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The Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB Hard Drive has great capacity but might not be well suited for this design. I've had great luck with my Western Digital drives, but may have bitten off more than I could chew with this 1 TB model. The bottom line is I now think that 1 TB might be too much capacity for a USB-only connection. Even though it might not be because of the size I did experience a hardware issue with the 1 TB model that had to be repaired. That was the first HD failure I've had with any of these WD external drives.
The larger capacity means that the disk geometry has to work harder for the same form factor. When you consider that neither the speed nor the buffer were improved with this model, it's easier to see why the performance is slightly less than the 500 GB model.
Ultimately I think it might make sense to step down to the Western Digital 500GB My Book Home Edition or the Western Digital My Book Premium 500 GB model instead. If you need 1 TB you might want to look at the Premium, Home, Studio or Professional versions in that capacity. I am nervous because of the negative press some of those have gotten, but the extra and faster interfaces would have to be better than this USB only Essentials version.
For a 1 TB drive, the buffer has to get larger. This guy is still limited by the 480 Mps connection speed of USB 2.0 but gives you only a fraction of that in production.
You can unplug the AC adapter to manually power it down from behind, or it will power down with your computer. The AC adapter helps it perform a little faster than the USB powered ones.
The software utilities should be deleted by anybody but the most novice user. Just do cut and paste backups instead and use some other shareware or NTFS if you need to enable encryption.
Connecting WD drives to different systems has always been a plus, and this drive connected to my Windows XP, Vista or Mac OS X computers.
The only factor that should change whether or not you get this drive or another one would be size and connection type. Obviously, WD makes Pro and other versions of these drives that have firewire and SATA connectors. For most Mac users, firewire 2 connectivity is a must.
I did experience my first drive failure with the 1 TB after only 3 months of use. From now on I'm stepping up to the higher end models for this capacity. Still, I may have just gotten a bad one and you might be luckier.
Pros
+ Works well on multiple platforms: Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X
+ Nice 16 MB buffer for faster copying speeds is still acceptable
+ New sleek body, more pleasing to the eye
+ Turns on and off with your computer
+ Very easy installation, virtually plug and play
+ Integrates nicely with my growing stable of WD MyBook drives
+ 1 TB truly is amazing capacity in one drive
Cons
- 1 TB capacity is probably the largest you would want for USB transfer with a 16 MB buffer
- Software will only be useful for novice users and is not very good (after several years of these drives being on the market)
- New shiny body attracts fingerprints and dust, may not appeal to everyone
- Transfer speed still limited by USB only connection, must step up for FireWire ports
- Price for 1 TB of capacity not as good as some smaller drives in $ price per gigabyte
- AC adapter for power, not USB powered
Conclusion
This drive is great for those who want a large capacity drive. It's better to get a pair to guard against drive failures and backup your backup. Watch the price and try to get it on sale. Those looking for extra connectors (firewire, SATA) will want to step up to the other models.
Enjoy!
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Product Description
Are you running out of hard drive capacity? Do you need to archive some important digital documents photos or music? This elegant external hard drive reminiscent of a book is the perfect solution. It takes no more space than a paperback book. Collect two or more and they nest neatly together like volumes on a shelf.Primary InformationHard Drive Type : External Form Factor : 3.5" Hard Drive Capacity : 1 TB Hard Drive Interface Type : Hi-Speed USB Hard Drive Spindle Speed : 7200 Rpm Width : 2.1 Inch Depth : 5.4 Inch Height : 6.5 Inch PC Compatibility : PC; Mac Hard DriveStorage Controller Type : Hi-Speed USB Data Transfer Rate (High-speed USB) : 480 Mbps Service&SupportService & Support Type : 1-Year Warranty Special FeatureRoHS : Yes UNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code : 43201803 Product IDUPC: 718037122700Manufacturer Part: WDH1U10000N
Product Details
- Color: Black
- Brand: Western Digital
- Model: WDH1U10000N
- Platform: Mac
- Format: CD
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.50" h x 2.10" w x 5.40" l, 2.54 pounds
- Memory: 128000MB DRAM
- Hard Disk: 1TB
- Graphics: This is the description of the PC Graphics 256MB
- Processors: 1
- Native resolution: 640x480
- Display size: 669.2913385827
Features
- Installation is a snap because you don't really install this drive, you just plug it in and it's ready to use.
- Fits right in: Takes no more space than a paperback book. Collect two or more and they nest neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
- Our environmentally-friendly drive is designed to save power by going into standby mode after 10 minutes of inactivity.
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