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Manufacturer Warranty
Beyond any applicable Newegg return policy, this item is warranted independently by the product's Manufacturer. Below is a summary provided for convenience only and may not be accurate or current.
Use this link for full details.
- Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (parts): 1 year
- Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (labor): 1 year
Manufacturer Contact Info
Return Policies
This item is covered by Newegg.com's Standard Return Policy.
- Return for refund within: 30 days
- Return for replacement within: 30 days
- Restocking Fee: Yes
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The Western Digital My Book Essential is a clear leader in the race for the peak of external desktop drives. Its 500 GB drive runs at 7200 RPM with up to 100 MB/s transfer rates. Its breakthrough 16 MB cache makes this hard drive suitable for high-performance home and business computing, as it can handle both data-intensive applications and high-end multimedia applications. It offers average latency of 4.2 ms with an average seek time of only 8.9ms; and average write time of 10.9ms, resulting in both greater efficiency and safer data transfer.
This hard drive is shipped with free Google software, which catalogs each and every file in your computer for helping you locate it as and when needed. Using this software you can very easily manage your photos. Think of this as the ultimate answer to all those boxes of photos and slides!
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- 5
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- 56%
- 4
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- 16%
- 3
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- 6%
- 2
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- 8%
- 1
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- 14%
| Product Rating: |
 
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| Total Reviews: |
376 |
Pretty good
- Pros: Good looking enclosure.
Basically silent.
Turns on and off automatically with windows.
Plenty of space.
Doesn't seem to overheat at all.
- Cons: Seems a little slow. Not ultra-slow, but when copying large files it seems to take somewhat noticeably longer than my previous external drive.
The drive inside turns off after a period of idleness which causes a delay when accessing it again.
- Other Thoughts: Comes pre-formatted to FAT32 for compatablity. If you're running Windows XP converting it to NTFS is reccomended and doesn't take much effort. Control Panel > Admin Tools > Computer Managment > Storage > Disk Managment. Right click the drive and format. Due to it's size, I'd recommend a quick format. All the full format does is search for bad sectors on the disk and recover/disable them.
I'll probably buy another of these for its looks and quietness when I need more storage.
100% satisfaction
- Pros: Works as advertised, truly "plug-n-play" - no drivers to load, nothing to mess around with. XP recognizes it off the bat and you're good to go. Linux Defender mounted it no problem, BartPE picks it up too (great for a recepticle in data recovery). Power cord is longer than average, plus the plug is standard size (the adapter is inline) so it doesn't hog up a bunch of space at the outlet. The auto on/off works with both my laptop and tower. It's much smaller than I expected from the photos, about as tall as a dollar bill. Runs very quiet and cool - after 2.5hrs of nonstop data transfer it was barely warm. My mp3's don't 'skip' when I play them from the drive (like one reviewer noted). I'm only using this drive as backup, but wanted to try it anyway. Maybe he's only using usb1? Maybe try defragging?
USB2 is great. My tower didn't have USB2, so I bought one of these http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16815124002 at the same time and still spent less than what
- Cons: The drive worked initially, but then suddenly and seemingly without reason stopped working. XP would only recognize a "USB Device" and then launch the driver wizard. XP SP2 had no driver for it, and neither did WD's site (that I could find). I did an internet search and found a posting where someone had my exact problem, called WD and was told to plug it into the wall directly. BINGO! As soon as I did that it was recognized again; and come to think of it I *had* plugged more stuff into that power strip when the drive quit working. I experimented a bit, and I could reproduce the problem by plugging it into a power strip with lots of other devices, and the problem went away as soon as I plugged it in by itself or on a less crowded power strip. I hope the other reviewers that had this problem had a chance to try this before returning a perfectly good drive.
- Other Thoughts: There is some "spin-up" time once you access the drive after a period of inactivity, but it's not all that bad. I found some software on WD's site that lets you customize this drive (front button operation, time to spin-down, etc...). The included Google software is nothing to write home about. Had to format to NTFS, but that's no big deal - takes less than a minute (WD has a walkthrough for this in the support documentation if you don't know how to do it).
Overall a fantastic purchase - I will be buying more. Kinda bummed that newegg dropped the price 2 days after I bought this one.
| Model | WDG1U5000N |
| Interface | USB 2.0 |
| Capacity | 500GB |
| RPM | 7200 RPM |
| Form Factor | 3.5" |
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- 5
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- 56%
- 4
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- 16%
- 3
-
- 6%
- 2
-
- 8%
- 1
-
- 14%
| Product Rating: |
|
| Total Reviews: |
376 |
Buy with Caution!
- Pros: Lots of storage space. Quiet.
- Cons: Short lifespan.
- Other Thoughts: It works great... when it works. I have used this product as file storage for pictures and documents for about a year and a half. Then one day it got very hot and died. This seems to be a common thing with this product.
good but...
- Pros: Yeah it works for simple storage device.
- Cons: Don't use as a back up system. This uses FAT32. This is the equivalent of 4G on NTFS system. I couldn't back up after restoring win xp sp3 install... just wouldn't fit.
Cheap drive with a short lifespan
- Pros: Inexpensive and relatively quick for transferring data.
- Cons: Drive failed a few months after the warranty expired. I've purchased a number of external hard drives and unfortunately this drive was one of the shortest lived. Considering comparable costs from its competitors, it has the shortest warranty (Maxtor and Seagate both have a 5 year warranty on their drives). It also has a tendency to get very warm while running.
- Other Thoughts: If you're considering this drive, I'd recommend investigating other manufacturers with a longer warranty. There is nothing this drive does that others don't do just as well and at the same speed. The included software was nothing to write home about. Consequently, you're better off with another manufacturer who'll at least stand behind their product for a longer period of time.
| Model |
| Brand |
Western Digital |
| Series |
My Book Essential |
| Model |
WDG1U5000N |
| Performance |
| Interface |
USB 2.0 |
| Capacity |
500GB |
| Cache |
16MB |
| RPM |
7200 RPM |
| Average Seek Time |
8.9ms |
| Physical Spec |
| Form Factor |
3.5" |
| Dimensions |
6.7" x 5.6" x 2.3" |
| Weight |
2.9 lbs. |
| Features |
| Features |
Easy to set up, easy to use -- This drive is all about simplicity. Plug it into your computer’s USB 2.0 port and start saving.
Intelligent drive management features — The My Book drive turns itself on and off with your computer
Smart design — The elegant case, iconic of a book, takes up less space on your desk, stacks horizontally, and allows two or more drives to stand neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
High quality hard drive — Inside the case is an exceptionally fast, ultra quiet, cool-running hard drive from Western Digital.
Free Google software — Search your drive, manage your photos, and simplify Web searches with included Google software. |
| Packaging |
| Package Contents |
500GB External Hard Drive
1 x USB Cable
Power Adapter and Power Cord |
| Manufacturer Warranty |
| Parts |
1 year limited |
| Labor |
1 year limited |
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Reviewed By: Tubgirl Photographer on 12/9/2006
Tech Level: high - Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
