- Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility
- Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0
- Automatic, continuous backup
- Password protection and 256 bit AES hardware encryption
- Power Requirements AC: 100-240VAC, 47-63Hz
First the good stuff -
It is a nice fast drive. HDTune showed and average speed around 90-100MB/s when connected to a USB3 port on my Lenovo W510 laptop. That is why I bought the thing, and it works well. I had NO trouble accessing the drive (but then I reformatted it completely and did not see any issues with the CD partition etc..).
Note: I needed to update the USB3 drivers on my W510 to get it to be recognized consistently by Windows 7. That is likely an issue with the Win7 NEC USB3 drivers preinstalled on my Lenovo, and nothing to do with the WD drive.
Now the awful part:
After about 4 months of usage, the USB3 female connector in the cabinet came loose and was stuck to the USB3 cable when I removed it!
I have owned close to ten different WD external USB drives from ~320GB and up to 2TB drives. I have *never* had any such issue with any previous drive (my only real gripe has been the fickleness of the tiny USB connector which often doesn't need much in the way of movement to cause the machine to lose contact with the drive rather annoying).
Inspecting the board where the connector was it seems that on this drive, it is just soldered straight on with 5-6 soldering points NONE of which go through the board. This is quite unlike their 2TB USB2 My Book where the tiny USB2 connector is supported by two plastic studs that go through the PCB board. And the power connector on both USB2 and USB3 is soldered with pins going though the board and an additional thicker plastic stud.
So if you intend to stick the cable in there and leave the thing stationary you will most likely not have this problem.
HOWEVER if you do any amount of plugging it in and out, you must use EXTREME CAUTION or you will most likely break off the connector at some point.
The shop I bought it from had one raving review when I bought it from them but when I went back after my problem, there were 7-8 other people with the exact same problem.
So it definitely looks like a terrible design which should never have been implemented, and can not have gone through any kind of real world testing. I am quite frankly disgusted at the QA process that let something like this go into the retail chain.
BUYER BEWARE!
If you google WD MY BOOK USB3 BROKEN CONNECTOR or similar, you should find people both on TomsHardware and on Western Digitals own community who have experienced this.
---
Be aware that if a hard drive fails, you will most likely not get any help/compensation for your data. They will at most replace the defective unit with a new one. Make sure you have multiple backups.
And I can't really say I disagree with that policy.
The problem here however, is that Western Digital has clearly designed a product which has an extremely weak point and I hope they will show the corporate responsibility to fix the design and offer to replace the drives. The quality of that connector is quite UNACCEPTABLE and I will surely never buy anything like it again. And I have been very happy with my earlier WD purchases :(
Western Digital: I am looking forward to hearing your response to this post. Show us that you care about your customers.
Buy WD My Book 3TB External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 File Backup and Storage Now
There are 2TB drives out there for less money and if all you need is a huge space, you might consider one of those. The value added in this package is the backup software that is bundled with the drive (actually, delivered right on the drive).WD Smartware is a backup/restore suite that, once installed, boots with your machine. If the MyBook is attached via your USB port, it will constantly monitor activity and make backups accordingly in the background in near real time without any action on your part. It also maintains multiple generations of files (you choose how many), so you can go back to, say, three versions ago if you need to recover a spreadsheet or other data file.
You can also use it on multiple computers. Backups are stored under folders with the same name as the PC they're created on.
I tested on a Win XP Pro laptop and a Win7 laptop and detected no system slowdowns at all. Every now and then the activity light on the drive would flicker; otherwise the backup operations were not noticeable. The drive itself is completely silent.
INSTALLATION
Strongly consider copying the software included on the drive to a CD before you do anything. I can envision situations where you might want to delete everything off the MyBook and if you do that, you'll no longer have the software to install on another machine (the manual has instructions about where to look for it online).
Plug in the power supply, then connect the MyBook to a USB port on your computer, then turn on your computer if it's not on already. The MyBook will not power up until it is connected to a USB port on a running computer, which is actually handy if you turn that computer off, the MyBook turns off with it, then comes back up when you power the computer back up.
My Win7 machine saw the drive quickly but complained that the drivers could not be installed. The drive worked fine, though I was able to create folders, copy stuff to it, and delete stuff from it using Windows Explorer.
My XP machine saw the MyBook and started the Found New Hardware wiz. It asked if it could connect to Windows Update to look for drivers. The drive wasn't showing in Windows Explorer, so I said yes. After a long search for "WD SES Device USB Device," it found and installed what it needed to and the balloon said my new hardware was installed and ready to use.
I then installed the software (all of it) on both machines without incident, by running the WD SmartWare executable included on the drive (blue icon). On installation, I was prompted to perform my first backup, so I did. When I was through with both machines I had two presumably complete backups on the MyBook, one for each machine. For each PC you're supporting with the MyBook, this first backup is your baseline and changes to it will be tracked from that point on.
