Western Digital 2TB SATA Green Power eco-friendly Hard Drive WD20000CSRTL Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)(See below for an update!)

Original review: This product (WD20000CSRTL) is a regular WD20EADS drive in retail packaging.I was worried it'd be a different drive, but it's not.

Unlike the "OEM" version (WD20EADS) it comes in a big-ish box and with an "install guide" (good if you haven't tried installing a new drive, I guess), an SATA cable and 4 mounting screws.The packaging is obviously more wasteful, but considering the bad packaging reviews the OEM drives get here, maybe its a good thing. If it's the same price as the WD20EADS then I think it's a good deal, even if just for the better packaging.

*Update July 2010* As others have pointed out; they are now selling WD20EARS drives under this ASIN.I use OS X, Linux and FreeBSD so it makes no difference to me; but if you use certain really old versions of Windows (Windows XP) you won't be able to use the full capacity (easily?) or something like that. The recent drives we ordered like this came individually packaged in WD packaging, but with no cables or anything.

*Update September 2010* Depending on the weather, phase of the moon etc you could now get any 2TB Western Digital "green" drive when you order this item.There are other Amazon product IDs that'll give you the same but for lower cost, too - so no longer recommended!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital 2TB SATA Green Power eco-friendly Hard Drive WD20000CSRTL

Product Description:
Available in capacities up to 2 TB, WD Caviar® Green™ SATA hard drives reduce power consumption by up to 40% and offer best-in-class acoustics and operating temperature. Based on WD's exclusive GreenPower™ technology, these drives are designed to deliver power savings as the primary attribute. As hard drive capacities increase, the power required to run those drives increases as well. WD Caviar Green drives make it possible for energy-conscious customers to build systems with higher capacities and the right balance of system performance, ensured reliability, and energy conservation. They are ideal for PCs, external storage and other devices that require lower power consumption and cool, quiet operation.

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Western Digital Caviar Blue 400 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD4000AAKS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)THE QUICK TAKE:The WD10EARS is a new (shipping 12-2009) version of Western Digital's popular and successful WDxxEADS Caviar Green series of drives.It's a very good drive, but may need more thought than usual about whether it's the right drive for you.

The Caviar Green drives offer low power consumption, low noise and moderate operating temperatures, while still maintaining performace good enough for many applications, such as networked storage.This new WDxxEARS series uses more dense 500GB platters - so a 1TB drive has just two platters, and several drives up to 2TB are available.The new models have 64MB of cache.

ADVANCED FORMAT:There's another change as well.WD is using this series to transition to 4KB sectors on the hard drive; they call it WD Advanced Format technology.The long-term goal is to improve the efficiency of large hard drives, but as a transitional move they still trying to accomodate the 512B sectors that Windows XP uses.So the drive emulates that, using 512B logical sectors.However, they still claim that Advanced Format provides an improvement in burst speeds.

ISSUES WITH XP:While that sounds like all good news, it turns out that many XP users need to use the WD Align software to setup the drive, which can be time consuming and create some potential issues in formatting and partitioning the drive, and in finding tools to do that.

The exception is if you are using a single partition for a clean install - then there is an option to set a jumper on the drive before installing.WD has a table which summarizes installation at their "Advanced Format Hard Drive Download Utility" web page - anyone buying this drive should be sure to review that page.

So less technical users may want to believe WD when they say "WD Advanced Format drives are specifically optimized for Mac and the latest Windows operating systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7." This drive might not a good choice for some XP users - you'll be fine with the tried and true EADS series.

VISTA AND WINDOWS 7:Further, cloning and partitioning tools might present issues with Windows Vista and Windows 7 as well.You can read more about the AF transition at the WD web page mentioned above in the AnandTech article, "Western Digital's Advanced Format: The 4K Sector Transition Begins."They note that as of 12-2009 there might not be any commercially available cloning and imaging tools that would work with these drives.

LINUX AND MAC:The Anandtech article also states that current versions of Linux and Mac OS X are not affected by issues with Advanced Format, but discussions online suggest that Linux users seem to face some complexities on how to best partition and format to avoid mis-alignment.

OTHER INFO:The WD site has a good whitepaper on Advanced Format. Tom's Hardware has a good discussion about the earlier EADS series in an article entitled "Caviar Green, WD10EADS, And 1 TB," with power and performance info; and some interesting points if you Google "Pros And Cons Of Going Green."

