Western Digital 160GB EIDE Internal Hard Drive with 8MB Cache

by Western Digital

Product Details

Supplementary Guide [753kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 4.2 x 8 inches ; 1.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008BFJW
• Item model number: WD1600JBRTL
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 23, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

WD Caviar SE hard drives are designed for maximum performance in applications such as computer gaming, digital video editing, and file servers. They deliver data faster than any hard drive in their class. Features

• 80 GB per platter -- State-of-the-art areal density and maximum capacity with drives as large as 160 GB.
• Ultra ATA/100 -- Up to 100 Mbps burst transfer rates.
• 8 MB cache buffer -- Fast data transfer rates.
• Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) technology -- improves hard drive reliability; reduces heat, vibration, and noise.

Data Protection Enhancements

• Data Lifeguard is an expanded set of data protection features that include shock protection, an environmental protection system, and embedded error detection and repair features that automatically find, isolate, and repair problem areas that may develop over the extended use of the hard drive. With these enhanced data reliability features, the drive can perform more accurate monitoring and error repair and deliver exceptional data security.
• Data Lifeguard Tools is a set of software utilities that work in conjunction with the embedded Data Lifeguard features to make hard drive installation, drive management diagnostics, and repair simple and worry-free.
• Shock Guard provides outstanding improvements in shock and vibration protection for WD Caviar SE drives. Shock Guard allows instantaneous data protection at high shock values to achieve leading shock specifications.

Technical Specifications

• 160 GB capacity
• Rotational Speed: 7,200 RPM (nominal)
• Buffer Size: 8 MB
• Average Latency: 4.2 milliseconds (nominal)
• Contact Start/Stop Cycles: 50,000 minimum
• Read Seek Time (Average): 8.9 milliseconds
• Write Seek Time (Average): 10.9 milliseconds (average)
• Track-To-Track Seek Time: 2.0 milliseconds (average)
• Buffer To Disk: 748 Mbps (Max)

Product Package Contains

• Hard drive
• IDE cable
• Quick install guide
• Mounting screws
• Jumpers
• Installation poster
• Data Lifeguard Tools installation software and utilities

Product Description

Western Digital hard drives with 8MB cache are designed to maximize desktop computer performance for activities requiring high-performance storage such as computer gaming, digital video editing, and file server applications. If you are a digital camera or MP3 enthusiast, this drive can deliver the storage capacity and performance you need to organize and preserve your digital life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Western Digital makes good drives at good prices, December 9, 2004

By 

J. Loughlin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Western Digital 160GB EIDE Internal Hard Drive with 8MB Cache (Personal Computers)

I have used nothing but Western Digital drives for the last 12 years. The 80MB (yes, that's MB, as in megabyte, for those who haven't been in this game for that long....) drive that I bought 12 years ago is still going strong, as is the 540MB drive that I bought 10 years ago, the 4.6GB drive I bought 6 years ago, and the 20GB drive that I bought 2 years ago. These are all running 24/7 in a Linux server, and not once in all these years have I had to repair a filesystem due to bad sectors. I fully expect this one to last as long as the others as well.

Oh, and as for the other reviewer who had two of these drives fail within days or weeks, I would be much more likely to suspect that the controller, its drivers, or the cable were at fault than the disks - you need to use good quality ribbon cables, no more than 18 inches in length, with ATA-100 disks. And it goes without saying that you also need a good controller with stable drivers. Cheap motherboards often contain cheap EIDE controllers with buggy drivers. Use quality components and good drives (Western Digital) and you should have no problems.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars everyone's got a different experience, September 6, 2005

By 

G. VandenBosch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Western Digital 160GB EIDE Internal Hard Drive with 8MB Cache (Personal Computers)

mine just crashed after less than two years, but I've owned other WD drives that have lasted longer than the computer they came with (many years).

bottom line is don't put your faith in one drive.

This is a good drive for the money. While it was running, I was very happy with it.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Hard Drives + Worse Warranty + Worst Customer service, July 27, 2007

By 

kiran_reddy "kiran_reddy" (Roswell, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Western Digital 160GB EIDE Internal Hard Drive with 8MB Cache (Personal Computers)

Make that -5 *****
Need I say anymore.........actually I do....

Please dont waste money (more importantly, possibly your life's worth of digital files) on this piece of joke. The poorest quality drives, the most unprofessional customer no service. Down right, unethical company.

The drive failed on Day 1 from the store and was returned to WD after obtaining a RMA number. You can get the RMA number only with a proper WD serial number. After numerous emails, I finally got a response saying that, the drive i sent them was not a WD drive??(this bait and switch is quit common for warranties) Apparently WD is using this tactic and others to deny any customer any kind of warranty claims. I have copies of all the emails and online RMA submissions. I also took a copy of the face of drive (to guard against such a switch-aroo) before sending in. If you have any such problems, please do take a copy or high resolution digital picture of the drive/box before sending it in. I see a class action suite coming....