Your desk's storage backbone. The WD My Book is Western Digital's trusted desktop external hard drive — the AC-powered, high-capacity companion for the home or office computer that handles backup, archiving, media storage, and project files at a desk, running continuously without drawing power from the computer's USB port. Where the My Passport is the drive you carry with you, the My Book is the drive that sits on your desk and handles serious storage work.
4TB provides the capacity for a household's complete digital archive — years of family photos from multiple cameras and phones, a 4K video collection, complete music libraries, and important document backups with room to grow. For creative professionals, 4TB accommodates raw photo shoots from a high-megapixel camera, extended video project files, and design assets without capacity pressure. A straightforward USB-A to USB 3.2 connection delivers up to 150MB/s real-world transfer speeds, allowing large file operations to complete quickly.
The drive ships pre-formatted as exFAT — the cross-platform format that works on both Windows and macOS out of the box without reformatting. Unlike the My Passport which ships as NTFS (Windows-only until reformatted), the My Book is ready to use on a Windows PC, a Mac, or both in the same household immediately on connection. For Mac users who prefer Time Machine, the drive is fully compatible; for Windows users who want scheduled automatic backup, WD Backup software (downloadable) handles the scheduling.
Acronis True Image for WD Edition is the software differentiator that sets the My Book apart from the Elements desktop drive. Acronis provides full-system backup capability — not just selected files but the entire computer system image — with defence against ransomware attacks that can corrupt or encrypt connected backup drives. Ransomware protection actively monitors for suspicious encryption activity on the backup destination and blocks unauthorised encryption attempts, protecting the backup archive even if the connected computer is compromised.
256-bit AES hardware encryption with password protection secures the drive's contents — enable via WD Discovery software, set a password, and the drive becomes inaccessible to anyone who connects it without the credentials. AC power adapter included in the box. USB-A cable included. 3-year limited warranty.
Note: desktop drive — requires AC wall power. Not bus-powered. For portable use, see the WD My Passport.