Congrats on getting such a nice gift. I have had a 2TB model since they first came out. You need to know that the MPW is first and foremost a device for storing media files, either from your drives or NAS, computers, etc, and from copying from a camera’s SD cards to store the photos mostly when away from home, like when on vacations and photo trips.
It is too slow to use as a backup drive. It is to be used wirelessly, so you can enjoy your music, photos and videos on tablets and phones when away from home (like on vacations) when streaming is not possible via internet from home (due to poor or no internet access.) Some people also use wireless drives in their cars so kids can watch movies on long trips, or the family can listen to music in car, etc.
I would never even consider the drive for backing up anything, because as I said, it is too slow for big jobs. A dedicated (non wireless) hard drive is best for that, say a WD My Book, or better yet, a WD My Cloud NAS which has drives, but instead of being connected to a computer, it connects to the home network one creates with the router, and therefor accesable by the entire family. For a little more than say a 2 or 4TB drive costs, one can buy a similar capacity My Cloud NAS with all these extra features. It is what folks with lots of media files are getting today…
Hopefully, you have downloaded the user manual from WD support for the MPW at wdc.com. In it, you will learn the MPW comes formatted in a way that both Macs and PCs can access; it is called. exFAT format. I suggest you not format it any other way so that you don’t miss out on the dual use of the drive.
As for putting your media files on the drive, the best way is to connect the MPW to the computer using the USB3 cable that is included in box. Then copy all the media you want onto the MPW as you would for any other drive. When I populated my MPW I made a folder called My Media, and in it I made sub-folders called Music, Photos and Videos. I keep all my music on my PC in a single iTunes folder called iTunes Media which is all arranged by artist, and I just copied the whole folder into the Music folder of the MPW. Same goes with my movie folder; and my photos folder. It is the best and fastest way to get the job done. After doing that, I periodically attach it to the computer once in a while to add any new files. ALL the media on my MPW is duplicates of stuff I have stored elsewhere, so in this way, the MPW is my media files back up. Many files are not on the MPW, and that is where a dedicated drive for storing it all comes in handy.
The MPW can be connected to the home network so anyone can access it throughout the house, but to do this all the time it needs to be powered all the time. This is not good for the MPW as over time it can damage the battery. So do this with caution for any extended time, and take it off network when not in use and turn off the MPW.
This is when having a NAS built to purposely leave on 24/7 and is powered, not by battery, but by its power supply plugged into wall.
One last tip. BE SURE to update the firmware of the unit soon after you get it set up, but before adding any media. No need to add media to test things out at first, because there is Sample Media included you can play.
These are the basics to get you started, and any question you have along the way, just ask me. Good luck and have fun with it.
