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Western Digital WDG2NC15000N 1.5 TB My Book World Edition II Hard Drive | List Price: $469.99
Discount Price: $294.45
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Brand: Western Digital
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 3 years warranty
Features: - Includes - Remote access storage system, Ethernet cable, AC adapter, Installation and software CD & Quick Install Guide
- High-performance 1000/100/10 compatible Ethernet connection
- EMC Retrospect Express backup software for scheduled or on-demand file backup
- UPnP enabled to allow devices to connect seamlessly and to simplify the implementation of networks in the home and corporate environments
- Securely share photos with your friends anywhere in the world without uploading them to the web
WRONG WRONG WRONG [Posted on 2007-12-11]
Many have incorrectly stated that this product cannot be set up as a network drive and share files because of the Anywhere Access/MioNet software restrictions. This is just not true. For those that feel they got Bait & Switched read the following Knowledge Base Bulletin and Network away. It is Bulletin 1531 if the following address does not work for you.
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1531&p_created=1176311730&p_sid=DoSESZSi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MSwxJnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1zZWFyY2hfZm5sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9MTUzMQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1
I almost didn't buy this product and almost paid twice as much for a competing brand because of these erroneous statements. Please do your research people... make a phone call before ruining the reputation of a good product and costing others MONEY in the process.
My Book Pro II/Premium II family great; problems with Vista. [Posted on 2007-12-22]
This review covers the family of My Book Pro II/Premium II drives from Western Digital, since the primary differences between the 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0Tb dual-drive models involve the size of the drive pair only, as far as I can tell. I own the My Book Pro II 1.5Tb drive and have only configured it for the factory-default Raid 0 mode, since I wanted as much non-redundant storage as possible.
Anyone not familiar with external USB or Firewire drives may be surprised at the significantly slower data transfer; the USB or Firewire interface is the bottleneck, not the drive itself. For bulk storage at still-reasonable transfer rates and for the purchase price per byte, these large capacity drives can't be beat - as long as they are reliable and the user observes all the rules about making sure the drives are safe to physically disconnect from the computer (I won't cover the rules here; the operating system has its own Help section that can assist the user who is unsure of how to physically disconnect their drive without turning off the computer itself).
OK, back to the Western Digital My Book II drive... when the drive is received, the Raid Manager software package should be installed before plugging in the drive. After I did this and plugged in the drive, I had one problem after another with the drive disappearing in Windows, the fan going very loud when there was no heat issue to make it do so, then the drive would act like it over-heated and shut down. Twice I received replacement drives and both replacement drives acted the same way.
I figured the problem wasn't the drive, so I tried the second replacement on a second PC running Vista; same problems. I next moved the drive to a PC running Windows XP; no problem - the drive ran quietly and reliably.
It turns out there is currently (12/22/07) a problem with Windows Vista and the way it stores driver information. The fix is found in their technical bulletin 1708 (go to www.wdc.com, support, frequently asked questions and enter "1708" in the "Search by Keyword" field. This has solved all my problems with my drive and I can now recommend this drive without reservations, however Vista is due for its first significant "patch", SP1, in the first half of 2008 and these sorts of patches have sometimes provoked new problems. I do think the solution presented in technical bulletin 1708 would still be helpful if the SP1 patch caused further problems, however.
Not Intuitive & Not Visa Compatible [Posted on 2008-07-03]
With a lot of tinkering and visits to the WS website, I was able to get the backup function to work dependably. I can't believe that two years after the introduction of Windows Vista, WD is still shipping product that is not fully Vista compatible. You have to go to their (nonintuitive) website to find the right software. My expectation is that all software shipped today must be fully Vista compatible out of the box.
My advice is that if you have Windows Vista, you should look elsewhere for a file backup system.
Not for Apple/Mac Users [Posted on 2008-09-14]
I purchased this item because I already have three Western Digital external hard-drives, and am very satisfied with their performance. When purchasing this I did not realize that it is only compatible with PC/Windows systems (especially the Ethernet capabilities).
If you are an Apple/Mac user, don't buy this product! I still think that Western Digital is a very good brand, but it would be helpful to be more specific in the description of this item stating that it does not work with Mac systems.
Click here for more details and discount information...
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