Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Midnight Black)
by Western Digital
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Our Price: $246.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $129.99 (click here) 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 My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Midnight Black)
Customer Review: Another great hard drive from WD
Summary: 4 Stars
I've always been a fan of Western Digital's drives, whether external or internal. And this certainly doesn't change my opinions. Great external hard drive, very large storage capacity. The only problem that I have and continue to have is the USB connector. It never stays in like it should, it always feels like I have to hold it in. This is extremely annoying when transferring large files, as if I even move the drive, the transfer will fail. I don't know if this is just my drive or not, it should not be a reason to not get the drive.
Extremely worth the money. Just a side note, if your not a fan of WD's bundled software, then this drive will annoy you alot. WD's Drive Management Software is built in to the firmware of the drive (formatting won't uninstall it), and whenever you plug it into a Windows or Mac computer, will load itself up and ask to back up the drive. You can block this on individual computers, but not for the drive itself.
Overall great drive, WD says they are working on a tool to remove their bundled software, and if this drive lacked that software, and the USB connector was just little more stable, this drive would receive a 6/5 for me. For now, gonna have to say 4/5, sorry WD!
Oh, and it looks amazing too. =]
Well.. until you touch it..
Customer Review: Performance and size...it does matter!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this drive specifically to hold my iTunes library, which was at 750GB, far too large for my MacBook Pro. I run movies, TV shows, music, and podcasts from this drive via USB 2.0 to my Mac. Some observations:
1. Truly plug and play on a Mac. You need to format it, which takes a few seconds with Disk Utility.
2. Easy to partition.
3. Fast. I run movies or TV shows that I've downloaded from iTunes, and have noticed no issues with stuttering or delays with the getting content from the disk drive to my Mac.
4. Reliable. I've been running this for four months straight (sometimes I have music streaming for several days), and I have had no issues with the drive. I have other Passport drives from WD, and they are all reliable.
5. Light and easy to carry. When I throw (well, maybe not throw) my MBP into a carrying case, the little drive fits in a pocket in my case, barely noticeable.
I've gone through a lot of external hard drives, but this one is one of the best. It's a bit more money, because it's small, but when it's on my desktop, I don't know it's there. Really, it just hides.
If you need 1TB for backup, holding massive media files, or just to extend the life of your laptop, this is one great product.
Customer Review: WD BS Alert
Summary: 2 Stars
Western Digital Support says: (in a reply to an Amazon UK customer)
"Hi,
Our new My Passport products use a standard Micro USB connector. This connector was recently adopted by the cell phone industry and a standard for cell phones, so you will be seeing it much more regularly going forward. Additionally, it was designed to be more durable than the Mini USB connector, so is better suited fur use with product that may be frequently unplugged, such as a portable hard drive.
But if you have found that your USB cable doesn't fit as tightly as you would like, please contact our support department and we'll be happy to send you a replacement. You can find the support contact information at [...] We will be pleased to help you."
Hello, BS alert! The micro USB connector is rated at 10000 insertion cycles (higher than the mini) but that doesn't make it "more durable" or more reliable as it's obviously flimsier and it does fall out more easily, as observed on my mobile phone. The higher insertion rating is meaningless from a design pov as design life of the cable assembly is still limited to the 1500 maximum insertions of the USB-A connector at the other end. The answer is to tape the micro usb to the HDD case, keep it in a case and don't take it travelling!
Customer Review: TOTAL CRAP. NOTHING BUT AN EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT
Summary: 1 Stars
I am SO DISGUSTED by this drive. It is one of three external HDs I use for various types of backup. I've used THIS ONE a total of *FOUR TIMES* to back up data from my laptop. A few days ago, I plugged it in to do its 3-month HD backup, and it rendered my Vista OS completely unresponsive. After a plethora of repeated attempts, no change--it fails on every level and requires a system reboot. The drive is completely unrecognizable by Explorer (until I UNPLUG the damned thing b/c it causes the OS to hang indefinitely).
I've spent at least six unrecoverable hours of my life trying to correct this damned issue--via web searches, self-trouble-shooting (I have a considerable background in hardware/software repair), etc. My conclusion is this: the damned thing is a TOTAL waste of money--tantamount to the most expensive paperweight I've ever encountered. Also: WD seems to have no idea how to fix an apparent inherent flaw in this drive. They are aware of it, but have no solution!
Bottom line--Smart Consumers: DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. Western Digital: SHAME ON YOU! Internet TS searches prove this is a known issue, and yet WD keeps selling this GARBAGE. Wow. I go on record being the TOTAL SUCKER trying to prevent anyone else from joining the WD SUCKER CLUB.
Customer Review: Very Good Product, Great Customer Service
Summary: 5 Stars
It's a great product. 1TB of data fits in your pocket.
CONNECTOR:
- I don't get the fuss about the connector. It just stays there firm enough for me. Never came out accidentally. Are those guys using it in a jungle or somewhere?
- I requested a spare cable from WD customer service anyway. They sent it at no charge. It was at my door the very next day!
SOFTWARE:
Software is hack. But it's well taken care of by WD:
- Don't like the software? Don't install the software. If you did, uninstall. Voila!
- If you had drive problems with Win7 like me, just download the firmware update from WD site (If you hate the software, do this after uninstalling the software. If you wanna keep the software, you might have no drive problem at all)
- If you're annoyed by the Virtual CD, just download the disabler from WD site and get rid of it for good.
SPEED:
- Maybe it's me, but data transfer seems a little bit slower than the old one to me. Maybe it's firmware. Maybe nothing. Still no problem watching 1080p movies from it, no frame drop etc.
Thinking about getting another one soon so I can get rid of my disk drives and the horrible noises they make while spinning.