Western Digital My Book Premium 500 GB External Hard Drive with Dual Interface ( WDG1C5000N )

Average customer rating: 4.0

FIrst HD drive
WD My Book Premium 500GB external HD - recommended
Good drive, MISERABLE custom service.
Not very fast
nice

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Western Digital My Book Premium 500 GB External Hard Drive with Dual Interface ( WDG1C5000N )

Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B000EXTXSI

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Product Description

Enjoy the convenience of a FireWire interface with the high-speed performance of a USB 2.0 port, thanks to the dual interface on this sleek external hard drive. 500GB provides plenty of space for your precious digital media. 7200 rpm for fast read & write times 8.9 ms average seek time Automatic power-up, Safe Shutdown and LED activity lights make this drive easy to use Capacity gauge lets you see at a glance how much space is left on your drive Stackable metal case looks like a book and sits horizontally or vertically Compatible with PC and Mac Average Latency 4.2 ms System Requirements - Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9.2.2, X 10.2.8 or later, available FireWire or USB port

Amazon.com Product Description

Is your computer loaded with photos, music, video, and all sorts of important files? If so, you should make extra room, back them up, and keep them safe on Western Digital's WDG1C5000 My Book Premium Edition 500 GB Hard Drive. This reliable, easy-to-use external hard drive is the perfect storage solution for all your precious digital assets.

<table align=left width=175 cellpadding=10> <tr> <td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/mybookpre-1-sm.jpg" border=0 align=top>
Save and back up all your digital assets with the My Book Premium Edition Hard Drive. View larger. </td></tr></table> <table align=right width=150 cellpadding=10> <tr> <td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/mybookpre-3-lg.jpg" border=0 align=top>
Simple, easy-to-use design.</td></tr> <tr> <td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/mybookpre-5-sm.jpg" border=0 align=top>
Hard drive features dual interface connectivity (FireWire 400 and USB 2.0). View larger.</td></tr> <tr> <td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/mybookpre-4-lg.jpg" border=1 align=top>

The elegant case takes up very little space.</td></tr> </table> Installation is a breeze because you don't really "install" anything -- just plug it in and it's ready to use. There is not even an installation CD because all the included software loads automatically from the hard drive the first time you plug it in. For cream-of-the-crop, high-speed performance, use My Book Premium's FireWire 400 interface. However, if FireWire 400 isn't convenient, Western Digital has you covered -- the My Book Premium hard drive is also compatible with USB 2.0 connectivity. Best of all, you don't have to choose between one or the other because both interfaces are built into every drive.

Western Digital provides software (WD Backup) that makes backing up your data as easy as possible. With a few simple steps you can back up all your data files, or just save your picture and music files. You can also schedule routine backups so you don't have to worry about it ever again. Built for ease of use, this drive is equipped with a capacity gauge that shows how much space is left on your drive. The My Book Premium also includes intelligent drive management features. For example, the drive turns itself on and off with your computer, and Safe Shutdown prevents the drive from being powered down until all your data has been written.

But that's not all. Western Digital uses a smart design to make the My Book Premium look as good as it performs. The elegant case resembles a book and takes up very little space on your desk. Plus, it stacks horizontally and allows two or more drives to nestle neatly together like encyclopedias on a shelf. Inside the stylish exterior is an exceptionally fast, ultra-quiet, cool-running hard drive. Last but not least, the My Book Premium is equipped with free Google software that searches your drives, manages your photos, and simplifies Web searches.

My Book Premium Edition Hard Drives are ideal for:
<ul>

High-speed backup of important documents and images

Extra storage for your computer

Automatic backups of your existing hard drive

Archiving the music stored on your MP3 player

Adding plenty of space for digital video capture and editing

Saving and organizing your digital photo collection </ul> Note: For basic, less expensive storage option without automatic backup software, consider the My Book Essential Edition 500 GB Hard Drive.

What's in the Box
My Book Premium 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire external hard drive, USB cable, FireWire cable (six-pin to six-pin), AC adapter with power cord, and quick install guide.

Customer Reviews:

FIrst HD drive .......2007-06-12

This is the first WD drive I have used.
It worked right out of the box.

The only issue I had was that it was a FAT32 partition.
Easy enough to fix, but would of prefered NTFS.

WD My Book Premium 500GB external HD - recommended.......2007-06-08

Western Digital My Book Premium 500 GB External Hard Drive with Dual Interface ( WDG1C5000N )This is the second of these drives I've bought. I picked up the first one six months ago, and it has worked flawlessly since then. No issues whatsoever. Runs quietly. The LED on the front is handy to let you know when the drive is being accessed. Double interface and simple exterior design. Used for artwork and lossless music files, in combination with a music server. Recommended.

Good drive, MISERABLE custom service........2007-06-02

The drive itself performs just fine for what I'm using it for, which is mostly multi-media storage. The drive comes with USB or Firewire options and includes a cable for both. HOWEVER, many of the FireWire cables have a flaw and will not work as it certainly did not for me. WD will have a link on their website when you register the drive to request a replacement cable. I figured easy enough.

I received an email stating that the replacement cable was sent on the 1st of May. I waited and waited and after nearly 3 weeks, still no cable. I was using the drive with USB so wasn't in a huge rush about the cable. I used their web customer service request page to ask about the cable and whether they could verify my cable was sent and to provide a tracking number. A few days later I had received nothing from them so went to the web page to check there for an update. The query was updated to an "escalated" status, but that was it. I figured they were checking into it and gave them some more time. After another few days of hearing nothing, I updated the issue again. Needless to say, after 31 days and a few updates by me to the support request, they have not contacted me nor have they sent my cable.

The drive itself is perfectly fine otherwise, even over USB. I'm able to capture HDV content from my camcorder to it perfectly, render large video files using Sony Vegas etc. It's quick and responsive and am generally happy with the drive.

The customer service department on the other hand.. not so much. Yes, I could call them and spend the time on the phone with them. For such a basic request like this though, it should have been less hassle for both me and them to work through the email request.

I've always had great success with the WD drives in the past, but this level of customer service is just horrible and certainily not what I would expect for such a simple issue. When I get my next external drive, I would likely choose one of their competitors.

Not very fast.......2007-05-29

I was very disappointed with this hard drive when I received it. It has a huge amount of storage space but the seek time is very slow. I have an off-brand hard drive which has a much faster seek time but not as reliable. Overall the WD hard drive is reliable, but there are definately better choices out there.

nice.......2007-05-25

Hmm.. good stuff. Firewire interface is faster though. you get about 32mb/s with that and 20mb/s over USB. So always use the firewire where possible. unfortunately though, you can't have it plugged into two computers at the same time (through any combination of any of the 3 interfaces). It would just connect to whichever one is plugged in last successfully. (i've gotten it too seemingly appear to show up and 2 pc's at once but it was just windows taking long to disconnect it from the 2nd computer).
It cause some noise if you put it on a hard wooden table though so you might want to put it on a mousepad or book or some other vibration absorber to prevent that low hum it generates. The HD accoustics however isn't nearly as audibile so its really quiet indeed.
if you really write/read performance from an external interface get the highest edition with the e-sata port. i haven't actually tried it but it's supposed to be faster. I think the drives inside these cases might be a WD Cavier 7200 though and those peak at around 60MB/s read speed.

to recap just realise that you can't plug it into 2 computers at the same time. hope they fix that in future models. -1 star because of that
use the firewire port where possible.

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