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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Western Digital 160GB 2.5-inch Passport USB Portable Hard Drive
Customer Review: Mac laptop owners think twice
Summary: 2 Stars
I ordered the 120 gig version of this item for my iBook G4. It came quickly, which was great, but then I plugged it in. Nothing. Didn't recognize it. It appears some laptops, including Macs, do not have enough power going to their USB ports to operate this drive. I did see that in previous reviews, but I guess I had to try it myself. Didn't work for me (I've heard it doesn't work for Powerbooks either). Trying to salvage the effort and money I tried it in my small form factor desktop (Shuttle XPC) and that didn't work, in fact it crashed the machine, three times. So either those USBs ports were incompatible as well or the unit was faulty. There is a "booster usb cable" that may be available (it plugs into 2 usb ports to boost the power) that might work for some people. I didn't try that because I didn't want to take the trouble (and that might not have worked anyway). It's curious to me that this device is obviously designed for laptops and yet it won't work with many of them. So I am disappointed and returned it today.Customer Review: Power Hungry Device overloads USB ports
Summary: 2 Stars
Western Digital is well known for quality hard drives, so when I saw the 160gb Passport on sale, I got one without hesitation. I had no problem using it on my home PC. It did NOT work on my Dell M60 Laptop, nor any of a half-dozen other laptops I tried. It would overload the port and a warning message indicating USB power surge/overload would pop up on the screen. Since my primary intended use was to transfer files from my laptop to my home PC, I returned it to the store for another model (Firelite). Other reviews indicate that this is not a "rare problem" (as WD would tell you). WD sells a cable that combines power of two USB ports (an extra $9.95 on it's online store) that solves this problem and that of a very short 8" USB cable supplied. Of course, who wants to tie up two of the limited USB ports on a laptop? They could provide an optional power cable using a PS2 port like my Firelite did. Yes, the drive is attractive, fast and very quiet, but until WD gets a handle on the high power demands, I can't recommend it.Customer Review: Great so far
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought two of these for backing up data at work and they've worked well so far. They also work well on my three-year-old laptop (work computers are Windows XP Dell Precision 380; laptop is a Windows XP Alienware Area-51m 766). The size and single cable make these hard drives so much easier to work with than previous external hard drives I've used. I plan on buying two more for myself soon. I haven't used the software that comes with it, nor do I intend to, so I can't speak to the quality of that. The drive works just like any USB drive in XP -- just plug it in and it pops right up, ready to use. The only improvements I would suggest to make this product better is if it was even smaller and faster.
*UPDATE: I've been using the two work ones for about a month now, doing regular weekly backups of about 15GB. I also bought two more for my own use; I've filled both of those almost up and haven't had a single issue or even a warning message. They work just like a USB drive, only they hold a lot more data!
Customer Review: Passport on its Way to Becoming the Name Brand in Portable Hard Drives
Summary: 5 Stars
Sleek, stylish and robust, the Western Digital Passport External Hard Drive was the perfect answer to my portable storage needs. I considered the 80GB, the 120 GB, the 160GB and the 250GB drives for a little while, and the price difference made the 160GB drive the best choice for me. Instead of worrying about transporting DVD or CDs, or having to rely on several USB flash drives to carry my music, TV shows and movies, the Passport provides a central location to house all my media while keeping my laptop drive free to maintain work files and apps, as well as serve as the download station before I back it up on my Passport. The software is user friendly, and the sync function is handy, but it's just as easy to transfer files via Windows Explorer. The price for theWestern Digital 160 GB USB 2.0 Passport 2.5" External Hard Drive ( WDXMS1600TN ) didn't break my bank and the convenience is priceless.Customer Review: Power Surge / Data Recovery Issue
Summary: 1 Stars
Well, I am quite upset about the power surge issue right now. I've only had this drive two weeks. Everything "saved" to it just fine two weeks ago and so I deleted all the original files off my hard drive (the point of having the drive is so that I can lock critical information in a safe place). But today when I tried to retrieve that information again, the disk couldn't successfully connect itself and after a few minutes of cycling on and off I got the "power surge" message which shut down my keyboard, mouse, and the external drive itself. Shutting the computer down and coming back in has restored the mouse and keyboard.
However, this external drive will still not connect and I have given up trying for fear that - if not lost already, anyway - I will lose data (now my only copy).
There is nothing wrong with my cables, or the way I plug them in, or the three other external hard drives (different models) I use. Just this one.