Western Digital 160GB 2.5-inch Passport USB Portable Hard Drive
by Western Digital
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Western Digital 160GB 2.5-inch Passport USB Portable Hard Drive
Customer Review: Excellent Price in a Compact Package
Summary: 5 Stars
This hard drive is worthy of consideration given its compact size, capacity and ease of set up. I have 3 external hard drives, all of which need an AC adapter. Given that the weight of those are quite heavy and the inconvenience of needing a plug, I needed an alternative.
I attached the USB cable to the laptop and the drive, and that was it. Before saving any data, you might as well format it to NTFS, since FAT32 is the default (files greater than 4 GB minus 2 bytes won't transfer on FAT32)
Just right click with the new hard drive highlighted and click "Format" with NTFS selected and you're off to archiving your data. Even more importantly is the ability to back up data on the laptop and have some convenient method of restoring the information.
Powered through the USB cable, this convenient package eliminates the need for an additional power outlet. This is especially useful for the traveling user where all you may get is a plug for the laptop. This unit is quiet and I barely hear it which limits any distraction from the 'plug in units' that I own.
The case is about the size of a 30 GB video ipod with a glossy black finish. My only grip is the 8 inch cable that accompanies it but it is hardly a showstopper.
Your other brand considerations are the Smart disk Firelite which is the pioneer of the portable high capacity HDs and the Seagate double USB corded hard drives.
Seagate 120 GB 2.5" Portable External Hard Drive 8 MB Cache ( ST9120801U2-RK )
Wolverine Data Portable Series 120GB External Hard Drive USB 2.0 ( 2120 )
SmartDisk FireLite - Hard drive - 100 GB - external - Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB -
For cost, capacity, styling and size, this one has absolutely NO comparison.
Any case that can hold a Nintendo DS will hold this drive. Here are some examples:
Nintendo DS Lite Carrying Case
Nintendo DS Lite Ultimate Leather Case
Two thumbs up.
Customer Review: Uses more power than the USB spec requires--so it doesn't work
Summary: 1 Stars
I'd been eyeing this and some other portable drives here on Amazon for awhile and bought it from a brick-and-mortar store on a lark yesterday when I was in desperate need of some extra space.
I plugged it in and waited for the drive to appear on my PowerBook's desktop. Nothing. I checked Disk Utility and it didn't show as even an unmounted drive there, so I checked System Profiler and it didn't even register as anything connected by USB, which was strange, I thought, because the light on the device was pulsating.
A bit of Internet research and I've figured out the problem: the USB specifications only require each USB controller to put out 500mA, and this WD drive requires more than that (1000mA at spinup and 650mA continuous). Unfortunately, my PowerBook G4's (17") ports only put out the required 500mA, but you can't really fault Apple, since they're just following the standard.
This is a known issue, too. A Google search for "western digital passport not enough power" returns a half a million pages, and the top few dozen are all reviews from here and other stores as well as from professional reviewers that all mention the same problem. It would be nice if the USB standard were upgraded to support higher-power devices, but until that happens, WD should post a disclaimer on their product descriptions or at least, as one Web site poster said, should not put the USB logo on their products since they're out of compliance.
WD seems to say this is a "rare problem." Unfortunately, it appears that it is not as rare was WD might claim. It would be nice if they would include the USB Y cable they sell online (it allows you to draw power from two USB ports), although this is far from a perfect solution (tying up both of my USB ports is not nice, especially since I need one for the Logic Pro USB key fob).
Fortunately, that brick-and-mortar store's very liberal return policy will be working in my favor this afternoon.
One star for false advertising. If WD were clearer about their requirements (or better, included the Y cable), I'd consider upping the rating.
Customer Review: A Very Attractive Piece of Junk--Updated
Summary: 1 Stars
I got a good price on this drive and the piano black finish exactly matched my new HP Laptop, so I thought, why not? Usually I'm more careful -- I should have checked here first.
When I plugged it in, the drive was recognized and all seemed well. But it's pre-formatted for FAT32, and I run NTFS files system, so I went to the Western Digital site to find out how to re-format it. I CAREFULLY followed the directions, and after that the drive was recognized in Windows, but showed it wasn't formatted. Every format attempt in Windows, even low-level, failed.
