As has been stated before, if you know what you're doing, this is a pretty easy install, but be prepared to run an "ALIGN" utility if you're using XP as the O/S. May take a few hours (based on quantity of data).. This drive arrives bare bone and not only has no instructions or software, it also does not have any connector cables, (an IDE four-pin to SATA power adapter), or mounting screws. If you want to add an additional drive to an existing system, which is the reason I was gifted with this one, you'll need to get the cabling and mounting hardware elsewhere. If you want to replace a failed drive and don't want the "extra stuff" that usually comes with a drive, this drive is for you. I rarely purchase the "bleeding edge" of new technology simply because I'm not willing to punk down the bucks to be somebodies beta tester. The cost, "green" attributes, speed and lower running temperatures certainly met all of the criteria I listed in my "wish list." Western Digital is known to be stable and reliable with an excellent price to performance ratio, so far, this drive runs great and was a good choice for my computer gaming needs. I agree with the other reviewer who wished the warranty was a couple of years longer(only 3years) but with the speed of change in technology, I guess i can live with it. Read more
I got this a month ago and so far it hasn't given me any problems. It works very well and the speed is pretty good. the only gripe I have about this is that sometimes it lags a little and the clicking sound the disk makes when I open files from it. For example, if I open up the files in the 1TB drive, sometimes it'll take 4-5 seconds for the drive to register that its being opened and there will be clicking noises. I'm not sure why that happens but its not really that big of a deal. Other than that, it is still a very great drive and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a budget HD. Read more
What can I say about this drive. Simple, it just works. I installed this HD as a backup drive on my new HP computer system in just a few minutes. Ironically, when I opened my computer case to install it I was surprised to find that my primary drive was also a Western Digital Caviar Green SATA 1TB drive. If it's good enough for HP to install in their higher end systems, I figure it's good enough for me too. One word of caution that has been mentioned in other reviews. This is not a consumer package drive. It comes with the drive and nothing else. That means you need a SATA cable and an open power connector in your system in order to hook it up. You also need 4 mounting screws. It also comes with no directions so you need to know how to set it up on your own. This is very easy to do using the Windows 7 disk management program but on Windows XP systems it may take a bit more tinkering to get it up and running. The drive performs well, it is VERY quiet as well. A good drive at a great price. I recommend it. Read more
This is my 3rd 1 TB WD drive. The first one I purchased flaked out on me a couple months with an interface issue. I RMAed it and got a replacement from WD in about a week. That one is residing in my media player. So far so good. This one I purchased to replaced my 80 gig Seagate that (10 years old) that finally gave up. Performance is GREAT. The SATA II makes a big difference. This model has the new larger block size filing system. So if you run Windows XP you need to use WD's a utility called ALIGN to convert the block size back to something Win XP can use. I primarily use Linux and it's EXT 3 and 4 file systems work 100% (and are FAST). Windows Vista and 7 are fine with the new block size also. For those who are sill stuck with 100 GB, or 250 GB drives and you really would like to explore media creation or just have the capacity to back up a lot of data, look into TB drive sizes. You will be constantly amazed how much data you pack on them and seem to hardly scratch the surface of it total capacity. Read more
This is a great hard drive for lots of storage. I got it about almost a month back and removed my existing HDD from my HP Pavilion desktop and replaced it with this new one. Installation was a snap (remove cables from the old one, put them into this one and you're set). My old HDD was SATA connected and so installation was a snap. But if you are installing this as a new hard drive, you dont get cables and all with it and you have to buy them yourselves and go through a few more steps. My system recognized this one instantly and after an hour or so, I had Windows 7 installed on this drive and ready to go. I do notice a drastic improvement in speed when it comes to accessing files (my old HDD was 1.5gb/sec speed, and this one is double at 3.0gb/sec). And the storage is so big that I am able to store lots of movies onto it. I love it so far. Great value for the money! Read more
