WHEN IS WDFME.exe GOING TO GET FIXED?????

[brooster]

Oops... just got another High CPU Usage warning for WD Smartware Engine... and I am not even running a backup now!!!

This is ridiculous.

[emtking]

Brooster,

Use Task Manager(ctrl, alt, and del all at the same time) to get in there and look at the processes running.  Click "Show processes from all users"  at the bottom of Task Manager.   That will bring up the real time usage list.  There, you should see a process using waaaaaay more than anything else.  WDFME.EXE was using over 70 million bytes on mine.  Stuck out like a sore thumb.  Highlight that process and then click "End Process".  You see, this software is constantly running and monitoring your entire hard drive for file changes to automatically backup.  That is why it  is running even when you are  not backing up.  Go to WD website and download the latest version of software for your product.  Download it to where you can find it again.  Uninstall the WD Smartware software from your Control Panel.  This will completely remove it from your system.  Next, if you have a registry cleaner tool(download CCleaner.exe from Cnet.com), run it to get rid of any left over junk the uninstall left behind.  Now, you can open your downloaded update and let it self install.  You should be good after that.  These are the steps I took and it's been working perfect ever since.  Never goes over 25% useage now.

[retired2]

Yes you have to delete the old program first to make the new update work properly. I also unchecked it in startup so it would not start when the computer starts up. Workinf great so far

[Robert_C]

This software is still a piece of **bleep**.

(1) I uninstalled the software, using Add/Remove Programs

(2) Rebooted computer

(3) Ran latest version of CCleaner

(4) Rebooted computer

(5) Installed latest version of WDIdiotWare

(6) Rebooted computer

(7) Selected "file backup", and selected the files/folders I wanted to backup. Note: I did NOT check the "start backup" button

WDFME.exe continues to consume my entire CPU. Why?? The backup isn't even started?

[brooster]

Followed the steps provided below by Western Digital Service and Support and seems to be working adequately so far. Keeping fingers crossed against memory leakage/creep.

Note that I was already using the latest versions of the WD firmware, the WD software, and Windows.NET, so perhaps uninstalling and reinstalling was the trick in my case.  I hope so.

Be aware that anti-virus and anti-spyware should be turned off first.  In your case, you might try their method of checking that Java, Flash, and .NET are current, then updating firmware, then uninstall/reinstall latest WD software.   Good luck.

The last portion (Step 4, regarding the stopping and restarting of WD services may also be crucial).  I went through the whole thing, just as they laid it out... and so far, so good.

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support...

We would like to apologize for the inconvenience. In order to stop SmartWare from running, please follow the following steps:

1. Open SmartWare through all programs.
2. Click on the Back-up Tab.
3. Click on the Stop Back-up button.

SmartWare is designed to run in the background when it is activated. You may also want to try the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Please update the WD SmartWare software and the drive's firmware to the latest version.

However, the following precautions should be taken before installing the firmware update:

A. Before updating the firmware on your drive, make sure you have a copy of all the data on your drive stored on a separate device.
B. If you are using a laptop, please make sure the battery is sufficiently charged.
C. During the firmware update, do not disconnect or disrupt the power to the drive.
D. All AntiVirus software must be disabled.
E. All Anti-Spyware software must be disabled.
F. All programs that would require drive access during the update must be disabled.
G .An Internet connection is required to install the firmware update.

To download the Windows release 3.1.0.11B (updated 4/3/2012) firmware updater, please click on the link below:
http://wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/Step1.asp?id=wdfMP30_SEEssential&os=WIN

In order for you to use the latest version of WD SmartWare, you may need to have the following minimum requirements:

A. Windows XP 32-bit Service Pack 3, Windows XP 64-bit Service Pack 2, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
B. Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or higher installed on your computer.
C. Internet Explorer 7 or higher.
D. Please make sure that you have the latest version of Java and Adobe Flash installed in your computer.

