Is it safe to remove the default programs on my External Hard Drive?

Because this regards an External Hard Drive I bought a few weeks ago I thought I would post this question in here...

I recently bought a 500 GB FreeAgent GoFlex Seagate External Hard Drive and have been using it for videos, music, and other things for my projects that I work on (I make videos for YouTube.) My brother suggests that I remove the default programs that were on it prior to me setting up the EX hard drive so as to not have it potential catch and/or carry on a virus, but unfortunately I find some of his antics questionable and am feeling conflicted...

Here what the EX Hard Drive's menu looks like on "My Computer." NOTE: The default programs that were on it from the start are boxed in red.


And everytime I open up this window on my computer I get this pop up from my anti-virus program:


What I would like to know is: Is it safe to remove the default programs on my External Hard Drive? And if doing so, will it still work and function properly? I hope to have this answered soon. I would like to have other files from other computers put on it (via transferred by CD for protection) for use in my projects too.

pincushion said:

If you don't need any of the functions that they might provide then it is OK to remove them to a back-up location or just delete them. These kind of programs often come with drives but normally nothing is required for a drive to function correctly other than formatting, and they usually are already formatted. It looks like if you use it on a Mac there might be some software to install but if not then it should be OK to remove all of it. Have a look in the UserGuides and read whatever is there to see what the programs provide. I normally remove this stuff to a back-up location just in case I want to return the drive to 'as new' but since drives don't last forever and will probably fail after 3 or 4 years it is probably pointless.

:)

My Windows 7 is a PC, does that make any difference or no?

Also, I ran the setup.exe that was provide when I first got it and with it and got "Seagate Dashboard" and "Meemo Instant Backup," would it still be safe to delete the defaults or should I just run the Instant Backup thing before doing so? (It pops up usually every 10 minutes when I turn on my PC to remind me to backup...)

Do you use Meemo Instant Backup or Seagate Dashboard?

Do those 2 programs appear in your list on uninstallable programs in your Windows control panel?

Do you have any other location to which you can temporarily move the data that is now on this external drive?

ignatzatsonic said:

Do you use Meemo Instant Backup or Seagate Dashboard?

Do those 2 programs appear in your list on uninstallable programs in your Windows control panel?

Do you have any other location to which you can temporarily move the data that is now on this external drive?

Not really, I just installed them because the Window Wizard asked me if I wanted to do so (the window that pops up when a flash drive or CD is inserted)

Yes, both programs appear as being uninstallable on the Control Panel. With Meemo I have both "Instant Backup" and "AutoSync." Should I uninstall them?

If by any other location, do you mean like a thumb/flash drive or a blank CD? If so, then yes.

karlsnooks said:

Yes! Perfectly safe to delete.

Thanks for the heads up!

Sorry if I'm sounding redundant for reposting this but just for a reconfirmation, the stuff inside of the red box from my picture, that CAN be deleted and will not harm my EX hard drive in anyway? (I have a bad habit of this as I just want to be safe since I'm not advanced with computers)

I always delete this external crapware. If you don't want what it has to offer, then you can also delete it in Explorer. If it gives you any problems delete the partition in Disk Mgmt, then create and reformat a new storage partition.

If the external interferes with WIn7 boot or in any way slows it, move your data off and wipe it with Diskpart Clean Command, create and reformat in Disk Mgmt.

karlsnooks said:

goji,
Yes. You can delete the stuff inside of the red box.
karl

Thank you once again. I had them deleted and it still works good.

Glad this is all sorted out. Just a note - many drives these days come with built-in encryption but if this is not required then often it too can be removed but sometimes this requires software from the manufacturers.

:)