Using My Book as simple external HDD?

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

Hello,

I ordered a western digital desktop element HDD, but the Online shop sent me a My Book Essential 1 TB with WD SmartWare Software.

I need to use it as a normal external HDD on my Router which has an USB Port.

So my Question is:

I it possible to use the My Book as a normal/simple external HDD to connect it directly to a TV, DVD, Router, anything with a USB Port?

Or is it only possible to connect the My Book Essential wit WD SmartWare to PCs with an operating system such Windows?

Thank you very much in advance.

I only found a similar question without any solution: http://community.wdc.com/t5/My-Book-for-PC/Why-are-my-WD-Hard-drives-not-compatible-with-my-TV-DVD-player/m-p/4765/highlight/true#M321

2

Really no idea? Hello is there someone from the WDC Support? This should be a really simple question for one from the wdc support team. otherwise i will send the hdd back and will look for another.

Thank you very much in advance.

3

The WD Community was created for Users, such as yourself, to help one another, and to share your experiences and ideas with one another. As Moderators, we are here simply to facilitate and oversee the community. If you have a question relating the what’s going on in the community, we will be happy to respond. However, if you are looking for technical support from WD, you will need to contact them directly.

To Contact WD for Technical Support
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en

4

I already asked them and got the following answer:

…

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is [deleted for privacy].

The External hard drive is a basic plug and play drive, with a USB interface, which can be used as a regular external drive. Typically when using an external hard drive on a router or T.V.

the manufacture of those products will have a list of compatible devices that have been tested to work with their units. I would recommend contacting the manufacture to see if they have a list available, they may require the drive to be in a

particular format, or have a limitation as to what size drive can be detected.
…

I triedit, and it works. Great! I 'll keep it.