Western Digital 320 GB Passport 2.5" USB 2.0 Hard Drive Reviews

• Excellent Mobile Storage

  
  By A10Y058K7B96C6 on 2008-02-20
  I have owned several Western Digital Passport drives and a few other mobile drive brands. This drive is great for backups, as you can hook it up fast without a power supply and store it anywhere. Put it in your briefcase, put it in your safe, take it with you anywhere and keep a copy of your data. It is almost pocket-size and the only thing you have to keep with you is a short USB cable. Some people consider the short cable that's included to be too short, but it's mobile!
  
  Some owners have commented on needing a power adapter or extra usb cable for it, but I've never had that issue. I've used it on multiple desktops and multiple laptops with no issues at all, but you'll have to try it on your own system.
  
  The surface of the Passports (shiny, black material) can be easy to scratch if you throw it around or keep it in your bag with other items. That would be my only complaint, but it doesn't really bother to me.
  
  The speed is very responsive. I've used it on an XP and Vista machine and both have copied data to it fairly quick. I haven't performed tests on it, but it always gets the job done for me. The 320GB version is a great upgrade on the previous Passport models.
  
  

• Very disappointed, it lacks a power cable it needs

  
  By A2HU34UNTBKLBF on 2008-01-28
  Needed more disk space so I decided to shell out two hundred dollars for the drive. On the box it said no power cable necessary on most systems and I have never used a power cable on my laptops with Seagate and LaCie portables. So let's see... On one laptop it didn't work at all saying it needs more power. On my powerful laptop it worked, but died while coping files... (more power needed) great now I'll have a corrupted filesystem. Thanks alot.
  
  Of course you'd think that for two hundred dollars you'd get a power cable (as Seagate and LaCie and others provide free). Wrong. You'll need to order it from their website for a nifty 18 dollars and wait a week to get it. Need it sooner? Sure for an extra 15 dollars they'll expedite it.
  
  
  

• I'm sure it's great if your laptop supports it

  
  By A290P2I661JR1E on 2008-02-21
  I have an Apple PowerBook 15" 1.67mHz which I bought this drive to compliment, since I use it to do some basic DJ'ing and want as few wires as possible when on the road. Unfortunately, the WD requires 1000mA to spin up according to the WD support site. It would be nice if there was some notation as to this necessity on the box so I could have saved myself 2 trips to the local retailer I bought this from thinking I got a couple bad drives. I don't want to have to worry about plugging it in - sort of defeats the purpose of the portability. Too bad, I really wanted it to work.
  
  

• Exactly what I was looking for

  
  By A1L6PBIR22S3FA on 2008-01-14
  I was looking for a small portable storage solution that would fit into a safety deposit box, and the 320GB Passport worked out perfectly. It runs with just one USB wire plugged into my desktop PC. I reformatted it as NTFS since it is shipped as fat32, and I then used Acronis Trueimage to back up my hard drive partitions onto the 320GB Passport. I am relieved knowing that my data is now safe.
  
  

• Western Digital Passport 320 GB - Nice Looking Portable External HD

  
  By A17BUUBOU0598B on 2008-04-19
  Western Digital 320 GB Passport 2.5" USB 2.0 Hard Drive
  
  The 320 GB passport is the largest one available and has a lot going for it. I own several portable hard drives in the Western Digital passport lineup and so far so good. I couldn't be happier. Some smaller sizes are priced more attractively. Passport hard drives also come in a new and slightly thicker essentials version. They are very similar other than the slightly different form factor. Both are great for mobile backups of data, but both are also slower to copy large backups than their A/C powered MyBook big-brothers.
  
  Pros
  + Largest current capacity available in this line of products
  + Nice portable form factor that easily connects via USB
  + USB powered, no A/C required, which is great for portability
  + Works well on Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X
  + Easy to set up disk encryption for security and privacy
  + Nice looks, in my opinion better looking than the new essentials version
  + Turns on and off with your computer or easily ejected via system tray
  + Easy plug-and-play installation
  + Integrates nicely with my growing stable of WD MyBook drives
  + Included software may be useful for some novices
  + 320 GB capacity is just about right for most users
  
  Cons
  - Somewhat slow file transfer speeds for larger backups
  - Included software not useful for power users
  - Shiny body attracts scratch, fingerprints and dust
  - Have to spend your cash to get a case that should have been included
  - At this price less of a value than the 250GB passport
  
  There's also a newer version that isn't out on Amazon yet and an Elite version.
  
