WD My Book World Edition External 500GB Network Storage Device

Mwilcox3317

Member Since
May 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 4 Weeks of experience with this product

Excellent Network Attatched Storage Device!

Strengths:

High Capacity, Gigabit Ethernet, Remote Access, Easy to setup Sharing

Weaknesses:

Remote Access not Vista Ready

Posted Sep 10, 2007 - This is an excellent product, and I am glad that I made the purchase. It is very sleek, quiet, and fast. I have it connected to a WRT350N Linksys Wireless N Gigabit Router w/Storage Link. I could have easily attached an external HDD to the router, but the World Edition had Remote Access. Everything over the network is extremely fast, as if the Hard Drive was directly attached to the computer. I watched several Windows Media High Definition Videos with no flaws, as others have had trouble. I suspect that this is not an issue with the device itself, but those user's home networks. I am utilizing the Gigabit Connectivity, and I am using wireless N at 130MB/s, compared to most routers which are only 54MB/s. The only flaw with this is that the Remote Software is not yet Vista compatible. The other reviewer who said that there was a fee for remote access was incorrect. That fee is to have remote access to a COMPUTER, not the My Book. If they would have looked closer they would have known that. I highly reccommend this product. If more space is needed, the World Edition also comes in 750GB, 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2.0TB sizes.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

green1976 from OH

Member Since
Dec 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

Cool WD MyBook WorldEdition

Strengths:

Share file out of the box after attach to the network. It is a useful network storage device if you have linux experience to install another software.

Weaknesses:

none.

Posted Feb 9, 2008 - After I got my WD MyBook WE, I hack it to disable Mionet and install many software such as php server, torrent, ... The result it work well. I can use torrent with no need turn on my PC. I can do my web server, file server, share file in windows or linux, printer server, and much more because you can download free linux source codes, compile and use it in this toy.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

mason1ng

Member Since
Jul 2006

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 5 Days of experience with this product

Good for traveling, when need files and u aren't home

Strengths:

Nice acess, can easily add ssh and make into ftp, webserver or music server

Weaknesses:

slow transfer

Posted Sep 29, 2007 - I wish I knew a bit more about linux. Over all, I can say that I would reccomend the 1tb, these fays 500 gigs just barely cuts it when you have it as a server. Beats leaving on the computer. It never turns off, so within 10 years this will need a replacement but that's a long time. So make sure u dont' use this HD as a back up.

0% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

gigantopithe...

Member Since
Oct 2006

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Day of experience with this product

Great NAS

Strengths:

Price:capacity ratio, aesthetics, NAS

Weaknesses:

Shorter warranty than Seagate externals, but there are no FreeAgent NAS drives yet (I think).

Posted Sep 22, 2007 - I was skeptical of this drive given some of the reviews I'd read online were less than flattering, but there were as many positive reviews as negatives so I went ahead and bought one. I have not experienced any of the slow network connectivity reported by other users & assume their issue lies with their home networks & not this drive. Connectivity on my net is about as fast as any other NAS I've used, which is sufficient. Plus, I like the aesthetics of the WD My Books. Recommended product if you need NAS, otherwise you're better off sticking with a less expensive USB 2.0 external.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

prushant from PA

Member Since
Sep 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Month of experience with this product

Mybook NAS

Strengths:

NAS , stylish packaging

Weaknesses:

A little Slow

Posted Oct 21, 2007 - My book from western digital is one of the best hard drive designs available in the market. This one connects to your network. You can connect it to the back of a wireless router and you have a wireless storage device. Copying files to this device was a little slow over the network. I stored movies and was able to play them over wireless with no problems. Another grat feature is that it allows you to connect over the internet to the drive but requires subscription with an oline provider. With the avialble features this is a great drive

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

IbarraYJ

Member Since
Sep 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Days of experience with this product

Western Digital 500GB USB & Network Drive

Strengths:

Small footprint and vents on drive to keep cool. Looks nice on a desk and easy to use.

Weaknesses:

Software is awful!! There should be a way to manually input the network information.

Posted Nov 17, 2007 - This 500GB Western Digital Drive is alright for a network attached storage. The software it comes with should be redesigned. In the instructions there is no default IP address so you can't change the settings without installing this horrible software that makes you sign up for MioNet. After I installed the software and changed the settings I just uninstalled the software because everytime you try to access the drive you have to sign-in. Other then that the drive is good and looks nice.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

dlashorne

Member Since
Feb 2008

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Day of experience with this product

good price but slow interface

Strengths:

Has Ethernet connection and usb connection for a cheep price it is a good server

Weaknesses:

slow interface and write speeds. Programs are very poor in design.

