Western Digital "My Book" external hard drive - how does it work? Thread poster: Astrid Elke Witte
|
|---|
I would so much like to back up my data, but cannot find a way, despite the fact that I own an external hard drive called "Western Digital My Book", which is theoretically supposed to assist with the matter. I have employed two computer men to date on the topic, however it seems I need to find out how to work this gadget for myself.
A year ago the first computer man fixed up this external hard drive. He programmed it to run at certain times, namely every day the moment I clicked the... See more I would so much like to back up my data, but cannot find a way, despite the fact that I own an external hard drive called "Western Digital My Book", which is theoretically supposed to assist with the matter. I have employed two computer men to date on the topic, however it seems I need to find out how to work this gadget for myself.
A year ago the first computer man fixed up this external hard drive. He programmed it to run at certain times, namely every day the moment I clicked the button to switch my computer off.
It worked on my old computer, that I had until 5 weeks ago. It has never worked on the new computer, under Windows Vista, although I understand it is supposed to be "Vista compatible", so I have no backups from the past 5 weeks. The new computer man said he programmed it to do backups, but evidently, if he has, it does not work.
It is on my computer under drive F. If I click on "F: My Book" I see a list of files which could possibly be backed up. The list is out of date and I would like to change it, but do not know how to alter it in any way. Translation Office 3000 seems to be missing from the list. It was there originally.
I have clicked around in vain, and tried clicking with the other mouse button, to make it throw up the screen where I can type in the times that I wish the backups to be carried out. The computer men seem to have access to such a screen, however I cannot obtain one from anywhere.
There were never any instructions with the gadget, and there just does not seem to be a way to either (1) crack the secret of where to get the screen from where I can choose the times that the backups should be carried out; (2) find out how to add or delete software programs or groups of files from the list of data to be backed up.
Similarly, there is no information anywhere on the Internet on how to work this gadget.
Can anyone provide any information on how to use it?
Also, I would like to know how to make it switch off together with the computer, without having to pull the cable out each time.
Astrid ▲ Collapse
| | | | justin C
United States
Local time: 18:03
English
| Windows backup, and "My book" backup are different | Jul 1, 2007 |
Hi Astrid!
I too, own a "My book". These drives come with software pre-installed to do backups, but from the sounds of your post, your computer man was using backup software that comes with Windows.
This would make sense because since you switched to Vista, and your backups are no longer working. I did a quick Google searc... See more Hi Astrid!
I too, own a "My book". These drives come with software pre-installed to do backups, but from the sounds of your post, your computer man was using backup software that comes with Windows.
This would make sense because since you switched to Vista, and your backups are no longer working. I did a quick Google search for 'Vista backups', and came to this page -- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/backup.mspx
It looks like there is a 'backup and restore center' that can be accessed from the control panel. You may be able to setup a new backup schedule for your Vista machine like you had on your Windows XP machine there.
Also, you may want to try checking out this video on the subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLN484U7pMo
Also, I would like to know how to make it switch off together with the computer, without having to pull the cable out each time.
I haven't found a way to get the My book to do this, and I'm not sure there is since the drive is powered by an external power supply. But if you find a way, please let me know!
Best regards,
Justin ▲ Collapse
| | | | Astrid Elke Witte 
Germany
Local time: 00:03
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks very much indeed, Justin! | Jul 1, 2007 |
I will check out the two links you mention, and report on how I get on.
Many thanks.
Astrid
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 01:03
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
| Another Option for File Backups | Jul 1, 2007 |
Dear Astrid,
I also own a WD My Book, and I just drag and drop files in Windows Explorer. My Book comes with a sofware called WD Diagnostics which you might have to run in order to enable this.
Another option for backing up your files is online backup. I would like to refer you to another forum that I started about a sit... See more Dear Astrid,
I also own a WD My Book, and I just drag and drop files in Windows Explorer. My Book comes with a sofware called WD Diagnostics which you might have to run in order to enable this.
Another option for backing up your files is online backup. I would like to refer you to another forum that I started about a site called Mozy.
http://www.proz.com/topic/76238
I hope this information helps.
Sincerely,
Atil ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 01:03
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
| TO CONTACT WD | Jul 2, 2007 |
Dear Astrid,
Here is the contact information in case you need to contact WD. I copy and paste from WD Diagnostics.
TO CONTACT WD:
In some cases the user may be requested to contact Western Digital Technical Support. You may contact Western Digital Technical Support at support.wdc.com or at (800) 275-4932 in the U.S., or (31) 20.446.7651 in Europe, or consult your drive manual for further information. Alternately, you may contact the OEM or its warranty s... See more Dear Astrid,
Here is the contact information in case you need to contact WD. I copy and paste from WD Diagnostics.
TO CONTACT WD:
In some cases the user may be requested to contact Western Digital Technical Support. You may contact Western Digital Technical Support at support.wdc.com or at (800) 275-4932 in the U.S., or (31) 20.446.7651 in Europe, or consult your drive manual for further information. Alternately, you may contact the OEM or its warranty service provider who can support your needs. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Astrid Elke Witte
Germany
Local time: 00:03
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Hi Atil,
Thanks for the tips and contact info of WD. I will contact them if necessary. I did not have this information up to now, because the computer guy just placed the box on the floor behind my computer and did not provide any information.
Best regards,
Astrid
| | | | | powering down, install guides and backing up | Aug 12, 2007 |
Also, I would like to know how to make it switch off together with the computer, without having to pull the cable out each time.
I haven't found a way to get the My book to do this, and I'm not sure there is since the drive is powered by an external power supply. But if you find a way, please let me know!
Hold the button on the front of your "My Book" depressed until it shuts down - it usually takes 5-10 seconds before it powers down (I guess to avoid you powering off by mistake). That's much safer than pulling the power cable which could damage data if it happens to be reading/writing the disk at that moment.
Quick install guides and in some cases full install guides can be downloaded from the following page (in English): http://support.wdc.com/techinfo/installation.asp
Link to a search result page for some of the above in German: http://www.westerndigital.com/wdsearch/search.aspx?sq=PDF%20my%20book&sl=de-DE&sc=
Regarding backup: if you've updated to Vista recently, that will be the reason why it no longer backs up regularly as the settings from Windows XP are likely lost. It is also possible that your computer man had used the software which may have come with your "My Book" - mine came bundled with EMC Retrospect Express. If that was the case, this will need to be installed first on Vista – you may also need an update for it to work with Vista (there is an update available: http://www.emcinsignia.com/supportupdates/updates/retroexpress/). Alternatively use Vista's own built-in timed copy/backup events as described above.
| | | | Astrid Elke Witte
Germany
Local time: 00:03
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks very much for the useful information | Aug 12, 2007 |
Hi Julian,
Thanks very much for the information. I didn't realise before that it had a button. I thought the large pale green circle was just a light.
I will have a look at those quick install guides that you mention. I had not got any further with this topic yet, because I have been so inundated with translations all summer.
Thanks again!
Astrid
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Western Digital "My Book" external hard drive - how does it work? | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
