17.8.2019

I have Synology D216Play which had 2 x 3GB WD red hard drives (in a Raid 1 array -so 3GB storage nominally).This was getting full. I looked at upgrading these to 2 x 6GB (or larger) but the prices of WD red drives seem to ramp up a lot for anything over 5GB - and what would I do with the existing drives???The WD Mybook Duo seemed to present a possible solution. If I got one of these then I could use this to backup my desktop (the largest consumer of space on the NAS) and use it for desktop backups.Amazon wanted £369 for a new 12 TB or £414 for a new 20TB - these contain 2 x 6TB or 2 x 10TB WD Red drives. This, you will note, is less than the cost of the corresponding two drives!!!!!Having just bought a pricey new Gigabyte laptop,my budget was very tight and an Amazon Prime Warehouse Deal of £290 for a 12TB reconditioned Duo proved irresistable.It arrived and was indistinguishable from new except that the WD product info stated that the software and manual were on disk. They were not but downloading them from WD proved no big deal. Oh yes, there was no "disk Replacement tool" - a piece of plastic from what I can make out - but a credit card proved adequate to levering the top off to get at the disks.After some initial experimentation, I decided to abandon my original plan. It seemed that taking the Duo disks and installing them in the NAS whilst taking the NAS disks and installing them in the Duo made more sense. It was a little more involved than this suggests - and very time consuming - but fairly straightforward. After a couple of days of Raid array rebuilding and ensuring all disks were thoroughly checked for bad secors etc, I had a NAS with 6TB (well, 5.86 TB usable) of Raid 1 storage and a Duo with 6TB (5.45TB usable) of Raid 0 storage.Ok, so I'm now using the NAS to backup all our household's systems (I use Macrium Reflect V7 for this as its the best backup software IMHO) and copy the Macrium images to the Duo (I've got it as a Network share). I also use cloud storage too but this is a review of the Duo so I won't decribe my paranoid backup system any further except to note that if the house burnt down I can recover from such a disaster.The Duo is quite compact and comes with a couple of alternative USB leads (USB-C to USB-C andUSB-C to USB-A), PSU (UK plug adaptor included). If you were intending to just plug it in to a PC and use it as an external drive then it's all pretty straightforward stuff. I can't now recall how the disks were configured but I did have to format them. It is a very compact unit and its construction is quite nice-looking - better than the "plastic case" description might suggest. The unit makes very little noise - its much quieter than the PC fan for sure - and in Raid 0, I find disk access is quite fast. In use, on a Windows system, once its formatted, your system just treats it like any other disk and you can copy, drag and drop files etc as is usual. If you configure it as a JBOD then you end up with two disks of equal capacity. I prefer the Raid 0 configuration -it seems faster and I find it more convenient for Windows to "see" it as one disk. Whtehr Raid 1 is useful or not would depend on whther you are relying on the Duo to perform backups - in which case Raid 1 may be a sensible proposition (though bear in mind your effective storage capacity will be that of one disk).My only real criticism of the unit is that removing (and inserting) disks to and from the Duo's HD carriers is not quite as trivial a job as the manual's diagrams indicate. The screws have rubber grommets which are a real p.i.t.a to deal with. My NAS's disk carriers are a joy in comparison..........no screws. I can't believe WD are saving much with this rather silly, fiddly, arrrangement. It's not a deal breaker mind, and if you are not wanting to get at the physical disks it won't bother you at all.Overall, this is a very worthwhile purchase and reresents an absolute bargain if compared to the cost of just buying the two WD Red disks themselves.

23.4.2019

Having read dozens of reviews of these WD MyBook Duo drives, the conclusion I had come to was that they are very loud, but otherwise ok. I found a 'used' one on the Amazon Warehouse at a vastly reduced price, so I was happy to give it a go for myself. I was chiefly interested in using it in RAID 1 (mirrored mode) as an expansion for my QNAP T451 NAS although I decided to also try it directly connected via USB to my Macbook.Dealing with the 'noise' issue first, I'm not sure if I've been exceptionally lucky, but other that when it first switches on (you get a brief flurry from the fan, just to prove it works) it is basically silent (other than a little bit of clicking of the HDD heads getting in the right position).There's no audible fan noise and it seems to run pretty cool. I wasn't worried about noise as it was going to live in a cupboard with my NAS, but I'm glad it's very quiet in case plans change and it moves out of it's under-stairs home. When testing via USB, it was tucked away on a bookshelf behind the sofa with a long USB3 lead and noise was not an issue.Speed is very good plugged into my Macbook. As you can see from my screenshot, in RAID 1 (mirror) mode it achieves ~100MB/s Write and ~135MB/s Read over USB 3.When plugged into my macbook, it takes a little while to be recognised, but once it is, it responds quickly and seems very solid. It comes up formatted as a single drive using the capacity of both drives with data striped across them both (RAID 0). This is a terrifying proposition (to me at least) as if one of the drives fails, you lose all the data on both. Luckily you have the opportunity to install an app (Windows or Mac, download from the WD website) that can change the formatting of the drive. You thereby have 2 alternatives:RAID 1 - only gives you half the capacity but if a drive fails, all of the data is safely on the other driveJBOD - which treats each disk like a separate drive, so if one fails, you only lose the data on that drive - data on the other is safe.The big advantage of how it comes set up is you get one nice big drive, and it works faster than either of the other 2 options. Fine for a backup as it's unlikely both your main disk and the backup would go at the same time. Whether it's worth the risk as a storage drive is up to you...The drives inside are WD Reds, which are designed for NAS use, and regarded as some of the more reliable drives you can buy, so you should get many many hours of use without any issues.One annoying thing on the Mac is that when you wake your Mac from sleep with the drive plugged in, the WD software will frequently alert you that there is a RAID error. There is no error, it's a false alarm. The best way to deal with this is to simply uninstall the WD software after you've configured the drive to your requirements. It has very few functions, aside from changing RAID modes and giving annoying alerts! You can always reinstall should you need to change the RAID mode (which will also wipe out all of your data).

