WD 20TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive, USB 3.0 drive for plug-and-play storage - WDBWLG0200HBK-NESN

In 2025, this still seems to be the best simple external hard drive, at best price. No extra power cord needed. Just plug into laptop/desktop, and store 6TB of data. I have not had major reliability problems, and use these daily for many years. Only issue is if a drive is accidentally knocked off a desktop (dog hits it with tail, etc) they can fail.If you use these to store large (60GB+, etc) computer games from EPIC/Steam stores, sometimes the game stores will lose track of the hard drive. Easy fix is to 1) search in task manager, close all game launchers. 2) unblug external hard drive, 3) reopen games launcher. Hard drive should get recognized again.

Western Digital 8TB Elements Desktop is a great external hard drive. Purchased WD 8TB Elements to backup my computer system. When I received the product, it was easy to install by following on screen instructions, it came with WD software to begin transferring my data immediately. Instead, I chose WD Acronis True Image software, which offers the ability to: Back up operating systems, applications, settings and individual files on Windows and macOS. Everything worked well together and there was no data loss on my windows 10 backup. The WD elements drive sits on my desktop and acts as add-on-storage to my computer. The WD 8TB is portable and is incredibly fast, taking 1hr 30min to back up my computer. WD 8TB Desktop External Hard Disk Drive-3.5 Inch, USB 3.0 with Automatic Backup, 256 Bit AES Hardware Encryption, Password Protection, Compatible with Windows & Mac, Portable HDD. Highly recommend Western Digital 8TB Elements Desktop because easy to use, reliable, fast transfer of data, and provides peace of mind.

Good price for large storage. Good performance so far. Quality brand

I used this to backup several computers. Plenty of room and fast enough.

Working well for months after purchase.Would recommend for BACKUP.Always keep originals somewhere else.

First order of business: I ordered this drive (WD Elements 5tb) and received it in about 18 hours. I checked the shipping label, and it is their proprietary delivery service. USPS, take note.The box it came in was pretty regular, no fancy presentation. Which is fine. I don't like paying for felt lining.It has one port on the back, and comes with a USB cable. I plugged it into my laptop and checked it out.Drive capacity actually reads 4.54 Tb. Which isn't unusual for larger volumes. It came formatted as NTFS. Which is great, because FAT32 has a file size limit of 4gb.Next test: I plugged it into a 3.0 Anker USB Data Hub. The drive revved up, then started clicking. I recognized those clicks as motor failures from a power drop, so the USB hub is not going to do it. This beast of a portable drive needs a main-line. It can be used in USB 3.0 or 2.0 But I highly encourage 3 for faster speeds. Especially with a volume this size (You are buying it for a reason, right?)Next test: A phone mount. Similar to a Samsung Dex setup, the device I used is a Baseus USB C mount. It connects my Note10+ phone to HDMI, and...for this test...a USB 3.0 port. I wasn't sure if it would work, because the hub charges the phone, and would have to "lend" some power to the 3.0 port to power the drive. It worked. I plugged it in, and my exFAT/NTFS app fired right up. It recognized the drive, mounted it, and was ready to go. For the technical folks out there, this was by powering the phone dock with a samsung travel adapter that came with my phone. It has a variable output, but can pack a whopping 11v-2.25a (24 watts) at its highest. This 24 watts was enough to fast charge my phone, AND have the drive running.Final test: Directly into the note10+. I used a USB C - USB A adapter that came with my phone and connected them together. It worked. My phone was powering the darn thing.So there we have it. This little pocket sized drive (seriously, my wallet is larger) can be plugged into 3.0, 2.0 or directly into my phone. It came formatted NTFS, just the way I prefer.Description: I purchased a black one. As I said, it is wallet-sized. It has one port for the cable, and a small status light. The light appears to stay a solid color for both standby and active. A power failure results in a blinking status light. When the drive is spinning, you can feel a humming purr, barely audible. The casing is plastic, but solid and sleek looking. It has four non-slip dots on the bottom.Pros: Huge storage for the price, powered through USB only, NTFS formatted, small.Cons: None discovered yet.Recommended Uses: This would be a perfect drive for home network storage, office/school/home work. It would also be ideal for gaming consoles even as modern as the XBox One X. Or a handy volume for torrents. Or a handy volume for backing up a system or family photos.Possible Uses: It runs on 3.0. While Pro Gamers might chuckle at the idea, it could be used as a Steam Library. Initial load times might be slower than a built in solid state drive, sure. But so what? This is 5Tb. Portable. For under 120. It could also be used for beginner-level production. Again, it is slower than a dedicated solid state drive, of course. But for a new youtuber, or designer, or developer...this can store a lot of content.

I bought the Western Digital Elements 18TB external hard drive about 9 months ago, and so far it's been a flawless experience. Installation was an absolute breeze: Plug in the USB 3.0 connector to your computer, plug in the power, and it should be instantly ready to go. No formatting or initialization necessary. It will automatically select the next drive letter for itself. It really could not be any easier.After 9 months, I've learned to live with a few small annoyances I've noticed. These are things that really don't bother me, but may bother others, so I'll mention them.1. When it does its self-maintenance, or first spins up after being in sleep mode, it makes a bit of noise. It's not loud and it's not often. It's kind of a brief vibration noise, and from what I've read, all external hard drives make this noise. If this is bothersome, I suppose I would recommend disconnecting the drive between uses, but again, for me this has not been even slightly a bothersome noise, and I barely notice it anymore.2. When I want to download something or access something from the drive, I have to wait about 20 seconds for the drive to start up and spin up to speed, which can be slightly annoying. I attempted to go into Windows (I am using Windows 11 by the way) settings and change it so that the drive never goes to sleep, but it goes to sleep in spite of changing that setting, so I'm thinking that something on the drive itself is putting it to sleep to preserve longevity.But other than those two things, I can't think of anything that might annoy someone. The drive still shows up as healthy. Every file I have accessed from the drive is still pristine, and all the games I have stored there still install just fine, so it is doing its job without any loss of data. Also data transfer speeds have been excellent, far better than I expected.

It seems to be remarkably faster than other portable back up drives I've tried.