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Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive

  • No Longer Available
  • B&H # WEWDH2U20000
  • Mfr# WDH2U20000N

Product Highlights

  • USB 2.0
  • RAID 0
  • RAID 1
 

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The 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive from Western Digital is a high-capacity external hard drive with an interface that allows it to be connected via USB 2.0.

The drive is housed in an elegant design that can at first glance be mistaken for that of a hardbound book. This makes the drive an excellent choice for anyone who would like to have a unique and classy drive to use for external data storage. The drive features built-in power-saving, has no environmental contaminants, and ships in recyclable packaging, making it as friendly to the environment as it is to your data.

The drive enclosure comes configured as a RAID 1, which mirrors data between the two disks contained within. It is an excellent choice for anyone who would like to add storage to their computer without sacrificing aesthetics.

2TB Capacity
2TB of capacity allows for storage of approximately 150 hours of uncompressed DV digital video, the equivalent of 425 4.7GB DVD video discs or up to 500,000 MP3 files.
RAID 0/1 Modes
The array comes configured as a RAID 1, which mirrors data between the two physical disks contained within the enclosure. This creates a realtime backup your data. Because of this, only half of the drive's 2TB is available. It can be reconfigured as a RAID 0, which delivers full capacity, but lacks any sort of data protection. This gives you extreme flexibility in how you configure your array, ensuring that it meets your specific needs.
GreenPower Drives
The array is designed to use WD GreenPower drives. These drives use less energy and create less heat than traditional desktop hard drives. The enclosure is able to use a passive cooling system because of this, which results in quiet operation. Please note that if you need to upgrade or replace a drive in the user-serviceable enclosure, you must use a WD GreenPower drive.
Hot-Swappable
The drive is hot-swappable and plug-and-play so there is no need to turn off your computer while connecting or disconnecting it.
Performance
Capacity 2TB
Interface 1x mini-B USB 2.0
Drive Speed 7200rpm
Buffer Not Specified by Manufacturer
Average Seek Time Not Specified by Manufacturer
Sustained Data Transfer Rate Not Specified by Manufacturer
Drivers
Supported Not Required
Included Not Required
System Requirements
Mac Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4.11+, 10.5.2+ 1
Please Note:

Drive is formatted NTFS; must be reformatted as HFS+ for use with Mac

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Windows Operating System: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
Hardware USB 2.0 port
General
Mounting Desktop
Power Requirements AC: 100-240VAC, 47-63Hz
Environmental Requirements Operating Temperature: 41-95°F (5-35°C)
Storage Temperature: -4-149°F (-20-65°C)
Dimensions (WxHxD) 3.9 x 6.5 x 6.1" (9.8 x 16.6 x 15.4cm)
Weight 5.2 lb (2.6kg)

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
Western Digital2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive
 
4.5

(based on 70 reviews)

Ratings Distribution

  • 5 Stars

     

    (39)

  • 4 Stars

     

    (27)

  • 3 Stars

     

    (3)

  • 2 Stars

     

    (0)

  • 1 Stars

     

    (1)

99%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

  • Easy to use (52)
  • Easy to set up (51)
  • Large capacity / good size (51)
  • Quiet (49)
  • Attractive (42)

Cons

  • Slow (4)
  • No power switch (3)

Best Uses

  • Back-up (55)
  • Additional storage (47)
  • Photo storage (45)
  • Video (24)
  • File transfer (13)
    • Reviewer Profile:
    • Power user (40), Casual user (22), Heavy duty user (5)
    • Primary use:
    • Personal (45), Business (25)

Most Liked Positive Review

 

secure at last

With raid 1 hard drives set up in my computer and now a raid 1 external back up system backing up all my drives both internal and external, I finally feel that I have suficient...Read complete review

