|
User Reviews for
Western Digital My Book Essential Edition WDG1U5000 Hard Drive
|
|
No driver
|
|
Reviewed
November 6 2006 6:48:59 AM
13
out of
14
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
2
out of 5
Pros:
large harddrive |
|
|
|
| Cons:
no driver for Windows XP My harddrive worked fine for the first two weeks. Then it stopped working. My computer only recognizes it as an unknown USB device and tries to find a driver for it. I searched the manufacturers website and there is no driver for windows XP because it is a "plug n play" device. I have tried eveything, even restoring my entire computer. After a week with no success trying to solve this with tech support, they offered to replace my harddrive. I would replace my hard drive if I didn't have 300gigs of information on it. I have decided to keep it and one day find a way to fix it.
|
|
|
|
|
WD Passport 160GB
|
|
Reviewed
May 20 2007 3:25:29 AM
5
out of
6
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
2
out of 5
Pros:
Transportable hard drive |
|
|
|
Cons:
Quit working I also regret buying my WD Passport 160GB hard drive. Like the posters above, it worked for a few days but it now produces the error "Unknown USB Device." I have tried it on several XP machines with no luck. I cannot get to the data on my drive.
It has now become an expensive paperweight! The Western Digital site does not offer ANY help even though I am reading about the same problem so many people are having with their WD external hard drives.
|
|
|
|
|
Be careful of this. I regret buying it now
|
|
Reviewed
April 3 2007 8:15:53 AM
4
out of
4
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
2
out of 5
Pros:
look, size of unit and capacity |
|
|
|
| Cons:
no drivers available as is a so callled 'plug and play' My harddrive worked fine for the first week or so. It has loads of stuff on it now from the first round of back-ups (I backed up everything from 3 XP PCs and 1 Vista Notebook on my network). Then it stopped working. My computers only sees it as an unknown USB device and tries to find a driver for it and consequently won't install it. I searched the manufacturers website and there is no driver for windows XP or Vista because it is a "plug n play" device. I have tried eveything but can't get the thing to instal anymore. Still waiting for some support from WD as their web-support is hopeless.
|
|
|
|
|
Unreliable for data storage
|
|
Reviewed
May 8 2007 8:28:31 PM
3
out of
3
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
it's small & cute |
|
|
|
| Cons:
drive is destroyed if unplugged before shut down I've had my "My Book" a little over a month when it stopped working after a short power outtage. All of my other equipment works fine except for the "My Book" While troubleshooting on manufacturer support page I found a statement saying that if the the my book is unplugged before it safely shuts down it will need to be replaced. This is rediculous. I know of no other equipment that is ruined by power loss.
|
|
|
|
|
WD 160GB My Book Essential
|
|
Reviewed
July 20 2007 2:33:19 AM
2
out of
3
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
2
out of 5
Pros:
easy to use |
|
|
|
Cons:
not reliable I've had this hard drive for 6 months and it went out. I lost everything.
I tried and tried to get hold of Western Digital but they would only send automated responses.
|
|
|
|
|
Same problem for me.
|
|
Reviewed
June 12 2007 4:22:48 PM
2
out of
3
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
Ease of use when it worked. |
|
|
|
| Cons:
Driver errors...unreliable!!! I bought this thing through dell because my friend had the terabyte version (Which has worked correctly for 2 months.) and thought it was incredible for two weeks. Then it started getting the connection and driver errors regardless if I was using the firewire or the usb. It was so inconsistent...It would drop after 10 mins, 2 mins, 30 mins... but would always eventually drop. I sat on hold for 20 mins. with their customer service and then talked to them for 40 mins. They tried to help although they didn't have many viable answers. (There's a recall on the firewire cable they give you also by the way.) They surprisingly came accross very few people having this problem which is shocking because so many people in this forum alone have had this problem. I got forwarded to level 2 support and they acknowledged a problem but had no fix for me other than replacing the drive. I am within the 3 week return period for Dell and this is my first (very possibly last) western digital purchase. I just can't believe that they are not more familiar that they have created an inferior product. It is really obvious from these reviews. Mine is going back to dell and I will buy a product with a better user rating or make my own EXT-HD. I hope this review helps a lot of people. I'm sure a lot of people are really enjoying this product when it works but it's just too risky to spend $200 on it.
|
|
|
|
|
Bought it, and it stopped working 3 weeks later
|
|
Reviewed
July 19 2007 10:53:18 PM
1
out of
1
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
3
out of 5
Pros:
small, large capacity |
|
|
|
Cons:
quick failure I bought a My Book Essential 500 GB drive and loaded it full of my music collection and movies. Three weeks after that, I shut down my system to reboot for Windows patches and the drive never came back up. I tried everything including plugging it into a wall outlet by itself and it refused to come up. Since it had all my music and movies, I ripped the enclosure apart, extracted the drive and mounted it internally.
The problem was a power board within the enclosure and a chip was fried. I bought a second one just to see if it was inherent in the unit or a fluke. Three days and counting.
I would not recommend this storage unit. You can buy the USB unit and disks separately and at least have a unit that you can work on.
|
|
|
|
|
Get another device or build you own external drive
|
|
Reviewed
June 10 2007 12:24:13 PM
1
out of
1
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
Plug-n-Play...maybe not. |
|
|
|
| Cons:
unreliable Read the other reviews. It's a low quality device. If your willing to suffer the disconnects and drive failures, then get one. Otherwise, look at another vendor or simply build your own external drive by buying an enclosure and hard drive, putting them together, and your done. You don't need all the crap software that comes with this device,because your operating system or security software most likely already has it included. Or you can download free software for backups. Most of you are using Windows, but anyone should be able to go to your operating systems web site and search for 'backup'. This device has a nice package, but you can't sprinkle crap with confectioners sugar and expect it to be something else.
|
|
|
|
|
Cords and cables galore - otherwise great
|
|
Reviewed
January 20 2007 7:21:37 PM
1
out of
1
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
4
out of 5
Pros:
Small footprint, quiet, no drivers needed - plug n play |
|
|
|
Cons:
loads google crap on your computer, do the USB and power cables have to be so stiff? and it occasionally disconnects itself for no reason The usb and power cable that come with it are so stiff and/or bulky that they are a hassle to cart around. I was hoping for a little more ease in portability - but it works, and I didnt have to massage XP or the unit to get it to find the drive.
Don't install the google software - it's a resource hog.
Easy to use - like using a USB flash drive but bigger. No problems there. You shouldnt need any drivers.
Once in awhile - it just will turn itself off and disconnect - maybe it's supposed to do that? I don't know - I suppose it would help if I'd read the manual :)
|
|
|
|
|
Computer will stop recognizing the Drive in Vista!
|
|
Reviewed
March 3 2008 11:04:15 PM
0
out of
0
users found this recommendation helpful.
|
|
Ratings:
2
out of 5
Pros:
Worked great for about a week. |
|
|
|
| Cons:
Suddenly no driver for the product on my Computer. Bought the External Hard Drive for almost 300 bucks, worked great for a week, then would not show on my Computer, looked for driver on my computer and it was gone. Went to WD website and no Drivers have been made for Vista as of yet. I don't even know if they plan on making any Drivers for Vista as when I called them I was told no external drivers are needed, that the Book works great with Vista. I really don't agree. I did a system restore and that worked three times but not now. I had some baby pics on there I hadn't backed up yet. I am mad. I feel very ripped off. I don't suggest anyone buying this product until this issue is resolved.
|
|
|
|