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital Caviar Blue 400 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD4000AAKS

Product Description:
Item #: 88056C. WD Caviar SE16 native SATA hard drive features 16 MB cache for lightning-fast performance. This reliable drive is fast, but still delivers technologically advanced acoustics and cool operation.
Product Description
WD Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS - hard drive - 400 GB - SATA-300
Type: Hard drive - internal
Form Factor: 3.5" x 1/3H
Dimensions (WxDxH): 4 in x 5.8 in x 1 in
Weight: 1.4 lbs
Capacity: 400 GB
Interface Type: Serial ATA-300
Data Transfer Rate: 300 MBps
Average Seek Time: 8.9 ms
Spindle Speed: 7200 rpm
Buffer Size: 16 MB
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years warranty
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Western Digital My Book Home Edition 750 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1CS7500N Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This product was purchased for exclusive use as an external HDD for Dish Network's ViP 722.The "Home Edition" of the WD My Book has 3 ports: USB 2.0, Firewire, and SATA.This makes this HDD extremely flixable should it be decided to use the HDD for PC or even Tivo.

This HDD works flawlessy with the Dish ViP 722. It was connected to the 722 right out of the box and quickly formatted for immediate use.Transfers and playbacks to and from this HDD have been flawless.It is quiet and very good-looking.This HDD actually blends in very well, and is small enough to place additional My Book's for very neat and aesthetic appearance on shelves or TV Stands. It is the best looking and compact of all my external HDD's. I leave mine on at all times, so the blue indicator light is always illuminated.It makes a great night light.

One thing: the blue lights feature that indicates how much capacity of remains on the HDD works when using it connected to a PC.That feature will not work connected to the ViP 722.But I don't mind that, as it is very easy to check remaining capacity using the 722 menus.

I highly recommend this external HDD for use by Dish Network customers for their ViP series of satellite boxes, and I plan to buy this item again should I need more room.the 750GB is the current "official" maximum that Dish Network supports.HOWEVER, in the very near future Dish will officially support HDD's greater than 750GB.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Home Edition 750 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1CS7500N

Product Description:
Western Digital My Book Home Edition 750 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1CS7500N

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Western Digital My Book Studio 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1Q5000N Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Like it says in the review title, I really WANT to like this drive. Unfortunately, I can't. I don't. And I probably won't. Ever. Why?

I bought one of these from another vendor (sorry Amazon, their price was better). I installed the drive on my 24" aluminum iMac (which I DID buy from Amazon, good job, guys). The drive recognized fine on firewire 800, and I set Time Machine to use it for backups.

Then the problems started. The drive would "freeze" when it went into suspend mode, and it wouldn't come back. OS X is too stupid to stop trying to access a "dead" drive, so the suspended/frozen drive would hang the system. The only solution was to power down the drive (if possible), or remove the firewire cable. Worse, sometimes the drive wouldn't power down using the power button, so I had to pull the power cord. NOT good.

Once the frozen drive was out of the firewire chain, the OS would recover semi-gracefully, with a "Device Removal" error. I figured it was a fluke, so I put the drive first in the firewire chain. No luck. Then I changed cables. No luck. Okay, try the drive as the ONLY firewire drive. No luck. It would still freeze, and still hang the system.

So, I figured I just had a defective drive. No problem. I already had another on order, so I sent the first back to the vendor and waited for the second to arrive.

Same problems with the second drive. I used every connection available: firewire 800, firewire 400, and even USB (iMac's don't come with eSATA, so I don't know if it's a problem too). No luck with any connection, OR any cable (I have several available, which work with other drives). The My Book Studio drive still hangs AT LEAST once a day, usually several times.

So the second drive is going back for a refund, and I'm going to call the other vendor and just have them refund my money for the "defective" drive already in transit as a return.

Now, why do I want to like this drive?

Pros:
- It's good-looking
- It's quiet (because it's fanless)
- Quadruple interface (nice!)
- It's small

Cons:
- It just doesn't work... do I really need any MORE cons?

When the drive started giving me problems, I went looking for a solution (updated firmware, updated Button Manager software, SOMETHING). I found several people on the Apple Discussion Forums with the same problem, which made me realize that the drive itself was the issue.

Google for "my book studio freeze" and you can read the Apple Support discussion, which will lead you to more problem discussions.

That being said, I love Western Digital, and they're my first choice for external drives. I just think they have some MAJOR teething pains with the My Book Studio line. And since other Mac users love them, I suspect that WD Studio drives simply don't like the new iMacs. But since I spent $2000 on my computer, and $200 on the drive, the drive is the one that gets returned. Sorry, WD.

If you want a good, reliable drive for your iMac, I've had lots of luck with LaCie, and I've heard really good things about OWC drives. But if you're a tried-and-true WD fan... stay away from THIS drive.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Studio 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1Q5000N

Product Description:
Speed is what you need when for video editing, big design projects, or managing photo shoots and that's what this drive delivers with FireWire 800 and eSATA connectivity. With our automatic backup capability your creative masterpieces will be backed up the minute you save them.