With raid 1 hard drives set up in my computer and now a raid 1 external back up system backing up all my drives both internal and external, I finally feel that I have suficient redundancy to secure my documents and photographic work. From reviews that I had read, I knew to be careful with the software/trialware blur. At first I thought that I was going to have to pay for the WD Anywhere Backup. That wasn't the case. You'll find the product key on one of the instruction sheets that comes with the Drive. Still it was a bit of a hassle but not a deal breaker by any means. USB 2 isn't the fastest way to go but this kind of secrity at this price is not available anywhere else. The key to success with the WD My Book Mirror ed is patience. Allow it the time it needs to do it's work. I had ~ 280 GB to back up and it took about 5 hours. The biggest chunk of that was on another external USB drive so that probably contributed to the time. You do have to use WD's drives to replace any drive that fails but I can live with that. I intend to buy a spare replacement drive just so I don't have to have any down time while waiting for a drive in the event of a failure. The WD My Book has been in [...] for 20 days and I am very please with it so far. It does it's work quietly and automatically without being intrusive.

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

 

Easy installation, problematic backup

I purchased this drive to serve as a mirror backup of my computer and full library of images for my photography business. It was very easy to install, as far as plug and play,...Read complete review

I purchased this drive to serve as a mirror backup of my computer and full library of images for my photography business. It was very easy to install, as far as plug and play, but I did have to reformat to mirror RAID as it was not originally formatted as advertised. My one complaint was that the backup software for automatic mirroring of your system is not already functioning as the advertisement leads you to believe. I needed to purchase additional "rights" and download the code in order to make this feature work and it was not clear anywhere in the directions or description of the product that this would be the case. I basically figured it out by clicking and jumping back and forth to websites. I am still not entirely sure I needed to spend that additional money, but was left in a bind when the system prompted me to do so or otherwise it wouldn't continue. I wish I had known this on the front end. Otherwise, I am pleased with the product and now that it is formatted and I have the additional software to run the automatic backup, it's a breeze and working well. One final note, I wish I could actually look at the mirror drive to see actual visual confirmation that items are in fact being mirrored there. Right now, I guess I have to go on faith?

Reviewed by 70 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-20

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1.0

looses connection to computer often

By Ann

from AL

About Me Power user

Verified Reviewer

Pros

  • High Capacity

Cons

  • Unreliable

Best Uses

    Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

    I believe this WD My Book mirror edition has a huge design flaw! I have owned 2. The first one I sent back under warranty and they sent me a new one. I am having the same issue with the new replacement.
    The mini USB connection is very loose (even out of the box). The slightest bit of movement will cause it to become slightly unplugged and therefore no longer be recognized by your computer. You have to push and wiggle and get it to hold "just right" for it to reconnect to your computer.
    When I look at WD's website there are many post of people asking why their computer is no longer recognizing this hard drive.
    Don't buy this one. It is not worth the trouble it takes to keep it plugged in.

    • Primary use:
    • Business
    • Computer Platform:
    • PC

    Share this review

     
    5.0

    Great External Hard Drive

    By Dino

    from Ludington, MI

    About Me Casual user

    Verified Buyer

    Pros

    • Attractive Design
    • Easy To Set Up
    • Easy to use
    • High Capacity
    • Quiet

    Cons

    • Software is difficult

    Best Uses

    • Additional Storage
    • Backup
    • File Transfer

    Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

    This is a great external hard drive that has a nice backup feature that most others don't have. You can't beat it for the price.

    • Primary use:
    • Personal

    Share this review

     
    5.0

    easy to use

    By Jen

    from Brunswick, OH

    About Me Casual user

    Verified Buyer

    Pros

    • Easy To Set Up
    • Easy to use
    • Quiet

    Cons

      Best Uses

      • Additional Storage
      • Photo Storage

      Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

      Used to back up photos...simple to set up & use.

