Reliable high-capacity storage with ultra-fast data transfers. Connects with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 devices.
High Capacity in a Compact Design
The small design offers up to 22TB of capacity, making the WD Elements desktop storage unit the ideal solution for easy, additional storage for all your important photos, music, videos, and files.
Improve Your Computer's Performance
When your internal hard drive is almost full, your computer's performance slows down. Stop deleting files. Free up space on your internal hard drive by transferring files to the WD Elements desktop storage unit and give your computer a new boost.
Ease with plug-and-play capability (Setup and Immediate Operation)
Direct operation on Windows® computers. Simply plug the device into the USB port for instant storage addition.
COMPATIBILITY WITH USB 3.0 AND USB 2.0
With this single unit, you have compatibility with the most modern USB 3.0 devices, as well as backward compatibility with USB 2.0 devices.
WD QUALITY INSIDE AND OUT
We know that your data is important to you. Therefore, we build the interior of the drive according to our own demanding requirements for durability, shock tolerance, and long-term reliability. Then, we protect the drive with a durable casing, designed with style and protection in mind.
Specifications are collected from official manufacturer websites. Please verify the specifications before proceeding with your final purchase. If you notice any problem you can
report it here.
Model of 2tb. After 2.5 years it left me. Suddenly it doesn't receive power. I haven't erased my data yet, I will open it to see if the body of the disk works in a dock station. I hope it's the power supply of the case that's to blame and the disk has escaped unharmed. However, it still remains a product of chance. It may last for 10 years, it may not. I would expect a product with the purpose of backup to be a reliability monster. This is not.
I have had it for about 4 years and it works like a dog! I copy files, store files, and generally it has worked for 24 hours straight for many days.
It has not given me any problems whatsoever!
Well... my dear Western Digital, my hard drive crashed and you have eaten the corners of the century! You have managed to be the most unreliable... I lost all my personal files, photos, etc. You turned my 8 terabytes into thin air! If you want to lose everything, go ahead and buy it... good luck!
Connected to PS5. You understand that there is my entire collection plus some that the internal of the PS has, and every time I play, everything loads from it. It shows no signs of malfunction and the loading times are the same as the console's original hard drive. During a power outage and while in operation, everything is fine with a data rebuild, nothing was lost as I feared. Very decent operation and now it performs external duties on an iMac.
It takes a long time to start if it is powered on and connected to the computer. This usually implies its ultimate failure over time, with known problems such as bad sectors, etc
Classic hard disk drive from Western Digital. It is the first hard disk drive in general that I purchase with such a large capacity, so I don't have a point of comparison, but this specific one makes a lot of noise when it is working and when it stops. I have the same model in 2TB and 3TB and they didn't make as much noise. That's the only negative thing about it.
Regarding the 8TB model:
Positives: Fast, nice design
Negatives: Gets very hot during data transfer (55°C)
Regarding the 12TB model:
Positives: Fast, nice design, lower temperatures compared to the 8TB model during data transfer (49-50°C)
Negatives: None so far
I have been using it for over 1 month, permanently connected to a PS4 PRO. You understand that there is my entire collection plus some that the internal PS has, and every time I play, everything loads from it. It shows no signs of malfunction and the loading times are the same as the original console's hard drive (now it has an SSD 870 EVO). In case of power outage and during operation, everything is fine with a data rebuild, nothing was lost as I feared. Overall, this is the second one I have used, the first one is 4TB and was in the same operating condition for 2.5 years (game loading and lots of read-write). It functions very well and now it serves as an external drive for an iMac. It is worth buying and I consider it trustworthy, with very good speeds. If someone requires something faster, M2, a case, and more money are needed!
One fine for home usage. I haven't stressed it much, I simply store data occasionally. Let's see if it can work for an hour a month. It's relatively fast, time will tell if it can handle it. In the 7 months, it hasn't shown any problems
I have the old 1TB model for about 10+ years. I have almost filled it up and my external ones are no longer sufficient. Based on my good experience with the model, I am considering the 8GB which promises to be sufficient for my needs. Unfortunately, I also read about inaccuracies with data loss. This is bad, but I do not know the percentage of inaccuracies in disks of this model since satisfied customers usually do not bother writing positive reviews. I also noticed two or three inaccuracies (it was unresponsive), but these were temporary and the disk recovered after a restart without any data loss. I do not know the reasons.
The advantage of what I have is its durability over time, which is the main desirable feature. I now believe it will deliver, although I do not know when. As for the disadvantages, I would say the volume and the cables. It is external but not portable due to the power cable. I do not notice any annoying noise when it is functioning. I never hear it in practice (when it is functioning it logically makes some noise) unless I get close and pay close attention to it.
I consider the elements reliable and hope not to be disappointed
I bought the Western Digital Elements Desktop 8TB hard drive on 4-5-2021 for $158.98, unfortunately, within a few days its price has increased by over 60%. This particular disk has been placed in a room without air conditioning and operates 24/7. The temperature it reaches ranges between 57o & 62o C. It is generally quiet and even during data recording - transfer, it is barely audible.
I bought this one specifically for archiving purposes, so I didn't have high expectations regarding speed.
One thing I noticed from the beginning was the very long initial seek time of 4-5 seconds every time I accessed the disk.
Initially, I also had a problem with blue screens when trying to open folders while downloading torrents, but this was ultimately due to the -unacceptable- usb to sata controller of the WD. When I finally made it internal (hdd shucking), this issue was resolved.
For anyone interested, mine had a WD120EDAZ white (re-branded red CMR), but from what I read, some have WD120EMAZ inside, which is SMR. It depends on what you get.
I bought it in September 2016, 3TB. About a month ago, it fell from my desk. It fell, hit the tower and then the floor. I didn't expect it to work at all. And yet. Now it has started making a slight noise. The disk is almost full, with 673GB of free capacity. I am extremely satisfied.
And after about a year, mine 'burned out' too, I don't know what to say, I lost a lot of files (and I've had the same experience with the same company's hard drive before, twice actually).. And I bought the same company's (WD) for the third time and another Samsung for backup (and so on). I have to say that I would still buy it again because of the design. However, I was not satisfied.
I have 15 WD hard drives in my possession. 6-7 of them are from the same model, in all capacities.
I have to say that I have never experienced any major issues in the 5-8 years that I have had them
Quality construction. I have been using WD external hard drives for years. This one is quite fast and less noisy than previous models. I would prefer it in smaller dimensions.