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Rating: 4.5/5
This is a perfect gift and works great when you need to carry media from your house to a friends, or to work. It is fast for a USB connection, and is pretty much plug and play, no driver issues to deal with.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 1 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 2.5/5
They say it is rare that the PC won’t provide enough power. However, it does violate the USB spec (otherwise it would never be an issue). I tried 12 machines and none of them would accept it. (PC and Mac hardware. Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows XP tested.) I get messages about over-voltage on the USB bus. This has the effect of shutting down that USB hub, and all connected devices until the device is removed. I’m getting the special cable now, I expect it to solve the entire issue.
Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 0.5/5
I bought a WD Passport 250 GB external hard drive. Had a tech question. Sent email without response. Called Western Digital for almost half a day. Every time called, the call was automatically cut off after hearing “due to high call volumes, please call back later.” Will return the HD to the store.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 0.5/5
I opened this package to find an useless 1 foot USB cable which is incapable of supplying the required power to this device. As a result, the drive will not spin up on any of my 4 computers.
According to the USB 2.0 specification, the maximum current a bus-powered device can draw from any hub is 500 mA. Western Digital certainly knows this and therefore should have provided a proper Y cable in the package.
I returned this $130 drive for want of a $2 cable (which you sell to idiots for an additional $10 plus shipping)! Because of this inconsiderate money-grubbing tactic, I will avoid all Western Digital products in the future.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 0.5/5
I didn’t have the power problems reported here. However, my up-to-date Windows XP Pro machine would not recognize this product as a removable storage device. Taking it back to CostCo… piece of crap.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 5/5
Beautiful and good but needs a y style usb cable. To the reviewers who didnt go and buy a y cable and plug it in, quit your whining . this is an amazing product.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 2.5/5
Ran into the same problem as others, exceeding power on USB ports. Ordered Y cable, but have yet to use it. I am not real comfortable that this is a good product. Seems not very user friendly, since it took me a while to figure out how to even get a cable that would work with my computer.
Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4/5
The drive is great. It looks far better than most of the 2 go drives out there. If you really need the Y-cable for additional power just call WD and they will send it to you for free. I got mine within 2 days after calling them. Also there are some packaged versions of this drive that have a carrying case included which Costco sells these. Only real downside to the drive is the warranty is no longer 3 years – it is now only 1 year. Some of the competitors are offering 5 year warranties on their products!
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
I bought this from Costco. The cable is short, but I’ve had no problem with it. I’ve used it to transfer files between my two desktops, my laptop, and a friend’s laptop. Another 4 or 6 inches of cable length would be nice, but this works fine. No power issues for me.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 0.5/5
Mine overheated.. unless you plug this thing in for a couple hours at a time it will burn up and corrupt all data saved. It happened to me!
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
Sleek design and USB powered attracted me.I think the protective case should have been included. No problem with operation thus far.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
I use this about 10hrs per day, 5 days a week (8-10 hours per day) plugged into a Dell Laptop running Vista, then 2 days a week plugged into a number of Desktops. I have never had any problems and would highly recommend this to anybody. I think people who are overheating these or burning up the USB connection have older PCs or laptops, because I have never had problems with this one and it is treated as a primary disk while I am mobile!
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 0.5/5
Tried it on 10 pc and laptop old and new won’t work because it was not enough power. The cable is too short. Write to customer support, still wait for an answer after more than a week, call customer service and I have been cut off every time due to high call volume. I had to return this drive for refund at Costco.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 3.5/5
Love the 250Gb western digital passport, however for my older laptop that has just had a recovery run recently, and now purr’s like a Jaguar. I would have liked to have had the option of an adaptor. Typical of big biz, ignoring us kids, their future cash cow’s.