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Iomega eGo 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34269 (Jet Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)***Jan. 24th - Just a comment on how "hot" it gets. I would say about 10 degrees more than room temperature. It is "warm" to the touch even after transferring files for several hours straight - (backing up 600gb)***

Unit Size: For those who can't visualize the measurements, if we compare the size to your standard keyboard its width spans the ~ to CTRL keys, its length spans the ~ to the 0 keys

Format: NTFS - which is not compatible with X-box. Approximately 110mb is used for system information.

Performance: Transfers better than 1 GB/minute if it connects properly.

Problems: It "locks up" during my windows boot process if turned on. If you turn the drive off during a lock up, windows will continue to boot properly. This has occurred on both my XP and Vista Basic machines.
I have not tested it with my Vista Premium system.

Furthermore, on my XP machine (which is "old" about 4 years) I sometimes receive notification that it is not hooked up to a USB2.0 port (even though it is).
When this occurs, the transfer rate is horrible. 1 GB/10 minutes. To resolve, I simply disconnect and reconnect the drive.

Testing Procedure: directly connected to a USB port - not through a hub.

Usage: I am using these drives (now I have 3 TB and one 0.5 TB externals from IoMega) to convert my videos to digital. They are connected to
my Acer laptop running vista basic using a 7port hispeed USB HUB by Belkin. Playback of video is fine. Transfer rate between drives using the hub is also better than 1GB/minute.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Iomega eGo 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34269 (Jet Black)

Product Description:
With the Iomega eGo Desktop USB 2.0 1 TB Hard Drive, you'll have plenty of space to back up all your digital media, with a stylish design to match. Featuring a sleek jet black design and plug-and-play functionality, the eGo Desktop is compatible with both PCs and Macs.
The eGo Desktop drive provides a good balance between disk space and physical size. View larger. Stylish Looks Complements Your Home and Office
With its jet black color and sleek, rounded case, the eGo Desktop brings great style to your desk. It provides the ideal balance between storage space and physical size. At a compact 5.0 x 1.6 x 8.1 inches (WxHxD), the eGo won't take up too much space and is still small enough for easy portability, letting you bring your files with you when you need them.
Play Your Digital Media Anywhere
With an impressive terabyte of storage capacity, the eGo Desktop holds up to 4,000,000 photos, over 18,500 hours of music, or 1500 hours of video. The drive features a USB 2.0 connection for up to 480 Mbps transfer rates and virtually guaranteed compatibility no matter what computer you connect it to, be it a PC or a Mac.
The drive includes a license for the award-winning EMC Retrospect Express software, which provides fast backups and added protection for your data. The software features a powerful interface that allows you to schedule either a single or complete system backup, personalize your backup schedule and location, back up open files, back up without logging in, encrypt files, and obtain backup verification. With EMC Retrospect Express, you'll never have to worry about losing your data again. And, with the built in integration of Mozy Home Online Back up software you're always safe against theft or destruction of your data.MozyHome offers a simple, secure online backup service to store your critical data offsite.
The Iomega eGo Portable USB 2.0 1 TB Hard Drive is backed by a one-year warranty.
What's in the Box
Iomega eGo hard drive, USB cable, power supply, EMC Retrospect Express backup software, and quick install guide.


The eGo adds a functional and stylish touch to your desk.

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Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD2001FASS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Caviar Black model of drives differ in three ways from Blue in three major ways:

1) 32MB buffer vs 16MB.This means the drive is overall faster because it can store more data in memory local to the drive.So if you access the same data frequently there is little or no drive access to get at the data.

2) Dual processors vs single.This will alleviate the load on your CPU as the drive itself has more processing power locally.

3) Five year warranty vs three.Five years is a lifetime in hardware.Basically, you're covered for longer than you will most likely use the drive.

The Caviar Black line comes in three four sizes; 1TB, 750GB, 640GB, and 500GB.The 1TB and 640GB are the fastest because they use a denser platter technology which allows the drive head to get at the data quicker.The 750GB and 500GB are no slouches though and the differences in speed will not be noticeable to most people under most real-world usage scenarios.

Caviar Black drives are the fastest affordable consumer drives available today.If you want faster you have to look that the VelociRaptor 10000RPM line of drives but expect to pay a lot more for a lot less storage.

I measured the speed of the 750GB model using the HD Tune utility and access time was a fast 12.5ms with less than 1% CPU usage on my 3.2Ghz Intel Quad Core setup.The drive runs cool at 32

Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This drive is embedded with Western Digital's SmartWare virtual CD that will ALWAYS and FOREVER boot to your Mac computer. This Virtual CD cannot be disabled, unmounted, removed, eradicated, or partitioned away - EVERY!!!!! It says so right on WD's website buried in the tech support area, not on the box where this kind of "don't-buy-our-product" warning belongs. Western Digital has decided to embed their Virtual CD Smartware into this drive so that you cannot, under any circumstances, disable or remove the VCD. It will forever mount this unwanted intrusion to your Mac (Windows is no better apparently) and their website essentially tells you that you can do nothing about it.