      • Primary use:
      • Personal

      Share this review

       
      3.0

      Easy installation, problematic backup

      By KB Simple Photo

      from Virginia Beach, VA

      About Me Power user

      Verified Buyer

      Pros

      • Attractive Design
      • Easy to use
      • High Capacity
      • Quiet

      Cons

        Best Uses

        • Backup
        • Photo Storage

        Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

        I purchased this drive to serve as a mirror backup of my computer and full library of images for my photography business. It was very easy to install, as far as plug and play, but I did have to reformat to mirror RAID as it was not originally formatted as advertised. My one complaint was that the backup software for automatic mirroring of your system is not already functioning as the advertisement leads you to believe. I needed to purchase additional "rights" and download the code in order to make this feature work and it was not clear anywhere in the directions or description of the product that this would be the case. I basically figured it out by clicking and jumping back and forth to websites. I am still not entirely sure I needed to spend that additional money, but was left in a bind when the system prompted me to do so or otherwise it wouldn't continue. I wish I had known this on the front end. Otherwise, I am pleased with the product and now that it is formatted and I have the additional software to run the automatic backup, it's a breeze and working well. One final note, I wish I could actually look at the mirror drive to see actual visual confirmation that items are in fact being mirrored there. Right now, I guess I have to go on faith?

        • Primary use:
        • Business

        Share this review

         
        5.0

        Simple and cheap protection

        By krifartida

        from Boston MA

        About Me Power user

        Verified Buyer

        Pros

        • cheap
        • Easy To Set Up
        • Easy to use

        Cons

        • Interface not perfect

        Best Uses

        • Backup

        Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

        backup RIAD 1 at low cost.
        easy to swap drives.

        • Primary use:
        • Business

        Share this review

         
        4.0

        Additional Storage

        By Casual User

        from Roscoe, IL

        About Me Casual user

        Verified Buyer

        Pros

        • Attractive Design
        • Easy To Set Up
        • Easy to use
        • High Capacity
        • Quiet

        Cons

          Best Uses

          • Additional Storage
          • Backup

          Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

          Installation was easy. The drive was formatted as
          RAID 0 instead of RAID 1 as advertixed, however conversion was easily accomplished. Drive is working fine, but I've only had it a coouple weeks.

          • Primary use:
          • Personal

          Share this review

           
          5.0

          More data security

          By Andrzej

          from Poland

          About Me Casual user

          Verified Buyer

          Pros

          • Attractive Design
          • Easy To Set Up
          • Easy to use
          • High Capacity
          • Portable
          • Quiet

          Cons

            Best Uses

            • Additional Storage
            • Backup
            • Photo Storage
            • Video

            Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

            This is the second drive(s) of this kind I bought now. The first one I have been using for 2 years now. I hope these will never fail, however should this happened I would be able to use the unaffected drive (one of the two) to restore the data. In theory this is going to work, time will show. Anyway this is much more convenient than doing the regular back ups manually, or by a software.

            • Primary use:
            • Personal

            Share this review

             
            4.0

            its ok... IF IT WORKS!

            By Zohar

            from New York

            About Me Power user

            Verified Buyer

            Pros

            • Attractive Design
            • Easy To Set Up
            • Easy to use
            • Portable
            • Quiet

            Cons

              Best Uses

              • Additional Storage
              • Backup
              • File Transfer
              • Photo Storage

              Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

              had to return the one i got and get another one since the first one was giving me errors all over the place!
              Make sure you check it first before you put your precious data in it.

              • Primary use:
              • Business

              Share this review

               
              5.0

              amazing

              By balls

              from ky

              About Me Power user

              Verified Buyer

              Pros

              • Attractive Design
              • Compact
              • Easy To Set Up
              • Easy to use
              • High Capacity
              • Quiet

              Cons

                Best Uses

                  Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                  i couldnt ask for anything more this thing is a dream

                  • Primary use:
                  • Personal

                  Share this review

                   
                  5.0

                  Great and inexpensive external drive!

                  By PhotoDoc

                  from Greensboro, NC

                  About Me Casual user

                  Verified Buyer

                  Pros

                  • Attractive Design
                  • Easy To Set Up
                  • Easy to use
                  • High Capacity
                  • Portable
                  • Quiet

                  Cons

                  • None

                  Best Uses

                  • Additional Storage
                  • Backup
                  • Photo Storage

                  Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                  I use the drive for backup, especially of photos (in huge numbers) and documents. It is easy to use, large capacity, and--so far--reliable.

