Info on Western Digital My Book World Edition II

WDG2NC15000

Seems to be available in 1.5 TB and 1 TB capacity.

Use the WD Anywhere mio software to find the username and password of the linux OS in the My Book World. In Software, click on the button that says backup Info and use the username and password provided there, make sure password is typed with CAPsLock on. Browse the SMB shares to find the right drive. It will be under the name IDXXXXXX.

Can't backup files larger than 2G.

J&R Music and Computer World $359.99
Circuit City $499.99
BuyDig.com $365.00
RitzCamera.com $427.79

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=318&language=en
http://www.backupcritic.com/news/2006/10/20061003.html

This is the best review so far. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2106424,00.asp

The drive gets terrible user reviews here:http://www.cnet.com.au/desktops/storage/0,239029473,339275060,00.htm
Product features and Specs. at WD Site. http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1513&p_created=1172075519



Due to poor user reviews I am not getting this drive, dispite it being offered at Costco at a good price.

Forum Posts:
Some highlights on the previous comments, on which I couldn' agree more with ....

dfollis
The throughput you described is terrible and that is what would keep my from buying it.

4875720
If they pack the wrong power adapters with their non working external hard drives, most people would agree they have pretty shoddy Quality Control. Most things go right with a review like Loyd's because the WD PR department is going to make damn sure they don't supply the same garbage that they supply to the average customer. However for the average customer, this is not the case. So customer - beware!

mmroczek
It wouldn't allow the backup file to get larger than 2G, and I couldn't find any workaround for this. Since it couldn't meet both my needs, and it was noisy, I chose to return it.

ubstor
Throughput is HORRIBLE!It averages 42 Mbps and never exceeds 45 Mbps.
.../...
Using MioNet, backups abort after ~20-30 minutes or maybe ~5-20GB.
It does NOT happen when mapped directly to the MyBook.
.../...
My fan isn't too loud. I read in another forum that an earlier firmware update had a fix for the 'jet engine' fan noise.


PantsOnFire
The web interface (MioNetWeb) also has problems. Strangely, it shows my drives as being "OFFLINE", even after I've successfully logged into the java applet on the site. (MioNetWeb) So the only contact I can have with the drive is if i search for it on the local network in explorer, or map it to a drive letter (it then appears in windows).

I have tried contacting WD 11 days ago in 8 different emails, but had no answers back at all. I've tried contacting them by both direct email AND through their knowledgebase forum section on their support website. Failing that (so far after 11days), I sent similar queries directly to MioNet (although I'm pretty sure they'll shun my emails and fob me off telling me it's WD's responsibility to provide support).

.../...
it seems a bit poor that a company whose speciality is hard drives would put out such inefficient hardware. I also feel a bit gutted to be reeled in by the 'gigabit' branding and '10/100/1000 high performance', also uPnP functionality, nowhere to be seen.

.../...
The only software that came with the drive is this crappy AnywhereAccess software (which as stated in the review is this customised version of secure networking software by a company called MioNet (www.mionet.com)

It's such crap, it dosen't even run! I mailed them about it, and the suggestion I got back was..: "yes we've also recognised this behaviour (app not loading) in windows computer with more than 1 user account on them".

What kind of company makes a program that shits when its on a machine with multiple user accounts? Furthermore, what kind of fools at WD put their faith in a company like MioNet to come up with software for their drive? Quality control.. est not.
.../...
WD have not replied to my 8 emails over 12 days now, clowns.

---

jharris posts at WD Site:
post one--

This is my second try at the MBWII device.

I saw it, noted the 1-T size, and decided that this would be a welcome addition to my collection of devices on my network.

I already have a Tritton NAS with a 400 gig drive in it, and an HP Mediavault (300G) with a 750G in the expansion bay.

I run my own domain controller, DHCP, DNS, WINS, etc. on a private IP space of 172.31.100.x set up as class-B (255.255.0.0)

Reading through the manuals - online, on the CD, etc. I come to the following conclusions regarding the drive's operation:

1. It is set, by default, to auto-configure (DHCP)
2. The default machine name should be "mybookworld"
3. I can configure it using the supplied client software, or via a web portal.
4. It can, and does, support SMB based file transfer and sharing.

My issue is this:

1. I connect the MBWII to my network, using a known good cable into a known good port.
2. I apply power, and wait a good loooooong time for this beastie to wake up & smell the coffee.
3. I examine my DHCP manager's "active leases" window, even refreshing it, and I NEVER see an additional lease requested by anything, let alone "mybookworld".
4. I try rebooting
5. I try the "10-second salute" reset
6. I have burned brown rice, and am collecting small rodents to sacrifice to it.

Nothing I have done has encouraged either of the two units I had to even THINK about acquiring a DHCP lease.
Nothing shows up in WINS or DNS. (I have DHCP, DNS, and WINS all set to exchange information.)

Installing the supplied software does not help as it responds that it cannot detect any devices.

I am now 0 for 2 on these things.

I am interested to know what I have to do to get this beastie running.

How do I get this #$*&ing thing to even participate in my network?

Thanks in advance!

Jim

post two--

OK boys and girls - I have found a solution...

One of my assumptions, based on what I saw in the manual, is that the device supported DHCP right out of the box.

Apparently this is not true.

I - literally out of shear desperation - tried the "attach it to the back of your computer" trick - which (IMHO) is shear foolishness, because my own computer also uses DHCP - etc...

(Maybe the MyBookWorld will respond as a DHCP server?)

OK, I tried it, and I did an "ipconfig /release" and "ipconfig /renew" cycle - and as expected, the "renew" times out because the DHCP server is nowhere to be found.

Interestingly enough - Microsoft provides a "default" IP address when DHCP renew fails (I've seen it a million times, and never paid it any mind at all)

However, it appears that the MyBookWorldII - at initial startup - defaults to a hard-coded IP address in this same address space, and it can resolve it's own name.

Viz.:

======== begin inserted text ========

C:\Documents and Settings\Jim Harris>ipconfig /renew

Windows IP Configuration

An error occurred while renewing interface Local Area Connection : unable to con
tact your DHCP server. Request has timed out.

C:\Documents and Settings\Jim Harris>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : athlonxp
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : vgorilla.com
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : vgorilla.com
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-40-05-34-76-D8
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.123.27
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\Jim Harris>ping mybookworld

Pinging mybookworld [169.254.6.72] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 169.254.6.72: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 169.254.6.72: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 169.254.6.72: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 169.254.6.72: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 169.254.6.72:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

======== end inserted text ========

Interesting!

I was then able to get into the web configuration tools and set up the device the way I wanted it to be set, and give it an IP address that falls within my own network's IP space.

Unfortunately - except for the "plug it into the back of your computer" message, they never, ever allude to this behavior (being hard coded to an IP address fresh out of the box) anywhere else.

Sigh....

It would be nice if they actually mentioned this stuff somewhere.

I actually sent one of these bastids back to them as "broken" because it wouldn't pick up a DHCP lease.

I would have saved myself a LOT of time yesterday - and actually gotten some sleep! - if they made this clearer.

I sure-as-hell hope this helps someone else.

Jim