NOTE: these are not drive images. As nearly as I can tell, WD SmartWare doesn't support creating drive images or recovery boot discs, so you'll need to rely on other tools to create things like that if desired. I didn't see this as a flaw since this isn't sold as a system recovery utility. It will save your rear end if you blow a file or folder, but if your whole machine dies you have lots of other problems to solve before you start worrying about individual files. Of course it's a great location to store drive images, but be aware that the software isn't designed to create them.
I am regularly prompted that a software upgrade is available for the MyBook. Like another reviewer, I found that the installation program complains about additional USB devices being connected no matter whether any are connected or not. The drive works well so I just dismiss prompts to upgrade. Maybe I'll struggle with that later, or maybe not.
OPERATION
It just works. I disconnected the MyBook and then edited files, created new files, and deleted existing files on both my XP and Win7 machines. Then I connected the MyBook to each machine in turn. On both machines, a couple of minutes after connecting the MyBook, the new files appeared in the backup and edited versions (2nd generations) appeared in the backup without my doing anything. Deleted files (I had really deleted them, not sent them to the Recycle Bin) were still there in the backup.
Multiple generations and retention of deleted files is a good thing, but it is also going to cause bloat after time on machines that are heavily used. I can see needing to do housekeeping every so often, getting all my machines to a stable point, cleaning off the MyBook entirely, and then starting over with a fresh backup/baseline of each computer.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
This would ideally be connected to a desktop computer and just sit there quietly doing its job. I have three laptops and no longer have a desktop, so for me the advantage of virtually instantaneous file-by-file backup without having to think about it just isn't there because I don't want to be tethered to the MyBook all the time. I will have to remember to connect the MyBook to each laptop periodically to sync the changes on the laptop with the MyBook, but that's not that hard and it's a huge enhancement to the once-a-month (er, maybe) drive image I do now. I need to get off the couch occasionally anyway.
SUMMARY
This is a very well executed software/hardware bundle for those who want to maintain file backups without having to actually do anything this thing is pure autopilot, and getting back some lost or damaged file that you update infrequently (your will? your online account/password list? your resume?) won't require a complete system restore, which is usually a disaster even if it's actually successful! I'd say it would be of the most benefit to folks who have one computer, or those whose most volatile (data-wise) computer is a desktop that they can attach the MyBook to and just let it quietly do its job, but I am having no problem putting it to use on my primary laptop.
Read Best Reviews of WD My Book 3TB External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 File Backup and Storage Here
I have six of these drives. I have had no serious problems to date, the oldest I've owned for about four months now. I will return to edit this review should a drive fail in the future.UPDATE: I wrote the above in October 2011. Writing now in October 2012, I now have eight of these drives. No problems to date.
Here is my recommendation for how to set up the drive, out of the box. I've done this a bunch of times now, so I'm getting routine at it, and thought I'd write it out for others.
Some caveats, for what it might be worth:
--I am running Windows 7 64-bit.
--I use both 3.0 and 2.0 connectivity, depending on the computer I hook these up to.
--I have no use for the included backup software, so I can't speak to that. If you are buying this for the backup software, skip this review, because I'm going to be describing how to setup the drive by wiping that stuff off.
--I use these drives primary as HD media storage, accessing them directly through USB, or over ethernet, with my Dune Smart D1 media player.
--My media player initially had trouble "seeing" this drive until I figured out the sequence below:
Setup:
--Out of the box, plug the power in, and then connect the drive to your computer with the provided USB cable. For what we are doing, it makes no difference if you have a 3.0 or 2.0 USB port on your computer, the drive works fine in both.
--Your computer will begin to automatically install 3 drivers, and will almost certainly fail to install one of them. This is the "SES driver." Don't worry about this at all. We will get to that in the next step. Now, if this is your second (or sixth!) drive that you have purchased, it won't fail on installing that third driver, because you'll have done the following steps already, and your computer WILL already have the SES driver installed :)
--Take a breath. All you should have done up to now is plug in and sit back. Your computer may have put up an AutoRun message about what to do with the new drive. If so, just close that message box, "X" it out. The drive should now be showing up on your computer. You could start using it right now, absolutely. But we have some more work to do, in order to have a real clean start with this drive. The manual says that you need to install all the bloatware that comes with this drive in order to get the SES driver on. Happily, this is not true. What you now need to decide is whether you want to bother with the SES driver. If you install it, things will go more smoothly every time you plug it into the computer that has that driver. The computer will recognize the drive right away, and there will be no error messages. If you don't install the SES driver, you will have to put up with the minor irritation of having to sit there a few seconds every time you plug it in and have it re-recognize the two drivers that it will successfully install, and hit the error on the SES driver not being found. For me, this is enough of an irritation that I install the SES driver. But you absolutely do NOT have to, if you don't mind putting up with those few extra seconds on every plug-in. Your call. If you want the SES driver installed, follow the next step. If you don't, skip it and NO harm done.
