Novice Firmware Update Questions

I have a 1TB Passport, which I use to back up home and work, usually every six months.  When I connect the WD Smartware says that Software and Firmware updates are available.  Then I login to the WD website, and there are a lengthy set of instructions to update the Firmware first.  A quick backstory, I previously had a WD passport, and when I tried to update the firmware, and the drive became unresponsive.  Fortunately it was still under warranty, and WD replaced it.  However I am now very gunshy about updating the firmware.

Also, the instructions say to “make sure you have a copy of all the data on your drive stored on a separate device.”  Well, the original purpose of my purchase was to have a copy of all my files.  I back up from 3 computers and the data exceeds the HD capacity on each.  I don’t want to purchase another drive to back up my data from the Passport to feel safe about updating the firmware and software.

Finally, after reading a few of the threads, it was suggested that if updating the firmware, to prevent potential problems, do each update separately, starting with the earliest.  My drive is an -01, and I’m not sure which update to start with.  This process seems very complex, and since the backups seem to be working fine, I’m wondering if it’s worth the time and effort to go through all this.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

If the drive is working without issues I would not bother with the firmware updates. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Joe