Can you tell that I am upset?!? I own seven other Western Digital hard drives and I will not own this one. Nor will I buy another in the future out of fear of getting the same results.

Like many people, I have no need for their backup or security software as I just want external drivers for pure storage. If I were to buy more of these like I had planned, My desktop would be cluttered with a bunch of meaningless virtual CDs. This intrusion may not annoy Windows users as the Virtual CDs will just clutter up your "My Computer" window; but, on a Mac this type of unalterable intrusion is beyond unacceptable. I cannot believe that Western Digital could not see the alienation of every Mac user on the planet from ten miles away on this one.

Western Digital and other drive makers have, for a while now, put their software install packages onto the external hard drives that they sell; but, it has always been just stored on the drive where it can be deleted or is removed when the drive is reformatted - at worst it was on a separate partition that could be removed. But, not with this new version (version 3?) of the My Book Essential Drives where it is embedded into the drive's hardware and cannot be deactivated. Until Western Digital rethinks their strategy and changes this practice, their hard drives should be avoided and boycotted.

(For more information, see all of the review on the 1TB version of this drive.)

UPDATE: After returning the Essentials drive, I purchased two of Western Digital's Elements External 1TB Hard Drives; Exactly what I needed in the first place... an external hard drive that is built like a tank and is only what it is supposed to be: a hard drive. No "fancy" value-added software embedded in the hardware to muck up the works on this drive. I highly recommend the Western Digital Elements external hard drives for all of your storage needs!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN

Product Description:

Our best-selling My Book external drive is an elegant, high-capacity storage solution for all the chapters of your digital life. Our latest edition now features visual, easy-to-use, automatic, continuous backup software and drive lock security protection. At last, beauty, brains, and simplicity together.


Elegant design.


This book-like shape takes up minimal space on your desk and allows two or more My Book drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.


See your life safe in one place.


WD SmartWare software - Avisual control center with a single screen view of all your data. From it youcan back up, retrieve, and secure your files.


Password protection.


An extra level of securitywith passwordprotection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.











Features at a glance

• Automatic, continous backup
• Illuminated capacity gauge
• Password protection and hardware encryption
• WD SmartWare software
• 2-years limited warranty

Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design - We've made these award-winning drives even smaller, sleeker, and more elegant. As always, this book-like shape takes up minimal space on your desk and allows two or more My Book drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.WD SmartWare™ - A control center for your drive that gives youthe power to:-- Protect your data automatically- Relax, your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file.-- See your backup as it happens - Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content in categories and shows the progress of your backup.


-- Bring back lost files effortlessly- Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you've lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.-- Take control- Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.Find out more about WD SmartWare™Drive lock- Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.Illuminated capacity gauge - See at a glance how much space is available on your drive.USB 2.0 interface- Powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed*.
* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port.


Power miser - My Book external drives are designed to save energy. WD GreenPower Technology™ lowers internal drive power consumption by up to 30%, a sleep mode reduces power during idle times, and a power-saving feature turns the drive on and off with your computer.Planet friendly- We designed a small box from recycled materials to minimize waste. We encourage you to recycle it.Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PCs- If you're a Mac user, check out our Mac version of this product.


Ideal For

• Protecting your data with automatic, continous backup
• Retrieving lost data effortlessly
• Adding extra storage space for photos, videos and music
• Securing private or sensitive data

Compatibility


Formatted NTFS
Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7
Mac OS® X Tiger®, Leopard®, Snow Leopard™ (requires reformatting)

Note: Compatibility may vary depending on user's hardware configuration and operating system.What's in the box

External hard drive, WD SmartWare software, USB cable, AC adapter, Quick Install Guide.



Backup software you'll really use � WD SmartWare


Five great reasons to love it:


1. It's easy - Data backup can be a chore, but it's your family photos, your movies, your music - your life - and it's important to protect it. So we made this software extra easy because we really want you to use it.


2. You can see your life safe in one place -
See your content displayed in easy to understand categories like movies and photos. Watch the progress of your backup as it happens with the instant-feedback color bars. Now you can truly be sure that all your stuff is backed up.

• A unique visual interface lets you see the drives connected to your computer.
• WD SmartWare will automatically scan your computer and find all of your personal files, including e-mail.
• Content category gauges show how much information you have to be backed up in each category. You can even mouse over a category to see a file count.
• Simply click Run Backup and WD SmartWare will automatically start backing up your files.
• As your backup is running the category gauges will change color showing you the backup as it happens.
• When finished, you'll see a status screen and information about your backup. You only have to do this once. After the first backup your files will be backed up automatically every time you change or add a file.

