Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDME3200TN
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend These elegant portable drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter -- they are powered directly through the USB cable. Pack up your office files and take them home. Carry thousands of songs or pictures. Synchronize files between home and office and encrypt everything on the drive for added security. WD Sync synchronization and encryption software lets you take your critical data… Product details and pricing info |
|---|
392 Customer Reviews Posted
- Good value for the money
- Two small complaints, I had to reformat the drive so I could store some of my video files that are over 4gig, and the data transfer is a little on the slow side. Both are minor, so I would say buy the drive unless you really need a high speed device.
- 2008-12-04, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Very portable, somewhat reliable, with a few drawbacks
- I have had my Passport for a little over a year. It is not the same size drive, but as most of the products should function similarly, I felt like this should be very relevant.
Pros:
1) Very portable - this drive fits easily in any book bag, computer case, or on top of or alongside a computer. Since the drive runs on USB power, there is no need for an external power source.
2) Fairly rugged - My drive has been dropped, gone through various temperatures, and has spent a great deal of time riding in my backpack to and from work, and it still functions.
3) Plug-and-play for multiple OSs - This drive has worked with every OS I tried it with, including multiple Linux distros. Big plus for Western Digital there!
Cons:
1) USB-powered - I have two laptops. One is newer, and has usb 2 ports (along with a single usb 1.0 port). My older computer is a legacy laptop (from 1999), and this drive will simply not work with this computer. Since there is no external power source, the drive relies on the higher data transfer and power output of USB 2. On my newer laptop, the drive has to be plugged into the USB 2 slot as well, or else I have problems with "power failures" (this also can't be plugged into the usb 4-port, 8-port, etc expansion). It would be a nice feature to have dual power sources for those of us who need this drive for backing up or supplementing older systems.
2) Problems with supplied USB cable - a couple of months ago, the drive stopped functioning with the cable supplied. It would light up, but I couldn't hear the drive spinning, and I was fairly convinced that my drive died. It works with a new cable, and the old cable still works for my other USB 2.0 dependent devices, but the pair no longer functions. To be fair, this may be a short or "kink" in the cable, as a hdd needs a constant power supply, while other devices may not.
Overall, this isn't a bad drive, especially for the price. I didn't see a use for any of the applications provided, so I can't really evaluate their use. - 2008-12-04, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Small and very convenient
- I needed a way to share files between multiple computers,, both Windows and Linux. This works beautifully. It provides generous file storage. It is small enough to fit easily in a laptop carrying bag, and it fits easily on the desktop.
- 2008-12-04, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Only a few things to make it better ...
- ... like putting a connection light/status light on the opposite end of the drive, instead of the end where the cord goes in. Why? Because the USB cord is so short that you can't necessarily see a status light unless you turn the drive to face you. The only other thing I struggle with is that it doesn't seem to connect through a USB expansion port (despite both being USB 2.0).
Other than that, it's pretty cool, sleek, and the pre-loaded software has worked as indicated. Thumbs up all around. - 2008-12-03, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- My 3rd WD Passport and still going strong!
- This is my 3rd of these Western Digital Passport drives, they are great! Have not had any problems with the older version of the passport. They run quiet and are very reliable. I used to carry the old clunky 3.5" external drives with the heavy power supply, now I can carry all my data without breaking my back.
Just in my experience, WD drives are very dependable, I tend to stay away from Maxtor who has failed me 3x. - 2008-12-03, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