So I downloaded the Western Digital utilities, which tested the drive and found no problems. Then I used the WD utilities to format the drive. It said the drive was successfully formatted, but again, when I tried to use it in Windows, no luck. Windows called it an unformatted drive and continued to give an unhelpful error message when I tried to format it. I even tried the "long format" method and that came up with the same "Drive could not be formatted" error, but only after two hours of seemingly formatting correctly.
I returned it to the store and bought a Maxtor-mini III which I plugged in and it recognized my file system immediately. I'm not sure whether it was pre-formatted in NFTS or re-formatted during the quick setup, but it works very well.
Western Digital used to make excellent products. The Western Digital 160 GB USB 2.0 Passport is a mess.
Update: (4-15-07)In reviewing my reviews I notice that many recent reviews have been more positive. I am thus willing to concede that the some early models may have fallen victim to startup production problems. If you note the review arc for the Passport, you'll see a steady climb in the ratings. Still I would caution against trying to re-format the drive to NTFS, even though WD claims you can do it. Even if I could change my rating now, I wouldn't. Following WD's instructions explicitly, the drive failed for me and could not be recovered. As always, YMMV.
Customer Review: Does not work with some laptops (no solution)
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this product with much anticipation. Great size, nice little case and 160GB.
I had problem after problem since I got it and WD tech support SUX!!!!
I first got the drive and tried to perform a sync using the supplied software. My computer locked up during that process and after reboot I was unable to access 4GB of data on the drive. That is where the sync data was stored. I called WD and they said sorry, you have to delete the drive partition and reformat the drive. So I delete the partition, re-add the partition but the drive won't format.
I run the diagnostic and it says "Cable test failed". I got on the phone with tech support again and they say I must have a bad cable. I happen to have another cable so I try that. No luck. Tech support says it must be a bad drive.
I ship back my drive and they send me a new one. SAME PROBLEMS.
So I do my own due diligance research.
This drive requires 650mA of power from your USB port. I got this from Western Digitals website and I DO NOT THINK THAT IS POWER REQUIREMENT IS STANDARD. I have a brand new Dell laptop and those USB ports only output 500mA.
I called Tech support to ask about this and they will not aknowledge the problem. They said the only problems they have had reported are on old notebooks and there passport drive will work with any newer laptop. I repeated my claim that it had to be a power problem. The tech said it can't be a power problem because my laptop would not even recognize it. I think that is a bunch of BS and nonsense.
I am now forced to return it.
PS - I was told a "Y" USB Cable might work becauase it is supposed to grab power from two USB ports. It did not work for me.
Not a solid product for universal use!!!
Customer Review: Awesome!
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this as a gift, and initially was disappointed. I wanted one of those huge 500 GB WD external HD, but my sister frets over the load I carry in my backpack, and she decided that I was going for compact, light and practical.
Well, I was undoubtedly the envy of my graphics class. It is compact, AND light, AND oh-so-practical. No extra wires, no worrying about transporting in bomb-proof cases, no using valuable desk-top space and worrying about outlets and power sources.
At the time I received the product, I had a Dell at home, and worked on Macs in the lab at school. I had no problems with saving my work-in-progress and working on it at home on the PC. (Of course, I had corresponding software on both, don't take that to mean that you can use it on different machines if you don't have the software) At the time, I had a USB 1.0 hub, and had no problems with that either.
I have to admit, it works like a dream, I have had no problems what-so-ever with the WD 160 GB Passport External HD. I have been using it since January 2007, during the semester that amounted to approximately 5 day/ week at anywhere from 3 to 10 hours a day. (that is plugging and unplugging from class to lab, and back and forth from school to home) This did not limit me to the amount of work I could take home to work on like the thumb drives did, and for it's physical dimensions, 160 GB seems perfect!
By the end of the semester, over half my class had purchased their own. BTW, I DO have larger external HDs now, on my desktop for more permanant storage of my work. But, for school and on-the-go, this smaller, lighter HD can't be beat!
I most heartily recommend this hard-drive!