Westerndigital Mybook

Western Digital WDH1U20000AN My Book Mac Edition 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (Black/Silver)
Product Description
Are you running out of hard drive capacity? Do you need to archive some important digital documents, photos, videos (up to 76 hours of digital video) or music? My Book Mac Edition 1TB External Hard Drive, reminiscent of a book, is the perfect solution. Formatted for Mac, this simple, elegant drive is very easy to use. Just plug it in, and you’ve got plenty of room to back up and save your valuable data, music (up to 250,000 MP3s), photos (up to 285,000 digital photos), and movies (up to 440 hours of DVD quality video).

Feature

• Instant storage for your Mac
• Formatted for Mac HFS+
• Compatible with Apple Time Machine
• Back up photos, music, video, or any files
• Interface: USB 2.0

Western Digital My Book Mac Edition 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1U10000AN (Black/Silver)
Product Description
They’re your photos, your music, your videos, your important files. Make extra room for them and keep them safe on a My Book Mac Edition USB 2.0 external hard drive from WD. This drive is all about simplicity. Plug it into your computer’s USB 2.0 port and start saving. It’s so simple and integrated that the drive even turns on and off with your computer. With just the essential features for add-on storage it’s perfect for all your precious digital assets.

Feature

• Instant storage for your Mac
• Formatted for Mac HFS+
• Compatible with Apple Time Machine
• Backing up photos, music, video, or any files

CustomerReviews

Anything for a MAC!!
It works very well with my iMac! I finally got it set up with my timemachine and it backs up every time I use the computer. It was a bit difficult to get set up without instructions, but I just Googled it and got it set right up! This is a great product! They order this all the time at NIH where I work for the scientists. I thought that I’d give it a try too!

NOT RELIABLE!!
sure, it’s easy to set up, it’s small and compact, and works with time machine on your mac seamlessly…but what’s the use, if this thing is not reliable? It’s a very fragile machine that cannot be handled like an ipod or a laptop.

It was sitting on my bookshelf vertically and just tapped on its side and all of a sudden it died on me.

I think the sole purpose of a hard drive is to keep its contents safe…I can see if I dropped this hard, but it was a soft tap, and everything was gone. It now said that my disk was unreadable and wanted to initialize. (but that would erase all content)

Keep in mind that data recovery companies charge 600 bucks and up to 1500 for macs (what was quoted for me) ([...] and [...])

I researched other outlets and downloaded Boomerang recovery software and it got it back! they let you test it out first in demo.

I never knew how fragile these were, and a friend confirmed it with their experience with Western Digital as well.

Works only on one Mac, not the other
I bought this external hard drive for two reasons. Primarily, I wanted a backup for my new iMac, running OS 10.5.8. The drive booted up fine and has been quietly and with no problems for that purpose for about a month. The second reason was to move files from an older Mac, running OS 10.4.11. According to the packaging that came with the drive, it should have worked fine. However, I couldn’t get it to work with that machine. I tried the fixes suggested on the website, but to no avail. Be warned.

Great for Mac.
I just plugged it in, and it was instantly recognized by time machine. Virtually no set-up. I just plugged it in, then time machine asked if I wanted it turned on. Couldn’t be much easier.

Mediocre
PROS: Lots of space, affordable price.

CONS: The design is flimsy and cheap, the cover is easily breakable. It uses an external power supply rather than USB.

Case Logic Compact Portable Hard Drive Case (Black)
Product Description
Compact case to store or transport smaller portable hard drivesSlimline design allows case to easily fit into any backpack or briefcaseDurable, hardshell exterior to protect valuable dataInterior strap secures portable hard drive in placeZippered closureFits hard drives up to: 6″ x 3.75″ x 1.25″

Feature

• Compact case to store or transport smaller portable hard drives
• Slimline design allows case to easily fit into any backpack or briefcase
• External Dimensions – 6.75 x 5 x 1.75 inch

CustomerReviews

This case is well made…
This is a very well made case, both outside and in….however I bought it because it was said to be frequently bought with the external harddrive I also purchased at the same time…i just assumed that it was the right size sine it said they were purchased together…well when i got it the case was not even close to being big enough…so the moral of the story kids is to make sure you check all dimensions regardless of what the site recommended!!!

