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Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0: 4.5 stars; ( 187 reviews)

Price:: $159.99; Each

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Item: 906287
Model: WDBACW0020HBK

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

Compatibility	16
Hard Drive Capacity	2TB
Hard Drive Color	Black
Interface	USB 3.0
RPM	5400
Warranty	2 year warranty
Cache	-
Product Dims.	1.9"D x 5.3"W x 6.5"H
Encryption Type	128-bit AES
Model	WDBACW0020HBK
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™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

4.3

(based on 199 reviews)

93%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Large capacity / good size (164)
Easy to set up (154)
Easy to use (147)
Quiet (147)
Attractive (96)

Cons

No power switch (19)
Slow (8)
Unreliable (6)
Difficult to use (4)

Best Uses

Back-up (148)
Additional storage (137)
Photo storage (100)
Video (73)
File transfer (66)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Power user (106), Casual user (90)
- Primary use:
- Personal (146), Business (50)
- Computer Platform:
- PC (165), Mac (16), Other (9)

Most Liked Positive Review

Great Deal

To all the users who say there is no power switch, please read the manual and look at the back of the unit. The power switch is the rectangle right above the USB3 port ...Read complete review

To all the users who say there is no power switch, please read the manual and look at the back of the unit. The power switch is the rectangle right above the USB3 port with the universal power symbol. Don't confuse the fact that the unit powers on automatically when it is plugged into an already powered on device, or when you power on a device that it is already attached to, with not having a power switch. You can turn it off and on anytime via the power switch on the back. Great drive, Great price, very happy with it.

Most Liked Negative Review

A little bit more involved for macs

Had to go find a lot of different forums to finally get my macbook to except this for "Time Machine" ** must format entire drive, pay attention to the advance disk utility ap...Read complete review

Had to go find a lot of different forums to finally get my macbook to except this for "Time Machine" ** must format entire drive, pay attention to the advance disk utility application for mac

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 199 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-6

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5/25/2012

5.0

WD MB

By JFW

from Tampa

About Me Power user

Pros

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

Cons

Best Uses

Backup

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

Comment on this review

5/24/2012

4.0

WD My Book Essential 2TB External HD

By Lamont

from Pottstown, PA

About Me Casual user

Pros

Attractive Design
Black Book Design a Plus
Compact
Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
Has OnOff power button
High Capacity
Portable
Quiet
Reliable manufacturer

Cons

Auto back up feature

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup
File Transfer
Important Tax Files Backu
Photo Storage
Security of Off-line Unit
Video

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

This unit fits my immediate and future (5 Year) needs.

Everyone should have an off-site backup HD for all important and/or irreplaceable files.

Comment on this review

5/24/2012

4.0

So Far So Good

By RanchManager

from Oakdale, Ca

About Me Casual user

Pros

Attractive Design
Compact
Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
Quiet

Cons

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup
File Transfer
Photo Storage

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

More documentation in the box would be helpful.

Comment on this review

5/24/2012

3.0

Right price but unfortunately SLLLOOOWWW

By LC

from Hemlock, MI

About Me Casual user

Pros

Compact
Easy To Set Up
Easy to use
Portable

Cons

Slow

Best Uses

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

We purchased this drive primarily for music storage - which is great. However when we hooked it to our stereo system it was agonizingly slow to retrieve music. We'll keep it but wish it was faster!

Comment on this review

5/17/2012

5.0

Great

By Erin

from Redmondv Wa

About Me Power user

Pros

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

Cons

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

GreatErin

Comment on this review

5/17/2012

5.0

Great Product

By Locks

from New York

About Me Power user

Pros

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

Cons

Best Uses

Additional Storage
Backup
File Transfer
Photo Storage
Video

Comments about Western Digital® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

Great Product

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 | 14 Answers

Displaying questions 1-10Previous | Next »

