Western DigitalWDG1U2500 My Book Essential Edition 250 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive

All I needed was a backup solution for my 10 gigs of data. This drive is exactly what I was looking for - it's fast, reliable and has a really great look to it. No software required, just plug it in and go ! It can't really get any easier and for $99 (especially if you have some online coupons handy) it's worth the small investment. Nobody ever thinks to back up - this makes it easy for everyone.

The minor quirks are not even a consideration to give this item a bad review. Let me first say that I have 10 of the Western Digital Hard-Drives. From the 320 to the 260. USB to firewire. I find the USB to be my favorite type since it starts up and shuts off along with my PC perfectly. Plug n Play as stated also. I do an extensive amount of high bit-rate video editing. Very labor intensive. And with all of the sources I acquire segments from it was quite impossible for my c drive to hold it all. So I researched these hard-drives, loved the look most of all and made up my mind. So much so that I even got my mother to get one for her valuable files. This was about 4 years ago. Thru that time period I bought extra units as needed. Never had any problems with them. In fact I had 8 units daisy-chained for a great while there with no problems in producing DV video. Only the one that I hammered with continues playtime that it finally gave the "click of death". Apparently not meant for extensive access as with very intense video editing. But quite honestly, several of my units only hold video, music and pictures these days. Only used for permanent archives and not for editing anymore. But for those way to hasty, be forewarned even though I've been fighting with the problem unit, now you see it now you don't, I left mine unplugged for a day and then reconnected it I was pleasantly surprized to find it on my c-drive and with no clicks. Needless to say I bought one more WD and I was able to salvage all of the files I had stored there. So don't give the thumbs down until you double check this unit, you may be surprized to find a breath of life still left in her. It could save you tons of grief and lots of money. Quite frankly I was more stubborn than the device was. And since I trouble-shoot Philips products for a living, I know that the device is not always the culprit. With all of the third party software on computers these days, the different operating systems, the firewall and security protocols, popup blockers and adware software and the regular way it's user configures his or her system it is quite difficult to accurately predict how any unit will perform. In my case I've had great luck with Western Digital. The failed unit is out of warranty and quite frankly I will be performing an autopsy quite soon. Just to see if the hard-drive can be internally installed on my PC just in case failure were to strike again.But still 10 units which as I said are not connected to my pc simply there holding my valuable movies, music and pictures for posterity. Every so often I access them for a quick check that all is well. And a back of a back up? YES by all means....because.."I'm sorry" just doesn't cut it with your precious memories. But expecting perfection from any product doesn't make much sense to this trouble-shooter.

steps1- Unboxed it.2- Plugged the power cord3- Plugged the usb cable to the computer4- BAM!!! Additional 250GbI didn't install any software. Windows XP automatically recognizes this as an additional logical drive.The only bad thing is that it comes formatted as FAT from factory. But nothing a good reformat won't solve.Transfer rate is excellent. I actually plugged this to my server and shared it on windows so I could access it on my home network.Now I can easily backup files from my laptop to this device (that's actually connected to the server)For those giving bad reviews because it crashed... Keep it in mind that it's a hard drive... Hard drives do crash... That's just something they do. You should always keep 2 backups. Actually, I'm now researching online backup services (like Genie Backup).What good are 10 backups in my house if there's a fire (knock on wood) and it destroys my computer and all the backups I had.Really great product for the price.

I Was Absouletly Dissapointed With this Product. It Broke Down After 2-Week's And After Seeking Online Assistance From Western Digital (who promised response in 24-hrs) the responded a week after to say. Because I Did'nt Bombard Them With E-mail's, It Appears (to them) That The Problem Was Solved!I Eventually Bought An Empty Housing And Put The Drive (Internal) From The Western Digital Essential Edition 250 GB Hard Drive And I Now Use It.I'm Told By A Local Distributer That It's A Regular Complaint.

Old school hard drive. I've had one fail on me. Try elsewhere for a good backup drive.