Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDE1UBK10000N (Black)
by Western Digital
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Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDE1UBK10000N (Black)
Customer Review: Best External Hard Drive
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the hard drive from Electronica Direct through Amazon. With the added delivery charge the price was $110.85; about $10 less than Amazons price with added sales tax and free delivery. Delivery was fast -- took less than a week. I took it out of the box, read the directions, plugged it in and, at the suggestion of many reviewers, I formatted it to work with large files from an XP operating system. Formatting took about 3-1/2 hours. I copied everything from my "Documents" directory, and my "Program" directory, taking about an hour each. Only problem I had was there was a file in the "Dell" directory that didn't want to copy, so it stopped short. After investigating, I found out where it stopped and bypassed that file to finish copying the programs.
It is super quiet. Unless you have an extremely quiet environment, the only way you can tell if it is working is by looking at the blue light, or watching the file transfer icon on the monitor.
There is not a lot of documentation with this hard drive, and no programs come with it. You just plug in in and use it just as you would any hard drive. It doesn't get any simpler. I highly recommend this Western Digital Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive.
Customer Review: Reformatted to NTFS and now it runs perfectly
Summary: 5 Stars
I researched the comparable products and read the reviews on this Western Digital Elements 1 TB USB 2.0. Both my systems are running Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2. I was aware that the WD HD was formatted FAT32.
I unpacked the drive and was impressed with the sturdiness and convenient size. I started a backup of about 25 GB of data. It seemed slow, but I let it continue to run while I was called away on errands. Over six hours later, it was still running and finally errored out. There was data on the drive. I prepared to "scrub" it and requested an RMA from Amazon.
The scrub process reported data errors, so I thought I'd better reformat even after the scrub. The reformat (NTFS) went very quickly. I figured I had nothing to lose with trying another backup after the reformat. What a complete difference! The backup and drive performed as fast as my Seagate FreeAgent.
I researched the FAT32 and NTFS differences and find that I should have reformatted to NTFS right out of the box.
The drive is as fast as any I have experienced in the past. I can recommend this to anyone needing convenient extra hard disc backup space. And I recommend anyone running Windows XP to reformat to NTFS before using it.
Customer Review: WD Elements USB Drive and Rohs Soundcard vs. McIntosh MS750 Media Server?
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading Stereophile's review of the McIntosh MS750 Media Sever, I decided I could use my computer expertise and accomplish the job almost as well with a few USB 2.0 parts and any one of my old computers for less money. Um, make that about $5700 less.
So, Windows Media Player rips my CDs to the WMA Lossless format (which, incidently, iTunes can directly convert into WAV for my iPod...or, when I'm in a masochistic mood, into MP3). The $100 Western Digital Elements stores these files (I'm planning to get a second one for data redundancy). Then a $20 Rohs Soundwave 7.1 USB sound card channels the music to my headphones or audio system via $15 worth of Radio Shack connectors. I keep a $15 USB hub handy in case I'm faced with a USB port-challenged computer.
The result? My entire music collection is available at the click of a mouse via any reasonably-current computer I encounter. Until one handles music this painlessly, it's hard to imagine how addictive this instant convenience becomes! Meanwhile, the sound is absolutely pristine because it's identical to the CD it was RIPed from.
Affordable technology in the service of art...the fruits of civilization and science don't get much sweeter than this.
Customer Review: Awesome!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this product for about 2 months now and I am very impressed. For like $114 I got this snazzy looking TB drive from a decent and well known company. It runs way quieter than the 60GB Acom Data drive I got two years ago for about $200. Many people have complained about this drive not having a power button or power on indicator light which I could care less about. The drive goes to sleep when you aren't using it so I don't see a reason for a button. Anyway, if you are running a mac os then it will automatically offer to configure time capsule (hard drive back-up) for you. I would have to say that the only thing that is a minor inconvenience when it comes to this drive is that when you go to drag a file to the hard drive from your desktop if the drive has gone to sleep you might get an hourglass cursor for a couple seconds while the drive boots up before you can drop your file.
Convenience - 10/10 (What TB drive isn't convenient?)
Appearance - 10/10 (Looks so sweet next to my black Macbook!)
Noise - 3/10 (In a good way. You can here it if you try.)
Cooling - 9/10 (Drive does not get very hot at all.)
Size - 10/10 (Small)
Overall - 9.5/10 (Highly Recommended)
Customer Review: Solid product
Summary: 5 Stars
As the other Amazon reviews concur, the WD Elements is a great product. Unlike many of the other externals out there, this one has a strong metal case to it, not some flimsy piece of plastic. It does have a larger footprint for your desktop, but won't easy tip over or slide around like the other "book" styles out there.
Easy setup that utilizes Windows' own device drivers, the 1 TB version comes pre-formatted to FAT-32. Formatting to NTFS works great, but expect the process to take several hours.
This drive runs nearly silent and only warms slightly after continuous use. After loading it about three-quarters full, I recently ran a check-disk to search for file errors and/or bad sectors. She came back clean as a whistle!
The only real downside to this drive is the lack of Firewire or eSata connections (both available on similar yet more costly models), neither of which I could use with my computer anyhow. USB 2.0 isn't lightning fast, but is more than adequate for my purposes.
I highly recommend the WD Elements to anyone looking for an affordable, quality external hard drive.