Q:
does it come with a power adapter and cord?
Asked on 3/17/2012 by mick
Know the answer? Answer this question
2 answers
- A:
  Yes it does come with a power adapter cord and USB cable.
  Answered on 3/20/2012 by Community Answer from None
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  Yes, the External Hard Drive has an AC adapter.
  Answered on 3/19/2012 by Bonnie B from Staples
Q:
do i have to use the auto back up software?
Asked on 3/17/2012 by mick from syracuse,ny
Know the answer? Answer this question
2 answers
- A:
  No, you can connect via USB2 or USB3 and use it as a directly connected drive, you may then use any backup software you wish (not only the supplied software) to make backups. You can even drag and drop directories to backup in a simple way between the drive and another device.
  Answered on 3/20/2012 by Community Answer from None
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  No, you do not need to use the auto backup software for the Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0 When you first install the product, do not follow back up prompts when using. If you have already installed the software you only need to uninstall to stop it from performing the auto backup.
  Answered on 3/19/2012 by Cara B from Staples
Q:
Can I use this drive on the USB port of my Apple Airport Extreme Router?
Asked on 12/31/2011 by Artie B. from Secaucus, NJ
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  The My Book drive is preformatted as a single NTFS partition for compatibility with all
  updated Windows operating systems. To use the drive with Mac OS X Leopard or Snow
  Leopard operating systems, and to use Time Machine, if you want, you must first:
  • Reformat the drive to a single HFS+J partition
  • Restore the WD SmartWare software and disk image
  Please refer to the users manual to guide you through these steps.
  Answered on 1/17/2012 by Laura B from Staples
Q:
how hard is reformatting this to work on a macbook?

what's involved?
Asked on 12/11/2011 by jeff
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  Due to nature of your inquiry please call Western Digital at (800) 275-4932.
  Answered on 12/23/2011 by Bonnie B from Staples
Q:
Does this work on all my computers in the house? Can I access it from anywhere?
Asked on 10/12/2011 by pat from ny
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  The drive is not wireless, and will need to be connected to a computer. If that computer is on a wireless network, you can access the drive via that computer from other computers in your home.
  Answered on 10/19/2011 by Darlene S from Staples
Q:
Will this be compatible with Windows XP?
Asked on 9/13/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
0 answers
Q:
It says the data is automatically backed up - where does it store the backed up files? Also is it possible to bypass the password protection. I need to replace my 1TB my book harddrive and do not want to deal with details and problems.
Asked on 8/22/2011 by Anonymous
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- A:
  It comes with software to back up data from your computer to this drive. You need to leave the same files on your computer so you protected against disk failure.
  
  You don't have to use the password protection.
  Answered on 11/1/2011 by David from CA
Q:
What does the 2TB mean? Is there a difference between 2TB and say, 3TB? If so, what is it, and does it make the item pricier?

Thanks!
Asked on 7/26/2011 by Grammy from Woods Cross, UT
Know the answer? Answer this question
1 answer
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  2 TB means that it will have 2 Terabytes of hard drive space. Each Terabyte is 1024 Gigabytes. The more TB (Terabytes) you have to more space you have to save information. More TB also means the overall cost will be more expensive.
  Answered on 8/1/2011 by Curtis D from Staples
Q:
Is this unit powered by the USB port ?
Asked on 7/25/2011 by Terry from Niles,Ohio
Know the answer? Answer this question
2 answers
- A:
  No, it is powered by an AC adapter, and the USB cable is for data transfer.
  Answered on 8/1/2011 by Anonymous from None
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  This is powered by an AC adapter.
  Answered on 8/1/2011 by Dawn B from Staples
Q:
Can I use this drive to backup the another disk using symantec ghost or similar backup software? it can be my operating system primary partition also.
Asked on 5/6/2011 by puneetm from Illinois
Know the answer? Answer this question
2 answers
- VERIFIED BUYER
  
  A:
  I've been successfully using the drive with symantec ghost since it came out of the box.
  
  I don't know about using it as a primary partition. My method of choice has been to use an alternate machine to restore disk images.
  Answered on 6/15/2011 by Kurt from Hyde Park, NY
- CUSTOMER CARE
  
  A:
  This product is compatible with any backup software that you choose. The SmartWare software is provided to you, but is not necessary to use. To place an order for this item, please contact us at 1-800-333-3330.
  Answered on 5/10/2011 by Liz C from Staples