Attractive and Sturdy Case
This product is perfect for carrying my Toshiba portable hard drive. The case is not only attractive and sturdy with a firm, protective inner structure; it is also prefectly fitted inside with a wide elastic band and mesh pocket for securing the drive and the cord. The unique appearance of the case makes it easy to locate in my briefcase or on my computer table. Case Logic scores another home run!

Good case, but too small for LaCie Rugged
Amazon pairs this with the LaCie Rugged as a “frequently bought together” deal, but the case is too small. While you can force the zipper to enclose around it, it does not sit completely inside the inner shell — part of the unit hangs over the lip. And because of the LaCie’s thickness, there is not enough room to store the cables inside the case. I wish I had known this before purchasing.

Case Logic
I bought this because it was a universal & a hard case. It has a lot of room. I would like a snugger fit but I just put it in a travel case that came with the Seagate docking station which makes a better fit in the case. If it didn’t cost to send it back I would have sent it back & got a Seagate case that is made for my product. I would suggest buying from the maker of your hard drive. They do have lost of choices as I had did some research this was just the cheaper method so I guess you get what you pay for.

Great Accessory
I should have bought this a long time ago… Other than the intended use, I finally have a place to store my flash drives that I keep losing…

Kroo 11131-132 2-in-1 Silicone Case for Western Digital My Passport Portable Hard Drive (Red/Blue)
Product Description
The silicone skin case for Western Digital My Passport hard drive gives complete protection against dust and scratches. It is impact protective and tear-resistant.

Feature

• Skin series fits Western Digital hard drive
• Made of high-quality silicone
• Gives complete protection for your Hard Drive
• Impact protective and tear-resistant
• Anti-dust and anti-slide protective

CustomerReviews

Excelente protección
Esta funda brinda excelente protección a los WD Passport como así tambi

Western Digital My Passport Elite 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDML3200TN (Titanium)
Product Description
A luxurious soft-touch finish makes these drives easy to grip, comfortable to hold, and beautiful to show off to your friends. Combine that with mega-capacity that fits in your pocket, plus a whole host of powerful features and you’ll understand why man call these little drives Elite.

Feature

• 320GB Capacity
• Stores up to 91,400 digital photos or Up to 80,000 songs (MP3) or Up to 8,000 songs (uncompressed CD quality) or Up to 24 hours of Digital Video
• Use with Windows and Macintosh computers – some included software applications may not be compatible for both
• XP and Vista friendly / Mac OS 10.4 / 10.5.2
• Soft-touch finish – A luxurious, soft-touch, finish makes these drives easy to grip, comfortable to hold, and beautiful to show off to your friends

CustomerReviews

Western Digital My Passport Elite 320 GB
This is a high-quality product. I used it on a Vista with no problems. I would highly recommend this product.

Small, Light, Fast, and Perfect
This is a very lightweight and sleek device. The brushed metal would be hard to scratch, considering it also comes with a case. The cable is short but come on — how long do you need this thing to be? The last thing you want is to accidentally catch on the cord and then have your HD flung into oblivion (happened to a friend right before finals). It’s almost silent. What a great purchase. My one tiny concern is that the “switch” that moves over the USB port rattles a bit.

Sleek and tidy
Initially took me a while to configure back up. It is a sleek drive and I find it very reliable. I have no issues backing up my Mac, but when it comes to Vista, the backup has hiccups. It doesn’t start backup automatically, sometimes. I need to click on the folders to backup and then the back up kicks. And back up takes much longer in Vista!

died after 2 months
stay away….drive died after 2 months….WD did honor the warranty but wanted me to pay return shipping to return their defective drive….poor customer service and poor device….

Western Digital My Passport Elite 320GB
A good, easily connected and transportable external hard drive. The synchronisation system/software is a bit clumsy, especially given the limited readily provided information on this. For example providing all the folders to be synchronised (which then links the sub-folders), however if new sub-folders are created these don’t automatically get included. Very frustrating when you discover this after departing from your “base computer” with the drive. Once this aware of this though it works alright.

WD Caviar Green Hard Drive – 500GB SATA II 16MB Retail Kit
Product Description
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.

