Reviews for WD My Book Essential Edition External 160GB 3.5" Hard Drive

excellent external hard drive!

Strengths: very quiet, nice style, fast transfering

Weakness: none

I love this western digital external 160GB! The style is very nice exactly like a little black book. Setting it up is very easy. My system is window XP, so I just plug it to UBS and it works immediately. Transferring data is very quickly and it runs quietly. I backed up all of my files in this little one and I am very happy after 3 months use.

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Great product!

Strengths: Quiet, automatic stand-by feature, stylish, runs cool

Weakness: None

This is a great external USB 2.0 hard drive. It runs cool and quiet, probably because it has a useful feature which automatically puts the drive in stand-by mode after about 10 minutes of inactivity. It has a great chipset (Cypress). It also turns off automatically when you shut down your computer, which is really great.

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Western Digital 160GB My Book

Strengths: good build, looks slick, auto power.

Weakness: none

This is a second drive I purchased at a good deal so I had to post another review along with my review for the 250GB model. All is pretty much the same except for the capacity. ;) I was looking for a quality external USB drive and came across this drive. One of my requirements of the case was good ventilation and auto power system. This quality case meets both of my requirements. The drive has good ventilation to cool the drive and feels sturdy. I don't have any issues with drive quality since WD is a trusted brand. As far as speed, with USB2.0 the speed of the drive really doesn't matter since the bottle neck is mainly the USB interface. One nice feature of this case which every other cheap build your own case lacks is auto power which comes in very handy since it turns off and turns on with the PC. All in all a recommended product.

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Western Digital My Book 160GB Essential Edition...

Strengths: looks like a book, quiet and fast, easy to use

Weakness: case is big and plastic

This is my second external harddrive. It was about $60 after tax and rebate during a sale. I think it's a fair deal for that price and what I got from the purchase. All I did was plug the cable in and it was ready to go after a short moment of detection. After I'm done dragging my files over for a backup, I can place this on the bookshelf along with the other books. No one else in the house will notice my new drive. The sacrifice you get for this is that the case is bigger than other external drives. An aluminum case will cool the drive better but it'll be heavier.

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Product test

Strengths: Easy to Install to computer

Weakness: More weight and bigger size

Hello,

I would have loved if it had a smaller size and less weight. Because I travel most of the times for my business purpose so like to carry easily. because in this compititive technology industry a lot of other companies are offering small hard drives with more capacity. Right now it is ok to use this product but in the future I hope I will get what I am expecting. Thanks.

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My Book Essential Edition External 160GB Hard Drive...

Strengths: Compact size takes up less space on desktop, easy to use, USB connection.

Weakness: Requires own power supply, not powered by USB port.

This is an excellent drive for backing up your data, especially on laptops. Its simple use allows you to just plug into the USB port and away you go. It is a fast, quiet and compact drive that takes up little of your desktop. It is not USB powered so you'll have to find an outlet to plug into if you intend to tote it along with your laptop. Hard drive is large enough to back up most people's MP3 collections.

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Excellent hard drive

Strengths: new shape is a great thing that gives notebook like appearance as name says. it has an excellent performance in easily accessing photos and document.its power light has a nice look.

Weakness: its a bit large in size, but with the fastness it has nobody can comment that.

overall i recommend this external hard drive which is a great companion for any collage going students.it has an elegant just like a book. i really like this hard drive which i have been using this for a while.

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Very nice, stylish, and compact - basic external...

Strengths: Small form factor. Quiet, Automatically goes into standby mode after 10 mins of inactivity. USB cable included. Stylish design.

Weakness: No external "back-up now" button. Included Google software PC only.

I bought this drive to back-up my important documents on my Mac. Cosmetically, a very attractive drive. The circle led power light reminds me of the X-Box 360 aesthetics. Drive works well with my Mac. The auto-standby feature should extend the life of the drive, as I use it as a back-up and not as a primary hard drive. With all of the data we store on our computers: photos, banking, correspondence, etc., an external hard drive is a necessity.

