Western Western Digital My Book Edition II 2TB Dual Drive Network Storage
Posted by Notcot on May 6, 2010 in Handhelds & PDAs |
Product Description
Western Digital HD My Book World Ed2TB 35Ethernet WDH2NC20000E Storage Network Storage and NAS
- Automatic and continuous backup for all the comp
- The double-safe place for your data Using RAID
- Centralized storage to share and stream all your
- Remote access Access your files anywhere anytim
- Works seamlessly with both Windows and Mac compu
Western Western Digital My Book Edition II 2TB Dual Drive Network Storage
I bought this to replace my two 500gb external usb drives. I wanted more storage and reliable backup. The usb port allowed me to connect my existing drives and transfer the data across very quickly using the copy manager software supplied. Comes ready setup and automatically backups up whatever you put on it.
I don’t really see the point of the iTunes server as you can just use iTunes in the normal way and stream from the drive. Also the WD software looks a little clunky but it does the job. Setting it up and mapping it to three pc’s took less than 30 minutes.
All in all a great piece of kit.
Rating: 4 / 5
The hardware for WD My Book is OK – a fairly simple set up but reasonably executed, but the software is something else. From the first moment it fails to inspire confidence and gives the impression of offering more style than substance.
What is really unforgiveable is the fact that it simply does not work with Windows 7 or Vista. Having installed, and struggled through the hooky setup process, I then discovered that my laptop would no longer shut down – it simply froze on the “Shutting Down” screen. The only way out is a forced shut down using the off button.
I also discovered that the computer could no longer “see” usb hard drives when attached or usb printers. I have tried software updates and re-installs, all without success. In the end I have uninstalled all the software and I am now using another syncing program without problems.
What is particularly annoying is that this problem has obviously been known to WD for some time. A visit to their forum showed that numerous others had suffered similar problems and had recieved similar ineffective advice and platitudes from WD. Other horror stories are in abundance following a quick internet search.
This is just not good enough WD – time to get your act in order. In the meantime I would strongly advise against buying this product – given that the software is so suspect there are far cheaper solutions available for those with even basic windows skills.
Rating: 2 / 5
I am of an average skill set computer-wise meaning I can set up a home network and use WD’s Live TV product to stream video from my network to my TV. I bought this drive under the assumption that it would be “more” compatible with my WD Live TV box and didn’t read the reviews here or on line. It is a very pretty drive and quiet. Now for the bad news…. If you look on-line you will see that many people are aghast at the software running the drive. Two terrible problems. One, it continuously and randomly takes ownership of files and you can no longer modify or delete them. No, using Windows to try to take control of the permissions does NOT work. You are stuck with data that cannot be deleted. Two, the software does not recognize the drive on the network even though the drive appears as a drive on your PC, so it’s useless. Yes, these problems are probably surmountable for a programmer who can write code and go into the command files, but for the consumer of average skills this is simply not a product that is acceptable. Please don’t buy this. I have since moved to a different network drive that is (sniff) uglier but actually works like a drive.
Rating: 1 / 5
Bought this after the positive review in Macworld’s group test of an earlier iteration. Using under OS X 10.6, connected straight away after I connected it into my DSL/Router/Wireless station. Appears as two drives using Bonjour on the Finder. Changed password and drive name (which means you only see one drive in Finder(!) but the RAID is still mirroring).
Manual as PDF a little clunky, but everything there. Didn’t bother adding the bundled software as I’m happy to drive it using the browser for settings and use Chronosync (which I already have) to sync the critical folders on a schedule.
Copying over wireless was similar speed to my old LaCie NAS, seems solid otherwise. Of course, only time will tell.
Rating: 4 / 5
Few hiccups with this drive. Had to re-seat the drives to get both detected. Configuration web interface is a bit clunky but fairly easy to understand. Got a backup setup on a windows7 machine, windows Vista and manually copied files to it from a windows XP machine. Backups running on both 7 and Vista without any problems. Photos and Music (added to the default Shared Music and Shared Photo directories) accessed via DLNA on a PS3. Quiet and doesn’t generate much heat. Opted for this over a NAS enclosure and separately purchased drives due to it not requiring a fan so it could be kept beside the Router it is connected to in living room.
Have yet to try the remote access or iTunes server but the twonkymedia server over browser works fine on PCs and mobile(HTC Touch HD with Opera and IE browsers).
Overall pleased so far with this raid backup solution (had it for ~2 months).
Rating: 4 / 5