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Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0: 4.5 stars; ( 87 reviews)

Price:: $129.99; Each

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Item: 901973
Model: WDBACW0010HBK

129.99Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWestern Digital® My Book® Essential™ External Hard Drives-USB 3.0http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$std$http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$thb$/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gif/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/Western-Digital-My-Book-Essential-External-Hard-Drives-USB-30-Back-to/product_SS1054667Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ External Hard Drives-USB 3.04.5187 129.99Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWestern Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$std$http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$thb$/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gif/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/Western-Digital-My-Book-Essential-1TB-External-Hard-Drive-USB-30/product_901973Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.04.587 159.99Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWestern Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$std$http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$thb$/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gif/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/Western-Digital-My-Book-Essential-2TB-External-Hard-Drive-USB-30/product_906287Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.04.5187 199.99Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWestern Digital® My Book® Essential™ 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$std$http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715_sc7?$thb$/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gif/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/Western-Digital-My-Book-Essential-3TB-External-Hard-Drive-USB-30/product_912287Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.04.047

Product Details
Specifications
Customer Reviews
Q & A

Stream movies and Internet video to your HD TV.

Put your digital life on the sleek, high capacity My Book® Essential™ external hard drive. With WD quality and USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity, this drive is designed for today with tomorrow in mind. Visual backup software and password protection with hardware encryption ensure your data is protected. Lightweight and easy to carry, this drive is ideal for fast storage to go.

Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility
Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0
Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backup
Password protection and hardware encryption
Dimensions 6.5"L x 5.3"W x 1.9"H (2.6lbs)
2-year limited warranty

Compatibility

Windows XP, Windows Vista, & Windows 7 (formatted NTFS)
Mac OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard (Requires reformatting)

What's in the Box:

External hard driveWD SmartWare software
USB cable
Quick Install Guide

Hard Drive Capacity	1TB
Compatibility	16
Hard Drive Color	Black
Interface	USB 3.0
Model	WDBACW0010HBK
Warranty	2 year warranty
Cache	-
RPM	5400
Product Dims.	1.9"D x 5.3"W x 6.5"H
Encryption Type	128-bit AES
Form Factor Type	Desktop
Special Features	WD SmartWare software which is visual backup, retrieval and encryption software.

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

4.3

(based on 89 reviews)

88%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Easy to set up (70)
Easy to use (66)
Large capacity / good size (61)
Quiet (58)
Attractive (40)

Cons

No power switch (8)
Difficult to use (5)
Slow (3)

Best Uses

Back-up (55)
Additional storage (49)
Photo storage (40)
Video (24)
File transfer (19)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Casual user (44), Power user (31), Budget shopper (8), Midrange shopper (3)
- Primary use:
- Personal (66), Business (21)
- Computer Platform:
- PC (35), Mac (3)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (12)

Most Liked Positive Review

Works Great With Nintendo Wii!

Over the years my family has purchased a lot of Nintendo Wii games. Unfortunately, many games get scratched and ruined with younger kids in the house. To correct this problem i was able to purchase this hard drive and back all my PURCHASED games up to the hard drive and have the Wii access the games from the hard drive. Now all the original games are safely stored and as a bonus the games all load faster. This drive is a USB 3 drive that is compatible with USB 2. It comes with its own USB3 cable, and it transfers file really fast. Even if you just have a USB2 port on your computer, it runs faster than other USB2 devices simply because you're getting the full speed your computer can supply! Excellent product. I have a lot of western digital products and have had problems with only one and their customer support was great!

Most Liked Negative Review

Good Drive Except For "Sleep" Mode

The drive performs very well and comes close to the rated USB 3 transfer speed. Would give it five stars, but it has one serious flaw and one minor irritant: Serious: When not ...Read complete review

The drive performs very well and comes close to the rated USB 3 transfer speed. Would give it five stars, but it has one serious flaw and one minor irritant: Serious: When not accessed for awhile it goes into "sleep" mode. Then, when next accessed, it takes several seconds to "spin-up". The accessing program "hangs" during this time. And in my case, scheduled system backups would timeout/cancel during this time period.

According to WD tech support, there is no way to turn off the "sleep" feature or to change the interval. I worked around it by scheduling a "copy file" .cmd file to copy a small .txt file to the drive a couple of minutes prior to the scheduled backup. No way to prevent other programs from waiting for spin-up ghough.

The minor irritant: The drive has an SES drive (SCSI Enclosure Services) which presents a VCD (Virtual Drive) to Windows. Its used with the WD backup software. If that software is not used, Windows will ask to install the SES driver each time it is booted.

WD tech support took six days for their first response. On follow-ups, they replied within a day. A couple of weeks before Christmas, so they may have been shorthanded.

Bottom line for me: A good external drive, but the mandatory sleep feature makes it undersirable for me.

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 89 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-6

Previous | Next »

4/22/2012

5.0

Western Digital Ext. HD

By Pete

from PA

About Me Casual user

Pros

Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
Quiet

Cons

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup
Photo Storage
Video

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

Great, inexpesive storage

Comment on this review

4/19/2012

5.0

Great Product!