Feature

• Reduced power consumption
• Helps enable eco-friendly PCs
• Cool and quiet
• Perfect for external drives
• NoTouch ramp load technology

CustomerReviews

Excellent Deal
I bought this as part of a system upgrade of my eMachine PC, which includes a complete upgrade; from motherboard to power supply. Anyways, I have not yet installed this harddrive, but read some excellent reviews. The reason I’m giving it a 4 at this time is because once I opened the package and removed the hd I found out the Western Digital had included a 640GB with 32 cache in its place. There was also a note indicating the “140 extra gigabytes of disk space at no extra cost!” I don’t know how many boxes are out there with the extra capacity hds and the increased cache, but, so far, I am satisfied with the purchase.

Con: I almost didn’t buy this drive because it doesn’t include the SATA or power cable as opposed to the Seagate that comes with both. I went with it because I already had the cables I needed and it was $5.00 less than the Seagate with the same “box” specs, but it’s something you might have to consider before purchasing it.

It works well for me
It’s generally assumed that this hard drive trades access speed for energy efficiency. If so, I’ve found that it’s not noticeably slower than any other hard drive, as used in my home desktop PC.

Two minor complaints about the hard drive — too minor to detract from the rating:

1) The included mounting screws were quite short. Perhaps the case I’m using is non-standard, in that there’s some empty space to allow for thick rubber gaskets between the drive and the case frame, but I had a difficult time mounting the drive, and I’ll have to get longer screws to mount it more securely.

2) The box says that the drive is compatible with Windows and Mac OS X. It doesn’t mention that it’s compatible with Linux. Of course, it would be compatible with any modern operating system. Perhaps the compatibility refers only to the installation software, which isn’t really necessary anyway, since any modern operating system will have the utilities to handle setting up a hard drive.

Good Price on a Good (Not Excellent) LCHD
I bought this HD with the intent of having it as a secondary, large capacity storage drive. My somewhat old computer had finally reached its storage peak, using up all the space in a 80 Gig hard drive (yea it’s old).

I wanted to search for a hefty improvement over my older drive, capacity wise, and a 500 Gig HD would be ideal for me. Mostly, the hard drive would store my growing addiction to music from my Zune Pass, as well as store massive Photoshop files.

While I could have used a faster, more responsive drive, I chose this one because of its large capacity for the low, low price of $70. I also wanted something that would run cooler than a full-powered, high-RPM HD, and still keep the electricity consumption down.

Yes, it does retrieve information at a slower pace than a 7200 RPM drive, but the difference isn’t as noticeable than what I already have. Second, this is an excellent drive as a secondary storage device to an aging computer. Would I recommend this as a master HD on a new computer? No way, too slow–unless high performance isn’t what you’re looking for.

However, if you just want to bump up the storage of an older computer, this will do and do you plenty. Installation is quick and easy and the formatting is simple to do. Overall installation took less than 30 minutes. Once installed all you have to do is insert the included disk and follow the instructions that you wish to set the HD to.

This HD isn’t the top of its class, but what you lose in performance you gain in savings and lower power consumption. IF you’re not building a monster rig and instead you’re building, replacing or adding a hard drive to an older or simple rig, this is a great little hard drive to own.

Very Quiet
I bought the same model drive for an Atom-based fax machine/ home storage server. I originally was trying to use really old drives and found their spin up speeds are loud beyond belief, and honestly for a drive that will be on for long periods of time, I’d rather have a quiet drive. I do recommend this drive if you’re using it for something that does not require excessive hard drive usage.

2nd Hard Drive
I bought this drive as a data drive for video work in my Dell Vostro running Vista. I mounted it, plugged it in and couldn’t see it in My Computer. I am new to Vista, so I had to search around to find out how to set the drive up. After a little while I clicked the right buttons and got the drive up and running. I am quite satisfied with the drive.

Western Digital WD800JB 80GB 7,200RPM 8MB Buffer
Product Description
WD Caviar Special Edition hard drives are designed to maximize desktop computer performance for activities requiring high-performance storage such as computer gaming, digital video editing, and file server applications. Offering various capacities, the WD Caviar Special Edition family is equipped with an 8 MB buffer – the largest buffer available today in a desktop EIDE hard drive, delivering data to users faster than any hard drive in its class. Data Lifeguard is an expanded set of data protection tools that includes shock protection, an environmental protection system, and embedded error detection and repair features that automatically find, isolate, and repair problem areas that may develop over the extended use of the hard drive. With these enhanced data reliability features, the drive can perform more accurate monitoring and error repair and deliver exceptional data security. Shock Guard provides outstanding improvements in shock and vibration protection for the newest WD Caviar drives. Shock Guard allows instantaneous data protection at high shock values to achieve leading shock specifications.