                  • Primary use:
                  • Personal

                  Share this review

                   
                  5.0

                  Good Video Backup Tool

                  By BrianK

                  from Rockledge Fl

                  About Me Power user

                  Verified Buyer

                  Pros

                  • Easy To Set Up
                  • Easy to use
                  • High Capacity

                  Cons

                    Best Uses

                    • Additional Storage
                    • Backup
                    • Photo Storage
                    • Video

                    Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                    Third one Ive purchased. Note that the last two did not come setup as Raid1. I had to load the WD software application, but after you do that it is fairly simple to reconfigure the drive to Raid1. The Mirror is 2 physical drives, so as a Raid1 you have an automatic copy of your data on the separate drives, but only half the storage space (1 TB).

                    You can also keep it as Raid0, without the mirror, and have 2 TB.

                    Store all of my video on these.

                    • Primary use:
                    • Business

                    Share this review

                     
                    4.0

                    decent product at a decent price

                    By postnobills

                    from brooklyn

                    About Me Power user

                    Verified Buyer

                    Pros

                    • Compact
                    • Easy To Set Up
                    • Easy to use
                    • High Capacity
                    • Quiet

                    Cons

                      Best Uses

                      • Backup

                      Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                      plug play
                      formatted for RAID0, not RAID1 as expected.
                      works as per spec
                      a bit slow on read and write time in RAID1, but that is as expected.

                      • Primary use:
                      • Business

                      Share this review

                       
                      5.0

                      2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard

                      By ITBowman

                      from Pasadena CA

                      About Me Power user

                      Verified Buyer

                      Pros

                      • Easy To Set Up
                      • Easy to use
                      • High Capacity

                      Cons

                        Best Uses

                        • Additional Storage
                        • Backup

                        Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                        I am using this as a backup in a business that requires availability so the RAID mirroring is a key feature along with the capacity. Set-up is no-brainer and the unit is working as planned.

                        • Primary use:
                        • Business

                        Share this review

                         
                        5.0

                        My Book works the best!

                        By G

                        from Kingwood, TX

                        About Me Casual user

                        Verified Buyer

                        Pros

                        • Attractive Design
                        • Easy To Set Up
                        • Easy to use
                        • High Capacity
                        • Quiet

                        Cons

                          Best Uses

                          • Additional Storage
                          • Backup
                          • File Transfer
                          • Photo Storage
                          • Video

                          Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                          This book is used for file storage. It helps my computer keep working at a fast pace.

                          • Primary use:
                          • Business

                          Share this review

                           
                          4.0

                          Good for Technical Folks

                          By samuel

                          from San Francisco, CA

                          About Me Power user

                          Verified Buyer

                          Pros

                          • Functional and Safe
                          • High Capacity
                          • Quiet

                          Cons

                          • Difficult setup
                          • Not for average users

                          Best Uses

                          • Additional Storage
                          • Backup
                          • Photo Storage

                          Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                          Mirrored drives are the best for data protection. WD's implementation is ideal, however, falls short in a few key areas. When I first plugged in the drive, the software attempts to autorun but doesn't run correctly, the buttons are blank, and the text reads "undefined" and I could not proceed; however, a WD icon appeared in the system tray. So I click that and nothing happens, being a tech guy of course I right click and then navigated to the RAID Manager. Once in, I attempted to switch it from RAID 0 which is the default to RAID 1, however that failed because it could not "safely remove device" -- so I safely removed in manually and attempted again, it just read the same message back. So, I restarted, and attempted again, however, because of its previous failings, the MBR had to be rebuilt or "initialized" via the Logical Disk Manager in Administrative Tools. How is a normal user supposed to figure all this out?

                          I got it working fine in the end -- but there's no way anybody I work with could have figured it out, or my parents...

