Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp. Part number: WDG1U5000N
- CNET Editor rating: Not yet rated
- Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 62 reviews
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Western Digital MyBook Essential Edition external hard drive is a slightly pared-down version of the MyBook Premium Edition. It's a good option if you need additional storage without backup software.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
 | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB) price range: $89.99 - $135.00
- Reviewed by: Felisa Yang
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 06/15/2006
The bottom line: The Western Digital MyBook Essential Edition external hard drive is a slightly pared-down version of the MyBook Premium Edition. It's a good option if you need additional storage without backup software.
User reviews
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DOA - This Product Does Not Work
by Pleonexia on April 6, 2006
Pros: Small and Fairly Light for 500GB
Cons: Cheap plastic case; functioned for two days only
Summary: This drive was too good to be true -- 500GB external drive with a small case and a cheap price. The drive repeatedly malfunctioned when writing -- I tried operating ...
Summary: This drive was too good to be true -- 500GB external drive with a small case and a cheap price. The drive repeatedly malfunctioned when writing -- I tried operating it using usb 2.0 on two different Windows XP boxes.
As a side note, the case while wonderfully small is made of very cheap plastic and has the fit and finish of a product you'd expect to cost $20 -- it's odd to put a 500GB drive in a flimsy plastic case that looks like a toy.
Unplugging power to drive and then reattaching helped a little, but this is just too risky for data. It's like gambling. It repeatedly wasn't recognized as a drive by the computer and had data copy and erase errors.
It took two hours to copy over 400GB of data and then another half hour to do an RMA at buy.com because I couldn't speak to a live person at Western Digital or Buy.com. The phone tree at both locations would require the patience of a monk to navigate over half a day.
I was not once able to stream video or audio using USB 2.0 although I could open several files I copied to the drive.
I was seduced by the price for this size drive, but now I have to wait to get my money back, I wasted hours copying data and I'm going to have to do it all over again. Was it worth saving $100 or $200? No. Unless you are retired and eating out of cans, spend an extra $100 or $200 and save a lot of trouble.15 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Perfect for what it is
by MonocularJack on June 16, 2006
Pros: Small, Stylish, Quiet
Cons: Non-Removable HD
Summary: I've owned a few external drives and this is my favorite by far. It's quiet, powers itself on and off (so no pesky on/off switch), has a ...
Summary: I've owned a few external drives and this is my favorite by far. It's quiet, powers itself on and off (so no pesky on/off switch), has a smaller power brick than most, looks good sitting on your desk and is fast. Especially great as a multimedia drive (I use this with my Media Center Edition to record TV).
The only downside is that you can't crack the case and swap drives, which isn't really something most consumers will be doing anyway.
The Essential Edition is perfect for those that don't really need the glowing disk space gauge of the Pro edition and like myself already have more than enough USB and Firewire ports on every other device.7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Owning 10 of these drives can't be a bad thing!
by groink_hi on August 15, 2007
Pros: Price, and very low heat generated,
Cons: None that I can think of.
Summary: Over the last year, I've purchased ten of these units. Each and every one of them worked great out-of-the-box. I've so far used these drives on a Dell ...
Summary: Over the last year, I've purchased ten of these units. Each and every one of them worked great out-of-the-box. I've so far used these drives on a Dell Optiplex with built-in USB 2.0, as well as a Dell Optiplex with an Adaptec USB 2.0 PCI card.
I don't understand why some people have problems with this drive. Some tips I'll offer: 1) Don't use USB hard drives off a USB hub. Hard drives need as much power and bandwidth off the USB bus as possible. 2) Format the drive to either FAT32 or NTFS before use. Even if the drive comes pre-formatted, format it anyway. 3) Make sure the drive is connected to a USB 2.0 port. Hard drives connected to a USB 1.x port simply doesn't work.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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be far avay from wd essential externel drive, really
by nonexist on January 16, 2008
Pros: big, so you can't take it with you all the time. mean; no responsibility
Cons: not safe, hard to open case, enough slow
Summary: 1. main directory is not clean, full of some programs and klasors. some of this programs are just trials.
2. slow. i couldn't finish my backup for hours
3. ...Summary: 1. main directory is not clean, full of some programs and klasors. some of this programs are just trials.
2. slow. i couldn't finish my backup for hours
3. and in 2-3 weeks fat damaged and i lost all these backup hours and days of data.
4. fat formatted. so my datas gone. while recording power got down and no any my book around. why ntfs is not default. this is backup tool. i saw it after transferred much data unfortunately and i didn't change.
5. now i'm trying recover my datas. sure from usb it is not possible and i have to open the case. i must connect the hard disk to the machine directly. but;
- guaranty will go down
- still i couldn't open. wd designers worked so hard about to make opening this case really difficult. they had to work hard to make the product safe for data.
i will open it by anyway.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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AWESOME - I own 4 of them and no problems!
by boyoboyoboy on June 19, 2007
Pros: Great Capacity - Low Cost - Good Speed!
Cons: 500 GB is really 465 GB - I'm running out of USB ports!
Summary: I download/upload a ton of items directly to/from these drives and they work flawlessly. Those comments stating that they didn't work or failed are most likely due ...
