The Best of Both Phone, and TabletWestern Digital My Book 3.0 (2TB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp. Part number: WDBABP0010HCH-NESN
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Western Digital's My Book 3.0 is a great external-storage addition for desktop computer users. However, notebook users have better choices.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Buy |  | See Site | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 05/22/2012 |
CNET editors' review
Western Digital My Book 3.0 (2TB) price range: $109.99
- Reviewed by: Dong Ngo
- Reviewed on: 03/22/2010
The good: The Western Digital My Book 3.0 is fast and is bundled with a USB 3.0 PCI Express card; it runs cool and quiet.
The bad: The My Book 3.0 doesn't let users upgrade the hard drive and it's expensive. Western Digital didn't include backup software with the drive.
The bottom line: Western Digital's My Book 3.0 is a great external-storage addition for desktop computer users. However, notebook users have better choices.
The My Book 3.0 is a big "yes" for those who've been wondering if they wanted a USB 3.0 drive for their desktop PC. With its superfast performance and its included USB 3.0 PCIe card, the drive will significantly alter your expectations for external hard drives. Costing about $200 for the 1TB version and $280 for the 2TB version, the My Book 3.0 is $50 more expensive than its USB 2.0 counterpart; however, we feel it's well worth it.
If you have a PC desktop and are looking for a simple external hard drive, look no further than the My Book 3.0. However, we recommend that notebook users look at the Seagate BlackArmor PS110 USB 3.0.
Design and features
The My Book 3.0 is a no-frills storage device. It has a straightforward design with one tiny white light on its front that serves both as the power and activities indicator and on its back it only has a Mini-USB 3.0 port.
The drive is bundled with a Mini-USB 3.0 cable, a power adapter, a two-port PCIe USB 3.0 add-in card, a software CD, and a well-illustrated quick-setup poster. The PCIe add-in card includes a high-profile and a low-profile bracket, so that it can be installed in a regular-size desktop or a slim tower desktop, such as the Dell Inspiron 537s.
Even without the colorful quick-setup poster, it's very easy to set up the My Book 3.0. Just connect it to a computer using the included USB cable, plug in the power, and turn it on. The only tricky part is installing the PCIe card, which is only necessary for computers that don't already support USB 3.0. Still, if you know how to use a screwdriver and can follow the instructions, you shouldn't have any problems installing the card. Finally, you'll need to install the driver from the included CD.
If you are uncomfortable installing the PCIe card, the My Book 3.0 will work with any existing USB port, just at slower speeds. After installation, the hard drive is immediately available to the computer and is preformatted using NTFS file system.
According to Western Digital, it will soon release a more affordable, standalone version of the My Book 3.0 that won't include a PCIe card. So if you like the drive but don't need the PCIe card, just wait for the company to release the unbundled version.
Because of the My Book 3.0's design, you can't upgrade the hard drive yourself. This means you won't be able to replace the built-in SATA 2 (3Gbps) hard drive with a SATA 3 (6Gbps) drive. If you could, the My Book 3.0 could potentially operate faster since USB 3.0 can transfer files up to 4.8Gbps.
The My Book 3.0 doesn't include backup software, so you'll need to buy a third-party app if you want to use this drive to backup your system.
Performance
We tested the My Book 3.0 with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 and were happy with its performance. The My Book USB 3.0 operated quietly and remained cool throughout the testing process, even during extended heavy loads.
When connected via USB 3.0, the device registered speeds up to 75.1MBps for the Write test and 59MBps for the Read test. These scores were in the same range as the Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 and the Ineo USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station .
When connect via USB 2.0, the My Book 3.0 registered 24.9MBps for the Write test and 31MBps for the Read test. These numbers were among the fastest of USB 2.0-based external hard drives we've tested.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Service and support
Like most external hard drives, the My Book 3.0 won't require a lot of tech support. The most important thing about this type of product is the warranty, and Western Digital backs the drive up with a rather short two-year guarantee. Generally, we'd want to see a longer warranty period for storage devices. The company's toll-free phone support is available Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT, Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Western Digital's Web site offers e-mail and tech support, FAQs, a searchable knowledgebase, and downloads.
User reviews
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WD My Book bad egg
by dizzy2112 on April 17, 2010
Pros: external storage capabilities
Cons: defective-bad customer support
Summary: My name is Dizzy and live in Cumberland MD. I bought a TeraByte My Book from WalMart near my location. The price was fair(110 bucks), for a little more ...
