| Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 1TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive | 
| Brand: Western Digital
Category: Personal Computer
Buy New: £71.99
as of 8/9/2010 19:43 CDT details
In Stock
New (19) Used (7) from £57.00
Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 721
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: No
Hard Drive Size: 1000
Size: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 1.9 x 6.5
MPN: 0718037751153
Model: WDBAAF0010HBK-EESN
UPC: 718037766058
EAN: 0718037751153
Release Date: September 10, 2009
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 82
 Great backup drive with good storage space November 24, 2009
A. J. Parkes (Dudley, UK)
48 out of 48 found this review helpful
I was a little apprehensive about this product after reading the reviews about build quality. However, when the unit arrived, it was nowhere near as bad as what I was expecting. Yes, the power socket was slightly out of alignment, but the lead still went in with no problems and without force.
First of, the drive is pre-formatted to Windows NTFS. As I have a Mac, this was useless as I could read from the drive, but not write to it without extra software. The first think I had to do was format it for the Mac. If you do not know how to do that, in Utilities, start Disk Utility. Highlight the drive in the volume list on the left and click on partition button. You will need to change the volume scheme from current to 1 partition and then options. Depending upon which Mac you have, either select GUID Partition Table (Intel) or Apple Partition Map (PowerPc). Enter a name for the drive if you want one, then you need to select a partition type. If you intend to use this as a bootable drive or for Time Machine, select MAC OS Extended (Journaled) and for just data like movies, music and files, select MAC OS Extended. Click Apply and the drive will be configured for your Mac.
The drive overall is fairly quiet and is about the same size as my other WD Drive used as Time Machine backups. When the computer goes into sleep mode or turned off, if the drive is attached, it powers down too until the computer is switched back on again. If you do not intend on keeping it permanently connected, there is a separate on/off button at the back. There is a small power light on the drive and a lights that also show a quick visual display of how full the drive is. When the drive is accessed, the lights flash. If you have it on a desk facing you, it can be a little distracting.
Speed is nothing to shout about, average really for this type of drive. No slouch in file transfer but would not break any speed records.
My only criticism, like my other WD drive, I cannot chain them together. It would be nice if there was a standard USB port on the back so that you could connect 2 drives together and use them as a RAID drive, or even a double backup. Instead you either have to use another port on the computer or get a USB hub.
The drive is partitioned in such a way that there is a small 153Mb space that is used as a virtual CD drive. This contains the WD SmartWare software. Even after formatting above, it is still there. I have not tried the different pieces of software there such as backup, but it is handy to know it is there if wanted. This means that the total free space available after formatting is 930.54 Gb.
Overall, a good drive and worthy storage device. It does what it is supposed to do.
Reliable and trouble-free - highly recommended November 11, 2009
Claptonian (London UK)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
I currently own 2 of these - the first is now over a year old and the newer one about 6 months, as well as one of the smaller 500Gb variety that I have owned for 3 or 4 years. The 1TB drives are from successive series and the capacity differs slightly between the two. All three units use a mini USB connector at the case although I would prefer the larger standard connector as I sometimes need a longer lead and thus have to resort to an extender rather than a longer cable, which I have yet been unable to find.
I have never had an issue with any of these WD units in use. Two are known to have fallen on to a hard floor on several occasions when an office cleaner was too enthusiastic with a vacuum cleaner, but they have never suffered physical damage to the cases or the drives within. Unlike similar drives made by WD's main competitor, these do not suffer from the infamous and fatal 'click of death'.
I use 2 of them as backup devices and the third for file storage, and may soon need to add another, probably 1TB or 1.5TB for additional file storage. Like most of the proprietory external hard drives available, these come formatted as FAT32, which for backup purposes is useless as my system backups run to well beyond the 2GB size limit, even if run as incremental rather than full standalone baackups. I always reformat to NTFS straight out of the box to allow the larger file sizes.
The provided backup software is very limited in its capabilities and totally unsuitable for my needs and thus discarded, but as I use another backup product that I have relied upon for several years (before acquiring the first of these drives) I do not consider that an issue.
A Super Back Up System March 26, 2010
H. Betts (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This WD Mybook is a great "idiot proof" backup system for people who know they need to save to an external hard drive but aren't technically savvy! I buy them because they come with a great software utility which sits in the start menu by the clock and has a very simple BACKUP button and a similar RESTORE button. (there is nothing else there to confuse you!) The WD looks at what is on your hard drive in docs/pics/music etc and makes a mirror image. It shows you in a bar diagram - and is as straight forward as it gets. Installation is simple - plug and play. Would recomend to all computer users but especially for people who are nervous or don't necessarily know how to do a manual backup.
Excellent Product February 12, 2010
Mr. A. L. Jones (Liverpool)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having purchased this item around 4 weeks ago, I have to say that I can't fault it, not to mention that it looks cool on my desk!
Attaching the device to my pc and installing the WD backup software was simple. Any time I create or amend a file on my pc it's automatically copied to the WD drive within seconds, there isn't any need to manually copy it there yourself, what could be easier (and safer) than downloading say a song in iTunes and having it appear on the WD drive....automatically!
The only downside I can see is if people want to backup all the files in a particular folder - unless the WD software recognises the file type (it works on the basis of 5/6 categories, e.g. docs, music, images) then the files won't get automatically backed up and you'll have to do it manually instead.
The WD backup software also lets you restore to the original location or to a folder you choose whilst the files on the drive can also be browsed like a normal hard drive.
Highly recommended!
WD extternal hard drive February 5, 2010
Mr. John Maguire (devon , uk)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
what a great product , easy software , plug in your p.c. then a power lead ,the software loads itself ,well two clicks with your mouse . then your away , great , so easy .
Showing reviews 1-5 of 82
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