Feature

• WD Caviar WD800JB Special Edition – Hard drive – 80 GB – internal – 3.5
• WESTERN DIGITAL

CustomerReviews

Super Purchase
Too bad the Hard Drive I bought was the last of its kind offered. I would buy more. The price was great and the seller delivered quickly.

Defective Drive No Fault of the seller
My drive arrived faster than I expected. The drive proved to be defective after testing. The Seller could not have known this and agreed to replace the drive or refund my payment no questions asked. Even though the drive was defective, I would buy from the seller again. Seems like a good chap.

NeO

Good Product
I have used WD HDs for many years. They always perform well. I expect this one to do the same.

WD Hard Drive
Unlike most builders, I was looking for a smaller drive to hold only the OS, while using larger drives for data. This was about twice the size I wanted, but provided the best cost per Gig balanced against the storage needs. I prefer to install the OS on a stand alone drive so when ( I never say if) there is a problem requiring a reload, all my data lives safely somewhere else.

Good product, good deal
The drive works great, it was cheap. Only problem was it did not come with the mounting screws.

My Passport Essential WDMERC4000 – Hard drive – 400 GB – external – Hi-Speed USB – cherry red
Product Description
Pack up your office files and take them home, carry thousands of songs or pictures, and synchronize files between home and office and encrypt everything on the drive for added security. These elegant portable drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter – they are powered directly through the USB cable.

Western Digital 150 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Enterprise Hard Drive WD1500BLFS [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
Product Description
WD Raptor has evolved! PC enthusiasts’ favorite 10,000 RPM SATA drive is now faster than ever and available in a 300 GB capacity. Engineered for maximum speed, WD VelociRaptor combines a SATA 3 Gb/s interface and 16 MB cache, to deliver performance that’s up to 35 percentage faster than its speedy older brother. With 1.4 million hours MTBF, these drives have the highest available reliability rating on a high-capacity SATA drive and are designed and manufactured to enterprise-class standards to provide enterprise reliability in high duty cycle environments.

Feature

• Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
• 10,000 RPM drives; SATA 3 GB/s interface; 16 MB cache; 150 GB capacity
• 1.4 million hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures); highly reliable
• Engineered to fit into blade servers and other enterprise storage configurations; not designed for use in laptop or notebook computers
• 6 year limited warranty.

CaseCrown Double Memory Foam Thin Pouch Case For Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDMEPN3200TN
Product Description
Protect your hard drive with this CaseCrown hard drive case! The exterior is a stylish yet extremely durable material that keeps your hard drive safe and looking great. With the double memory foam padding, this case will protect your hard drive with form

Feature

• Great to protect the Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDMEPN3200TN
• Padded with premium shock absorbing double memory foam.
• Interior features a pocket and an elastic band to hold your hard drive in place.
• Lightweight, slim, and compact, making it portable for anywhere you go!
• Durable scratch resistant material.

Western Digital My Book Pro Edition 320 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/FireWire 800 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1T3200N
Product Description
WD’s My Book Pro Edition external hard drive with triple interface combines three leading external hard drive interfaces (FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0) on one drive for maximum performance and universal connectivity. Designed to work on both Macintosh computers and PCs, this drive includes powerful EMC Retrospect Express backup and recovery software, and a unique Capacity Gauge LED.

Feature

• Triple interface FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0
• EMC Retrospect Express Powerful backup software that includes full system backup and recovery, easy scheduling, and encryption
• Capacity gauge See at a glance how much space is available on your drive.
• Intelligent drive management features Automatic power-up, Safe Shutdown, and LED activity lights make this drive especially easy to use.
• Smart design The compact elegant case, iconic of a book, takes up less space on your desk, stacks horizontally, and allows two or more drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.

CustomerReviews

Lemon Out-of-the-Box / WD will not Service!!!
I chose the WD My Book Pro 500 GB – identical to the 320 GB but larger capacity – because of its compatibility Mac OS X. I partitioned the drive 3 ways: one to use as an emergency Boot drive on Mac OS X 10.4.11 (I was having issues with OS X 10.5.5 stability on y root internal drive). I was NEVER able to use the WD as a Boot Drive. Strike 1.

Almost immediately, my Mac would only detect the external drive app. one in ten times. I was told to juggle the interface cords by WD – and that worked, intermittently, until it didn’t work any longer. Strike 2.