To download the Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0, please click on the link below:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17718

To download the WD SmartWare software updater, please click on the link below:
http://wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/step2.asp?id=wdfMP30_SEEssential&os=WIN

2. If you are already using the latest version of the WD SmartWare software. I suggest that you uninstall/reinstall the software.

For more information on how to uninstall WD SmartWare from Windows (7, Vista, or XP) and Mac OSX (10.4, 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7), please click on the link below:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5373/session/L2F2LzIvc25vLzEvdGltZS8xMzIxMTE4ODUyL3N...

3. Download the latest version of WD SmartWare from our website. To download the latest version of WD SmartWare, please click on the link below:
http://wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/step2.asp?id=wdfMP30_SEEssential&os=WIN

4. Please, reboot your computer after reinstalling the latest version of Smartware.

To make sure that the necessary services needed by the WD SmartWare are all enabled:

A. Click the Start Menu and the click Run. You may also press and hold the Windows key in your keyboard and then press the "R" key to launch Run.
B. Please type "services.msc" in Run (without the quotations).
C. Please look for WDDMService and double-click on it.
D. Kindly change the "Startup type" to disabled and click Apply.
E. Change the "Service status" to Stop and click Ok.
F. Please double-click the WDDMService again.
G. Change the "Startup type" to Automatic and click Apply.
H. Change the "Service Status" to Start and click Ok.
I. You would need to do steps a to h for WDFMEService and WDRulesService as well.

You may also reduce the backup speed of WD SmartWare and increase the speed of your system. Please follow these steps to reduce the WD SmartWare backup speed:

A. Launch WD SmartWare.
B. Click the Settings tab.
C. Click Set Up Software.
D. Click Backup Speed.
E. Please make sure that the "Run backup when computer is idle" option is checked.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
[edited]
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

[Fritz]

Does that not seem a little bit ridiculous to you that they make you do all of that to make [deleted] software work.  I've been on a mission to send as many people away from WD drives as I can until they sort it out, not you, not me, THEY....

[jcarlile]

I have the same problem with WDFME.EXE. It slows my laptop down to the point of being annoying when I'm pugged into my docking station at work (30 second delays sometimes) but it makes my laptop practically unusable when I'm travelling. I'm talking about my programs taking minutes to respond to commands. I think it is because WDFME.EXE is searching for and attempting to back up files to a drive that it isn't there when I'm travelling. It took me awhile to figure out that WDFME.EXE was causing the problem but I'm glad I finally did. I am able to kill WDFME.EXE from the Windows Task Manager and my system performance immediately improves but of course this defeats the purpose of having the backup software in the first place. I have resorted to just manually restarting the backup software before I go home each night. This works but since I'm not continually backing things up I run the risk of losing files I worked on each day before the backup starts. It seems like there has to be a way to make the backup software do it's job without gobbling up all the system resources. Has anyone figured out a way of making this work short of switching to some other backup software?

[brooster]

See my lengthy reply above.

Western Digital Service and Support did provide some steps---many steps---to correctly install the firmware and the software.  It's a pain to have to go through the whole procedure, but it seems to work.  I haven't had a problem the couple of days since following their reinstallation procedure.

Agreed that it would have been better to be given the proper installation sequence upon initial installation and  AT THE TIME the updates were offered.  But I cannot afford a new drive at this point and I'm a heavy computer user... so I bit the bullet and reinstalled everything per WD instructions.  Satisfied thus far.

And even if it takes a couple of hours it's worth the time when you can run backup AND use your computer at the same time.

[Megawhat]

I had this problem on my netbook. I took a look at other programs installed which might interact with this in the background .

I uninstalled Vodaphone mobile connect (as the program is on the datastick anyway) and now have no problem

 Edit forget this was OK for 2 days then came back!!!!!

[BBBBBrandon]

SmartWare 1.6.0 is now live on our website and is available for downloading.  This should resolve the high memory issues seen that were posted in this thread.

http://download.wdc.com/smartware/SmartWare_Windows_Upgrader_1.6.0.19.zip