3. It's always on the job - WD SmartWare is always watching your computer, so when you change a file and save it, create new files, add new pictures, movies, or songs, WD SmartWare will instantly back them up.


4. You can bring back lost files effortlessly - If you ever accidentally delete an important file, or need to get an earlier version of a file, you can find and retrieve it in seconds with this easy-to-use interface.

• Restore files and folders by categories – photos, music, video, for example.
• Find a lost file with the search function.
• Go back in time to retrieve an older version of a file.

5. You're in control - WD SmartWare software is also a control center for your external drives. From it you can:

• Customize your backup
• Set drive security
• Run diagnostics
• Manage the power settings, and more...

Want to read more honest consumer review about Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN now ?

Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBACW0020HBK-NESN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, the packaging.Western Digital (WD) does an impressive job of securely packaging this hard drive with a minimal amount of waste. There's no unnecessary plastic or cardboard.

This 2 TB drive has to be plugged into the wall socket as well as powered with a USB cable. One of my major complaints about electronics products are the ridiculously short power cables. This My Book Essential External Hard Drive has an impressively long power cable - which is a plus for any experienced tech user. WD figures the customer is smart enough not to accidentally strangle themselves with a long power cord. So many products I buy have a cord that is so short as to make the item almost unusable. 5 stars to WD for trusting the intelligence of the buyers of their products.

Here are the results I obtained after testing out this drive:

The drive did not have to be formatted before I used it. It worked with my Windows XP-based computer right out of the box.

It took approximately 70 minutes to copy 35 GB of data from my old external drive to this one. This is impressively fast. The manufacturer claims it should take seven minutes and 42 seconds to copy 2000 standard MP3 songs onto the hard drive. These times are using the standard USB 2.0 technology. The drive is also designed to accommodate USB 3.0.

I didn't check out or try to install the backup software or the other extras that came with the product - these installation files are located already copied onto the drive. Another 5 stars to WD for not forcing this software onto the computer user with an automatic installation setup. My impression is that WD trusts the intelligence of the consumer to make their own decisions about how to best use the product. A toll-free international help line is available for anyone who does need some assistance with the installation of the hard drive.

The outside of the package mentions that the data on this drive is capable of being secured with a password and also comes with a 2-year limited warranty.There's almost no product literature included inside the package - only a small fold-out booklet which refers the customer to the company's website for a user manual.

A drive with this many features should probably come with more basic literature inside the box - such as, there is a physical cable lock port option - you can secure this drive with some kind of an external lock (the locking device isn't included with the drive) and there are no other clues inside or outside the package to explain this security option.

So this drive was easy to install right out of the box and it worked without any difficulties or technical headaches. I would definitely recommend this product.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBACW0020HBK-NESN

Product Description:
2.0TB My Book Essential 3.0.Put your digital life on the sleek, high capacity My Book Essential external hard drive. With WD quality and USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity, this drive is designed for today with tomorrow in mind.Visual backup software and password protection with hardware encryption ensure your data is protected. Lightweight and easy to carry, this drive is ideal for fast storage to go.

Get 21% OFF

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Western Digital My Book Elite 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAH0020HCH-NESN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This drive is primarily for backups - it has a simple, almost one-click backup program (WD-Smartware) and a really unique "E-Label" that uses the same technology as the Amazon Kindle. Note: The power does NOT have to be on, and the unit does NOT need to be plugged in for the label to be visible! It's a really handy feature - I have a LOT of externals, and it's much nicer and more permanent than post-it notes!You only have 12 characters, but with some creativity you can say a lot.

It also automatically displays free space with text and a capacity bar.

Backup software:

- Automatically backs up files when changed or added
- Simple interface
- Uses 112,500 K of system memory on my computer while backup is running, and 18%-45% of the CPU

Ideally a complete/initial backup should be run when the PC is not in use. This is true of ANY backup software. When it spikes the CPU at 45%, it slows things down considerably. Again, only a consideration while doing a large backup.

It's an external drive, not brain science or rocket surgery.

It's also VERY quiet and runs reasonably cool - after constant writing for 5 hours it's only slightly warm to the touch.

What I don't like:

The ONLY way to label the drive is to install the backup software.This is the main reason I did not give the drive 5 stars.WD makes it a pain to use the coolest feature of the drive.

Initial install is not intuitive. You'll see two new devices: the drive and a virtual CD drive. The virtual drive contains the software.An update allows you hide the virtual drive, BUT this also eliminates the ability to wun the software.Oh my XP system it autoinstalled. On my Windows 7 the install did not run. Running the installer manually generated an error.I downloaded the update and ran that - the update is actually a complete install, and that ran just fine in Windows 7.But for the non-technical this could be a pain.Newer models should have the updates software so this should not be an issue in early 2010.

If you only plan on using this as an external drive, none of this is a big deal - but you're probably looking at this because of the E-Label. My bet is that WD will make a small app available to edit the E-Label.