  The Looks
  
  The drive has a nice shiny exterior with an offset shape with a blue activity light. The case can scratch in transit and the surface also attracts fingerprints and dust. But the look is still nice and you can easily purchase a case or holder for the drive if it bothers you. Most versions don't ship with the included case, but you can pick it up for $10 or $15. CaseLogic Small External Hard Drive Case (Black)
  
  The Features
  
  I had no problem connecting this drive to any computer, including Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X. Keep in mind this is a USB 2.0 device so ancient computers may not yield the same results.
  
  Transfer speeds are ok but definitely slower than the A/C powered MyBooks. This guy is still limited by the 480 Mps connection speed of USB 2.0, but performs somewhat slower than this when performing large backups. The USB2.0 speed rating can not really be achieved in production and you will get a fraction of that. But it's a trade-off that's worth it since it's USB-powered.
  
  The software utilities included with this device will be most useful for beginners. I tested the backup software in particular but found it to be slow and impractical. I mean REALLY slow. It works, but cutting and pasting is better. Take my advice: don't use these utilities and just do cut and paste backups and saves to this drive.
  
  Reliability
  
  I've had good luck with the passport line of drives. They seem to have lower failure rates than many MyBook drives, though I also own those and haven't had issues their either. Maybe my gentle care has helped me to get lucky with these guys so far. Maybe it's because these drives are generally off when in transit. Regardless, these guys have held up fine.
  
  Conclusion
  
  This drive is great or those who want a portable drive for backups on the run. You can get this 250GB WD Passport Portable Hard Drive 250 GB/Go version for around $100, versus the $150 charged for the 320 GB. That makes the 250 GB unit a better value than the 320 GB on a $ price per GB basis. Still, some will need the 320GB capacity in one drive. Other than price and capacity there is no real difference between them. If you're like me, once you try these you will end up getting several of them anyway. Get one soon!
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
  
• Large storage for small space.
  By A2NKC5YR4YJWOY on 2007-12-31
  I am using this as a back up for all my photos. It will allow me to take all my photos to the store for printing.
  
  When using with my desktop I had to plug it into the PC and not the USB hub. With a laptop I had to plug the laptop into the wall outlet. I think this is due to it being a USB drive and needed the extra juice.
  
  
• POWER
  By A2SZL8SNS4HBG5 on 2008-02-09
  The drive requires at least 650mA's. Suggest getting the booster USB cable from the company if your laptop is like my old one which only supplies its USB with only 500mA's. Otherwise, this drive is AWESOME!!!
  
  
• Don't blame the drive. Blame the laptop
  By A3MXZ8I8J86HPA on 2008-01-30
  I have the 250 GB version of this drive and it works really well on my IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad X61s. It is inappropriate to give the drive a low rating when it doesn't work because the problem is with the laptop, not the drive. Instead of complaining, get a good laptop as even the best are very inexpensive these days compared with even a few years ago. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. If you want to get a Thinkpad, monitor the site www.ecoupons.com for periodic discount coupons.
  
  
• A Supermodel among 2.5" USB 2.0 Hard Drives
  By A1B4MIXYVIKMU2 on 2008-04-11
  So I finally decided to upgrade from my 80GB portable USB 2.0 hard drive and decided to get this 320GB 2.5" USB Hard Drive from Western Digital. I spent lots of time researching all the different 2.5" external hard drives out there and this one seemed to be the most simple, stylish, and affordable. What can I say? I'm cheap :) Anyways, this external hard drive is great and here's why:
  
  "The Cool" :
  
  -Slim, Slick, Solid, Simple, and Sexy
  
  -Comes with USB to mini-usb cable (which is all you need to use it)
  
  -Nice blue read/write light (tells you if it's working hard or hardly working... idle, I mean :)
  
  -Glossy Piano Black Finish and nice simple and elegant shape/design
  
  -Super Quiet! (in a totally quiet room, you may hear a very, very slight hum... but chances are you won't hear anything at all)
  
  -The Mini-USB port on the drive is protected by a rubber cover or "door"... which you can open or close. ( I wonder if it's water proof?)
  
