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Western Digital 500 GB My Book Essential 2.0 - USB 2.0 External Hard Drive WDH1U5000N

Western Digital 500 GB My Book Essential 2.0 - USB 2.0 External Hard Drive WDH1U5000N


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Brand: Western Digital
Category: CE

List Price: $169.99
Buy New: $108.99
You Save: $61.00 (36%)



Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 65 reviews
Sales Rank: 55

Media: Personal Computers
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Hard Drive Size: 500
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 2.1 x 6.5
nv:Capacity (GB): 500
Interface: USB 2.0
Spindle Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Memory: 16MB
Average Seek (msec): <8.9
Track-to-Track Seek Time (typical read, ms): 2.0
Data Transfer Rate on USB 2.0: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Temperature, Operating (C): 5 to 35
Temperature, Nonoperating (C): -40 to 65
Warranty: 1 year warranty

MPN: WDH1U5000N
Model: WDH1U5000N
UPC: 718037120805
EAN: 0718037120805
ASIN: B000XRK3LG

Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on qualifying items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Features:
  • Includes - External hard drive, USB cable, AC adapter and Quick Install Guide
  • Smart and energy efficient - Turns itself on and off with your computer
  • Saving and organizing your digital photo collection
  • USB 2.0 Serial Bus Transfer Rate - 480 Mbits/s
  • System Requirements - Available USB port, Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
This elegant external hard drive, reminiscent of a book, is the perfect storage solution. It takes no more space than a paperback book. Collect two or more and they nest neatly together like volumes on a shelf. Installation is a snap because you don't really install this drive, you just plug it in and it's ready to use. A USB 2.0 simple connection offers convenience and compatibility among multiple computers. Dimensions - Height 6.5 x Length 5.4 x Width 2.1 Weight - 2.5 Pounds


Customer Reviews:   Read 60 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Good value - no problems - very quiet   July 18, 2008
M. Martin (NJ)
My college-age son recommended this - he already had an earlier version. No suprises - holds plenty of info, including back ups of my son's backups... He took care of partitioning with some FAT and some NTFS sections, the later preferred by Windows OneCare (which is another story altogether and now uninstalled!) It is very quiet - unlike an earlier backup drive that sounded like an airplane taking off. With this one I never even notice it's there. Looks good, works good -- go for it!


1 out of 5 stars Failed at 14 months-I would not buy again.   July 17, 2008
mark twain
Failed after 14 months just like other reviews. Failed drive would power up but computers could not recognize it. Lost some data between dvd backups, but I was lucky to not lose more.

Unfortunately I still have WD 500G and a WD 250 gig that are working fine. Given my 500G HD failed and other reviewers did too at about same duration and purchase date, I suspect a design flaw. I can not assume my Western Digital drives are reliable. I now can use them only in tandem and then solely to back up primary data on laptop on two external drives. Even WD is unlikly to fail in 2 external drives at once.

I do not plan to buy another western digital product when these fail.



1 out of 5 stars FAIL.   July 15, 2008
B. J. West (San Francisco, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I bought two of these two years ago for a video editing project, and both of them have been nothing but trouble. One of them has completely died and refuses to mount no matter what I try, and the other is threatening to follow. They both freqeuently gave me write errors, and I could never get them to mount via firewire at all. Spend a little more money and get something more reliable.


5 out of 5 stars works great so far   July 11, 2008
Andrew M. Kennedy
2nd one of these that I have gotten, works and looks great , I use it with a MAC, and it is quiet


1 out of 5 stars Horribly Slow with Vista   July 10, 2008
Arthur P. Haviland Jr. (Tampa Bay, Florida)
I bought the 500 GB My Book at Best Buy for $99 and expected it to perform like my older IO Gear external drive. I was horribly disappointed. While Vista recognized the drive immediately, it took over an hour to copy a 10 GB folder using a USB 2 connection. That's simply unacceptable. I should have checked the other reviews here and at Cnet to see how bad this drive is. I have had several WD drives in computers over the years and never expected them to produce a product that would perform so poorly. My advice would be to pay a little more for another drive.

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