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
Very poor in functionality…I’m using it in my brand new laptop (2.0Ghz C2Duo 2GB ram) and it hangs up when I copy paste large amounts of data…but it has good design.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
My only problem is that I wish they made them bigger, I have 2 of the 250 GB and several 160 GB, I use them to DJ and play audio and video files out of, and they have worked flawlessly and not stuttered at all.
Might be nicer of they had the cords a little longer at times
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4/5
I had to install encryption software in order to run fast and without problem. The manual says that the USB cord is 22″ when it’s not. The cord (USB) is 12″ long…but no problem with that. All my drives are Western Digital, they work great.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1.5/5
You don’t get 250GBs of space. Plus WD adds software you actually don’t need into the drive. I tried formatting my drive several ways and don’t get the full 250GBs advertised by WD.
Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 3.5/5
As a 1st time user, I had some trouble getting started. The instructions were useless. I got an “unable to sync” message, but no explanation of what was wrong; just a “Try Again”.
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 2/5
I had trouble with it not wanting to let me remove it using the remove hardware Icon on my task bar in 2 PCs and it froze up one when I did get the remove hardware Icon to work. It said it was safe to remove and then froze the PC. I have to shut down to unplug the WD Passport with both PCs. Why?
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
I don’t get people having trouble with this because it’s such a simple, straightforward drive.
I just skipped the software altogether and migrated everything from my Documents folder to the Passport. Now I have all my work files (graphics, websites, etc.) on this drive and can go back and forth between my desktop system and my laptop without transferring anything across the network.
As to removing it when you’re done, what’s the big deal? Just unplug it! I’ve never seen the point to the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon.
This drive is fast with a good-size capacity, and helped me free up 1/4 of the space on my desktop system’s hard drive.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
Working really well so far. I usually buy the regular HDD and an external casing and put them together however I’ve had two crashes (just electronic failure due to shock/drop) and I lost all data. So I decided to pay extra for this little one with lesser memory than I would get for a bigger drive. I just hope this one is more durable and long lasting.
I like the fact that there is no need for messy power adapter and wires, the drive comes with its own neoprene case which is sweet and no software problems either.
I use this drive purely for backup and remove it right away after file transfers are done. It doesn’t have a heat sink or cooling fan which is why I would not suggest letting the drive run for long periods.
Cons: So far the only think I don’t like it that there isn’t any ON/Off switch. Each time I pull out the USB cable from the computer I feel like unplugging a running microwave (a lot quieter of course)… it’s not a good feeling
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 0.5/5
I typically never write reviews, but in this case, I really got burned on this one. I bought the Western Digital Passport 250 GB Drive about 2 months ago from Best Buy. I hadn’t really used it much until recently, when my laptop began to slow to a crawl. So, I took all my files and moved them into a single folder, and then ran the WD Sync Application. The Application, after some churning, had backed up all my data successfully. Now the fun begins. I went and had my laptop re-imaged. When the laptop was returned to me, I pulled out my “trusty” WD Passport, and ran the WD Sync Application, and then selected the “Copy to PC” Option. The application failed to copy about 25% of my files, and now I am unable to access those files at all. I lost critical documents, photos that were dear to me, and other company files that were very important. I am VERY ANGRY that someone like WD could put out a piece of crap. But in my honest opinion, either my BSEE is not good enough to use the simple application, or that is exactly what it is. To add insult to injury, I actually tried to back up my files without using the WD Sync Application, but the device would not allow “long file names”. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! Thumbs down all day long.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
I bought this WD product and 3 weeks after I couldn`t access it. I really hate the fact that all my important documents got lost. I wouldn’t recommended; specially from Wal-Mart when I took it back to get it returned they said I only had two weeks to return it. I tried everything possible to get it working. The piece of crap didn`t work it said “Make sure that the disk is properly inserted or the network resource is available, and then try again.” Don`t Buy This WD External Memory.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 4.5/5