17.11.2016

'The WD 6TB - My Book Mac and PC - WDBBGB0060HBK-EESN' is natively fully compatible with both Mac and PC. The enclosure remains with a similar black plastic exterior that they have always used although the design had changed at least a couple of times over the years and this is a fancier version with the lower half featuring a network of moulded horizontal and diagonal lines in some areas but with a completely plain top section and used exclusively for the Mac and PC series. Connection is by USB 3.0 with no provision in this instance for USB C, not yet common on PCs but used to the exclusion of just about everything else on the most recent MacBooks. An adaptor for use with a recent Macbook will then be essential.Neither Windows 10 nor OS X El Capitan are mentioned but it is usable with both.WD's choice of exFAT for this series is a good one as another brand had formatted their backup drives with NTFS, not normally readable by Macs, and offered as a solution free download of software specifically to allow your Mac to be able to read the data; WD's is the tidier and simpler solution.The drive includes a pre-installed encryption feature which can be optionally used; whether it is needed or not may depend upon how and for which purpose the drive is to be used. At home and used for media or personal project files, it probably would not be needed; used in a work environment for financial spreadsheets, databases or other data where protection from prying eyes may be essential it may be needed. WD's Smartware package is included for basic and Cloud backups. The software is a modified, pre-licensed version of Acronis and apparently provided in Mac and PC versions! Alternatively, you may choose not to use the software and just use the drive for whatever you wish. It is advisable to copy and backup the provided files in the event that they may be needed later, even if not now!Physical stability is a minor issue with ALL vertical enclosures, but is possibly better with this than some others as it is quite wide relative to the internal HDD. Some Blue-tack (easily removed) or double-side foam tape (less easily removed, but possible) can be used to stabilise. Functionally, no fault has yet been found and it has been used repeatedly as interim storage to transfer data sets between PCs and locations. Consideration is now being given to adding the 8TB model.In use the drive is sufficiently fast to read and write (by comparison with and experience of many others), is sufficiently quiet, and has the capacity to be really useful. However, WD's Book drives can be expensive relative to others but they sometimes claim that high-performance drive units are employed rather than cheaper desktop-rated drives as used in some alternatives.

19.11.2016

At under 20 cms in height and a couple of hard back books in width, the My Book is a compact, elegant storage system in a stylish black case. It's used in the upright vertical position only, there is a ventilation outlet on the top which shouldn't be blocked and rubber, non slip feet on the base.I approached this with caution, having used a previous backup and storage system that never worked well and was a nightmare to set up on my Windows 10 laptop.My Book isn't like that. You don't have to be a grade 1 ICT expert to use it. At first I was a bit daunted - where was the instruction leaflet?There was a web address for support with problems and a set up diagram showing how the My Book linked

28.4.2019

I purchased the 20TB for backups. During setup, I mistakenly used the included usb-a to usb-a cable but the included usb-c (device) to usb-a (computer) cable is the correct one. This is where a user guide would be useful (not included, but download from WD support). I thought there was a power problem, because the fan would start up then stop a few seconds later, but once it was connected to the computer, it worked fine.Once recognized, it works just like any other drive. I changed it to RAID 1 (so it's a 10TB mirror) which was very easy with the free WD Discovery program (download from WD). I also downloaded the free Drive, Security, and Backup utilities. The Discovery program (v3.2.256)

5.7.2019

I Bought the WD 8Gb Single drive version.I'm guessing other reviews stating how noisy it is, are talking about the duel drive version.I've not heard it making any noise except for the usual startup sounds. Also it takes a few seconds to spin up when you haven't used it for a while, I'm guessing it contains a NAS hard drive inside.The whole unit seems smaller than other external drives I've used in the past with only a slightly larger power plug and no big power supply brick in the middle of the cable.It's fast! I was copying a large 4gb video test file and getting a max of 190mb transfer rate from the WD drive to an internal SSD. From the SSD to WD drive it was more like 180mb.

