Download, Install, Test Drive and Update Firmware Using Western Digital Dashboard

Download and Install Western Digital Dashboard

1. Download Western Digital Dashboard.
   
   Western Digital Dashboard (Online Install) - 4 MB
   Western Digital Dashboard (Offline Install) - 108 MB

IMPORTANT:

The Western Digital Dashboard is not compatible with macOS.

Need more help?
Answer ID 14800: How to Check External Drive for Errors or Failure using macOS Disk Utility First Aid


2. Save the DashboardSetup.exe file to the computer.
   Find the file and install by double clicking DashboardSetup.exe.


3. Follow prompts to complete the install.
   • Existing Install:
     Click Install to update.
     
     

     

   
   
   • New Install:
     Click Install.
     
     

     



4. Click Finish.
   The software will start and show the Overview screen.
   
   

   

   



5. Attach a supported drive.

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About Western Digital Dashboard

Western Digital Dashboard is software that checks on Western Digital drives in Windows. Tools for checking health, firmware versions and updates are included.

• Retail Internal Drives: SanDisk, WD_BLACK, WD HDD & SSD (Black, Blue, Green, Red, Purple, Gold)
• Retail External Drives: WD_BLACK P10, P40, D10, D50 Game Dock
• Other Drives: Internal and external drives may appear in the Western Digital Dashboard but are not supported.

Supported Operating Systems

• Windows 11
• Windows 10 32-bit & 64-bit

Windows 7 and 8 Support

• Answer ID 29004: Microsoft Windows 7 End of Support
• Answer ID 30413: Microsoft Windows 8 and 8.1 End of Support



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Update Firmware

Critical: Create a backup of all critical data to another location or device before updating the firmware on any drive.

Western Digital Dashboard shows a message when there is a firmware update.

1. Click UPDATE AVAILABLE.







2. Click UPDATE FIRMWARE.
    

   



3. Click PROCEED.
    

   



4. Click SHUTDOWN NOW.
   Power on the computer to finish.
    

   

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Drive Not Detected

Western Digital Dashboard supports SanDisk and WD products.

Common causes of drives not being detected are:

• An unsupported drive.
• A faulty cable or power connecter.
• An internal drive not seen by BIOS.
• A faulty or failed drive.
• A third-party backup or antivirus software blocking access.
• A third-party enclosure or docking station blocking access.
• A drive in a RAID slot on some systems might not be seen even if the drive isn't set as RAID.

Make sure the cables are connected properly or click the Rescan button to scan the system for drives.

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Temperature Monitoring

Western Digital Dashboard supports temperature monitoring for SanDisk and WD products.

Monitoring can be found at:

• The Overview screen.
• The Performance section by clicking VIEW CHART text.

Drives perform better, last longer and have fewer issues when used within the specs.

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Drive S.M.A.R.T. Test

S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a monitoring system for drives to detect and report on reliability.

1. Attach a supported drive.


2. Click a drive from My Devices.


3. Click Tools.







4. Click the S.M.A.R.T. option.


• Short Test: A quick drive health test.
• Extended Test: A thorough drive health test.
The extended test can take 10 minutes or more to complete.







5. A drive test PASS or FAIL message is shown when the test completes.
   
   
   
   
   Need more help?
   
   • Answer ID 33498: Western Digital Warranty Replacement and Data Recovery
   • Answer ID 12163: S.M.A.R.T. Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology

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TRIM Support

Western Digital Dashboard has the option to enable TRIM on a supported device.

1. Open Western Digital Dashboard.


2. Select the drive in My Devices.


3. Click Tools.







4. Scroll down to Optimizations section.
   Click RUN.
   It will run in the background.

Enable Windows TRIM will make it possible to be scheduled with Windows Task Scheduler.
Schedule can be set for Daily, Weekly, Monthly or No Schedule.

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Generate Report File

A Dashboard Report is used to diagnose an issue with the software or device.

1. Click Help.




2. Click GENERATE REPORT FILE.
   Save the Dashboard_Report.zip file.




3. Submit a case through the Support Portal and attach the logs.

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