WD My Book For Mac 2TB Desktop External Hard Drive

Pros: Lots of space, worked for 6 months

Cons: Micro USB SMD connector broke off after 6 months, making the unit unusable.

Pros: Idiot proof. Format from computer management before use. Manufacturer firmware prevents you from ever bricking the USB components necessary for comm between PC or Apple. Since I purchased this in 2011 (now 2013) I have disconnected the power via cable no less than a bajillion times; with no fail.

Cons: I have a corner unit desk, the power supply cable could stand to be another foot and a half or 2' longer. But no reason to knock off any eggs just because I have a large work station.

Other Thoughts: I bought 2. I keep one in a fireproof safe, and use the one to pass around several different work stations. Never ran into any issues, it has fallen from standing upright to its side several times while on without resulting in any issues. Very durable, solid piece of equipment.

Pros: Easy and intuitive. Worked when connected first time and every time since.

Cons: No issues

Pros: -

Cons: do not pull the power cord on these drives or expect them to survive any kind of power outage.

mine was brand new, working great - i had filled up about 200GB or so... then after a power outage - i accidentally switched off the surge protector it was attached to - it wouldn't spin up again.

i got the drive out of it, attached to my own sata cable and power supply and the exact same thing - a series of whirring sounds; as if the drive was trying to spin up - and then nothing.

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the device. Western Digital recommends that the drive's power supply is connected through a surge protector. In the case of a power surge, or brown/black out, the hard drive's sensitive electrical components will not be damaged. We would appreciate the opportunity to further assist you, and resolve any further concerns you may have with the device and/or your experience. You may contact us at 1 (800) 275-4932, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/rs/. Please indicate within the online case creation or with the first support agent you speak with, that you are responding to a NewEgg review, so we route you and your information to the correct team members.

Pros: -2TB for a decent price
-Nice form factor / aesthetics
-Capacity gague on front of drive is... shiny

Cons: -ROOTKIT / "Smartware" cannot be uninstalled from the drive, you can't get that space back (it's at least a couple hundred). Every time the drive is plugged in, a virtual CD-ROM drive appears with all of the smartware software. To fix this, you have to patch the firmware of the drive with a software fix from WD. This is fine, except that (1) it only works on win/mac, and (2) it doesn't ACTUALLY change the behavior of the drive, it just masks the rootkit. So that little piece of code is STILL on the drive and the missing storage space is STILL missing.

Other Thoughts: This drive is fine for someone who knows nothing about computers and who needs a drive for backup. If you have any knowledge of computers and/or want to use your drive for something other than backup, don't buy this. If you want something with a WD platter, go buy a Western Digital Elements. It's cheaper and doesn't come with the rootkit/smartware/bloatware.

I bought this drive at a brick & mortar, but returned it and am buying the Elements here on Newegg