It's one of those really cool tech toys no geek should be without.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Elite 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAH0020HCH-NESN

Product Description:
Premium backup and storage.
My Book Elite is now smarter and sleeker than ever featuring a customizable e-label, automatic, continuous backup, and a new smaller size to fit snugly on your shelf or desktop.
The best-selling My Book Elite external USB drive now features a customizable e-label to identify what's on your drive, visual automatic, continuous backup software and drive lock security protection. The new sleeker design brings beauty and brains together.
Smart display - Create your own personalized drive label to remind you of what's stored on each drive. You can even view the label when the drive is unplugged. The display also includes available capacity and security status.
Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design - We've made these award-winning drives even smaller, sleeker, and more elegant. As always, this book-like shape takes up minimal space on your desk and allows two or more My Book drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
WD SmartWare - See your life safe in one place.

See your backup as it happens - Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content in categories and shows the progress of your backup.

Protect your data automatically - Relax, your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file.

Bring back lost files effortlessly - Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you've lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.

Take control - Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.

Drive lock - Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.
USB 2.0 interface - A simple connection that offers convenience and compatibility am

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Western Digital My Book Elite 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAH0020HCH-NESN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This drive is primarily for backups - it has a simple, almost one-click backup program (WD-Smartware) and a really unique "E-Label" that uses the same technology as the Amazon Kindle. Note: The power does NOT have to be on, and the unit does NOT need to be plugged in for the label to be visible! It's a really handy feature - I have a LOT of externals, and it's much nicer and more permanent than post-it notes!You only have 12 characters, but with some creativity you can say a lot.

It also automatically displays free space with text and a capacity bar.

Backup software:

- Automatically backs up files when changed or added
- Simple interface
- Uses 112,500 K of system memory on my computer while backup is running, and 18%-45% of the CPU

Ideally a complete/initial backup should be run when the PC is not in use. This is true of ANY backup software. When it spikes the CPU at 45%, it slows things down considerably. Again, only a consideration while doing a large backup.

It's an external drive, not brain science or rocket surgery.

It's also VERY quiet and runs reasonably cool - after constant writing for 5 hours it's only slightly warm to the touch.

What I don't like:

The ONLY way to label the drive is to install the backup software.This is the main reason I did not give the drive 5 stars.WD makes it a pain to use the coolest feature of the drive.

Initial install is not intuitive. You'll see two new devices: the drive and a virtual CD drive. The virtual drive contains the software.An update allows you hide the virtual drive, BUT this also eliminates the ability to wun the software.Oh my XP system it autoinstalled. On my Windows 7 the install did not run. Running the installer manually generated an error.I downloaded the update and ran that - the update is actually a complete install, and that ran just fine in Windows 7.But for the non-technical this could be a pain.Newer models should have the updates software so this should not be an issue in early 2010.

If you only plan on using this as an external drive, none of this is a big deal - but you're probably looking at this because of the E-Label. My bet is that WD will make a small app available to edit the E-Label.

It's one of those really cool tech toys no geek should be without.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Elite 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAH0020HCH-NESN

Product Description:
Premium backup and storage.
My Book Elite is now smarter and sleeker than ever featuring a customizable e-label, automatic, continuous backup, and a new smaller size to fit snugly on your shelf or desktop.
The best-selling My Book Elite external USB drive now features a customizable e-label to identify what's on your drive, visual automatic, continuous backup software and drive lock security protection. The new sleeker design brings beauty and brains together.
Smart display - Create your own personalized drive label to remind you of what's stored on each drive. You can even view the label when the drive is unplugged. The display also includes available capacity and security status.
Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design - We've made these award-winning drives even smaller, sleeker, and more elegant. As always, this book-like shape takes up minimal space on your desk and allows two or more My Book drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
WD SmartWare - See your life safe in one place.

See your backup as it happens - Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content in categories and shows the progress of your backup.

Protect your data automatically - Relax, your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file.

Bring back lost files effortlessly - Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you've lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.

Take control - Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.

Drive lock - Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.
USB 2.0 interface - A simple connection that offers convenience and compatibility am

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Western Digital WD Elements 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0020HBK-NESN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I work for Computing support at Arizona State University, and I have enough technical knowledge to be certified as a TECH JUNKIE :).

I am a photographer too, so I have tons of Photos (about 160GB), Videos, Software, Movies and Documentaries. I was looking for a simple external hard drive without any backup software included, I am smart enough to do manual incremental backups with file tree structure intact (I use GOODSYNC to backup, its very simple and easy to use and free).

I have looked at many many external HDDs and narrowed down to two models "Samsung Story 1TB - very good one too" and this one (I wanted it to be cheap too - got this for $85 on [...]). I did not go with other WD models because of their annoying Backup Software.

