WD Discovery for Mac

Hello pilebuck.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you want to delete the install software that was included for your Western Digital hard drive but want to know if doing so would create any issues. We'd like to share some information with you.

If you've already installed the supported software for your external hard drive, it should be OK to delete any installation software since it's already installed. If an issue arises or if you need to reinstall that specific software, you can always visit Western Digital's website for firmware/software downloads:

Western Digital Support - Software & Downloads

We hope this information is useful. Cheers.

WD drives are the Yugos of HD's and have a very high failure rate due to the cheap enclosures they use. If you can, return it. I'd recommend getting a high quality drive. Something like an OWC Mercury Elite Pro.

However to answer your question, there is not any need for any of the software pre-installed on the drive. If you intend to keep it, I strongly recommend reformatting it as Mac OS Extended Journaled in Disk Utility. This will wipe it completely and make it ready for use with your iMac.

No external hard drive needs any software or app to function. It just needs to be formatted for Mac. I routinely erase any drive I buy.

WD's software has been bad for years. Some posters here said WD techs told them not to install WD software.