--I don't want to sit there for a slow driver install every time I plug these things in, that is not the way to go for me. So I install the SES driver. BUT, I am not going to put the WD bloatware on my machine. And I don't have to. The SES driver is available as an automatic OPTIONAL download from Windows Update. So you need to launch Windows update from your computer, and you need to re-check for the latest updates, to refresh the list. Now that you have plugged in this new drive, you will find among the OPTIONAL Windows updates an SES driver listed. Install this update in the usual way. I don't think you need a reboot, but then it never hurts. So after downloading and installing the update, remove your new drive from your computer, the usual safe way, by "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" :) Reboot. Now plug your new drive back in again. You should find it is discovered just a bit quicker now, and with no driver error. Great.
--Alright, now we need to clean up the drive itself. I want a clean, formatted drive. But I want it done the right way, and these new 3TB drives are an issue. Has to do with the way they allocate chunks of memory. You can't just format them the normal Windows way. Well, you can, but then you are going to end up with less than 3TB for a partition. Not what we want. The good news: WD has just the software to get you formatted right. The bad news: they put the software on the drive itself. Well okay, this is actually good news too, one less CD or DVD to deal with. BUT. I don't want to KEEP that software on my drive, I just want to use it for a sec. It couldn't be simpler. What you need to do is simply copy the files and folders that come shipped on the drive itself onto a temporary folder on your computer. Copy them all. You will only use one, but it relies on some of the others, so copy them all together. Once you have them copied onto the temp folder, go to that temporary folder and double-click the "WD Quick Formatter.exe" file. Why can't you just run this program from the file that is on the drive itself? You are going to be formatting that drive, and it can't do that and read a file from itself of course. You'll get a "can't perform action" error, the "drive is in use." So you copy the files and folders over, make sure the new hard drive is plugged in, and then run the "WD Quick Formatter.exe" file from the temp folder.
--The formatting process is pretty quick, should take just a minute or two. One key thing: you will be asked: "Factory default" formatting, or "XP compatible" formatting. "XP compatible" is the default choice. For me, I found this screwed things up. This was the reason my media player wasn't recognizing the drive. When formatting "factory default," I have had no problems. I would recommend you select this option.
Done. You now have a pristine, clean drive, formatted the correct way to take advantage of the 3TB. I would save those files and folders you copied over, by the way. If you ever want to reformat again, it is going to be a hassle without them, and super-easy with them. Keep them on your main computer, tucked away somewhere they won't bother you until your moment of need. If you don't keep them and need to reformat someday, you are going to have to go to the WD website, find and download them.
A few more words.
The "WD Quick Formatter.exe" is what you want. It is nowhere mentioned in the manual or the WD website, best I can tell. Bizarre. By all means, you do NOT want to run "WD SmartWare.exe." Unless of course you want all that stuff on your computer.
Some of the other reviews suggest that there is a hidden partition on this, where the WD software resides. Not so. The drive ships with just one single partition, as the manual claims. Check yourself on Control Panel-->Administrative Tools-->Computer Management-->Storage-->Disk Management. The software sits right there on the drive, in plain site. Four folders and two executable files.
The drive is 2.72TB for real, not 3.00TB. No truth in advertising, it turns out. And again, no that "missing" space is not some hidden partition ;)
The reviews about the fragile usb connection, the little tiny one that goes into the drive itself, are correct! It is flimsy, and it won't put up with any jiggling. You can't sit this drive somewhere where it could get brushed up against or moved. The slightest jostle and it loses the connection. Even if for a moment, this kills a large file transfer of course. What a pain. Four stars instead of five because of this. I don't keep them where they can get moved, so not really an issue. But if they were positioned in that sort of way, this would have to be a one star review. Truly lousy connection. Up to you depending on where you will situate the drive whether this is a non-issue or a huge issue.
Want WD My Book 3TB External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 File Backup and Storage Discount?
Setting up the drive was very easy and it worked great for 2 weeks. The unit died after 14 days and western digital only sends used units out for replacement. Easier and safer to just destroy the unit instead of taking the chance of returnig to the store and sending it back to the factory. One only knows how many people have access to these units but I do not think it is worth the risk of someone, somehow getting the data off the drive. Not worth the risk of identify theft as I have tax information on the drive.Update, I took the drive out of the case and installed in another external case (Not western digital). Cost $12. The hard drive works perfect. The control board in the old case appears burnt. Wonder it did not destroy my computer. I think from all the bad posts that Western Digital has got a bunch of bad control boards.
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