Western Digital was extremely uninterested. Recover the data using an outside vendor – at a cost, I am appalled to say, of upwards of $1700.00. Then WD would be happy to replace my erased defective out-of-the-box drive with a comparable one.

I brought the drive to a local data recovery shop, hoping to save some money. The problem they told me was a systemic design flaw. $1700.00. Strike 3.

I am totally and permanent;y disabled with a prognosis of 5 years. That is in addition to the 5 years of digital and multimedia footage I had stored on the My Book Pro.

Western Digital further informed me that their external hard drives, when used as directed, are susceptible to data recovery failures for which they are not liable. Strike 4.

I did extensive research when choosing this WD external drive. No where did WD point out data loss was an expectable outcome of proper usage of their defective devices. Strike 5.

I am looking into litigation.

DO NOT BUY A DRIVE FROM WESTERN DIGITAL!!!.

PLEASE CALL WESTERN DIGITAL AND LET THEM KNOW YOU THINK THEY SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS!!!

Western Digital HD
I have had this unit several months now and I am very happy with the unit. I know that this unit is now out of production so you would have to find a similar WD unit, I wanted a external HD that would last me several years years as I do not upgrade CPU every time a new one comes out. That is why I wanted one that had USB, and both 400 and 800 firewire interfaces.

I would recommend any of Western Digital Hard drives to anyone looking for external or for that matter internal drives. I am a buyer for a university bookstore and have found Western Digital to be very reliable. We have not had to sent one unit back as being defective. I cannot tell you how many have purchased in the various My Book Series of HD’s.

Got refurbished version and had to return it twice
This item had good ratings, and maybe it is a good product, but I purchased a refurbished model and it would not turn on, I exchanged it for another refurbished model and that one kept giving me errors when I tried to copy the information. I returned it and exchanged it for a Lacie–I have several of them and they have always been good and reliable.

Absolutely content.
Bought this product to work with my iMac in order to take advantage of the time machine program. I’ve had it approximately for six months and works flawlessly.

Great Addition To My Set Up
I purchased this xmas night (tuesday) and received it thursday morning! I have an apple computer as my main workstation and was running out of storage space quick since i recently got into video editing with Final Cut Studio 2. I got this one since it has USB, FW400, and FW800, the 2 latter which stream audio and video extremely quickly (USB 2.0 sends data in packets so HD video would stutter on playback in the editor, FireWire sends data as streams).

The Drive is Very quiet, dosnt make a peep, even when reading or writing, and there is no annoying fan noise. The sleek aluminum case never gets hot and it matches perfectly to my sleek apple laptop.

Even though it is not as portable as some other drives are marketed to be, it is still very easy to transport with WD’s simple button interface. Hit the center button and the drive will eject and turn itself off! All you have to do is unplug and toss in your bag or w/e.

Must have for anyone that has a lot of music, pictures, or videos.

One thing you should all know if you didnt all ready, the reason why computers seem to get slow over time is because as a HD gets full, the seek time increases for info, getting all the large files and the bulk of your collection on an external leaves the main HD fairly clean for faster system performance.

Cavalry Storage CAXM Series 1 TB USB / eSATA External Hard Drive CAXM3701T0 – Includes eSATA Kit
Product Description
The CAXM Series external hard drive delivers reliable storage expansion and the incredible 3.0Gbps transfer speed of eSATA, all in one sleek aluminum package. The transfer speed, at six times faster than USB 2.0, will blow you away; it’s made possible with our easy-to-install eSATA bracket kit (included). The external hard drive’s solid aluminum enclosure boasts exceptional heat dissipation for near-silent, fan-less operation. The CAXE is remarkably durable, offering state-of-the art shock absorption and superior all-around performance, and its stackable design gives you a streamlined, uncluttered workplace.