By C ROD Contracting

from Texas

About Me Power user

Pros

Compact
Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
High Capacity
Portable

Cons

None

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup
File Transfer
Photo Storage
Video

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

Glad I made the purchase

Comment on this review

4/11/2012

5.0

It is easy to use.

By gator

from Middleburg fl.

About Me Casual user

Pros

Compact
Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
High Capacity
Portable
Quiet

Cons

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup
Video

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

It was easy to use.

Comment on this review

4/10/2012

2.0

Should have looked for ratings

By Retired Prof

from Nashville, TN

About Me Casual user

Pros

Compact

Cons

Difficult To Use
Poor instructionsmanual

Best Uses

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

Tried to follow instructions. Call to the Help Line did not reduce confusion. I would like to look at the file names that have been backed up, but I get "not authorized." Something is on the drive, but I do not know what is.

Comment on this review

4/3/2012

5.0

Fast and works great

By Data Man

from Bend, Oregon

About Me Power user

Pros

Attractive Design
Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
High Capacity

Cons

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Photo Storage
Video

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

The best for the money

Comment on this review

3/27/2012

5.0

Great Monitor

By Lots to see

from Northern California

About Me Power user

Pros

Easy To Set Up
Easy to use

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

Very brght and easy to read.

Comment on this review

Displaying reviews 1-6

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Do you have questions about this product?

get answers from real customers and in-house experts with AnswerBox.

11 Questions | 11 Answers

Displaying questions 1-10Previous | Next »

Q:
Do you have to leave this product attached to your computer at all times or do you only hook it up when you want to back files up?
Asked on 12/7/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  Because this Hard drive is a plug and play device, you have the ability to disconnect it and plug it in at any time that you would like to use it. You may keep it attached at all times too.
  
  If you would like to disconnect the drive safely, go to "My Computer" then right-click on the drive and click "Safely Remove"
  Answered on 12/21/2011 by Kayla T. from Staples
Q:
Does this External Drive have capabilities to be used as my Laptop PC’s “Primary Drive” with Windows XP Professional 2002 SP3 in addition to a Backup Drive? I.E. Can this External Drive be set-up as part of my Home Network, and if so will I be able to run stored programs, open & update stored files & see the backed up files from this Drive on my PC? Similar to a USB Flash Drive where I can run stored programs, open stored files, make changes & perform upgrades on my PC from the Flash drive and is similar to when I sign-on & get access to all my Company’s Network Drives, then run programs, open files, transfer data & perform all operations on my Laptop PC remotely using my Home Wireless Network or via my “Air Card” when traveling via the VPN Client? I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has info on this subject. Thanks.
Asked on 6/25/2011 by Mr County from Connecticut
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  This product would work similar to a flash drive. Unfortunately, you would not be able to access the files that are in your external hard drive through your home network.
  Answered on 6/29/2011 by Liz C from Staples
Q:
I have a old computer with USB 1. Will it be compatable to USB 1?
Asked on 6/5/2011 by Lou from NJ
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  No, this item is not compatible with USB 1.
  Answered on 6/9/2011 by Dawn B from Staples
Q:
Does this drive have a power switch?
Asked on 5/30/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  No, this product does not have a power switch.
  Answered on 6/2/2011 by Cindy from R
Q:
Encryption: Can I scan/search for a particular file, say "*.tax", or does it have to be decrypted first? Also, is the software independent of the PC, i.e., can I use the drive on another (backup) PC?
Asked on 4/14/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  You can install WD SmartWare in multiple computers, and run a backup of each of them, the backup will be saved with the computer name so it can be clearly identified. It is recommended to install the latest version of WD SmartWare, if using Windows XP and Vista it is also required the installation of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.
  Answered on 4/25/2011 by Curtis D from Staples
Q:
Is this compatible with mac os x 10.4,11
Asked on 4/11/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  This unit is compatible with MAC OS x10.4.11, but will need to be formatted before using. Out of the box, the unit is prepared for use with Windows operating systems, and will not recognize the MAC system until formatted.
  Answered on 4/13/2011 by Darlene S from Staples
Q:
How do you purchase a device with disabled encryption?
Asked on 2/7/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  The item # for the hard drive without encryption is 869175. If you need any assistance placing the order, feel free to call us at 800-333-3330.
  Answered on 2/16/2011 by Ben M from Staples
Q:
Could this product be used with PC & Mac files simultaneously?
Asked on 2/2/2011 by brownjaibird from Chicago, IL
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  This cannot be used with Mac and PC at the same time. The hard drive would need to be formatted before using it with a different format computer.
  Answered on 2/11/2011 by Ally from Staples
Q:
is this 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm?
Asked on 12/7/2010 by Dave S from Ft Pierce, FL
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1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  It has 5400 RPM.
  Answered on 12/8/2010 by Customer Care- Rhonda from Staples
Q:
does this product work with both a pc and a mac?
Asked on 12/5/2010 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  Item is Universal works with both PC and Mac.
  Answered on 1/6/2011 by Customer Care-Glenda from Staples