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Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
by Western Digital
Digital Photo Product DetailsManufacturer: Western Digital
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD-ROM
Platform: Windows
Model: WDBAAF0010HBK-NESN
Color: Black
Product features: - Automatic, continuous backup
- Visual drive control center
- Password protection and 256-bit encryption
- Illuminated capacity gauge
- USB 2.0 interface
Accessories:
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard DriveCustomer Review: Don't let WD's SmartWare keep you from considering this drive
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
QUICK SUMMARY: This My Book external storage *can* satisfy your basic need for extra, external storage PLUS it offers a handy (if also irritating) security implementation to safeguard your data. While it may not be the plug-and-play experience you're accustomed to, you will likely appreciate this drive once you get it configured to suit your particular needs.
Western Digital's poorly received "SmartWare" has soured this product for a lot of customers. That's too bad, really, because the drive itself really isn't so bad. Western Digital's ambition is actually praiseworthy: keep your data protected so if someone walks off with your My Book drive, they can't see or use your data because it's hardware-encrypted. That's a laudable new function! The problem is how Western Digital implemented it.
By default, Western Digital will load software on your computer that creates a virtual CD drive -- something that a lot of users do *not* want! The virtual CD drive, however, is needed to get to a protected 100MB partition on the hard drive that contains the drive's software -- something that a lot of users also do *not* want. Some users want control over every byte on the hard drive, and they're used to plugging in a new storage drive and immediately deleting the software folder that most drives come with. With this My Book, however, there's no deleting the 100MB of software, since you can't even get to the drive's protected partition. And Western Digital initially didn't give users a way of turning off the virtual CD drive, which infuriated them, and which accounts for a LOT of the 1-star reviews here. Western Digital responded by releasing a new firmware update that lets users turn-off the security features and the virtual CD drive. For many customers, it's too little, too late.
Here's what you need to do, then, if you buy this drive:
1) Download the new firmware from Western Digital. Amazon's product page even contains a link to WD's website at the top of the page. The latest version is Firmware Update: Release 1.032 (11/16/09). But don't open the file...yet.
2) Download the new SmartWare Software Updater, too. The latest version as of this writing is v1.00.14 (Windows®). Don't open the file...yet.
3) Follow Western Digital's installation instructions. Basically, unplug any other storage except the My Book drive, turn-off your antivirus and antispyware (like Windows Defender), run the firmware update firstly, unplug and turn off the drive, wait 10 seconds, plug-in the drive again and run the SmartWare Software Updater, unplug and turn off the drive, wait 10 seconds, plug it back in again. I did this myself, and it all went very smoothly.
4) If you want this My Book to work like any other external storage drive, use Windows Explorer to navigate to the virtual CD drive that Western Digital added to your computer, click on the SmartWare software to open it, choose the Settings tab and check that you do NOT want to use the virtual CD. That won't get rid of the 100MB partition, but it will stop the My Book from annoying you with its security features. You'll need to unplug and power down, wait 10 seconds, plug-in again and you'll see that the virtual CD drive no longer appears.
If, however, you *do* want to use its security features, then you can use the Settings tab to create a security key for the drive. You also MUST let the My Book load a virtual CD drive on your computer -- you can't have the security feature without the virtual CD drive. You can also use the software to initiate backups and, later on, restores of your data.
I encountered one quirk with the backup part of SmartWare. When I clicked the Details link to see which folders, exactly, were going to be backed up, they showed all the usual folder names -- Documents, Pictures, Videos, Favorites, etc. -- but each folder was shown to contain 0 bytes (which wasn't true).
I'm not going to use SmartWare for backups at all, so initially I disabled the virtual CD drive and along with it, my ability to use SmartWare backups on my computer (I use the Acer Aspire AH340-UA230N Home Server for backups).
Once I did that, I removed the My Book from the laptop I was using and tried plugging it into another for the very first time. This time, the drive loaded two device drivers, but another device driver failed to load (the Western Digital SES drive, whatever that is?). But the two drivers that did load enabled the mass storage functionality that you want, and the My Book drive was useable in Windows Explorer.
In using the My Book, I moved a 10GB file in 9 minutes from my laptop to the My Book drive. That's nearly 150Mbps transfer speed, which is the fastest of the six external hard drives that I own (three of which are USB powered and noticeably slower than this My Book).
Later, I used SmartWare to enable the virutal CD drive and created a security key for the drive. When I attached it to different laptop (that didn't already have SmartWare installed), the laptop installed device drivers (I had to give permission to search for the 'WD SES Device USB Device' driver, whatever that is). But at that point, my laptop "sees" the virtual CD drive in Windows Explorer -- but not the actual hard drive...yet. To unlock the drive, I navigated to the virtual CD drive and clicked the "Unlock" application file. It prompted me for the security key I had previously used. Once I entered that key, the "My Book" hard drive was viewable in Windows Explorer. Very nice!
Aside from the whole software implementation, there are three minor complaints I have against this drive:
1) The drive feels cheaply made. In fact, when I opened the box, the plastic exterior of the drive wasn't fitted together properly, and I had to snap into place the plastic housing on one side of the drive -- hoping that I wasn't going to break anything, because the plastic feels cheap. If you drop this drive, the plastic housing WILL either crack, chip, or both.
2) The fit-and-finish aren't good. Looking at the backside where you plug-in the power cord and the USB cable, the holes in the exterior plastic aren't aligned with the drive's plugs. I was actually surprised that I could plug-in the power cable without first carving away at the plastic housing, since the housing obscured the drive's power port.
3) The glossy black plastic picks up fingerprints easily, and in certain light, looks really grimy. That doesn't actually bother me, but if fingerprints on electronic stuff bothers you, you'll be bothered.
So why is this still a 4-star product? Why not 1- or 2-stars like many others have given it?
Bottom line is, I actually *like* the hardware encryption feature that protects the data on this external storage device. I'll be using this feature shortly to make my own data-only backups (manually backing up my home server's shared pool) and I'll keep the My Book drive offsite, at my desk at work. If this My Book grows feet one day and walks off, I'll have the peace-of-mind knowing that while someone might have a 1TB drive they can maybe reformat to their liking, they won't be able to gain access to my personal data. (I'm not even sure someone CAN reformat the drive since it's not viewable until the security key is entered). That's a VERY, very good feature of this My Book for security-conscious consumers. Not everyone will want this kind of security, however, and Western Digital has wisely updated its firmware so, once the drive is updated, those security features can be disabled (and renabled later, if one wants).
CONCLUSION: This is a good external drive with the added bonus of having a security partition that can help keep your data protected. If you don't need this kind of protection, it can be turned off pretty easily with a firmware update, and it'll act like any other external storage device. If you want your personal data protected, though, give this drive serious consideration.
Description of Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard DriveThe world?s best-selling external hard drive now features a new, smart, visual backup solution that protects your data automatically. Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design - WD has made these award-winning drives even smaller, sleeker, and more elegant. As always, this book-like shape takes up less 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 you the 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 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. Drive lock - Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and military-grade 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Illuminated capacity gauge - See at a glance how much space is available on your drive. USB 2.0 interface - A simple connection that offers convenience and compatibility among multiple computers. 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 to minimize waste and used recycled material. 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.
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 - A visual control center with a single screen view of all your data. From it you can back up, retrieve, and secure your files. | Password protection. An extra level of security with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. | 
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| Features at a glance - Automatic, continous backup
- Illuminated capacity gauge
- Password protection and hardware encryption
- WD SmartWare software
- 2-years limited warranty
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| 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 you the 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...
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