Version: 2008
  • On TV.com: New TV sex symbol: Vintage black PORSCHE
advertisementSimplify your laptop buying
advertisement

250GB Dual-Option Media Center External Hard Drive and Backup - FireWire and USB 2.0
Reviewed by
Jon L. Jacobi
on 10/21/2004
front side back
front side back

See all products in the Western Digital Media Center series
See all Western Digital Corp. products

  • Quick specs
  • Hard drive size: 250 GB
  • Interface type: IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB
  • Buffer size: 8 MB
  • See full specifications

Add to my list Product summary

The good: Stylish; single-button backup; memory-card readers; USB 2.0 and FireWire expansion ports.

The bad: Slow USB read performance; slow FireWire write performance.

The bottom line: Featurewise, the Media Center blows away Maxtor's OneTouch, but it's an uneven performer.

Read full review

Compare this external hard drive to:

CNET editors' review

  • CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
    Detailed editors' rating
      Setup and ease of use : 8.0
      Features : 8.0
      Performance : 6.0
      Service and support : 6.0
      Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)
  • Reviewed by:
    Jon L. Jacobi
  • Edited by:
    Felisa Yang
  • Reviewed on: 10/21/2004
  • Released on: 01/06/2004
When it comes to bells and whistles, nothing in the Western Digital Media Center external USB 2.0/FireWire hard drive's class can touch it. Available in 160GB, 200GB, and 250GB flavors, the Media Center hard drive not only offers single-button backup à la Maxtor's competing OneTouch drives (buttons on the front of the drive launch backup tasks), it also sweetens the pot with extra USB/FireWire ports and--get this--an integrated eight-in-one memory-card reader. Toss in cheaper-per-gigabyte prices than Maxtor's products, and you have what should be a surefire winner. Alas, the Media Center hard drive's uneven performance confounded its bid for an Editors' Choice award.

When lying flat, the dark-gray and silver Media Center is a tad taller than most external drives at 1.85 inches high. The extra height accommodates two side-by-side memory-card slots that accept CompactFlash Types I and II, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, SD, MMC, SmartMedia, and Microdrive cards. Otherwise, the Media Center's 8.26-inch length and 5.75-inch width are about average for an external hard drive, as is its 3-pound weight. Western Digital includes a stand that lets you set the drive on its side to save space on your desk.

Installing the Media Center via USB is easy. However, when we attached the drive to the FireWire port, we had to dig into the installation CD to choose from a confusingly long list of drivers. The Dantz Retrospect Express software that Western Digital bundles to take care of backup chores installed easily as well, though Retrospect has a steep learning curve. The wizards launched by the Backup On Demand (immediate backup) and Automatic Backup (scheduled backups) buttons found on the front of the drive are easy enough to follow, but you'll want to spend some time with the PDF manual before you stray from the default settings.

Continue reading

Most helpful user reviews

Submit your review

Log in or create an account to submit your review for:

250GB Dual-Option Media Center External Hard Drive and Backup - FireWire and USB 2.0

 ORLog in with your Facebook account
1. Rate this product:
(Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.)
0 of 5000 characters

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks are prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit

Compare prices for 250GB Dual-Option Media Center External Hard Drive and Backup - FireWire and USB 2.0

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available

advertisement
Click Here

Recent user reviews

Submit your review

Log in or create an account to submit your review for:

250GB Dual-Option Media Center External Hard Drive and Backup - FireWire and USB 2.0

 ORLog in with your Facebook account
1. Rate this product:
(Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.)
0 of 5000 characters

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks are prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit

Special sponsor stores

advertisement

250GB Dual-Option Media Center External Hard Drive and Backup - FireWire and USB 2.0

Explore more on cnet

More on this product

review

user reviews

specifications

compare

shop

Before you buy
Editors' top storage
See all hard-drive reviews
See all burner reviews
More on hard drives & burners
Storage forum
Reviews & advice
Site map
Editorial policies
Meet the editors
How we test
Forums
Internet speed test
Popular topics
Apple iPhone
Apple iPod
Cell phones
Dell
GPS
LCD TV
CNET sites
CNET Site map
CNET TV
Downloads
News
Reviews
Shopper.com
More information
Newsletters
CNET Mobile
Customer Help Center
RSS
CNET Widgets
About CNET
sponsored