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WD® My Book® Essential™ 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0
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WD® My Book® Essential™ 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0

Item: 912287    Model: WDBACW0030HBK

WD® My Book® Essential™ 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0
4.0stars
( 132 reviews)
  • 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
See more details
Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupSelect an ItemDual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWD® 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?$thb$http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gifhttp://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/WD-My-Book-Essential-External-Hard-Drives-USB-30/product_SS1054667WD® My Book® Essential™ External Hard Drives-USB 3.04.5239 Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupEach1TBDual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWD® 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?$thb$http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gifhttp://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/WD-My-Book-Essential-1TB-External-Hard-Drive-USB-30/product_901973WD® My Book® Essential™ 1TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.04.5105 http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-spcbuy.gifDual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupOffer Expires on 05/25/2013Each2TB**While supplies last. May not be valid in combination with other offers. Offer subject to change.Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWD® 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?$thb$http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-spcbuy.gifhttp://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gifhttp://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/WD-My-Book-Essential-2TB-External-Hard-Drive-USB-30/product_906287WD® My Book® Essential™ 2TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.04.5239 http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-spcbuy.gifDual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupOffer Expires on 05/25/2013Each3TB**While supplies last. May not be valid in combination with other offers. Offer subject to change.Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibilityUp to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backupWD® 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?$thb$http://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-spcbuy.gifhttp://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-windows.gifhttp://www.staples.com/sbd/img/res/ic/ic016-mac.gifhttp://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0395715/WD-My-Book-Essential-3TB-External-Hard-Drive-USB-30/product_912287WD® My Book® Essential™ 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.04.0132
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Product Details

Western Digital External Drive with USB 3.0 Connectivity - 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


Free up precious space on your hard drive with the My Book external storage drive by Western Digital. One TB of storage space provides ample room for your reports, presentations, and more. You can also conveniently stream media that's on the drive through your television. Thanks to the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connections, you'll have no trouble using the My Book drive with your existing devices and with any upgrades you acquire in the future. Fast data transfers and high-level encryption guarantee a rich streaming experience while keeping your files secure at all times.

Compact Design
At less than 3 lbs, the My Book Essential external drive's lightweight, compact body makes it a practical option for portable storag. With an included USB cable and plug-and-play software, this user-friendly drive is ready for use in minutes when paired with compatible operating systems. The drive has a sleek, upright design that takes up minimal space, making it easy to store on shelves and media desks.

High-Speed Data Transfer
Enjoy versatility with this hard drive's USB 2.0 and 3.0 capabilities. Depending on your computer, USB 3.0 can let it simultaneously read and write data up to three times faster than the 2.0 standard. Compatibility with both standards ensures that you can connect the external drive to a wide range of older and updated devices, allowing you to avoid costly upgrades.

Automatic Data Backup
Run the Western Digital SmartWare application once, and it automatically creates a backup of your files each time you add or alter data. It also lets you view virtual reports of file scans and backups, use diagnostics tools, and customize power settings. The built-in restore feature allows you to access mistakenly deleted files, so you'll never have to worry about losing important data.

Secure Storage
Avoid unauthorized access with secure encryption settings that protect private data. You can adjust security settings to fit your needs and add password protection for extra defense.

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


Compare with similar items

  • Windows Compatible
  • Mac Compatible

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
Western DigitalWD� My Book� Essential� 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0
 
4.2

(based on 132 reviews)

Ratings Distribution

  • 5 Stars

     

    (65)

  • 4 Stars

     

    (47)

  • 3 Stars

     

    (7)

  • 2 Stars

     

    (4)

  • 1 Stars

     

    (9)

88%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

  • Easy to set up (69)
  • Easy to use (68)
  • Large capacity / good size (68)
  • Quiet (57)
  • Compact (53)

Cons

  • Slow (11)
  • Unreliable (10)
  • No power switch (9)
  • Heavy / bulky (8)
  • Noisy (3)

Best Uses

  • Additional storage (65)
  • Back-up (62)
  • Photo storage (44)
  • Video (41)
  • File transfer (34)
    • Reviewer Profile:
    • Power user (44), Casual user (40), Midrange shopper (23), Budget shopper (17), High-end shopper (6)
    • Primary use:
    • Personal (100), Business (30)
    • Computer Platform:
    • PC (72), Mac (9), Other (3)
    • Was this a gift?:
    • No (4)

Most Helpful Positive Review

 

3TB Super Fast USB 3.0 for Great Price!

I couldn't pass this one up for such a low price at Staples. I am a astrophysicist and use the drive in relation to my work. I have had the 1TB My Book for ...Read complete review

I couldn't pass this one up for such a low price at Staples. I am a astrophysicist and use the drive in relation to my work. I have had the 1TB My Book for about 5 years and have never had a problem with it (got it at Staples too). In fact it once fell 3 feet to the floor in the middle of doing a backup and behaved as if nothing happened - went to the end of the backup without even a hiccup! That was part of the reason I decided to get this new 3TB version. If it's as well made as its predecessor (which is still going strong), I can look forward to many years of use. BTW, I use the drive with both Windows and Linux based computers. It's compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, so it works great with slower older computers while giving quicker backups of newer computers of higher internal storage capacity. Just one thing: if you use it with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or later, you must reformat it with the factory default formatting using the supplied software. If you do that, you won't be able to use it with Windows XP machines after you reformat it. But that is true of ALL drives greater than 2.5 TB. I'm keeping the old 1TB drive for use with my oldest XP machines.

