WD My Book Essential 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

This drive is working great. I probably didn't have any problems with this drive since I am an IT guy. I would recommend doing a search on Google for the "WD Smartware Download" and upgrading that first thing. That is what I did. You then have the option to turn off Smartware software which renders the ability to back up the standard important directories on your computer or to encrypt the drive. Once you turn that off then the virtural drive that gets created every time you plug it in does not appear any more. But you can still change other drive settings like turning off the drive hibernation where it goes into sleep mode. If you turn on and decide to use the Smartware's backup software then it doesn't appear that you can choose specific directories to back up. That shouldn't be a problem since this can be done with Windows Backup [...]. I had a special use for this drive and had to format the entire 1TB drive to FAT32 (don't ask why) with EASEUS Partition Master freeware. Hope this info might help some of you.

While this drive may work just fine in many circumstances, apparently it has known issues. I have existing multiple drives, and there are local drives that have been assigned the letters following my CD/DVD drives (CD/DVD drives designated as E and F) and other local drives already designated as G, H, and I that I want (and need) to remain as they are currently designated, which means I have a problem that Western Digital technical support has no solution for other than removing my other (G,H,I) drives and/or changing their letter designations so that there is an "empty" letter following my CD/DVD drives. Otherwise, the system would NOT recognize that the drive had been attached, and I was NOT be able to use it the way it came out of the box. This drive has a partition that is recognized by the system as a CD drive, and the rest is in a separate partition that is recognized as a local drive, so some of the drive is not available for storage (as it comes out of the box). Also be aware that Western Digital does not provide a driver for the drive. If you are able to get the system to detect the drive, when the new hardware detected wizards starts, you must let it search for a driver. The only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is that it probably works fine except in this particular circumstance, but it didn't work well for me and my circumstance. This review is for the Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0010HBK-NESN.

The WD My Book Essential 1TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive has been a reliable companion for our movie collection. While I no longer use it, it served us faithfully for many years, providing ample storage space and easy accessibility. The 1TB capacity was perfect for our needs, allowing us to store and organize our extensive movie library with ease. The USB 2.0 connection made data transfer quick and efficient. Its durability and longevity impressed us, making it a worthwhile investment that contributed significantly to our home entertainment setup. If you're in need of a dependable external hard drive for your media storage, the WD My Book Essential delivers both performance and durability.

I run Mac OS 10.5.8 and couldn't get the software to install correctly, nor get the updates to install at all. This included uninstalling everything and following the instructions in the manual step by step.Although it appeared that my data was on the drive, I couldn't retrieve it, so I gave up. I wound up erasing and reformating the drive to use time machine. The manual claims the drive will offer you the option of using time machine with this version of Mac OS, but the install never gave me that chance.After reformating the drive with disk utility I realized that USB2.0 is really quite slow - I have 56gb of stuff to back up (initially) and the back up is taking hours. I shoulda bought a drive with a firewire.My experience with external drives is that they die unpredictably after a year or more, so my plan is to buy a second, faster, higher quality product and alternate using them