  -Comes with software included on the drive to back-up your computer files... but you absolutely don't need to use it if you don't want to.
  
  -Pretty fast transfer speed.
  
  -Compatible with PC and MAC computers.
  
  
  
  The "Not So Cool":
  
  - It should have come with some sort of zippered case or slip cover... another reviewer had mentioned that they used to include a zippered case with space for the cable. That would've been nice... since this thing was made for portability.
  
  - The way the external hard drive case is designed doesn't make it easy for us Geeks to open it up and "upgrade" it if we need to do so in the future.
  
  Conclusion: This hard drive really is a great little gadget. It does what it's supposed to and looks good doing it. It's also much quieter than I had expected. It's easy for anyone to use... just plug it in to your USB port on any computer, and you're set. So if you're in the market for a very small 2.5" portable USB 2.0 hard drive, this baby does the trick!
  
  
  
  
• Form follows function?
  By A2BF1T3D1I81OZ on 2008-02-19
  I've got this little gadget about a week ago and am happy with the functionality. I was surprised to find out, that in contrary to the Toshiba HDDR250E02X (250 GB) the WD works on my USB 1.1 Port of my old Thinkpad without any trouble (besides the low transfer speed of cause ;-)). The WD works fine, is recognized immediately by the OP and it is fast.
  
  Besides I am a lttle bit disappointed about a cosmetic aspect. The HDD sits in a neat plastic enclosure with 4 rubber pads (1 at each corner). After the first usage I figured out, that the HDD is rocking on my desktop, caused by the fact, that the housing has slightly twisted (because of the heating up?). Since then my WD does not sit firmly on any flat surface anymore which of course does not have any influence on its functionality but decreases the overall impression.
  
  
• Great little drive!
  By ATN2I085O62JJ on 2008-02-08
  Just got this WD 320 passport. Great little drive. Works as advertised. Plug&play in USB port. No additional power cable required. Using on IBM Thinkpad T42 with Windows XP. Reformatted NTFS. Highly recommended!
  
  
• Excellent Choice
  By on 2008-02-15
  I am very satisfied with this product. There have been not issues in configuration or use of this portable hard drive. I decided to make some partitions to my device, and I didn't found any difficult with this task. The combination of size and capacity is excellent for people like me, who needs to travel with portable data.
  
  
• 298 gigs??? i thought 320gigs
  By A3SII2IS65GDQS on 2008-03-06
  i went looking for a small portable drive. i came across this 320 gig for sale on amazon. what a great deal i thought. i waited 3-4 days to receive it like a little kid wanting his toy now i would check the tracking just in hope of it coming sooner. let me say it is small and portable and i like it. but i bought a 320 gig not a 298 gig which is what my pc says is on this drive. i am disappointed in this. but i like the size of it....i will do some research and see if this can be fixed.
  
  
  
  
• Western Digital Passport Drive Great for Mobile Mac Users
  By A1M4J5QC4N0G6E on 2008-03-08
  This passport drive is ideal for MacBook Air users wanting to use Time Machine for back up. It is an excellent USB Bus Powered drive that has plenty of storage for the mobile Mac User. I have been nothing but pleased with this drive and have been recommending them to my clients and friends. I was hesitant to buy a USB only drive since most of my Macs preference for Firewire drives. However, this has been a solid drive and an excellent experience. I would heartily recommend you pick up at least one.
  
  Doug Hanley
  MacTEK Consulting & Training
  
  
• Deceiving - only 297 GB, not 320 GB as stated!!
  By A1TCEMI60GCQAC on 2008-04-19
  OK what's going on here? This disk was advertised as 320 GB disk size, but guess what? Once plugged it only gives you 297 GB. Bam just like a slap in the face. Thats 23 GB of difference my friend, a lot. How can Western Digital justify that huge difference in capacity? I'm returning it right now. For this price I want my full 320 GB, sorry.
  