Coming to the WD Elements 1TB: Its much smaller than I expected. It is dead silent, I had to touch it to convince myself that it was running, when I first turned it on. Its not too heavy either. The indicator light is placed at the rear, which is a very good thing (I find these LED's annoying, especially at night).

After I did the first setup, I copied 383GB of data (931GB was total space). It took about 4hr 47min, speed varied between 20MBps to 37MBps. This is pretty good speed for USB 2.0. It was just a bit warm (my old segate hard drive would be very very hot for this amount of data transfer).

I would recommend it to beginners or pros alike. I am very happy with this purchase!UPDATE:

After about three months of heavy usage, it never gave up on me. Its still dead silent and works flawlessly. It never got even warm!!

Follow these steps to get GOODSYNC for FREE:

In the beginning GOODSYNC was free, later they made a paid version as it gained popularity..

but there is a way to get PRO version for free...

1. go to good sync website
2. signup for a trial offer and you get PRO serial for free (I signed up for eMusic trial)
3. Once you get the serial, end the subscription before the trial expires...

NOTE: The above mentioned procedure may not work anymore:(

UPDATE: 07-28-2010

I sold my WD Elements 1TB and got a 2TB one a couple of months ago(as my data is on rise all the time), couldn't be happier :)
I bought it from TigerDirect for [ ... ] and got [ ... ] cashback via [ ... ] ...awesome!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital WD Elements 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0020HBK-NESN

Product Description:
2TB WD Elements USB 2.0 Ext desktop External Hard Drive

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Buffalo Technology TeraStation III 8.0 TB (4 x 2 TB) Network Attached Storage TS-X8.0TL/R5 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, we like Buffalo and will continue to buy their products.Their is nothing wrong with the design of this product.Buffalo support has been superlative.

But 2 TB hard drives are not ready for prime time.Our unit has Samsung drives.We use it raid 5.We lost one drive on Monday.We continued using the unit only to read from.

On Thursday a second drive failed.All data was lost.Luckily we backed up everything on Monday and continued to write to another drive.

When I talked to tech support they said units shipped with the Western Digital drives had been even more problematic.

Steer clear of 2 TB drives for now.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Buffalo Technology TeraStation III 8.0 TB (4 x 2 TB) Network Attached Storage TS-X8.0TL/R5

Product Description:
Buffalo's TeraStation III Series is the ideal choice for businesses or demanding users looking to implement a RAID based Network Attached Storage solution. As Buffalo's flagship NAS product the TeraStation III includes all firmware features presently found in the Buffalo lineup of NAS products. Especially, business oriented features, such Active Directory support, DFS support, disk quota support, a share level replication feature and port trunking make the TeraStation III a top choice for small to medium sized businesses. Hardware features like hot swap and dual Ethernet ports add to the list of new features. Reliability and performance are again the key design criteria for the TeraStaion III. A heavy-duty power supply and oversized cooling system, as well as vastly improved CPU speed guarantee excellent and reliable performance. It is the clear choice for those users who desire maximum reliability and robust features.

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Western Digital WDA4NC80000N ShareSpace 8 TB 4-bay Network Attached Storage Gigabit Ethernet (RAID 0/1/5) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)(Note: My review is Mac based, but the Western Digital ShareSpace 4TB 4-Bay NAS RAID supports PCs and Linux as well.)

My history with SOHO NAS so far hasn't been all that good. The WD ShareSpace is the third NAS type device I've owned. The previous two (a 1 TB WD MyBook Pro II used as a NAS device through my Apple Airport Extreme and a 2 TB OWC Raidon NAS/RAID) were both returned. The WD MyBook Pro II had a drive sleep issue with the Airport Extreme. (See below.) The OWC Raidon NAS/RAID couldn't set user permissions properly running as a Mac formatted drive. As for the Western Digital ShareSpace 4TB 4-Bay NAS RAID, so far it appears to be the best of the lot.

After completely setting up the drive yesterday evening (in no more than an hour), overnight I did a complete restore of the 60 GB or so I have backed up of our home business data to the WD ShareSpace. It was seamless. When I woke up this morning all the data was there just as it should be. Then I copied my 47 GB iTunes library over from my Mac Pro to the ShareSpace Public:Shared Music folder. (The shared folders are created by WD and ship with the drive.)

So what do I have?

* Effectively in RAID 5 I have 2.68 TB of available storage (my 60 GB barely touches the surface.)

* I have access to my entire iTunes library from every Mac and PC in the house

I can now have an iTunes server without having to have a Mac acting a server or buying another separate device. The ShareSpace can handle multiple audio streams over the 1 GB/s NAS interface without breaking a sweat. (I have read in the WD FAQ that there is an issue with multiple audio streams and simultaneous file downloads, but I haven't run into this issue yet.) The only downside is, while you can access all the music (including MP3s and DRM AAC,) you can only run iTunes in List View, not Grid or Cover Flow. That's a bit of a bummer, but I expect that this is more of a limitation of iTunes than it is of the ShareSpace.

