I had to pay for an activation code just to use it was a bit aggravating to say the least. It's like buying a car and then having to pay extra for the car keys. I did feel like returning it but after my original trouble with Curry's and the delay caused by it I don't want any more messing around............but I'm not happy!!
Personally I'd send it back and say it doesn't work, in that you've paid for a device expecting full and unrestricted use of that device, only to find you haven't got full and unrestricted use of it.
I would, Clueless, but my original 500 external hard drive is stuffed full of precious backup and I'm fed up with the delays and mess ups.
I supply these quite often. The basic WD smartware which powers the backup is free to use, the only time I've come across a activation code is when I've looked to see what Smartware Pro offers over the basic SmartWare. All I could see was that you would be able to use a different backup drive (ie: non-WD) and Dropbox. As I don't use Dropbox and have sufficent other drives that I could use FBackUp free, I sure ain't buying an activation code. If your drive won't work without an activation code (can't believe this), check out WD's website and see if there's any free software updates.
I would be inclined to contact the supplier (don't send it back) and tell them that they're mis-selling a product as the manufacturer is demanding the payment of an additional sum in order for you to use it. Tell them that if you have to return it you would want a refund on your postage and that it would be easier from their point of view to send you a payment to cover the cost of the licence. don't tell them that you would rather keep it than to go through the hassle of getting another one.
http://www.ebuyer.com/shop/external...d1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b2c_weekend1 Can recommend this firm, ordered a mobile phone for my neighbour one lunch time, it was delivered next day, and you can get cashback @Scrungee
Well, it's a Western Digital 2TB External Hard Drive, Scrungee, so it's not the the retailer fault but Western Digital who appear to be selling the larger storage models [2 and 3TB] with the device locked, without informing the buyer, leaving it as a sting in the tail. I'll do that, IG. I've already e-mailed WD's customer service to complain about having to buy an access code.
If you get the chance, please let us know what response you get, I'd be interested to know myself. I've not yet supplied a 2Tb WD drive as yet, but would like to well informed if such a practice is liable to affect the price I change my clients.
One of my clients has just bought herself a 2TB WD MyPassport Ultra and asked me to install the backup software. Looking forward to Armandii's license problem I was very pleasantly surprised to find that "Your purchase entitles you to a free upgrade to SmartWare Pro", please register. Once we did so, the drive runs the Pro version allowing my client to use any drive as backup as well as Dropbox. But I think if we'd skipped the Pro activation, it would have allowed me to set up the standard SmartWare software without issue. Sounds like things have changed? PS. As a bonus, the activation code could be used on a maximum of three devices though I was not offered the use of one for my WD Smartware/MyPassport.