I’ve had mine for about 5 months now, and it has worked flawlessly. I have used it on a ton of computers (travel, and also share files with my friends). It will not work on a USB hub; it needs to be plugged directly into the USB port on the computer. I love it.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
I just bought it from Best Buy ..and doesn´t even work…I lost important information…..!!!!sucks
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 5/5
I don’t understand how people are computer retarded. This product is not that bad of a product. I mean, the only reason it has so low of a rating is because angry, retarded, computer users don’t know how to use an absolutely simple USB drive. Screw the sync thing if it really throws you that bad. When did copy and past become harder than syncing anyways? Furthermore, I would blame windows more than anything, the new OS is still buggy as hell.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 3/5
I loved how portable my WD passport was, how easy it was to use, etc. Recently, however, it prevented me from accessing any of the files. I could still write files to the drive, but could not access them. I sent it to a data recovery center, and they indicated that one of the drives failed. Overall, not a bad product, but there are better options for backing up laptop data. I would use this to store non-critcal data or for travel (which is what I used it for). Get a more substantial external hard drive to back up your really important files…
Rating: 6 :: 2 out of 2 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
Well, having used WD many a time before I bought this external hdd. Normally I wouldn’t have used the software but because I have so many photos, music files and videos scattered all over the place, I used the software to backup all of the data. This seemed to work great, however when it came to restoring the data… tried on numerous pics… It all went wrong; I basically cannot restore any of the data. Irreplaceable photos, very rare music etc
I wish I had just migrated the data myself manually. The worst thing is even trying to open the files from the external HDD I can’t open most of them. Fuming!! The fact that they made such a bad program that is so buggy and un-user friendly is surprising. Having worked at a hosting company, using backup solutions regularly, I have tried my hardest to get these files off this drive, but to no avail!
Tried to download update for the software… no suprise it didn’t work. Why they ship this with software that doesn’t actually work is beyond me. Nice looking case, sleek design cable a bit short but no point without proper functionality. Bad professional practice on WD’s part!
Rating: 2 :: 1 out of 1 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
Stylish, but slow, funky software, aggravating to use. I do not recommend.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 5/5
I recived this drive as a gift from someone that knows nothing about computers. The drive has performed brilliantly up to now, no driver power ect problems.
I use it mainly for music and its perfectly fast enough! I dint bother with the software j just did it the old fashioned way!
Fantastic would recomend!
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
I bought several other WD products that I love, so only natural to get this as a backup solution for a friend. I even offered to install it. Four hours later, I still cannot make the software work properly. Do not buy this WD product unless you speak computer, as Frank apparently does. On the other hand, I totally recommend their MyBook.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
My parents bought me this as a failsafe backup for all my personal photos and music media as my Toshiba laptop power port is failing for a second time and is approaching end of warranty.
Thanks for nothing WD. It worked first time and backed up, now functionality is completely screwed, despite an important software update. Have no access to my files whatsoever! Rubbish!
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
Please DON’ T BUY IT
I bought this one at Costco and the sellers told me that this will work with Mac and PC. I didn’t know until later than you need a special cable for making it work with the Mac because of some USB port issues.
I called ( 1000 times ) WD and asked them for this cable, they told me every time that the cable was sent to me. NEVER!
I had really important files to save …
WD has the most unstable support , I’ve ever seen.
DON’T BUY IT
Rating: 2 :: 1 out of 1 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1/5
I backed up my laptop as it was being sent in for repair. I used my back up successfully for a few days on a spare laptop then one day I go into the external hard drive to pull out a file and its disappeared. my backup had simply disappeared. what was left on the hard drive was a back up from 5 months prior. I suppose I should be grateful that I only lost 5 months of data and not all of it. I will never touch another WD product again. I only rate one star because this site won’t let me rate it zero. Seriously unhappy client
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rating: 1.5/5
So my sister she accidentally dropped it and now it doesn’t even open anymore and my whole life is in there from pictures to imported documents. I dont know what to do :( the lights turn, then it pauses itself then starts lighting up again.
Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.