My Passport - Installing Software

aj9648

Hi

I bought a 'My Passport' drive from WD a few weeks ago. The first time I used it I never got asked to install any software and therefore presumed the software was installed automatically as I could see the drive in explorer

However in the last few days I have learned that actually no software was installed as I keep getting notifications to install. Also I cannot get the USB passport to work in my TV, whereas a stick does work

Does anyone know if my data will be erased if I install this software - I have nearly 200GB on there and dont want to lose it !!!

The_Grandmaster

Installing software should be fine and should not delete the data on your harddrive. It's a similar process to installing software on your C drive where you keep your documents and programmes.

Sometimes, usb connectors (for my DVD player anyway) don't work which is a shame. Does the harddrive require a power supply?

aj9648

No does not require a power supply..

Normal USB stick worked fine

Darksun

With regards to it not working on the TV, it'll be nothing to do with software (any software installed on the drive wouldn't be executed by the TV).

The most likely explanation is probably the file system on the hard drive. Most large hard drives are pre-formatted as NTFS these days, which is a good format for large drives but not compatible with everything. Memory sticks are usually formatted in FAT/FAT32, which isn't as good as NTFS in many ways, but is a lot more compatible and I'm guessing this is the only format your TV supports.

You won't be able to change the file system without formatting the drive, which will erase it.

Richie-from-the-Boro

aj9648,

my TV takes a two gig Samsung no problem, but as Darksun says :

- yours will need formatting to FAT32
- your TV USB input may not supply sufficient power if your Passport drive is on a single~ended cable
- you can buy double~ended cables, but it's pointless unless your TV has two USB's !
- lastly, depending on your operating system you may have trouble formatting a drive to 32BIT, if you do come back here and ask how to

Richie-from-the-Boro

Bump for aj9648, did you get it sorted ?