Summary: My name is Dizzy and live in Cumberland MD. I bought a TeraByte My Book from WalMart near my location. The price was fair(110 bucks), for a little more I could have got a NetGear....which I wish I had purchased instead. The unit seemed simple enough, pretty much plug n play. I opted not to install software from drive. Storage was pretty simple in regards to drag n drop etc. One day I woke up, turned on computer and my desktop was black, which meant directory to active desktop image was broken. I attempted to reconfigure image location and my j:drive (MyBook) was inaccessible. I utilized a recovery program with a 24 hour scan and was unsuccessful. I lost close to 70gigs of music, 20 plus gigs of software archives, design projects, images for design purposes, completed projects, documents, family pictures/video and much more. I ended up formatting the drive and re-establishing what was lost but no where near what I had. Losing what was irreplaceable, very depressing. I emailed customer service for Western Digital and to this day nothing was resolved in regards to even an apology for what had happened. No follow ups on their part. My fault for not keeping receipt for a successful return. WalMart will not touch item for even a straight across trade. After formatting drive and attempting to rebuild what was lost, I installed software from drive in hopes that would prolong drives life in maintaining integrity. A week later I watched the lights fizzle on the drive. Once again losing what was being rebuilt. My opinion if you are in the market for an external drive is to spend a few more bucks and get a NetGear or any higher quality item.
5 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Has unadvertised features.
by computercritic on January 6, 2012
Pros: Has a large 2TB drive
Cons: Automatically turns on when you boot up your computer
Summary: You should be able to power it off and keep it off until you want it on. I would not have bought this drive at any price if I knew ...
Summary: You should be able to power it off and keep it off until you want it on. I would not have bought this drive at any price if I knew it did this. I will disconnect and not use this drive as a result. WD: FAIL
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Does Not Work
by J1M1M1CK on September 6, 2011
Pros: none. seriously
Cons: -Software does not recognise the drive even my windows does
-Randomly the drive will not be discoverable
-Drive will cut out mid backupSummary: crap.
Summary: crap.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Owned this for 45 days and it breaks
by pegharris on September 5, 2011
Pros: Cant think of one thing
Cons: Not reliable
Summary: I would sure chose another brand
Summary: I would sure chose another brand
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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WD MyBook WILL Lose Your Data
by MikePS1 on July 18, 2011
Pros: Nothing. The most important thing a drive can do is store your data with confidence. It can have all the bells and whistles, but if you can't access your data, then it's useless. Western Digital drives cannot be trusted.
Cons: Unstable. WILL LOSE YOUR DATA
Summary: Despite minimal use, my MyBook self-destructed after trying to access it when my laptop was woken from sleep mode. Apparently, it is common for WD drives to mess with their ...
Summary: Despite minimal use, my MyBook self-destructed after trying to access it when my laptop was woken from sleep mode. Apparently, it is common for WD drives to mess with their partitioning when not properly shut down. So, if a laptop goes into sleep mode this apparently isn't "properly" shutting down? I can' access my data and now have to spend $500 to $2000 to retrieve it. DO NOT BUY THIS OR ANY WD PRODUCT. PLEASE NOTE ALL THE BAD REVIEWS!!!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great for everyday use.
by fallenkiller711 on July 13, 2011
Pros: Its fast, easy to setup, lots of memory, silent, and great for storage.
Cons: The software it comes with really slows downs my computer on boot.
Summary: This is the first external hard drive i have owned and it is perfect for holding music and photos. Through USB 2.0 i get a 25 mb/s transfer ...
Summary: This is the first external hard drive i have owned and it is perfect for holding music and photos. Through USB 2.0 i get a 25 mb/s transfer speed.
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WD 500GB MYBOOK
by doctor_q2 on May 1, 2011
Pros: none that come to mind
Cons: worst product ever
Summary: Western Digital has to be making the worst external storage HDD devices known to man. Frankly I don't know how these people have stayed in business this long. Their ...
Summary: Western Digital has to be making the worst external storage HDD devices known to man. Frankly I don't know how these people have stayed in business this long. Their technology simply sucks and seriously, don't waste your money and save yourself a lot of frustration simply avoid WD like a plague. I don't know how CNET editors review products but obviously not well, because user reviews paint the real story here. Get your act together CNET!
