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10 Responses to “Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re”

1. Richard Burt says:

   July 30, 2010 at 5:13 am

   Review by Richard Burt for Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re
   Rating:
   My HDD on my Dell that is about five years old started to fail, and I needed a new HDD. But with a computer that is five years old, I didn’t want to put too much money into because I will be buying a new computer soon. At $64, including free shipping, this HDD was actually cheaper than some smaller drives.

   Before installing the HDD in my computer, I ran Steve Gibson’s SpinRite 6.0 program (in another computer) to test the entire disk. It took 32 continuous hours, but not one error was reported. The temperature of the HDD did not go over 100 degrees, and at the end of the test was around 96 degrees. Another older drive that I tested had a temperature that went up to about 112 degrees during a shorter period.

   This is a bare disk drive. No mounting hardware or cables are included (other than a packet of screws). No instructions or user’s guide is included, but you can download them from Western Digital’s website as well as drive management software.

   Keep in mind that this is a PATA drive, not a SATA. As I found out when I researched the subject, hard disk drives that used be called ATA, IDE, or EIDE are now called PATA. Newer computers will probably come with SATA drives that transfer data a bit faster than PATA drives. How to tell? The cable connecting an ATA hard drive uses a ribbon cable with 40 wires as opposed to a SATA cable which only has 7 wires; the number of pins on a SATA drive are therefore correspondingly fewer.

   By the way, when installing the HDD, note that there is a white jumper on the pins between the power connector and the ribbon cable connector. That jumper has to be removed or moved to a different set of pins in some cases. Conveniently, there is a label on the drive cover that shows the jumper configurations so you don’t have to look that up. If your computer does not recognize the drive when you first install it, check the jumper configuration.

   Any HDD maker can ship a DOA unit or one that fails quickly but Western Digital has a good reputation, and the price/performance ratio here can’t be beat. When I get my new computer, I’ll be moving this HDD to the new computer to mirror the new drive as backup.
2. D. Sandoval says:

   July 30, 2010 at 5:33 am

   Review by D. Sandoval for Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re
   Rating:
   The HDD worked great the first time and has worked great for a month now. I still have an old motherboard that does not have standard SATA ports and I needed a new larger HDD for my system. I chose this HDD because I wanted an affordable drive with a decent ammount of capacity.

   I have it partitioned so that I use a second partition for all program files and data and the first for the OS and certain programs that can only be installed into the primary drive or require certain files be installed in the primary drive ie. CS3. My first partition of 10 GB is running full so if you intend on doing a similar task, go a larger for the first partition.

   The drive has worked flawlessly as it should and I intend on using it until it becomes unhealthy, which I hope is a long time.
3. Bill says:

   July 30, 2010 at 6:08 am

   Review by Bill for Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re
   Rating:
   I have older external HD case not capatible with SATA drives. This IDE drive works fast and flawless. In fact, I have more problems with the newer SATA devices on my vintage Dell XPS M1210 than this IDE device.
4. Raymond L. Bosch Jr. says:

   July 30, 2010 at 6:11 am

   Review by Raymond L. Bosch Jr. for Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re
   Rating:
   Excellent product for my G4 Mac. Was replacing a failing drive. Didn’t have to re-install anything. Just mirrored my original drive, selected the new drive as the startup drive and disconnected the old drive. Done, functions perfectly.
5. Geoffrey Fortier says:

   July 30, 2010 at 7:08 am

   Review by Geoffrey Fortier for Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re
   Rating:
   Ordered this drive to fill out the fourth bay in my NAS. It’s an older model, that only supports IDE so I was happy to find a decent sized 3.5″ drive at a reasonable price.
6. Anona Mouse says:

   July 30, 2010 at 7:14 am

   Review by Anona Mouse for LG Electronics GH22NP20 22X IDE SecurDisc DVD+/-RW Internal Drive with Software – Bulk (Black)
   Rating:
   What I needed was an IDE internal DVD player with RW. Currently, most drives on the market are SATA. As this was to be placed in an existing external USB case, it had to be IDE.

   This drive fit the bill exactly. I installed into the case and pluged it into the USB drive of a computer and it worked perfect. In a matter of minutes I was a happy camper.

   It worked for me and I’m sure it will work for you.

   Remember though, it’s a raw dvd. No cables, rails, etc. Ask someone familiar with hardware if you are not sure of what you need or know how to install. It’s easy, but you need to know what you are buying and how it is to be connected.
   