Summary: I download/upload a ton of items directly to/from these drives and they work flawlessly. Those comments stating that they didn't work or failed are most likely due to the users inability to plug it in because that is about how simple it is to use. I reformatted my drives from FAT32 to NTFS before using them which is recommended for drives of this size. You can't go wrong with this drive. I won't be able to buy many more since I'm running out of USB ports! Note that the way Western Digital calculates disk space results in these being 465 GB drives. There are lawsuits against them for not disclosing this up front to buyers, however, that has not stopped me from purchasing them since they work great and still provide a ton of disk space for the money. Best Buy just had these on sale last weekend 6/16/2007 for $129.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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My Book, Suck Book
by marshallbell on December 22, 2006
Pros: The Light worked
Cons: Would not turn off or install correctly
Summary: After 3 failed installation attempts finally returned. Virtually no documentation with drive, no support on website and no easy way to find drivers or software. Installation crashed my system. Poor ...
Summary: After 3 failed installation attempts finally returned. Virtually no documentation with drive, no support on website and no easy way to find drivers or software. Installation crashed my system. Poor product, poor support.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Outstanding Drive
by Bo33778 on September 4, 2006
Pros: Price & Speed
Cons: No problems detected
Summary: This drive has performed outstandingly since attaching it to both my server and also swapping onto my laptops. All computers have acknowledged the drive immediately and has given no failures. ...
Summary: This drive has performed outstandingly since attaching it to both my server and also swapping onto my laptops. All computers have acknowledged the drive immediately and has given no failures. The speed of the drive is consistent and exceedingly fast, through a USB 2.0 interface. The drive is backwards compatible to USB 1 but always double check that your USB is "enhanced" (2.0) ..otherwise the best suggestion is to install a nominal 2.0 add-on card. Most problems arise from this oversight. Best Buy ran this drive for over $100 off it's regular price which brought down to $190 .. it's an outstanding drive and an outstanding deal. It's extermely quiet both horizontal and vertical, venting heat efficiently.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Quiet yet quick
by chbearsrock on June 10, 2006
Pros: quiet, huge capacity, elegant design
Cons: slightly expensive
Summary: This HD is honestly the best external HD I have encountered. Plug and play, it is lightning fast and almost completely silent. Easy to use and to stow. I'd ...
Summary: This HD is honestly the best external HD I have encountered. Plug and play, it is lightning fast and almost completely silent. Easy to use and to stow. I'd recommend it over any of the competition, especially Seagate, which has given me way too many problems.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Solid Backup Storage
by uvuatl on February 14, 2008
Pros: Dependable, Simple to Use
Cons: No Cons to Note
Summary: I have had this drive for several months now and I have not had any problems at all. It is a great simple plug and play drive for anyone that ...
Summary: I have had this drive for several months now and I have not had any problems at all. It is a great simple plug and play drive for anyone that needs additional storage. I have it plugged into a battery backup in case of power failure. I never have any issue transferring or accessing data even after long periods of not using it. Overall Great drive.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Wholly unimpressed
by bill205 on January 13, 2008
Pros: Works great when it works
Cons: High failure rate
Summary: Thought I was getting a premiere drive from a premiere company to keep my backups on but I was mistaken. The first drive lasted 6 months before I had to ...
Summary: Thought I was getting a premiere drive from a premiere company to keep my backups on but I was mistaken. The first drive lasted 6 months before I had to replace it under the warranty. The replacement drive lasted 8 months and of course the warranty has expired. I won't be replacing it with anything from Western Digital especially considering drives from other manufacturers have lasted me for years without a hiccup.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
- Part number: WDG1U5000N
- Description: Small, simple, elegant, and very easy to use. Just plug this drive in, and you've got plenty of room to back up and save your valuable data, music, photos, and movies.
General
- Device Type Hard drive - External hard drive
- Width 2.2 in
- Depth 5.6 in
- Height 6.7 in
- Weight 2.9 lbs
- Localization North America
Hard Drive
- Capacity 500 GB
- Interface Type Hi-Speed USB
- Buffer Size 16 MB
Performance
- Interface Transfer Rate 480 Mbps
- Seek Time 8.9 ms (average)
- Track-to-Track Seek Time 2 ms
- Average Latency 4.2 ms
- Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
Expansion / Connectivity
- Interfaces 1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type B
- Compatible Bays None
- Compatible Slots x None
Power
- External Hard Drive Power Source Included AC adapter
- Power device type Power adapter
- Voltage Required AC 120/230 V
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included 1 x USB cable - USB Type A to B - External - 6 ft
- Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7
- Compliant Standards RoHS
- Package Type Retail
Software / System Requirements
- Software type Google Picasa, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar
- Min Operating system Microsoft Windows Vista, Apple MacOS X 10.3 or later, Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & support type 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
Environmental Parameters
- Min operating temperature 41 °F
- Max operating temperature 95 °F
Product series
-
Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 250GB External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 250 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 80GB External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 80 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 2 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition External Hard Drive (320GB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 320 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 500 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 16 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 160GB External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 160 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 400GB External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 400 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 16 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
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Western Digital MyBook Essential Edition 120GB external hard drive
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 120 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 8.9 ms, 7200 rpm
Manufacturer info
- Western Digital Corp.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Western Digital Corp. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.wdc.com/
- Address:
20511 Lake Forest Drive, Lake Forest, CA 92630-7741
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