                          • Primary use:
                          • Business

                          Share this review

                           
                          4.0

                          So far, so good

                          By Hsiriouyto

                          from Boston area

                          About Me Casual user

                          Verified Buyer

                          Pros

                          • RAID 1 mirror option

                          Cons

                          • Minor setup inconvenience

                          Best Uses

                            Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                            I purchased this as a replacement for an earlier 1TB My Book external drive I've used for storing my photo files, that's now full.

                            The automated setup utility didn't work on my system (Windows Vista), but I had no problem loading the necessary individual utilities and drivers manually and getting it to work. I don't like the fact that it ships set up for RAID 0, which actually increases the risk of data loss in case of disk failure. But it's easy to reconfigure as RAID 1, which is what I wanted.

                            The case is slightly smaller and more cheaply made than that of the two older 1TB My Book drives I have, but seems sturdy enough. On the plus side, so far this drive seems to be running cooler and more quietly than the older ones.

                            • Primary use:
                            • Personal

                            Share this review

                             
                            5.0

                            Fantastic Addition for iTunes

                            By Niceguy

                            from Los Angeles, CA

                            Verified Buyer

                            Pros

                            • Attractive Design
                            • Easy To Set Up
                            • Easy to use
                            • High Capacity
                            • Portable
                            • Quiet

                            Cons

                              Best Uses

                              • Additional Storage
                              • Backup
                              • Music Storage

                              Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                              I have bought two of these with both being setup Raid 1, which, essentially, affords me 1TB of space with triplicate copies (i.e. 4TB total). I use it for my massive iTunes music collection and have found there to be little to no lag with the music begin accessed from the external drive. Great product all around! :)

                              • Primary use:
                              • Personal

                              Share this review

                               
                              4.0

                              Backup drive

                              By photoprof

                              from Waco,TX

                              About Me Casual user

                              Verified Buyer

                              Pros

                              • Attractive Design
                              • High Capacity
                              • Quiet

                              Cons

                                Best Uses

                                • Backup
                                • Photo Storage

                                Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                                I bought this unit as a backup drive for my photo files. I had some problems installing the drive on my computer which has Vista home premium OS. The service support unit solved the problem. It works fine.

                                • Primary use:
                                • Personal

                                Share this review

                                 
                                5.0

                                Love it! Easy set up, security in a box

                                By Deep Glow

                                from St Petersburg FL

                                About Me Casual user

                                Verified Buyer

                                Pros

                                • Attractive Design
                                • Compact
                                • Easy To Set Up
                                • Easy to use
                                • High Capacity
                                • Quiet

                                Cons

                                  Best Uses

                                  • Additional Storage
                                  • Backup
                                  • File Transfer
                                  • Photo Storage
                                  • Video

                                  Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                                  Quick easy set up and peace of mind knowing that everthing is backed up twice!

                                  • Primary use:
                                  • Personal

                                  Share this review

                                   
                                  5.0

                                  Fast and cheep

                                  By Nick the Software Engineer

                                  from Erie, Pa

                                  About Me Power user

                                  Verified Buyer

                                  Pros

                                  • Easy To Set Up
                                  • Easy to use

                                  Cons

                                    Best Uses

                                    • Backup
                                    • Photo Storage
                                    • Video

                                    Comments about Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive:

                                    This is a great hard drive. It is awesome that it automatically backs up your data and when a hard drive fails you can put a second in it the case and it will back up the first harddrive onto the second one.
                                    It was supposed to come preset to raid 1 (to mirror the data) but it came set at raid 0 (stripped). Fortionatly the drive installs its drivers and you can easily reformat it to raid 1. One other problem was that the software disk that came with it didn't have any words in the program, it just said undefined whereever there was supposed to be text. Fortionatly, the software isn't what i bought the hard drive for.
                                    Overall the harddrive is excelent.

                                    • Primary use:
                                    • Personal

                                    Share this review

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                                    What's in the Box

                                    Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition External Hard Drive
                                    • USB Cable
                                    • AC Adapter
                                    • Quick Install Guide
                                    • Software CD-ROM
                                    • 3-Year Limited Warranty
                                     
                                     
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