There are so many wrong things on your post that I’ll go one by one:
I Have tried all the obvious methods: Remove Software (nothing in that list shows up
If Smartware is not on the list of programs then it is not installed. Period. Smartware is a regular program you can get or remove in WD’s site ( www.wdc.com );
Disable/Uninstall drive - just pops up again!
Disabling the drive itself has nothing to do with Smartware as Smartware is a software and can run even with the drive disconnected once installed (But it will do nothing as it needs the drive);
Disable in Services - not successful there yet either.
This one’s funny, the program is not on the list of programs to be uninstalled, but there’s a service entry which requires installation (The service is the WDFME, WD File Management Engine) that you can disable? :neutral_face:
And from my initial post, you would be able to see that prior to plugging in the Essemtials drive, had no issue at all with the VCD ever.
And how I "suddenly’ noticed that the Smartware had enabled was because my network had all the drive letters re-allocated to allow for the new VCD to go before the other drives and so all the permissions changed or disappeared. My media player for one thing, was most upset.
Network drive letters are reserved by Windows. If you gave XYZ to a NAS, then Windows will not give that letter to anything else, unless your computer is severely messed up and everyone will tell you this.
The permissions changed or disappeared just because Windows added a new drive letter? Did you know that Network drives don’t even show up on Disk Management, which is the tool in Windows that natively allows you to change drive letters between hard drives and CDs and VCDs, as it only shows LOCAL storage media? 
And again, you are confusing Smartware with the Virtal CD, they are NOT the same.
My Book is 3 yrs old and the Passport is about 2 years old and both have been sitting there doing their job. The elements is the youngest at only 1 year.
The MyBook can not have a VCD if it is 3 years old, as the Smartware drives came in mid-2009. The Passport could have it but it’s impossible for you to have it for 2 years and not notice the VCD until now, if it does have it. The Elements don’t have the VCD at all. Post the model number of the Passport as it is the only one of the 3 that could have a VCD.
All 3 drives have unallocated space on the now. (I say now because a drive scan with 3 lots of partitioning software over the last couple of years (Don’t you love how diskspace just evaporates?) previously showed all space on the drives as allocated.
If you partitione a drive, unless the partition process is successful then you get an unallocated drive, so your point is…?
So as the drivers and the software are ALMOST TOTALLY hidden from view and therefore removal, my comment about the whole saga being a virus stands. Otherwise how the flop did it suddenly appear without consent?
One more thing - If the software Isn’t on the list, equally that would mean that I didn’t install it - right?
The software is not hidden at all, when you double-click your drive to open it the first thing you’ll see is the Smartware installer on a normal folder, just near the folder with the user manual. On the VCD is the same, it’s an executable file called smartwaresettupX86 or smartwaresettupx64 so you can MANUALLY install it if you know your OS.
I can tell you’re from the bunch who calls smartware a rootkit or a virus just because you don’t like it, go to wikipedia (as a minimum information resource) and look for the definition of a virus or a rootkit. Nothing in your post makes sense, nothing. It looks like a swift made-up story just to bash it, without even knowing the basics about both the drive and Smartware.
Smartware is not good enough for my taste, I use Windows Backup, but I know better than just comming to a forum and make a post that everyone with a single week in here would know it’s a FAKE just to trash and bash it, everyone reading your post knows that, so they won’t even botter to reply to you.
If you are serious and not trolling then I’m sorry for being so harsh and blunt. If anything, when you connected her drive to your computer, if it did have a VCD then disconnecting the drive was the end of the story unless her drive did have a real virus and you are just extremely confused about what happened and you’re blaming the wrong culprit. If what you say is true, then no one on this forum can help you and you should call WD directly. The phone number is in here.
The VCD is factory added to the drive as a simple secondary partition with a CD icon, you can’t get it or add it to a drive that doesn’t have it.
I won’t post again in here, so please feel free to have the last word.
