Western Digital WDG1NC5000N My Book World Edition 500 GB Ethernet Network Storage System

Other products by Western Digital

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1 x 12 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000NKJ2WY
• Item model number: WDG1NC5000N
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Memory Cards & External Storage > Network Attached Storage

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Designed for home users, creative professionals, workgroups, and anyone looking for shared storage, the Western Digital WDG1NC5000N My Book World Edition 500 GB Ethernet Network Storage System offers a surprisingly simple and secure way to access and share your data, presentations, and photos at home, in the office, and anywhere in the world--even when your local computer is turned off. Wherever you are, My Book World Edition is accessible just like a local drive using Windows Explorer. From any PC, you can remotely open, edit, and save files as if they are right there with you. My Book World Edition combines up to 500 GB of networked storage, backup software, and remote access software to make it the most versatile and powerful product in its class.

The My Book World Edition offers several outstanding features that will give you peace of mind because you know that your data is not only a click away no matter where you are in the world, but also that it's safe and secure. My Book World Edition features WD Anywhere Access, which ensures that your storage system and all the files on it are always accessible when you need them, even when your local computer is turned off. Use Data OnHand to securely browse your folders and to open, edit, and save files from any PC. EMC Retrospect Express is the easy-to-use system software you use to schedule your file backups or to create backup files on demand.

Ideal for home users who want professional capabilities, My Book World Edition is easy to set up, thanks to its unique, powerful remote access software. It includes a 1000/100/10-compatible Ethernet connection for fast performance, and its efficient convection cooling system keeps the unit running cool and remarkably quiet.

My Book World Edition is ideal for users who want to:

• Easily access and edit files from any computer.
• Get files from home while at the office.
• Listen to their music while on vacation.
• Securely share photos with friends anywhere in the world without uploading them to the web.
• Back up laptop data to their home computer while they're traveling.
• Offer clients an easy way to access business documents, designs, and artwork. (Eliminates the need for a separate FTP server.)
• Back up critical files to a remote drive for the ultimate protection from loss.
• Simplify their home network and access data from any computer or external hard drive in the house.
• Automatically back up all PCs to one central location.
• Gain peace of mind with a mirrored backup of important documents and images.

The My Book World Edition is backed by a 3-year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
WDG1NC5000N network external hard drive, Ethernet cable, AC adapter, installation and software CD, and quick install guide.

Product Description

Add this unique remote-access storage system to your wired or wireless network and youll have a surprisingly simple and secure way to access and share data and photos, at home, in the office, and anywhere in the world--even when your local computer is off. The Western Digital My Book World Edition 500 GB NAS Server features 500 GB of networked storage and an 8.9 ms seek time, meaning your data is safe and at your fingerprints. Network setup is a breeze with high performance Gigabit Ethernet connection and included installation guide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bait & Switch, June 1, 2007

By	A. R. Schmidt (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently purchased this product and from a basic hardware perspective it does the job. HOWEVER... WD failed to disclaim on the packaging OR in their instruction manual that in order to get the "Remote Access" that is the key piece of functionality you would want you have to use MioNet with a SUBSCRIPTION of $6/mo or $65 per year.

They also fail to tell you that you are limited to 5 PC's using this per account using this software. This includes any PC on your local network. So instead of just mapping it like a regular drive you are forced to use up one of the 5 spaces you are allowed.

The final piece of frustration is its lack of support for long file names. What year was this firmware written? I thought that had gone out with Windows 3.1? Needless to say, saving your MP3's to it forces an auto change of the long name to some abbreviation of the song name that barely explains what it is or who sings it.

Overall I am disappointed that the large "selling feature" about this product is a hidden bait and switch with a subscription fee. From a simple file location for back-ups or storing some general data it's fine.

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drive is great, with a few caveats, December 2, 2007

By	Andy in Washington "Andy" (Washougal, WA) - See all my reviews

I have owned this drive now for about 6 months. In that time, it has performed well, with a few caveats:

Skip the Mionet, unless you are really into sharing this drive on the internet. If you are, do a little googling, there are better (and cheaper) solutions. Read the Western Digital Help Site, FAQ answer 1531- it explains how to use this drive without Mionet on your own network. Read that BEFORE you install Mionet.

Mionet is horrible. It seemed slow, buggy, and was always asking if I wanted to update it to a pay version.

I am not a fan of the on/off switch. It looks cool, but it seems to have a mind of its own- never quite sure what it going on when I press it. The LED light show is cool, but since the cat is the only one who ever goes into the computer closet, I am not sure how much she really likes it.

I use the drive in an NAS configuration, and it works great (see Mionet comments above). It may be a little slow, but if you are after speed, an NAS is probably not the best solution anyway. The setup was much easier than some of my other NAS solutions.

The drive is reasonably quiet, and I don't see the thermal problems others have mentioned, although the location I have my drives is pretty cool. I also have not seen any of the long file name problems mentioned.

This drive is one of my "online spares", so it is not on 24/7. However, when I do power it up, it comes up pretty quick, does it's IP address thing with my network, and is visible to computers within 20 seconds or so. Much better than other NAS products I own.

No other issues- 4/5 stars only because of Mionet- WD should really know better.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent little machine, July 17, 2007

By	Dogpontoon (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

I received this as a gift about a month ago. Its a neat little machine. It doesn't work like a regular external HD, it actually serves as a storage server on your network. Any of your computers can access it; I suggest mapping it as drive Z on all of your PCs.

What I don't like about this device is the software which comes with it, "Mionet." Basically, Mionet is a company that makes remote access software. A stripped down version of their remote access program comes with the My Book.

So, to use the remote access feature of this product, you have to have a mionet account. Its free, but its constantly pandering to you to upgrade to 'premium.' Its quite annoying.

This is what I did, and its kept me happy with this product.
1. Connect MyBook to network
2. Install drivers and Mionet (you have to) on each computer
3. create basic Mionet account
4. Uninstall Mionet

This way, I don't have the software running on my PC at all times. If I want to access the Mybook while away from home, I just go to [...], sign in, and use the Java interface there.

Overall, 4 stars b/c its great having this device on my network. The remote access feature could use some serious work