7. Keith Bryant says:

   July 30, 2010 at 7:38 am

   Review by Keith Bryant for LG Electronics GH22NP20 22X IDE SecurDisc DVD+/-RW Internal Drive with Software – Bulk (Black)
   Rating:
   I recently purchased this drive as an upgrade for an older Compaq Presario running 512MB on a 2.5GHz Celeron system. First off, the installation was a breeze! Hardware install took all of 5 minutes and software install took another 10. The installation disc comes with some nice optional DVD editing software that I didn’t get to test but looked fine for home use. The drive, itself, has a very fast access speed and smooth operation. The motor noise is only slightly higher than a standard CD rom. You can’t beat this one for the price.
8. CBBenni says:

   July 30, 2010 at 8:11 am

   Review by CBBenni for LG Electronics GH22NP20 22X IDE SecurDisc DVD+/-RW Internal Drive with Software – Bulk (Black)
   Rating:
   This is an INTERNAL drive for reading and writing CDs and DVDs (including dual layer DVDs). It doesn’t include any case, brackets, or cables. It’s great for replacing or upgrading an existing drive.

   I selected this model because it has excellent specs, including great speed and support for all the popular disc formats. It advertises Windows support, and comes with a Windows driver disk, but I use it in a Macintosh — I replaced a Plextor PX-740A, which died with its boots on.

   I put it in a Power Mac dual G5, running OSX 10.5.6, and it works great. It’s quiet, functional, and very fast. Assuming good reliability (as is typical from LG) it’s a great drive at a great price.

   Important Note for Mac users: Remove the tray-front with the logos on it (it snaps on or off with finger pressure) so that the tray will smoothly open the flap.

   The Mac install was typical, no drivers to fuss with, and the only tool required was a T-15 torx to move the spacers. It took me about 7 mins from shutdown until the new drive was reading and burning.
9. chunky monkey says:

   July 30, 2010 at 8:30 am

   Review by chunky monkey for LG Electronics GH22NP20 22X IDE SecurDisc DVD+/-RW Internal Drive with Software – Bulk (Black)
   Rating:
   I saw some reviews of this drive that mentioned “dead on arrival” or “no instructions regarding jumper settings” That just shows lack of effort on the users part. The dvd drive comes with a driver/software cd, that contains a manual on it. Also it does come with a small paper manual, if you needed it.

   Put the dvd drive in, connect it correctly, restart windows vista/7. It is automatically detected and ready to work. You dont even have to install any drivers that come with it. It does provide Nero though.

   It writes/burns dvds very quick, however during writing you are able to hear the spinning. I’d say its not loud enough to cause any concerns though.
10. Burton Sharpe says:

    July 30, 2010 at 9:27 am

    Review by Burton Sharpe for LG Electronics GH22NP20 22X IDE SecurDisc DVD+/-RW Internal Drive with Software – Bulk (Black)
    Rating:
    Great This LG GH22NP20 DVD drive installs easily and works perfectly with excellent speed, but remember this drive is sold as a bulk drive and not as a retail drive.

    What that means is that you get the same drive that you would get if you bought it at a retail store in a printed box that contained the drive with cables, mounting hardware etc. This is the same drive but it was packaged as “bulk” and is sold mainly to professional computer techs who either repair or build computers. So it comes at a much cheaper price with none of the accessories and many times that includes a manual. But not to worry. This excellent drive can still be installed easily.

    First off, if you are replacing an existing drive, be sure to save all of the hardware, and that includes mounting screws and sometime mounting rails that are attached to the sides of the old drive.

    If you are replacing a drive in a computer that had only one drive installed, just mount the drive in its proper place, reattach the cables and you are good to go.

    If your computer has two drives then one is called the master and the other the slave. If you are plugging your drive onto the connecter that is at the end of the cable, it is called the master. If you are attaching it to the connecter that is beneath the end cable, that is called a slave.

    If you look at the small section at the back of the drive next to the section where the wide data cable plugs in, you will see a small section with three sets of pins with a small plastic “jumper” on the set of pins on the right end side. That means the drive is set to be the “master”, if you need to configure the new drive to be the “slave” take a pair of tweezers or a needle nose pliers and carefully pull the jumper off of the pins and then push it over the set in the center. Install into computer and it should work. Remember do this on a table. It is easy to drop the tiny jumper.

    Some computers designate what drive is master or slave. If the above doesn’t work, try putting the jumper on the left set of pins. These pins are called “cable select”

    Also, it is a good idea to look at where the jumper is on the drive you are removing. In most cases the pin configuration is the same. Just follow the configuration on the old drive and it probably will work on the LG.

    You can also get a copy of the manual on LG’s website. It is a PDF file that I downloaded onto my desktop.

    Don’t let the “bare bone” appearance of the packaging intimidate you. It is really very easy to install, is a great drive sold at a giveaway price. It came beautifully packaged by Amazon and arrived two days after I ordered it with free shipping. Can’t beat that!