Western Digital My Book External HD

dubmick · 24-10-2006 11:48AM #1

I was thinking of getting the 250gb version of this.

Anyone got one, would you recommend it?

Cheers Mick

TheBazman · 24-10-2006 12:01PM

I have ordered one from Komplett - should be arriving in a day or two - Doesnt help your decision at the moment though

Anti · 24-10-2006 12:27PM

Their cheap and do what they say on the tin. Cant go wront with them really

hopeful · 24-10-2006 01:36PM

Been using one for a while...no issues thus far.

I use Microsoft's Synctoy to mirror folders. A simple way to backup for me.

Fusion251 · 24-10-2006 01:42PM

Yeah they're pretty good alright. I've had mine for 2mts and a few of my mates have them too....never had any issues with them...

Fusion

Ruu_Old · 24-10-2006 01:45PM

Have a few, work great and no issues with them.

dubmick · 24-10-2006 01:50PM

thanks for the replies lads, an order is going in

HemmingSay · 24-10-2006 01:52PM

I've a 400gb one that i use as a media dump. I got the base model with only USB2 connectivity, i plug it in and out as i need it - copying the media back and forth from it. It suits my needs perfectly, was cheap and doesn't look too bad on the desk.

If you're looking for an always on option i'd recommend making sure that it has some sort of spin down or sleep functionality, as i've heard that externals can fail if constantly spinning the disks. I dont' know if the MyBooks have this.

JohnK · 24-10-2006 02:02PM

I have the 320gb one and have had no trouble with it. Only thing is it can be quite noisy at times.

JPA · 24-10-2006 03:15PM

I have one too. No problems with it.
Make sure you format to NTFS when you get it as it's FAT32. (If you prefer of course)

ghost26ie · 24-10-2006 03:17PM

have a 500gb one. no problem as of yet.

dubmick · 24-10-2006 03:30PM

why is NTFS more preferable than FAT32?

I've no idea what my c: drive uses. Must check when I get home. My pc in work uses NTFS.

do they both need to be the same (c: & My Book)?

Although I primarily want to use the my book as a back up facility I would also like to use it as a second drive.

JPA · 24-10-2006 03:37PM

dubmick wrote:

why is NTFS more preferable than FAT32?

I've no idea what my c: drive uses. Must check when I get home. My pc in work uses NTFS.

do they both need to be the same (c: & My Book)?

Although I primarily want to use the my book as a back up facility I would also like to use it as a second drive.

I'm not sure of all the technical ins and outs but FAT32 can't handle files over 4GB. You can run NTFS and FAT32 together no problem.

Brian017 · 24-10-2006 08:31PM

A computer noob here. Need more memory. Thinking about getting this too.

How do you format to NTFS is there an option to when you plug it in or what?

Ruu_Old · 24-10-2006 08:39PM

Brian017 wrote:

A computer noob here. Need more memory. Thinking about getting this too.

How do you format to NTFS is there an option to when you plug it in or what?

Start->Run and then compmgmt.msc in the box. Go to Disk Management and then right click on the drive of your choice and Format, file system will be NTFS.

TheBazman · 25-10-2006 06:19AM

Wasnt aware of the FAT32 vs NTFS issue either. Two quick questions - if my pc is on FAT32 and I change it to NTFS are there any negative impacts of doing so? Also if the External HD is only used as for storing files, how to you change this to NTFS given I presume you wont have the option to Run compmgmt.msc as this would only apply to your main pc?

Cheers

Ruu_Old · 25-10-2006 11:31AM

NTFS is more stable and secure than FAT32, I can't see any negative issues. There are some third party apps available to convert to NTFS but I believe theres the Windows Convert program.
Go to the Command Prompt and type C:\> CONVERT C: /fs:ntfs
Repace C: with the drive that you are converting, can someone else confirm this method is correct?

JPA · 25-10-2006 02:35PM

Ruu wrote:

NTFS is more stable and secure than FAT32, I can't see any negative issues. There are some third party apps available to convert to NTFS but I believe theres the Windows Convert program.
Go to the Command Prompt and type C:\> CONVERT C: /fs:ntfs
Repace C: with the drive that you are converting, can someone else confirm this method is correct?

Won't all data be lost changing formats?

Edit: OK it seems that you can do it without losing any data.

http://www.ntfs.com/quest3.htm

Ruu_Old · 25-10-2006 02:39PM

Afaik you should not lose any files, in any case, backup just incase as usual.

dubmick · 31-10-2006 11:45PM

just got this today guys and I am very happy with it.

I formatted it to NTFS, took about an hour.

'hopeful' cheers for the synchtoy link. It's an excellent program.

Western Digital My Book External HD

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