  
• Good, small, and fast
  By A3R1NY5HBYS8XU on 2008-02-28
  This model comes with a bigger USB cord than the 250GB model, which is nice. Great for a traveling backup or storing your library of music/movies/programs.
  
  
• Arived Damaged
  By A23J8OWK86Y7WF on 2008-04-05
  This product arrived damaged. I have been waiting over a month to have it replaced by western Digital. As for the product itself I wouldn't know I haven't had a chance to see it working. I sure hope its nice. If I ever get it back. If you have a damaged drive expect to wait a very long time to get it back. Also you will have to pay to ship it to WD. They will pay for the shipping to return it. You will be waiting over a month for the turn around. ( I am Still waiting ) I hope it is worth all the trouble!
  
  
• beautiful product
  By A1AXZ8766COHR6 on 2008-02-27
  I love WD Passport drives. I own 120 GB version, and now just purchased the bigger, 320 BG version. They are very sleek and elegant, quiet and very reliable.
  
  
• Great Buy !
  By AXZF5H3RO7FYN on 2008-02-29
  I just love it ,its easy to install - just plug n play
  Transfer rate is little slow , but its ok, 320 Gb of storage ! what else do you need ?
  No more DVD burnings for backing up data ! Just Connect the Drive and Start Transferring Data .
  
  
  
  
• Not practical, needs more USB power to work
  By A2Y4QQTCIP2E0E on 2008-04-29
  Good points:
  
  1. very nice looking, light weight, good size, well designed.
  2. recognized easily by My PC's, desk and laptop, for a first few times as soon as it was plugged in.
  3. data transfer is fast.
  
  Not so good points:
  
  1. It stopped being recognized by my PC's after a few days.
  2. The reason may be, as many reviews have said: insufficient USB power. You need to have a Y cable, that you have to buy and carry around to feed it. It is the only reason I returned it.
  3. there might be some other reasons too.
  
  My wish: It would be an ideal item if
  1.More USB power without the need of a Y cable, or
  2. at least provided a free cable to compensate for the inconvenience.
  
  
  
  
• amazing and works inside your Mac
  By A3P74AJV1S5WK8 on 2008-05-02
  I bought this drive under the assumption that I could take out the hard drive and put it in my MBP. IT worked perfectly. My Macbook Pro now has a 320GB internal drive in it, and I put my old 80 gig drive into the now empty Western Digital case and it works great as a portable drive in shuttling data to and fro.
  
  Buy this if you have a Mac
  
  
• A cool travel HDD
  By A2SXZZU2Q9UE05 on 2008-05-09
  It is really a cool external hard-disk. Forget carrying all the power cables for the external HDD when you go out. It is really compact and just works when you connect this to the USB. The performance is excellent even though it is 5400 RPM. I see things getting copied quickly.
  
  Thumb rule, if you got to travel a lot with your personal or whatever data required, this would be a best bet. If you are going to keep it in your house forever, then you can think of buying other external HDD as you can buy more storage for the same price that you are paying for this.
  
  It is simple, nice and very very easy to carry. It very well fits in your packet.
  
  NOTE: Before the first use, make you sure, you are FORMATTING to NTFS to hold a tons of folders and huge files. The default that it comes in is as FAT.
  
  
  
  
• Love Hate Relationship
  By A30V0UPX1NT380 on 2008-09-05
  I've owned this product for several months and would like to say that I hate it and love it, all at the same time. Let me explain. I love that it's 320GB. I love that it doesn't require an extra plug to get it up and running. I love that it's small and portable.
  
  HOWEVER, what I hate is that often my computer doesn't recognize it, or that it randomly decides to disconnect and reconnect to my computer (in a virtual sense, not physical). This is particularly annoying when I'm listening to music or moving files around. My solution at this point is to physically disconnect it and connect it until the connection sticks.
  
  My fear is that one day I will not be able to access anything on this drive. So, I'm forced to back everything up, perhaps wise, but that means now I have to have 640GB instead of 320GB for the same files.
  