VS

Most Helpful Negative Review

 

Good hardware - terrible software

The hardware appears to be working properly. The software is in one word terrible! After loading the initial version things appeared to be working properly, but I succumbed to the request to upgrade the...Read complete review

The hardware appears to be working properly. The software is in one word terrible! After loading the initial version things appeared to be working properly, but I succumbed to the request to upgrade the software. During this process by the way they attempt to lead you into purchasing things you don't need. After the upgrade the system failed. It would not back up anything. After a 40 minute discussion with the tech, we uninstalled everything and reinstalled. Now it works partially. That is it backed up if I selected individual files and folders but not if I tried to do a complete backup of my documents - the default option. After the backup of My Documents and several other folders the Retrieve function will NOT show me the files and folders in the My Documents folder although it does show the drop down file listing for other folders. All the files are on the external drive and I can just go there and follow the file tree to the file I am interested in and copy it back to my internal drive. So I have a work around, but cannot use their software to do it! Positive: It does appear to back up a file as soon as it is saved which is the main option I wanted and used to select this external drive.

WD response? Boilerplate garbage about upgrading a lot of other software on my computer. How can that explain that it opens some folders but not others.

The frustration in trying to start up such a routine device was far too much. I do not recommend this product.

Reviewed by 132 customers

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5/16/2013
 
5.0

Great Product!

By JoJo

from Levittown, NY

About Me Power user

Verified Buyer
This customer has reached Intern level on the Staples.com Leaderboard

Pros

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

Cons

  • Not To Pc Compatible

Best Uses

  • Backup

Comments about Western Digital WD� My Book� Essential� 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

While the setup was super easy, you really have to know how to format your drive in order to use this machine. Although it was intended to be MAC and PC compatible, it is much more MAC friendly than anything else. I tried several settings and reformat trials, but still, was only recognized on the PC as a device not a USB storage. It is, however, super responsive for all types of files. I transfered audio, image, psd, doc, and video files from six machines onto this drive and I stll have plenty of room to go. Movies load super quick too!

  • Primary use:
  • Business
  • Computer Platform:
  • Mac

Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Was this review helpful? Yes / No

 - You may also flag this review

Comment on this review(earn points)

5/16/2013
 
5.0

Excellecnt choice for storage

By Ash

from NC

About Me Power user

Verified Buyer

Pros

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

Cons

  • No Power Switch

Best Uses

  • Additional Storage
  • Backup
  • File Transfer
  • Photo Storage
  • Video

Comments about Western Digital WD� My Book� Essential� 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

I love this 3tb external hard drive! I have three of these and will purchase more! I use mine to store personal videos and photos, photos for my business and church videos. It is so much cheaper to store files on the 3tb hard drive than it is to try and burn everything to cd's or dvd's! It is also easier to keep up with the location of the files and is much easier to access them. You don't have to worry about losing or breaking a cd, dvd, or flash drive. And try and store 3tb worth of cd's! You will see how much since it makes to use the 3TB as it takes up so much less space. I highly recommend this product for personal and business use.

  • Primary use:
  • Business
  • Computer Platform:
  • PC

Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Was this review helpful? Yes / No

 - You may also flag this review

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5/16/2013
 
5.0

Does exactly what I needed.

By Kansas Voices

from Heartland of America.

About Me Power user

Verified Buyer

Pros

  • Compact
  • Easy To Set Up
  • Easy to use

Cons

    Best Uses

    • Additional Storage
    • Backup
    • File Transfer

    Comments about Western Digital WD� My Book� Essential� 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

    Thanks. I'll but another one.

    • Primary use:
    • Business
    • Computer Platform:
    • PC

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    Was this review helpful? Yes / No

     - You may also flag this review

    Comment on this review(earn points)

    4/20/2013
     
    5.0

    Good product for my needs

    By billwh87

    from Indiana

    About Me Casual user

    Verified Buyer
    This customer has reached Intern level on the Staples.com Leaderboard

    Pros

    • Easy to use
    • High Capacity
    • Quiet

    Cons

    • No Power Switch

    Best Uses

    • Additional Storage
    • Backup
    • File Transfer
    • Photo Storage
    • Video

    Comments about Western Digital WD� My Book� Essential� 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

    I bought this to use with my R6300 Netgear Router. This allows me to access my files from any computer in my home network.

    • Primary use:
    • Personal
    • Computer Platform:
    • PC

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    Was this review helpful? Yes / No

     - You may also flag this review

    Comment on this review(earn points)

    4/12/2013
     
    5.0

    Easy peasy

    By SpecialK

    from New York, NY

    About Me Budget Shopper

    Verified Buyer
    This customer has reached Intern level on the Staples.com Leaderboard

    Pros

    • Fast
    • Reliable

    Cons

      Best Uses

      • Professional

      Comments about Western Digital WD� My Book� Essential� 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0:

      Easy to set up & works on schedule.

      • Primary use:
      • Business

      Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

      Was this review helpful? Yes / No

       - You may also flag this review

      Comment on this review(earn points)

      Displaying reviews 1-5

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      Do you have questions about this product?(earn points for answers!)

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

      1 Question | 1 Answer
      Displaying question 1

      • Q:

        Does this power up with power adapter? I ask because it says no power adapter included.
        Asked on 12/19/2012 by Tony2k

        1 answer

        • CUSTOMER CARE

          A:

          Yes, the Western Digital My Book Essential 3TB External Hard Drive-USB 3.0 comes with an AC Adapter.

          Answered on 12/20/2012 by Tammy from Staples
      Displaying question 1

      Do you have a question about this product?