WD My Book Essential 1TB USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive WDH1U10000N

Pros: 1TB drive for a person who had a 10MB drive is awesome. Package size is convenient and easy on the desktop. Price paid was excellent at Newegg.

Cons: A bit slow for backup but it works. If anything I find it too quiet -- can't tell if it is doing something or not.

Overall Review: Drive died on me after two months. Vista did not recognize it at all. WD provided excellent email support. A new drive was shipped to me before I had to return the old one. New drive appears to be working well. I did lose my backup on the old drive but have since done a complete backup to DVD and to the WD drive. Should have done that in the first place for the stuff that was important. Just wanted to commend WD for their response -- they have been criticized in other posts.

Pros: Really great looking enclosure. LED on the drive isn't too bright. The enclosure circulates air well.

Cons: Not really a con, but for people who don't understand how drive sizing works: this drive will come at around 931GB, not a full 1,000GB. While the enclosure looks fantastic, it's a dust and fingerprint magnet. I would have liked to see a cleaning cloth included (either in with the HDD or in with the WD TV I bought).

Overall Review: Can't wait to use this with the WD TV that I just purchased!

Pros: I needed another drive as my storage space for my collection of HD Dish TV, movies and other video was running out of space. Since I had this drive on hand, I thought I'd give it a try even though Dish says there is a limit of 750GB on the approved hard disk size. This drive has been going great ever since I added it to the other 3 drives on the USB hub. It plays, transfers, and deletes videos at an excellent transfer rate. I have had no major problems with it at all and installation is as simple as plugging it in to the hub and a power outlet.

Cons: none

Overall Review: I have the same model drive on one of my desktops and it is just as good a drive for general computer backups and running applications that only get used once in awhile so you do not have to use the main drive on your computer to store them on.

Pros: Lots of space, quiet, eco friendly, runs cool, looks sexy, turns off and on with computer. I've had the 1TB for over and month and two 750GB for about 6 months and all work great! The stand by function is a pro and a con...The pros are it's eco friendly, keeps the drive cool when not in use and saves wear and tear overall (depending on how often you access the drive)

Cons: Like I said, the stand by function is also a con. It goes into standby after about 10 min. I wish you had an option to set it higher, like 30-45 min. It does take a few seconds to come out of stand by when you try to access it.

Overall Review: I've heard a lot of criticism about how the HDD drive suffers from the same amount of wear when coming out of stand by as it does if you leave it running constantly for X amount of hours. To my knowledge this is strictly a myth. If somebody can provide me with reliable evidence otherwise, I'd love to see it. The drive comes formatted in FAT32 for a reason. FAT32 is a more compatible file system. It works on newer versions of windows, older versions of windows and Mac's OS. I suggest formatting in NTFS if your OS supports it though.

Pros: The drive works perfectly and does exactly what I wanted it to, which is to give me a MASSIVE amount of storage space.

Cons: My system will not boot up if the drive is plugged in. Fortunately, I have a hopped up surge protector that has switches for each plug, so I can switch the drive on an off as needed. There was no option in my mobo's BIOS to disable booting from USB devices.

Overall Review: This is a good drive, but you should check your mobo's BIOS BEFORE you buy it so that you can see if you can disable booting from USB devices there. if you can, then this is a good deal. If you can't, or there is no option for it (as in my case), then be prepared to unplug the drive when you power down or restart your system.

Pros: I was hesitant to buy it at first cause I wasn't sure how reliable it is. Works great and looks awesome. No problems so far (had for about week and performs flawlessly).

Cons: No power button, but honestly not even an issue for me.

Overall Review: Saw the other ratings for it and was hesitant to buy. Glad I did. Have to read carefully for what you want. Some reviewers on products can be nit-picky for stupid reasons that dont even matter.

Pros: Fast, Plug and Play, Windows recognized it instantly. Very compact for a 1 Tb. No on/off switch but not needed as HD spins down when not in use, and shuts off when system is shut down. Excellent price

Cons: First drive was defective; however I received fast efficient service from Newegg (RMA-Exchange). Comes formatted in Fat32, and has some (IMHO) worthless "trial" software loaded on the drive.

Overall Review: WD suggests "if" the consumer wants to switch to NTFS, to simply use "quick format" (WD KB ID #107 support.wdc.com). Quick Format took less than 60 seconds, thorough takes about 6-7 hours.

Pros: Wonderfully fast for USB 2.0 and is about 930GB as expected by anyone with hard drive knowledge. Works without issue.

Cons: Reformat to NTFS immediately. Comes as FAT32. One-time issue so not worth losing an egg. No power button. I prefer the old ones having the power button, but no big loss.

Overall Review: Works as promised and without issue. Can't ask for more.