Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1U5000
by Western Digital
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List Price: Our Price: $199.99 You Save: $130.00 (39%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $74.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1U5000
Customer Review: WD My Book 500GB USB 2.0 - a GREAT BUY!
Summary: 5 Stars
I own five WD External drives and have not had any issues with any of them (the oldest is over 5 years old, is connected 24x7x365, and it's still working fine). My most recent two purchases have been a:
"Western Digital My Book Essential 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive - 7200rpm"
and a
"Western Digital My Book 500GB Premium ES Edition Hard Drive - 7200rpm USB 2.0 & eSATA Dual Interface External Hard Drive"
The "WD My Book Essential 500GB USB 2.0 Ext HD" - just has a UDB 2.0 connector (no eSATA or Firewire) but it works great and if you shop the sales, the price for 500 GB can be close to $100-140 (summer 2007).
The "WD My Book 500GB Premium ES Edition HD" has both a USB 2.0 & eSATA connector on the back (use either one). Note, not many PCs today (2007) have an eSATA port on them. ESATA is faster than USB 2.0, but if you don't have a connector for that externally on your PC, then don't pay extra for it. (You can get after market external eSATA ports for a PC but there are different kinds, and depending on your PC, you need to get the 'right kind' for your PC, assuming you even have room in your PC to add one).
Both of these drives came with easy to install instructions - just plug in the power, and then connect them to your PC, and away you go. Both came with USB 2.0 cables. The Premium ES Edition with eSATA did 'NOT' come with an eSATA cable. Both came with their own power cords - nice long ones too.
Neither of these two can be connected directly to a network, but if your PCs are part of a home network, or small business type network, as mine are, then I just plug them into one of the main PCs and I put a "share" on the drive so that any PC on my network can access it.
If you have important information on your PC, back it up! And if you are like me, previously my backups were stored right next to my PC (not good!) So, now, I use one of these 500 GB drives as the primary backup drive for my PCs, and I keep that right next to one of my PCs. But then weekly, I use the other 500 GB drive to backup the backup drive - and then I keep that one in a fireproof / waterproof safe. You can get these for $30-100, depending on their size, at office stores or online. I like the Sentry line of products.
Customer Review: Simple, Quiet, Well Constructed Drive!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a 300GB+ External hard-drive to backup my data, photos, music and home-videos. I wanted a rugged drive as I was planning to keep the drive off-site and transport it back & forth for monthly backups.
I evaluated LaCie, Seagate and other alternatives on the market and found the My Book has comparable or better specs and was aesthetically more pleasing than most. I also liked the simplicity and the concept of the My Book. The footprint is also among the smallest in the industry for a 500GB drive.
The drive looks sleek and is not intrusive or odd on a desk. The casing is made of hard plastic. It looks and feels rugged. The drive has "morse-code" vents which, beside looking funky, help keep the drive extremely cool. Drive operation is extremely quiet. When placed vertically there are 2 rubber strips on the bottom to prevent the drive from sliding or vibrating. Multiple drives can also be stacked on their sides - rubber feet are included.
The setup is pretty simple, just plug-in the power and connect the USB cable. Windows XP recognizes and sets up the drive quickly. Look for the drive under "My Computer" - you're up and running!!
The drive comes pre-formatted as FAT32. You can reformat it to NTFS with relative ease under Win XP. There is some included Google software which you can copy to your local machine or download from Google.com. The drive switches on and shuts down with your computer. You can also turn the drive on/off via a large button which is surrounded by the green indicator.
The only thing I miss is the WD Backup software - which seems to be bundled as an incentive with the Premium My Book drive. Another feature that people might miss is the "One-touch Backup" button offered by competitors.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this drive!!
Customer Review: Fully Satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
I currently have an in-house LAN that is connected to two PC's and wanted an external backup capability that would protect data in the event of a hard drive failure. The basic requirement was that the external drive had to have sufficient space to accommodate backup images of both PC's and copies of the My Documents directories from both PC's concurrently. I also wanted an external drive that was capable of supporting either the Windows environment or the Macintosh environment. I ended up purchasing the Western Digital 500GB My Book Essential Edition USB drive. It has been in use for about three weeks now and I have been very pleased with the results.
Installation is simple. Plug the drive into an available USB port and power the system up. Backup of both PC's occurs very rapidly via backup software I purchased separately. The drive is extremely quiet and the intelligent power up/down mode of operation is great. (The external drive automatically senses when you power down the PC it is connected to and it powers itself down. It also powers up when the PC is turned on.)
Reading other reviews, the only concerns I had before purchase was drives that customers had received that had failed shortly after installation and PC's that had insufficient power to support the external hard drive. Neither of these concerns were problems in my case. I recommend this product to anyone having similar need as mine. Just make sure you have an available USB port and the power to support the drive and you should be happy with the results.
Customer Review: Bulky, heavy, but worked as advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros: It's got lots of storage and transfers data relatively fast. It's quiet (no fan) and looks stylish. I knew what I was getting into, though, so I'm not complaining about the size and weight.
Cons: If you want an easy to pack and move portable, this AIN'T it. Get a USB powered 2.5" drive. The things I didn't like about it and was uninformed when I got it are: 1) the little rubber feet on it like to fall off REALLY easy. 2) There are no pads as it comes to lay it on its side. Sure, it takes up less room, but I keep knocking the thing over. 3) It's a FAT-32 drive. Convert it to NTFS or else you won't be able to store ISO's of ripped DVD's, single layer or dual layer. 4) it comes with pre-loaded software that seems useless for what I bought it for -- Storing digital pictures, music, and ripped DVD's.
-- Bottom line, I'm going to have to buy a 2.5" USB powered external for dragging my media to and from work. I REALLY like my friend's passport Western Digital 160 GB USB 2.0 Passport 2.5" External Hard Drive ( WDXMS1600TN ). A 160 gig would really be the ticket!!!
** UPDATE **
The drive died and took all of the data with it. Got slower and slower, so I started transfering the important data off and it died halfway through the transfer. I am disappointed that it lasted only two hears with light use.
Customer Review: GREAT add to my home office! MASSIVE STORAGE
Summary: 5 Stars
Not only does this external hard drive look great on my desk it add a ton of storage to my system, allowing me to do backups on a regular basis without issue and allowing me to keep movies and other files that don't need to be on my main PC accessible from a hard drive that doesn't allows need to be running.
The large ring lights up a nice mild green letting you know the device is on. In the center of that ring is a large button that you use to turn your external hard drive on and off without having to unplug it (this has to be one of the best features). I can leave it hooked to my computer and only turn it on when I need it to be on. This will save those of you out there who like to leave your home PC running all the time. You don't have to worry about this hard drive being subject to crashing due to being on all the time and don't have to hassle with unplugging it.
Western Digital makes pretty good hard drives and they last a long time without issue. I got a heck of a deal on mine from a friend but was quite pleased with all the features it turned out to have. Like the built in backup utility as well as the fact all you have to do it hook up 2 wires and it's ready to run (power and USB). Plus the fact that it looks good on my desk, looks like a black hard case book. Doesn't attract more attention to it self like other externals on the market do. Transfers seem to be rather fast as well.