As a long time loyal WD user I am saddened to see that WDSmartWare is making the purchase of external WD disks close to impossible. The features of the SW, its load on PC and its generated problems with upgrades makes it very difficult to have kind words. I have been waiting for years to get a decent version, but to no avail. Therefore it would be great if WD woudl team up with some reputable SW backup company offering a rebranded or original backup SW with external WD disks. That would make me very happy and would ensure future loyalty. Now unfortunately I see no reason to pay extra for SW that doesn't perform as well as freeware.