Feature

• eSATA kit included!
• USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 backwards compatible) and eSATA interface
• Plug and play for Windows 2000 and newer (pre-formatted to NTFS)
• 1 TB 16 MB cache HDD in a aluminum enclosure, USB cable, eSATA kit (eSATA cable & bracket), stand, power adapter, Quick Start Guide & Resources CD
• System Requirements – Available USB or SATA port, Mac OS 9.x or newer, Windows 98SE / Me / 2000 / XP / Vista

CustomerReviews

My Second Successful Hard Drive from Cavalry
I bought a 1tb hard drive from Cavalry about a year ago and because I had such a good experience I decided to buy from them again because I ran out of space. This hard drive has almost the same look as the other, though the other was silver. The eSata connection is very convenient, even though the speed doesnt seem all that different than USB. Overall it is a successful purchase, I have almost filled this hard drive up with TV Shows and Movies and had no serious issues. Compared to my other hard drive that I figured would be nearly identical, this one seems a bit worse. It is a bit smaller, and looks more sleek. However it runs far hotter than the first I bought, and is noticeably louder. I can actually hear it spinning from my bed and that is a problem for me. Other than these minor problems, it has functioned perfectly for what I needed.

junk dont buy and hitachi has terible RMA support, they lost it
hello I am in my 30’s and have plenty of experience with computers. I bought this thinking the esata would be nice but right off the bat it would not work on any pc’s i have with esata. the usb plug worked though, so i just kept it since after all it is an external not a main drive so speed is not everything. Then after a few weeks it started clicking and got worse as it got older and after a month and a half it completely died. I called the phone number i got for the extended warranty I purchased through Amazon and was told that they only help after the manufacturer warranty is over and directed me to contact Hitachi at [...] After i did they told me that i needed to run the tests to make sure it was a drive issue LMAO! Anyway I followed all the instructions on the RMA site and paid out of my own pocket to ship it off and paid to have the tracking included thank god. After several weeks they still showed it was not in their system as though they had not received it. Close to a month they still would not contact me back and i finally emailed all the different Hitachi support sites i could find with proof of tracking and all that would be needed. They finally contacted me back with an email a week after that and said they would look into it. Now it has been 6 weeks and they finally sent me something but it is an internal Hitachi drive. After calling them and going through all the different options to finally get a hold of a real live person they told me that according to their information i never sent them an external drive and that I was not suppose to send them the external enclosure along with it cause it would have been refused. Finally 3 hours later after stating my case and being put on hold I was told that they would send an email to the warehouse to try and find it and if they happen to find it that maybe they can send me the enclosure and I could put it back together WTF!! I will never buy Hitachi again not because they have bad products, but because they don’t really have any customer support and could care less.

Cavalry External Hard Drive Is Excellent
Cavalry External Hard Drive was shipped and received in no time. I bought this for a gift for my son-in-law. He has used it and said it works well. The order and item was as expected. Thank you.

Plug and Chug; great deal if it keeps working
I’m not an expert on PC hardware, but have been buying hard drives for 20 years. It keeps getting easier and cheaper per byte. Current prices of 1 terrabyte drive are low, but this offer seems too low to pass up. I bought two of the 1Tb Calvary external drives for backup and data transfer purposes. (I use a lot of geographic data that hogs disk space.)

I tried one out immediately on my desktop at work, and it came right up with no installation or formatting. I quickly ran an overdue backup on my system using WinRAR.exe and everything worked flawlessly. The other drive will be handed off to a friend to download a ton of data for me.

I haven’t run either disk for any period of time, so I cannot vouch for reliability. Nor do I know what’s under the hood (I believe one of the reviews indicated the black Cavalry boxes have Western Digital drives). I do know that all reputable companies have occasional bad drives, so Amazon’s excellent return policy is important for this type of equipment. I will amend this review if anything bad happens to the drives in the next year.

I’m happy enough at this point that I’m ordering a third drive for my three machines at home. I guess that sounds pretty geeky, but it’s really easy to fill drives with backup data these days, and I’d rather error to the side of redundancy.

AJ

Do not use CAXM unit on OSX
The unit is advertised as compatible on Windows and OSX (Apple) systems. To use it on OSX, the drive must be reformatted to Apple disk drive file format. Instructions are provided by the manufacturer. The conversion completed without incident. I connected the disk drive to the OSX computer via a V2.0 USB port. The problem occurs when OSX puts the disk drive in sleep mode and later re-awakens it. The disk drive can resume into a indeterminate state. OSX will report a error -53 (Drive is read only) if there is an attempt to write a file, create a folder, or any other write operation to the drive. OSX will also report an error -50 (Drive in use) if you try to dismount the drive. Yet, “no” application is using the disk drive. You must use Apple’s Finder application to “force” dismount option to dismount the disk drive. Although a “force” dismount work without incident 99% of the time, it is dangerous because 1% of the time, the drive data can be left in a inconsistent or corrupted state. The manufacturer confirmed the error and offered to exchange the CAXM for a firewire based CAXR unit. I chose to return the drive to Amazon for a refund. I am very happy with Amazon’s sales / return policy.