Posted Mar 10, 2008 - This NAS is a good price but it has a slow interface so you cant take advantage of the 1GB connection. The programs that come along with the HD are very bad in quality. I downloaded my own backup program for free. I couldn't get the dynamic addressing to work so you have to set up a static address.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

mrachell from NC

Member Since
Apr 2003

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Days of experience with this product

Nice idea; slow network interface

Strengths:

Quiet, high-capacity, dual-interface, remote access

Weaknesses:

Slow access over a network.

Posted Jul 19, 2007 - I wanted this to connect as a network storage on my home net. I have a 108Mbs Netgear Rangemax MIMO router with an excellent wireless connection (but with a 100Mbit port connection). I connected this to one port on the router. After a blue screen of death and a reboot I was up and running. I bought this primarily to offload photos, music, and videos from my laptop to the network. Then I can access it from any machine I connect to my network. I was able to put music on the MyBook and play it from iTunes. Playing music was fine. Scrolling through the currently playing track was noticeably slower than if the mp3 is local. . . Then I tried a WMV video. Of course, depending on bit rate, file size, etc. your experience will differ, but it wouldn't play more than a few seconds of the movie without it hanging. No good. . . I didn't even bother with photos after that experience. . . It may work better if you have a router with a gigabit ethernet port, but I doubt it. . . Not sure what the previous reviewer is talking about regarding the subscription service. MyBook World comes with MioNet service, which is similar to GoToMyPC. But instead of giving you access to a computer, it gives you access to the drive. That license is free, will not expire, and can be shared with anyone (via email link). The "for purchase" license is to use MioNet to expose files, folders, and cameras on additional computers. You can then access that from other MioNet-enabled machines - and you can share with anyone. The license that you have to purchase is for each machine that you are exposing files/folders from. You can share those files with anyone. Note that the included version of MioNet (branded for WD) claims to restrict sharing of most media files (mp3, avi, mpg, wmv, aac, etc.) . . I don't think you need to install MioNet if you don't want to share your drive outside your network. Since my router was on a different subnet of my network, I had to tell my firewall (ZoneAlarm) that it was a trusted zone. Then I could access the drive by mapping it to mybook. I haven't tried actually accessing any folders over MioNet yet (like from my office PC). . . If you want to just share documents, backup files, and store photos, this will probably work for you. If you plan on doing high-volume data transfers, don't bother.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

immortal29

Member Since
Oct 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 30 Days of experience with this product

WD Networked HDD Sucks

Strengths:

Storage size

Weaknesses:

Connectivity, accessibility

Posted Nov 29, 2007 - The drive goes offline on it's own whenever, and sometimes the only way to get it back online is to unplug it and plug it back in. When it is online, sometimes I have issues trying to access files. Sometimes it locks my computer out of files I had no problem accessing the day before.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

Nstars07

Member Since
Jun 2007

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Days of experience with this product

Bait & Switch

Strengths:

It is a 500gb drive that has several methods to connect it to something. It's also very small and very quiet

Weaknesses:

See my comments below....

Posted Jun 1, 2007 - I recently purchased this product and from a basic hardware perspective it does the job. HOWEVER… WD failed to disclaim on the packaging OR in their instruction manual that in order to get the “Remote Access” that is the key piece of functionality you would want you have to use MioNet with a SUBSCRIPTION of $6/mo or $65 per year. They also fail to tell you that you are limited to 5 PC’s using this per account using this software. This includes any PC on your local network. So instead of just mapping it like a regular drive you are forced to use up one of the 5 spaces you are allowed. The final piece of frustration is its lack of support for long file names. What year was this firmware written? I thought that had gone out with Windows 3.1? Needless to say, saving your MP3’s to it forces an auto change of the long name to some abbreviation of the song name that barely explains what it is or who sings it. Overall I am disappointed that the large “selling feature” about this product is a hidden bait and switch with a subscription fee. From a simple file location for back-ups or storing some general data it’s fine.

92% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

sipkristal from CA

Member Since
Jun 2005

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Day of experience with this product

so much space but sooo slow

Strengths:

500gb

Weaknesses:

network interface is slow; limited file types

Posted Oct 2, 2007 - I purchased this thinking how great it would be to travel and still have all my personal files available to me. Unfortunately, the included software doesn't let you have access to most of the file types that I wanted to use (mp3, etc.) On top of that, access to the drive is very slow through your network.

Did you find it helpful , unhelpful, or inappropriate?

Comment about this review

Buy now at Hyper Micro: $91.49

Buy now at Tech for Less, Inc.: $105.14

stevieb6

Member Since
Mar 2008

View Member's
Profile | Reviews

User has 1 Day of experience with this product