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A well designed external hard drive

Strengths: Well designed

Weakness: 1394 at additional cost

It's a very nice external hard drive. It has:
- Beautiful casing
- USB 2.0 for fast transfer
- Automatic power on/off with your computer (VERY NICE!!!)
- Backup software
- Smart ring LED displays estimate capacity it still has

My only complain is being an essential version, it does not have 1394. It's not a very cheap product and I really don't want any additional cost for 1394 capability.

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Nice quiet external drive

Strengths: very quiet, good data transfer rate

Weakness: external power adapter, automatic "on" feature

This drive is almost silent, quite a change from my other external drives with fans. It does get warm when transferring large files, but nothing to be alarmed about. Data transfer rates average about 1.3 gig per minute, as quick as any other usb drive I've used. I don't care for the auto "on" feature which turns the unit on whenever the computer is turned on. I would have preferred a built-in power supply with an ac "on/off" switch. Overall, it's a very nice unit and I would recommend it to anyone who needs an easy-to-use "plug & play" external drive.

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good product

Strengths: easy to carry

Weakness: more weight

This product is ok for now.In the future the size needs to be reduced because right now the size is bigger and weight is more. The world technology is changing, customers are looking a small items with big capacity, I love small things which will be handy and more capable.

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GREAT!!!

Strengths: Quiet, stackable, ergonomic, simple to use and its Western Digital which means it is good

Weakness: None

I have had this one for 6 months now. absolutely to problems. My friends have also bought this one. I am buying my second to dedicate to music and videos.

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WD My Book Essential Edition External 160GB 3.5"...

Strengths: Well built, no noise, works great.

Weakness: A little heavy for toting around.

I use this drive to take my MP3's back and forth to work. It works great once you get the power cord, the power connector, and the USB cabling hooked up. It comes with diagnosic software and is a great product! I would definitely recommend this drive.

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nice,compact & useful

Strengths: its size & its ease of use

Weakness: needs an external power

this is a very compact drive with very easy to use features & its portability is very good.Also good alternative to buying more expensive internal hard drive for laptops.drawback is it uses external power supply overall happy camper

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WD My Book Essential Edition External 160GB Hard

Strengths: Quite small, Styling

Weakness: No firewire interface

The unit is Quite. It sits on instaled rubberstrips when standing vertically. No vibrations. Not even warm to touch
The drive go into sleep mode if you don't use it for a while. That means when you go to save something, you have to wait a couple of seconds for it to wake up.

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a great external hard drive

Strengths: nice looks decent price

Weakness: no firewire no autoback

This drive is very well ventilated so it will not overheat like so many other externals.
Original and simple design, easy to use.
However it does not have either auto backup or firewire, but perfect for storing extra large files clogging up your other disks.
Absolutely no noise when idle.

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nice, great, stylish

Strengths: quite, easy setup, fast data transfer

Weakness: no fan, a little bit big

it's a nice looking external HD, very quite, easy setup and use, auto "on" and "off", usb 2.0, but no firewire, no fan. a little bit big size, overall, it's great and reliable.

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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 160GB...

Strengths: Can hide this on the bookshelf, Cool sturdy case, nice indicator light on the side

Weakness: USB interface, would be nice to have Firewire also

This is my first external harddrive and it was less than twenty dollars after rebate from a major office supply retailer. It can't be beat with that price. I have no complaints since I paid much less than retail price. I really like the cool-looking case because I can hide it on my bookshelf so no one else will notice it. The drive auto shuts down when I turn off my computer. Although USB 2 is fast, it'd be nice if it also has a Firewire port -- and I know a more expensive version of this does have it. Another drawback is that the case is made of plastic and I'd prefer aluminum so the heat dissipates better.

