Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1U5000
by Western Digital
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Our Price: $199.99
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Category: CE
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: Western DigitalAudio: English (Original Language)
Model: WDG1U5000N
Color: Black
Product features:
- Store and back up your music, photos, videos and important documents with this external hard drive
- Easy to set up and use with built-in installation software
- Simple user interface features USB 2.0 connectivity
- Device holds up to 500 GB of data
- Measures 5.55 x 2.25 x 6.71 inches (WxHxD)
- AmazonBasics IEEE 1394 4-Pin/6-Pin FireWire Cable (6 Feet/1.8 Meters)
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)[Supports 3D + Audio Return Channel][OLD MODEL]
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Braided Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters) [Supports 3D + Audio Return Channel]
- AmazonBasics Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable Braided (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
Digital camera reviews of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1U5000
Digital camera Review: *** IMPORTANT TIP FOR OWNERS ***
Summary: 4 Stars
Enough people have written adequate reviews here, so I won't review.
I will, however, warn everyone that this drive consumes a relatively massive amount of electricity! Look at the power supply, the little "brick" you plug into the wall. It draws 2.0 amps! Many if not most homes are on 15 amp service.
I found out the hard way, and I bet most people having problems here had them due to this issue. (The rest moved or bumped the drive while it was on -- don't do that!!) Just try a different power outlet for the hard drive. I've been a consultant for nearly 20 years and I never thought to try a different outlet for a dinky little external drive.
It wouldn't even recognize the drive (but it did power on and Windows did pop up a window about the device not being recognized). I moved it to another outlet as advised by tech support and it worked immediately.
It would not surprise me if a lot of the data loss people experienced was due to sporadically inadequate electrical amperage. This is a design flaw, but it is easily remedied, so I rate the product 4 stars. By design flaw, I mean that I don't know why this drive insists on drawing this much power. I have a similar Seagate external drive that draws 1.5 amps. Maybe the drive inside has 5 platters or something like that, which requires more power than less platters?
It doesn't really have a flaw other than this.
(The fact that it is preformatted in FAT32 is for compatibility with Win98 and Macintosh computers, both of which cannot handle NTFS natively. Many Win98 users cannot really format, even in FAT32, such a large drive. There even is a Western Digital utility to restore the gigantic 500GB single partition because XP and beyond have 32GB as a Microsoft-set limit for FAT32 partitions. Guess what? You can't use the utility on anything but XP and beyond! There literally is no way that I know of to format the drive as 500GB, single partition, FAT32, in Win98. Yet another reason why the drive ships formatted this way.) But if you use XP/Vista, it is EASY for you to reformat it as NTFS. I bought this drive BECAUSE it was preformatted with FAT32, in fact.)
More Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1U5000 reviews:
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Summary of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1U5000
Hard Drive, 500gb Mybook Usb 2.0Amazon.com Product Description Is your computer loaded with photos, music, video, and all sorts of important files? If so, you should make extra room, back them up, and keep them safe on Western Digital's WDG1U5000 My Book Essential Edition 500 GB Hard Drive. This reliable, easy-to-use external hard drive is the perfect storage solution for all your precious digital assets.
 Save and back up all your digital assets with the My Book Essential Edition Hard Drive. View larger. |
 Simple, easy-to-use design. |
 Connects to your computer via USB 2.0 interface. View larger. |
 The elegant case takes up very little space. |
But that's not all. Western Digital uses a smart design to make the My Book Essential look as good as it performs. The elegant case resembles a book and takes up very little space on your desk. Plus, it stacks horizontally and allows two or more drives to nestle neatly together like encyclopedias on a shelf. Inside the stylish exterior is an exceptionally fast, ultra-quiet, cool-running hard drive. Last but not least, the My Book Essential is equipped with free Google software that searches your drives, manages your photos, and simplifies Web searches.
My Book Essential Edition Hard Drives are ideal for:
- Simple add-on storage for your files, music, photos and movies
- Adding virtually unlimited storage with multiple USB 2.0 external hard drives
- Archiving the music stored on your MP3 player
- Adding plenty of space for digital video capture and editing
- Saving and organizing your digital photo collection
What's in the Box
My Book Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 external hard drive, USB cable, AC adapter with power cord, and quick install guide.
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