Western Digital 750GB My Book Essential Edition USB 2.0 External Hard Drive - WDH1U7500N

HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Picked it up as a backup/extra storage device. Installation was quick and easy. The suggested conversion to NTFS from FAT32 takes a few minutes but was easy to do with the help of Microsoft help. I can't hear the HD over my own breath unless I put my ear up to it. I haven't had it for very long so reliability over time is TBD but so far I like it a lot. FYI Actual usable space is about 700GB, which equates to around 175 DVDs worth of stuff.
 
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I did lots of research on externals before buying this WD. So far so good. Everyone I've asked recommends them and says that Maxtors are the worst for crashing.
 
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Was easy to install and use. Doesn't need any fancy software. Just format the hard drive and go. It is an okay value considering it is a Western Digital drive. Performance is acceptable. I would recommend this drive to anyone who just wants a simple to use storage device.
 
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Great price and looks nice. Tons of storage. I've had it about a month and haven't had any issues.
 
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This reliable external hard drive is easy to use and just the right size to store my many photos, graphics, and music files. With over 1,000 CDs digitized for my listening pleasure, I needed a big drive with a big heart. I plugged this external in, hooked it up to my computer, and away I went. It's especially nice because there are no conflicts with Vista. After experiencing the amazing blue screen of death on a number of occasions, it was obvious my former WD external hard drive was not compatible with my brand new computer and its sensitive operating system. Love, love, love this WD external hard drive. I just may get another.
 
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I recently began a three-year online college program. It will eventually involve 3D illustrations and animations, so I anticipate a need for a lot of storage space. This My Book 750GB was easy to install, easy to format the way I wanted, and sits there waiting for my files. I feel confident they will get there when I save them, load easy when I recall them and remain where I can find them on this quiet, reliable hunk of hard drive lovin!
 
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I have made many purchases through or from buy.com. Overall, I have been more than satisfied. This external was of a competative price (as many buy.com products seem to be) & I was most surprised that I received it after only 3 days...even on free super saver shipping. I am not sure this will always be the case, but I was pleasantly surprised. After nearly 3 weeks, it seems to be performing well. In my desire to be completely wireless, my searches have not found much in quality for the lower prices in wireless storage yet. This external's USB connections seem to be a little loose to me at both ends, but overall not a huge issue & performance thus far has been good. I hope this review helps you. Everyone's reviews are of important consideration to me when I am making my buy.com purchases! Happy shopping :-)
 
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The price was right, and the hard drive is nearly silent. I must admit, I was a little thrown off by the USB connection being a mini plug. But, there are more devices with mini plugs these days than the big, USB printer type connector. I've had the hard drive for a few weeks and no problems. Nearly silent, a blue light that stays lit when its on and moves back and forth when it's active. ANd, for the record, I've no problem with the 'no power switch' issue that some people have. If I don't use it, it turns off.. It only takes a few seconds to spin it up when you need it. Well worth the seconds to save the drive motor! Let's be honest, if you didn't have this feature, you'd forget to turn the drive off for long periods of time, or put it somewhere that was too hard to reach, etc.. It's a GOOD thing.
 
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The product was extremely easy to use and worked as advertised. I bought 2 to use as alternating backups for a small nonprofit I work for. They replaced tape backups that we outgrew. Both work perfectly, are small and portable.
 
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This is the 4ths WD Notebook drive I have purchsed. Works great with no problems right out of the box.
 
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I read all the reviews prior to purchase, so I knew to reformat to NTFS. I also deleted all the pre-loaded files. I'm running on VISTA and by the time I plugged in the USB and got back into my chair the drive was installed. So far no problems at all. I used the 5 day ground shipping. The drive arrived on the next day.
 
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Western Digital makes great drives, period. It's all I've used for 6+ years now. Its formated in Fat32 BECAUSE Fat32 is compatible with ALL machine formats. Mac, PS3's, etc. If your using it for windows XP and up, and have files bigger than 4gb, reformat as NTFS. C'mon, unless your just ripping entire DVD's or game ISO's and don't know about DIVX or how to make DIVX back to DVD, does it really matter to the common person? Are you backing up your whole system on this one drive? Not using a web service like carbon copy.. Not backing your pics up on DVD's? Don't think that anything is foolproof. Be smart and backup the things you really want on several platforms. All my pics and mp3's are on 3-4 drives at any time. Pics don't take up that much space. Also, you lose many GB's because of inventory striping of the drive, so 750GB will be about 695-700GB (don't remember at moment). This space is set aside for inventory allocations on the hard drive.. Don't get crazy when it's not exactly 750GB. Newbies gotta learn the ways of the digital world.. Calm down.. It's a ton of storage for little $ per GB. (Oh yeah, at least get rid of the software, just drag drop files. WD is helping offset costs by using this software on every drive.. Understandable, but you have the power to get rid of it. in My Computer, -right click- on the new drive letter, choose format, choose fat32 or NTFS (XP and up ONLY). If going to NTFS, do a FULL format, wait the 45+ min and it will transfer faster from then on.)
 
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Works great. I just wanted somewhere to store my photos. I'm sure the software is useful for some, but I didn't need it. Automatic download was annoying.
 
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Not the cheapest, but Western does have excellent quality. Could not be simpler to use, just plug it in.
 
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