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Western Digital My Book Essential 500GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive | 
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| Brand: Western Digital
Category: CE
Buy New: £42.99
New (31) Used (1) from £42.99
Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 11
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 2.1 x 6.5
MPN: WDH1U5000E
Model: WDH1U5000E
UPC: 718037120928
EAN: 0718037120928
ASIN: B000WP0NM8
Release Date: November 25, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New and Sealed
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 Review of External Hard Drive July 22, 2008
Ms. He Fee (Liverpool, England)
I bought this product a few months ago and it has broken, I have been unable to get any of my files off of it and it would not even let me reformat it so I have had to bin it
Free your hard drive July 20, 2008
Penny (England)
Got this drive because it was the cheapest I could find for the size. I'm no computer whiz but have found it easy to use. Have used it with an XP desktop and a Vista laptop with no problems. I didn't need to install any drivers for it. Never used the software so I can't comment on it. For the desktop I use it for extra storage and for the laptop its used for back ups using Norton 360. Its possibly a bit slow but as I'm not in any great rush when saving or backing up I'm quite happy with it
 best buy I've made July 20, 2008
VBKing (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The MyBook external harddrive (hd) works like a dream. 500 gb is more than enough for me.
It is very quiet, and has a slick design. If there is one thing wrong with it, it would be the absence of a power button.
I considered formatting it to NTFS, and in fact twice tried only to cancel it 30 seconds later because it took too long. Thankfully, it didn't damage/corrupt my data. However, I will be considering to convert it to NTFS from the default FAT32 it comes with, primarily because of FAT32s limit on filesize where 1 file can be max 4 gb. I want to create an ISO of my laptop hdd as backup, so obviously NTFS would be feasible in this case.
There are software that the hd comes with, most of it is junk to me like the google software. However, one notable and quite important software for me was the WD diagnostics. This program performs a SMART scan on any physical harddisks (not jus the mybook) so you can be forewarned in the event of failure. Perhaps there are many better free utilities like this if u search the web, but that requires effort :P.
I have used it on both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, and whilst we would all prefer it on USB 2.0 (due to transfer speeds), it still works on USB 1.1 which is good. Further, I have also tried it on a USB 2.0 cardbus, however the cardbus cannot provide the same transfer speeds to a "natively built in" USB 2.0 (for me at least anyways). A 2 GB file transfered in 5 minutes.
Also noteworthy is that if you transfer several files of small sizes, then the myBook is bound to make "seeking" noises. For large single files (e.g. ISO files which I transfer a lot), then you can expect it work as quiet as a mouse.
Overall, the myBook certainly is cheap compared to others. Time will tell if it proves to be reliable. However, with a 2 years warranty, it may pass the test of time.
All Cool as long as you dont bother with the software July 19, 2008
Martin Billingham
This is a Dam nice machine, its a little slow on big files but, thats to be expected really, im sure making partitions would speed up the time. but thats your choice.
I use it for my Pc and my Mac, ive managed to save so much space on them both, they run so much smoother
Anyway as long as you avoid the software that comes with it this is a Good bit of Kit.
 How much is your data worth? Ask yourself one simple question: July 19, 2008
Trash ii Treasure (uk, north)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
If this item fails today - how much data will I have backed up?
I had 2 WD devices fail within a week and many friends who swear by them.
Its not a criticism - everything made by man WILL fail.
Don't lose 10gb of commercially irreplacable data like I did.
These drives are excellent - but aren't secure archives.
Grab a spindle of DVDRs when you order. :)
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