Just unboxed this beast after weeks of deliberation - and wow, that 18TB label isn't lying! As someone who never deletes anything (seriously, I still have meme folders from 2009), this is the digital equivalent of moving from a studio apartment to a mansion.

The setup was smoother than I expected. Plugged it in via USB-C (included cable ftw), ran WD's diagnostic tools, and boom - 18.1TB of glorious empty space staring back at me. Transfer speeds feel like upgrading from bicycle to sports car when moving files from my old Seagate.

Two things surprised me: 1) How quiet it runs during normal use (though it does sound like a tiny jet engine during heavy transfers), and 2) The actual physical size - it's surprisingly compact for housing what feels like infinite storage.

As someone burned by drive failures before, I appreciate the password protection and hardware encryption. Though let's be real - my 'secret' data is just embarrassing fanfiction from college and thousands of cat photos.

Only gripe? The backup software feels clunky compared to simple drag-and-drop. But for $900 (ouch my wallet!), I'll happily deal with minor software quirks for this much breathing room. Currently transferring my entire media library while whispering 'my precious' to the drive.