* Access as Administrator to all the drive shares.

At first this might not sound like a big deal. But unlike my Windows 2000 Advanced Server, all the previous NAS drives I've owned to date wouldn't allow me to access shares that I don't "own." My wife's share, for example, was not accessible to me. So why would I want that anyway? Simply because it makes backing up the entire NAS so much easier. What I've had to do in the past to access all shares for backup was to physically disconnect the NAS drive from the network and attach it via the USB port to my Mac Pro. Doing so overrides the read/write privileges of the NAS because now it appears as just another external drive attached to the Mac Pro. I did my backups and then had to eject the drive from the Mac Pro and reconnect it to the network. It was a bit of a pain. The ShareSpace overcomes this by allowing me to apply Admin privileges to my user account. Now when it's the weekly backup time I can simply mount all the shares on line and do the backup in one fell swoop.

* A green device

To save energy, the ShareSpace spins the four drive's speed down when they are not being used. This is a big improvement over the MyBook Pro II. I wound up sending it back because it completely shut down the drives when they weren't in use and the Airport Extreme couldn't wake them up again.

* A very quiet RAID/NAS

The drive runs very quietly. I can barely hear the fan. If the home office is dead quiet and I get right up next to the ShareSpace, I can hear the clicking of the drive heads as they read and write data--but that's completely tolerable. The Mac Pro, no noise generator itself, is louder than the ShareSpace.

I haven't done any file transfer performance testing yet. However, I do find that the device does well delivering streamed audio (and probably streamed video as well.) From what I've read and experienced with very large file transfers, it doesn't appear that WD hasn't put all that much oomph into the network driver and interface. (Yes, the ShareSpace does support Jumbo Frames over Gigabit Ethernet.) For now I don't plan to post-process any of my RAW files in Photoshop or Lightroom 2 on the ShareSpace. I'll leave that task up to the internal SATA drives in my Mac Pro.

The bottom line may be that the WD ShareSpace is a flexible, easy to manage device with tons of storage. But if you are looking for an absolute speed demon RAID/NAS this may not be your first choice. Pros:

* Great, great management tools via the web interface.
* Pretty decent management security (log in and HTTPS.)
* Tons and tons of on-line storage.
* RAID 5 capability.
* Very easy drive discovery.
* Bonjour spupport means that there is no need to guess what DHCP IP address has been assigned to the drive.
* No need to be an IT expert to manage the drive.
* Flexible and straightforward account and share management.
* Easy, easy, easy to use.
* 4 TB of RAID 5 for a decent price. Are you kidding me?
* Mostly all metal construction (how rare is that these days?)
* Stable drive enclosure that won't slide around on the desk or table easily.
* Design is okay. A bit techy looking, but it won't offend anyone either.Cons:

* I'd prefer to have an integrated power supply, although the brick power supply is better and more rugged than most I've seen.
* Let's have "real" documentation included. The "Quick Start" documentation is anemic. The on-line documentation is okay, but it has to be printed for a device this expensive and flexible.
* Virtually no software included. They include a backup application and the documentation on a CD. That's about it. But, to tell the truth I'd rather spend my dollars for the hardware and not for software "throw ins."
* Failed (or added) drive must be Western Digital drives. No other vendors are supported. Boo!
* Case opens like a PC. This is not complex matter, but drive access could have been made easier. (How about a door that swings open? Other vendors have done just that.)
* Drives are not hot swappable.
* File transfer speeds may be on the slow side.Overall so far: Most of the cons are nits or easy to live with. Highly recommended. All-in-all a very excellent way to provide RAID/NAS for a SOHO environment.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital WDA4NC80000N ShareSpace 8 TB 4-bay Network Attached Storage Gigabit Ethernet (RAID 0/1/5)

Product Description:
The WD ShareSpace 4-bay Gigabit Ethernet network attached storage system with a space-saving footprint and capacities up to 8 TB gives you the benefits of a big-time data center without the need for a big-time IT department. Perfect for centralizing data on a small office or home network. Features include RAID 0/1/5, MioNet remote access software, an e-mail alert system, Active Directory support and a download manager. Push a button to quickly transfer data from a connected USB drive. Centralize your music collection and stream to a Mac or Windows PC with iTunes software. Set up continuous backup for up to 3 computers in your network using the included automatic backup software.Stream digital media anywhere in your home - Built-in media server for streaming music, photos and movies to any DLNA certified multimedia device such as Playstation 3, Xbox 360, wireless digital picture frames, and connected audio receivers. DLNA 1.5 & UPnP certified.

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