Western Digital RE2-GP Enterprise 750 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 5400RPM SATA II WD7500AYPS [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
Product Description
As demand for storage continues to expand, the need for more efficient power solutions becomes paramount. WD RE2-GP makes it possible for large scale data centers to increase storage capacity without exceeding available power, and in many cases actually reduce power consumption. WD RE2-GP drives help combat the four major challenges large data installations face ? total drive slots, maximum capacity, power allotment, and available operations expense budget ? while lowering the overall total cost of ownership.

Feature

• Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
• Sold Individually

CustomerReviews

Mine works well
I bought one of these for my HTPC, which seems like a perfect use for it. The drive offers a balance between performance and power consumption, plus it is very quiet.

You should know that this drive is not intended to be as fast as a true 7200rpm drive; power savings and quieter operation result from taking the speed down. If performance is more important, there are faster 1TB drives; look elsewhere.

In installed mine and it worked perfectly, and still does, as I expected it would. The system performance does not suffer in ways that I notice, but on the HTPC ultra-fast disks is not a priority.

UPDATE: I bought a second one for 2TB on my media/HTPC … it also works well.

When it works!
First drive failed Diagnostics. Second drive from WDC, not the Vendor, was DOA (Drive was referbished, and just off the (re)assembly line. If you yell loud enough, WDC will swap out a NEW one not another referb. As they say, Third time is a charm. Works great, saves power. I don’t notice the reduced performance over a straight 7200 RPM Drive. The Vendor was not to blame in any way for the drive problems. WDC needs to clean up their act, quality control is very poor on these drives.

Western Digital 500GB My Book Office Edition External Hard Disk Drive WDH1B5000N
Product Description
That 200-page business plan, your e-mail records, all your company’s digital assets… what could be more important? Store them safely and keep them backed up on My Book Office Edition external hard drives. On the road? Take advantage of free lifetime remote access to your files on this drive.

Feature

• Sold Individually

CustomerReviews

Excellent Auto Back Up
I bought a unit like this for myself at a retail outlet about a year before buying this unit for a friend because we could not find one in any retail outlet. Out of all the units we checked none had the automatic backup capability that this unit has. All the other units required manual updating or have a separate program to use. This unit came fully loaded with everything needed to maintain an active back up hard drive. The software could use improvements. If you make major changes to one main folder of a drive you’re backing up, the software doesn’t recognize that you’ve only made a change to one folder and will redo the entire drive again. If you’re doing rapid changes i.e. opening, modifying, saving a lot of pictures, you will have to suspend the drive’s backup or it will make you PC crawl trying to keep up. Otherwise, for normal operations, it will keep your back up files completely up to date while you’re working. I really like it.

great backup
Great backup product for our office! Works well and we purchased two so one is in a “safe place” at all times.

Messed-up my PC
I bought this product y’day and was very excited to install. Installation went very well and backup software (WD backup) got installed and ran to backup my whole system. It kept working for more than 5 hours to backup my 90G data. I let it run for the night. Today morning, I see that my PC became very slow as if the backup software completely took over the machine. I rebooted the machine and since then, my PC locks up after few mins. I removed the WD backup software, disconnect the drive, unfortunately it has left some bad taste there. I no longer can work on my PC. It just locks up after few mins of restart.

Western Digital 500GB My Book Office Edition External
It’s slower than I expected I have it set up as a network backup for 4 computers. usb 2.0 to my main computer and the main computer starts slower since I installed the My Book solfware waiting on the my book hard drive for some reason. The other computers use vista backup to folders on My book and work fine. I had bought a my book years ago and finally quit using it with the soft ware that come with it and only use Vista backup.

I do like the auto back in the new software that comes with my book office edition external

also dazed and confused
i also learned later that the backup software will cost after 30 days- works well but i hate surprises

Western Digital 640 GB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD6401AALS [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
Product Description
WD Caviar Black high performance 3.5-inch SATA hard drives combine 7200 RPM spin speed, 32 MB or 64 MB cache, SATA 3 Gb/s interface, and up to 2 TB capacity for the ultimate in power computing. Backed by a 5-year limited warranty. High Performance Electronics Architecture: Dual processor