I got this HDD at Costco a while ago as a backup drive. Long story short, it works sporadically. I have backed up my files on it, about 400Gigs of data. The real fun begins when I need to browse the folders to find something, try to open a folder and out of the blue it appears that there are no files in it, empty. Then I spend the next 20 minutes disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable and get a message that the USB is not recognized, pretty much every time. Power on/off sometimes helps mostly it doesn't. I recently discovered that plugging the USB cable into another USB port sometimes helps, it installs the driver and all of a sudden I can see all folders and files again... I am going to BestBuy to get a new drive today, am going to transfer all data and then beat this WD piece of crap with a baseball bat like in that scene from Office Space.. Peace. -
Well built good for storage portable fast no software
by jonhhhy on March 28, 2011
Pros: Fast transfers, kind of portable smaller that previuos models
Cons: cable is a drag have to use new interfase witch hooks on to USB 2 but you have to bring you cable. still a little big.. and no software with it.. no back up software specialy.. cant replace the SATA drive
Summary: i got to say i got it at 126 dll for 2 Tb seems a good deal had it working for a while and does the job well i got ...
Summary: i got to say i got it at 126 dll for 2 Tb seems a good deal had it working for a while and does the job well i got a iomega 2Tb and is half speed and i really did not like the housing..
only thing i have to say is that that USB 3.0 is kiling me i cant do anything with out the cable that came with the device so im guess i better be carefull not to loose it or damage it!!! yikes...
software is a joke but what relly bugme was the lack back up software , but it does come with some tools not much.. and you cant replace the drive either.. but you cant do it on many other brands either other wise you just buy the drive and do a upgrade..
overala tmy experience is positive and im very happy to keep all may movies and tuff in it.. its fast and responsive.. i think well wwerth the 126dlls...
just beware of those port issues.. -
Poor Reliability - WD 500Gig HD
by LarryEWhite on March 25, 2011
Pros: None that I can think of.
Cons: Poor HD Reliability
Poor WD Customer ServiceSummary: I had the same problem Dizzy reported above on my WD 500Gig HD. However, I used the drive differently. I backed up my files once per month and the HD ...
Summary: I had the same problem Dizzy reported above on my WD 500Gig HD. However, I used the drive differently. I backed up my files once per month and the HD was only plugged in when performing backup. I utilized the Safely remove hardware icon when removing each time. My hard drive lasted just over a year. Lost all my important files including numerous family photos and excel files for my vinyl collection. WD did recommend a professional service for restoring the files at a cost range of $900 - $3000 to retrieve the files. Ran a Pandora software application which could see something on the drive, but could not properly convert it. I plan on looking through CNET to determine what my next external HD should be.
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Took two days to breakdown
by IOOOH on October 22, 2010
Pros: Absolutely mothing
Cons: I would know, but the customer service and Website are quite appalling
Summary: From what I understand there seems to be a generic fault in ths HDD
Summary: From what I understand there seems to be a generic fault in ths HDD
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
- Part number: WDBABP0010HCH-NESN
- Description: The elegant My Book 3.0 external hard drives feature a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface with unmatched speed of up to 5-gigabit per second. The winning combination of a USB 3.0 interface and the high-performance hard drives boosts read and write speeds to levels never seen before.
General
- Device Type Hard drive - External hard drive ( Desktop )
- Capacity 1 TB
- Interface USB 3.0
- Features Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately)
- Width 1.9 in
- Depth 5.3 in
- Height 6.5 in
- Weight 2.6 lbs
Performance
- Interface Transfer Rate 5.0 Gbps (USB 3.0)
Expansion & Connectivity
- Interfaces 1 x USB 3.0 - 10 pin Micro-USB Type B
- Compatible Bays None
Power
- Power Source Included AC adapter
- Power Device Power adapter
- Voltage Required AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Software & System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows Vista / XP / 7
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories SuperSpeed USB adapter
- Cables Included 1 x USB cable - External
- Compliant Standards RoHS
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 41 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 95 °F
Product series
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Western Digital My Book 3.0 (2TB)
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Specs: 1 TB,
External hard drive,
SuperSpeed USB 3.0
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Western Digital Corp. products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Western Digital Corp.
- Address:
20511 Lake Forest Drive, Lake Forest, CA 92630-7741
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