WD 8 TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive - USB 3.0

[Jon]

I recently bought the WD 8 TB Elements hard drive, to store my photos and video on. Only niggle, it's a little slow to start up and saving data is a little slow.
I was thinking of getting another at some point, although I was thinking of trying a different model, possibly.

 

[sapearl]

I recently bought the WD 8 TB Elements hard drive, to store my photos and video on. Only niggle, it's a little slow to start up and saving data is a little slow.
I was thinking of getting another at some point, although I was thinking of trying a different model, possibly.

Hi Jon - I believe that the elements variety spins at 5400 RPM which also makes for a slower start-up, although I could be mistaken. I've collected a number of HDs over the years and they are typically the Black 7200 RPM drives. They are also pricier and require a case, or an internal bay in the pc.

I'm assuming this connects using some sort of USB cable? Perhaps it is the older slower USB 2.0 flavor. USB 3 is faster and type C is blazingly fast. You may be locked into the cabling but perhaps there is a fix here. I'd like to help if I can - can you provide a link to the specs? Stu

 

[Jon]

Hi Jon - I believe that the elements variety spins at 5400 RPM which also makes for a slower start-up, although I could be mistaken. I've collected a number of HDs over the years and they are typically the Black 7200 RPM drives. They are also pricier and require a case, or an internal bay in the pc.

I'm assuming this connects using some sort of USB cable? Perhaps it is the older slower USB 2.0 flavor. USB 3 is faster and type C is blazingly fast. You may be locked into the cabling but perhaps there is a fix here. I'd like to help if I can - can you provide a link to the specs? Stu

Hi there it's this one here>> https://www.westerndigital.com/en-g...ts-desktop-usb-3-0-hdd?sku=WDBWLG0080HBK-EESN

It is slow, but I can live with it. I will only use it to store stuff on, and forget till needed. It would be a pain if I had to use it often, but it's only used for an extra storage safety net. But thanks anyway.

 

[Arbby]

It is slow, but I can live with it. I will only use it to store stuff on, and forget till needed. It would be a pain if I had to use it often, but it's only used for an extra storage safety net. But thanks anyway.

Slow compared to what? If you are using a USB 3 connection the speed should be limited by the speed of the disk drive inside. Even for a 5400 RPM drive I would expect speeds between 80 and 150MB/s depending what part of the drive the data is on. If it is a shingled (or SMR) drive which some WD externals are write speeds will be a bit worse.

 

[sapearl]

By any chance does the drive go into sleep mode when it sits connected for a while, without being accessed? I have a couple of plain old 7200 rpm WD's stuffed in a Vantec enclosure that I use for backup which are always connected, but not always powered. Just because of my PC's desktop config that box goes into sleep mode when I don't access the drive.

 

[Jon]

Slow compared to what? If you are using a USB 3 connection the speed should be limited by the speed of the disk drive inside. Even for a 5400 RPM drive I would expect speeds between 80 and 150MB/s depending what part of the drive the data is on. If it is a shingled (or SMR) drive which some WD externals are write speeds will be a bit worse.

Not done any in depth testing, just slow to fire up. I may do more testing at some point. It takes a little while to open, but I can live with it.

 

[Jon]

By any chance does the drive go into sleep mode when it sits connected for a while, without being accessed? I have a couple of plain old 7200 rpm WD's stuffed in a Vantec enclosure that I use for backup which are always connected, but not always powered. Just because of my PC's desktop config that box goes into sleep mode when I don't access the drive.

Mine does not seem to, but I never leave it plugged in. I disconnect when I have finished backing up.

 

[sapearl]

Mine does not seem to, but I never leave it plugged in. I disconnect when I have finished backing up.

I understand. My "box" is bigger and heavier than the Elements unit and I'm a bit lazy, so I leave it as part of my Desktop Landscape . It runs off one of my newer USB 3.1 ports plus I have a high quality, fast data cable to things move along pretty quickly when in use. But if I ignore it for a while when powered, it does go to sleep. I'm sure there's a Win11 setting I can tweak to stop the behavior but I get distracted doing other things.

 

[Jon]

I understand. My "box" is bigger and heavier than the Elements unit and I'm a bit lazy, so I leave it as part of my Desktop Landscape . It runs off one of my newer USB 3.1 ports plus I have a high quality, fast data cable to things move along pretty quickly when in use. But if I ignore it for a while when powered, it does go to sleep. I'm sure there's a Win11 setting I can tweak to stop the behavior but I get distracted doing other things.

Maybe mine also goes to sleep, not tried it over a longer period yet. When plugged in I am using it, and when not in use it gets un plugged.

 

[ChuckMiller]

I recently bought the WD 8 TB Elements hard drive, to store my photos and video on. Only niggle, it's a little slow to start up and saving data is a little slow.

Are you on a Microsoft Windows computer?

 

[Jon]

Are you on a Microsoft Windows computer?

Yes, I am. The hard drive is slow to play on the TV also. But not too worried, just use it for storage.

 

[ChuckMiller]

Yes, I am. The hard drive is slow to play on the TV also. But not too worried, just use it for storage.

When you copy large amounts (hundreds of MB or GB) of photos or files to this drive what write speed does Windows report?

 

[Jon]

When you copy large amounts (hundreds of MB or GB) of photos or files to this drive what write speed does Windows report?

When I next use it, I will check.

 

[John from PA]

I understand. My "box" is bigger and heavier than the Elements unit and I'm a bit lazy, so I leave it as part of my Desktop Landscape . It runs off one of my newer USB 3.1 ports plus I have a high quality, fast data cable to things move along pretty quickly when in use. But if I ignore it for a while when powered, it does go to sleep. I'm sure there's a Win11 setting I can tweak to stop the behavior but I get distracted doing other things.

There is a setting called “selective suspend” in Windows that can put some USB devices to sleep. At least in Windows 10 it is commonly disabled except on laptops where the suspend increases battery life. I take note that you use a desktop but it may still be worthwhile checking the setting. See Selective suspend Win 11

Also, probably a good idea to insure that write caching to the external drive is disabled. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/t...up-and-storage/turn-disk-write-caching-on-off

 

[sapearl]

There is a setting called “selective suspend” in Windows that can put some USB devices to sleep. At least in Windows 10 it is commonly disabled except on laptops where the suspend increases battery life. I take note that you use a desktop but it may still be worthwhile checking the setting. See Selective suspend Win 11

Also, probably a good idea to insure that write caching to the external drive is disabled. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/t...up-and-storage/turn-disk-write-caching-on-off

Thanks John - I'll have to check those settings out. Microsoft keeps moving things around though and things I've "visited" before either are no longer there, or buried in a deeper layer .