Western Digital My Book World Edition 1TB Home Network Storage
Posted by Notcot on Mar 27, 2010 in Handhelds & PDAs |
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I brought this after my previous lacie NAS drive failed after just 2 years. I was always happy with the Lacie but the backup software was useless, the media server and user interface quirky. And it became so noisy I had to turn it off and on all the time which defeated the object!
However with this Western Digital drive all that has changed. The first big plus point is its super silent, and drive access is so much faster than my last drive. Ok.. its not going to set the world on fire, it took a couple of hours to copy over around 20gb of music across my 54mbps wireless network, but once done I can browse the drive, view pictures etc.. so much quicker than my lacie. Using windows photo gallery I can view and load photos and its just a little bit slower than if they were on my laptop.
Setup was straightforward, the shares and media server is already setup and you can plug in, run the cd and go. My only tip would be to disable your anti-virus before running the discovery tool as it seems to block the software from seeing the drive. Once seen it maps the drive, configures other shares, installs the backup software, and allows you to setup the web access.
The backup software comes with five licences and works as you’d expect. It runs quietly in the background after the first backup and archives all the files you need in the event of a disaster.
I’ve tried the web access from another PC across the internet, and whilst it works and I can easily access and browse the drive. It took about 30 seconds to copy over a 4mb mp3 file which is acceptable for the odd file you need to grab when you’re away from home, and getting a word or excel document would be loads quicker.
I’ve briefly tried the media server and my DMA recognised and played files with no hassles.
If you’re considering this drive I’m happy to recommend it. There were loads of bad reviews for the previous My World model, but WD seem to have addressed the issues, and it gets the thumbs up from me!
Pros:
Super Silent
Software does the trick
Decent Access and write speed.
Web Access does actually work.
Media Server is a doddle to get working
Con’s:
Its pricey against a normal usb drive (But once you’ve had a NAS style drive and used features like the media server you’ll probably be glad you spent the extra)
Rating: 5 / 5
This 1TB NAS device is good value and good looking. It is fairly easy to set up using the supplied software (on cdrom) which is slightly clunky. You must connect any additional USB storage devices AFTER the NAS is switched on and connected or your computer won’t recognise it. The USB port is ONLY for external storage which is a shame as network printer support would have been great. Still, once you set up a Medio account – you can access your NAS (and any storage plugged into it) from anywhere in the world by simply logging into your account. Support for FTP is built in but unless you know exactly how to do this, you’re much better off with the Medio account which is absolutely free except if you want to access a separate computer plugged into your network adapter. I’ve given it 4 stars only because of the slightly clunky software and lack of network printer support but in comparison with similarly priced drives this drive is by far the best – and Computer Shopper (Jun 09) agrees.
Rating: 4 / 5
The world book WE provides a great alternative to Time Capsule from Apple and at roughly half the price makes sound financial sense. The latest firm ware update from WD means that the My Book WE works seamlessly with the Time Machine function on Mac OSX. The product I received actually didn’t have the latest firm ware but a quick visit the WD site resolved this and within 15 mins of opening the box, Time Machine had started backing up across the network. Be prepared for a long wait for this to complete but once the initial backup has finished subsequent runs are very quick and invisible to the user.
The drive uses Bonjour so after plugging into my router, it was instantly visible on the Mac via Safari (no drivers or software required).
Rating: 5 / 5
WD My Book World World Edition is good back external storage device works in the back ground and is very quite. It took its time to back up the data that I have – 38GB. The unit worked easily when plugged in and connected to the wireless router with the provided cable.
The information in the printed booklet is limited and I still do not know why the white light in the front flashes when my computer is off. It would be better if it is supplied with more practical information for the customer to know more about the device. This however has not has effected the units performance.
It will only work with its own back up software. The remote access facility is free for a trail period and then one has to pay for it. In this day and age when one is on the move, it would have been more appealing to offer that service free packaged with the device.
Overall, I am pleased with it and would recommend it to others who like me are looking for a device that automatically backs up data wireless for you through your wireless router/modem.
pros: quite, good looking, does the job efficiently.
Cons: remote access is not free, slow, the power cable can disengage with minimal movement, does not work with other back up software.
I hope this review is usefull.
Rating: 5 / 5
works with my macbook
havent tried to hook it up to my pc yet
easy to set up and use
havent tried the remote access yet
have no problems backing up wirelesly- plug and play!
WARNING- NOT COMPATIBLE WITH TIME MACHINE, but it has its own backup software which continuously backs up with no probs
PLUS EXCELLENT FOR AVCHD MOVIES IF YOU HAVE A PLAYSTATION 3 as the playstation can play your AVCHD movies straight from the hard drive!!!
highly recommended
Rating: 5 / 5