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WD 160gb external

Strengths: this is a great external to have. it really looks like a book so you can hide it on a bookshelf. it's small in size. great to have

Weakness: there's not really a weakness

this product is great to have. 160 gb is not much but it's better than none. it has a green power led in front so you know it's turn on or off. when blinking, it means it is in use. hard drive turns off when your desktop or laptop turns off. highly recommended product

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Western Digital MyBook essential external 160gb hard...

Strengths: simple to use, nice looking

Weakness: no fan (although less parts to wear out), no firewire, no backup software

Its called the essential series because it has a usb connection and a hard drive and a case. Thats pretty much it. Western digital drives are reasonably good quality (one year warranty on drive but this is standard on external drives), the case is well built and ventilated. The Western digital site advises that backup software may be coming so check the site. It has an auto off feature so that it shuts off when you power down your pc. Basic but good.

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Nice external hard drive

Strengths: Compact size, looks kindof cool, quiet

Weakness: need external power

This is a nice external hard drive and compact size. Works quietly and smoothly. USB2.0 link can transfer data faster. It needs external power supply which makes it kindof cumbersome for me when carrying around. Other than that, so far it works great.

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Mybook

Strengths: Fast, Quite, Easy to use

Weakness: None

It's easy to setup using USB port. The speed is pretty fast. With this one, to transfer data between computer is a lot faster compare to use network connection instead.

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Cute and Quite

Strengths: Easy to use and small size, very worthwhile item for personal use.

Weakness: not found

I just got this production, and using it at home now.
In true words, it is beyond my expectation. I have to say the elec. techniques are better and better.
Anyway, I support this item a lot...

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Good external hard drive so far

Strengths: Compact size and simple device

I decided to buy this external hard drive because it was on sale and I anyways needed one to backup my files from my old laptop. So far it has been running quietly and been easily hooked up to my computer. Also it doesn't take a lot of space out of my very small office. I am very happy with this drive.

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Awesome Quality

Strengths: Brand,shape,quality, speed

Weakness: i did not see so far

i have bought this one from OD and try it immediately, it is awesome and fast. I have used USB and transfer was fast. Actually i was not expecting like that but it did.Very silent and shape is cool.The brand name is the first thing to choose this one.I would rather it has firewire also. I am happy with it.

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WD 160

Strengths: Durable, Good Stylish Design

Weakness: Slow on transfer

It's a nice neat black box with cool looking vents that are cut into the design. I would say it's tendy. I don't reccomend if u are going to transfer a crap load of data. It is decents but not as fast as my other external, which is a simple tech external.

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Great External Drive

Strengths: Price. Sleek-looking. Size. 8MB

Weakness: None

Great external drive for the price. It is not bad looking either. Can't go wrong witht the Manuf. as they are known for HDs. I am so glad I got a good price on it when OD had it for sale.

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My Book Essential Edition External 160GB Hard Drive

Strengths: easy to use, USB connection, cool design

Weakness: Does not have Firewire

I bought this item yesterday. It's very easy to use. I also like the design. It supports USB connection. However, it doesn't have firewire which is faster than USB. It's an excellent device for backup storage.

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My Book Essential Edition External 160GB Hard Drive

Strengths: Lots of Memory Easy to Use Fast

Weakness: Does not have Firewire

This external hard drive is excellent for backing up music and digital picture files. I bought it for about $0.50 a GB at Circuit City - a great deal. Only weakness is lack of Firewire usability.

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My Book External Hard Drive

Strengths: Space saving shape. Includes AC adapter and USB cable.

Weakness: So far I haven't found any. Hope that it lasts like my internal Western Digital internal hard drives.

Great little external hard drive. Easy installation and very convenient back up storage device. Came with a AC adapter and USB cable. I like the way it stands up, a great space saving design, as I bought it for my nephew as a graduation present for extra storage (lots of music files) and back up for his lap top

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Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 160GB USB2 WDG1U1600

TestSeek.com has collected 2 expert reviews for Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 160GB USB2 WDG1U1600 and the average expert rating is 75 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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