15.11.2016

Tested using a HP desktop running Windows 10The unit is neat, just under 20 cm tall (although some of the Amazon images make it look like a desktop tower PC) and it doesn't take up much desk space. The cabling provided is also fairly space friendly (leads not overly long and not overly thick).The My Book worked for me straight from the box, true plug and play, so there was nothing more complicated to do to set it up than put the power lead in, then connect to the PC with the USB cable provided. My HP PC recognised it immediately and I could swap files around with no other software updates needed. It runs quietly, and so far there doesn't seem to be much lag time in file transfer,

29.8.2019

--- Edit-----I have changed the file format to NTFS and now it looks like stable. But I'm not sure for how long. I need to do more tests on this drive to find out exFat failed in Windows 10 Pro.I request a replacement and Amazon send it next day to my home. I really appreciate Amazon customer service. So I ended up by keeping the replacement drive and original drive by paying the replacement.I have change my ratings from 1 to 4 starts due to Amazons fantastic customer service.---Edit---It was working fine for couple of days. Then it stared to hang and unresponsive. I unplugged it and replugged it several times to make it to work. This my book suddenly disappeare from Windows explorer and reappear only if I reopen the Windows explorer.

7.7.2019

Purchased on 17th June 2019 for £87.49.I’ve been waiting for the right moment to add some storage to my PC so when this 6TB hard drive went on offer I went for it.I already have a 5TB Western Digital Elements external hard drive but it’s been really low on space for quite a while so it was time to get another one.The hard drive arrived well packaged with plenty of protection. It came complete with a UK power adapter and USB 3.0 cable.I love the look of this hard drive, the mixture of glossy and matte panels works really well and the rectangular design with the ridges looks very stylish. I actually prefer this design to the rounded design of my Elements hard drive.I literally plugged it in and it was good to go,

31.12.2019

At a time where one pays about £200 for a single 6TB red drive, this is an absolute steal at around £250 for two in a housing (not sure what impact that may have on the WD warranty though, if the drives were taken out and used otherwise).Out of the box, the unit is set up as RAID 0, to offer or show 12TB when connected to your PC.Quick download of Western Digital’s drive tool and you’re able to reconfigure this drive for RAID 1, which enhances data security in mirroring the two 6TB drives, which means, should one of them fail, the second drive retains your data and allows replacement of the faulty drive.Connecting to a USB3 or USB-C connection, the drive comes with two cables for this purpose,

7.10.2019

I bought this to backup multiple PCs in our house, the main desktop and a couple of laptops. The bundled software can be installed as many times as you like on multiple systems, and the data from each is kept separate on the backup drive. It is very easy to use and keeps multiple versions of files, not just the last one. After the first full backup, subsequent backups only include new or changed files.I was initially utterly dismayed to see that the file timestamps are not preserved on the backup drive, leading me to think that a restore of, for example, a load of photos would result in their timestamps being meaningless, but I thought this would be completely bonkers for backup software to behave like this,

30.3.2018

After a few weeks of using this drive, I am very happy with its performance. I bought it specifically for storing and playing home and purchased movies on my TV.The disc came pre-formatted as ExFat, which meant I could store larger files. It connected immediately to my iMac and file transfer was rapid. Although I use a Mac, the external drive needed to be formatted as a Windows disc to be read by my TV.I have had a lot of trouble getting movies to play from a USB drive on my late 2016 Sonia Bravia "smart" TV, unlike other brands that work immediately. It has taken a lot of time and frustration to learn the tricks to get the Sony to work.

15.7.2019

Like most, I was purchasing these for the drives inside, rather than for use as an external unit, typically proving to be the cheaper way of buying larger drives when they're on offer.The WD 6TB My Book Desktop contains a WD60EZRZ drive - a Western Digital Blue, 3.5" SATA III drive - 6Gb/s, 5400 RPM disk with 64MB Cache. In open air, spin and seek noise seems to be better than a now-neighbouring Seagate drive, appearing to be very similar to some of my older WD Green drives (which I think these newer Blue drives have largely replaced in the last few years). For use as a video-hosting server drive, it's pretty much ideal - low power on idle, 5A peak during full use,

9.12.2016

I guess I am what some people might refer to as a data hoarder. I have terabytes worth of stuff all saved to my computer, which is fine, but it requires lots of hard drive space. I have a five TB worth of space inside my pc, but I've been thinking for a while that it might be a really good idea to have a backup, in case the worst should happen. At first glance then this seems like the perfect solution. A huge chunk of hard drive space, with software that automatically does your backing up for you, neatly packaged into a speedy external unit that can be removed from the location quickly if necessary.So how is it? The answer is, as far as I can tell, it's great. It sits on the desk,

27.11.2019

So; like many others I decided to dismantle one of these and stick it in my PC. Dismantling is not that hard and there are YouTube videos that show you how to do this.Do bear in mind that you need a torx screwdriver (not an allen key) to unscrew it once you get it out of the case (which only has to be opened from one end).I get the drive out and put it in another USB caddy in order to copy data to it. It's nice and fast lovely.However; when I put it in the PC; nothing, I do not see the drive in the BIOS or in windows ("Nooooo! I've just invalidated the warranty and now it's broken").I try it in multiple PCs and with multiple different SATA cables. No dice.Then I realise when I put my ear to the drive that it's not even spinning up.

Western Digital My Book USB 3.0 (WDBBGB) - Reviews

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