  When I first bought this hard drive I thought "WOW! I can make this like a virtual computer and have access to my files anywhere there is a computer." This has not been the case. It seems the more I disconnect it and reconnect it on another machine, the more problems I have. So, I have to be selective. I don't just take it anywhere "just in case."
  
  So in conclusion, I have to say I love that I can throw this thing in my purse and take it with me to work or vice versa instead of hauling around an entire laptop. I love that this little hard drive has more hard drive space than my laptop. But, it's unreliable, more than normal pieces of technology. So, if you're like me and have a desktop or another hard drive that you can back this up onto or don't wish to use it for your only copy of important documents, then I would go ahead and get it. Otherwise, you're just waiting for a disaster to occur.
  
  
• Not plug 'n play on MacBook Pro, but very workable with a few extra steps
  By A1H4NF2OI9P8P7 on 2008-03-25
  When I first connected this on my MacBook Pro, it did not mount to the desktop. Not only not through a USB hub, but also not through one of computer's USB 2.0 port. This, to me, means it is by definition *not* "plug 'n play." Fair enough. I opened Mac's 'Disk Utility' app and did see this drive there. There was no workable option under the opening "First Aid" tab, so I decided to try to partition it. Under the partition tab, once you select something under "volume scheme," you will then be able to name the volume and select the file type and it's as simple as that. THIS IS THE ACTION THAT FINALLY RESULTED IN THE DRIVE MOUNTING TO THE DESKTOP. So . . . I deduct a point for it not being plug n play and requiring this extra step, but overall, not that big of an inconvenience and I managed to move 40gb worth of photo files to this drive immediately. I'm satisfied. And now I hope to get a few years of good reliability out of this.
  
  Another note: I was not able to transfer files from my computer to this drive when it was connected through a USB hub. I had to hook it up to my MacBook Pro's USB port to do that. However, I can access files on this disk when it's connected through the USB hub (when it mounts via the hub--it's 50-50). A little odd, but I can live with that.
  
  
  
• Small, light, and awesome.. and 16in cable!
  By A1XIFFU1JXGMH7 on 2008-03-26
  The cable for this model is much longer than previous models, measuring about 16 inches. I made an HFS partition for Time Machine and large file storage (for Macbook Pro), and made 100GB partition in FAT32. It has worked perfectly with a mac, a windows machine, and a PS3.
  
  It so easy to use and carry around, and the cord is definitely long enough this time! I have owned it for 2 months with zero issues. It also looks sweet.
  
  Highly Recommended.
  
  
• great product
  By A289EJ0GMUBMGC on 2008-03-26
  I own 2 of these hard drives. The first one is a beige 120GB passport that I took to Iraq for 15 months. It survived the dust storm and everything, still working today. I cant compare it to other products since this is the only portable hard drive that I buy.
  
  
• Compact , User Friendly and has not failed
  By A1Z69460TV1VT9 on 2008-04-09
  So far so good...I decided on the 320 gig version of this WD drive because the 80 gig version I am currently using has not failed for nearly a year. The drive has great security features and it's compact. No external power source, just running off the power of the USB...you get tired of having to plug in more wires. This is great for laptops. Everyone should get in the habit of backing up data. I recommend this product that purpose or to be used as a secondary hard drive.
  
  
• Outstanding
  By A29DHYB0C9D5IO on 2008-05-05
  Compre este disco externo con el unico objetivo en mente de que sea portatil, facil de llevar y simple de conectar, y me lleve una grata sorpresa al utilizarlo. Supero mis expectativas porque es ultra liviano, y la velocidad de transferencia es excelente aun mayor que la de mi pendrive. El disenio del disco Passport ademas es bellisimo. La unica contra es que lo promocionan como de 320GB y en realidad solo almacena 298GB (Los 22 GB faltantes se pierden en la cuenta, dado que el fabricante divide por 1000 y no por 1024 como corresponde). Recomiendo comprarlo con estuche.
  
  
• Good device
  By A2G37BPLJ1LVEO on 2008-05-19
  Nice, compact little drive that almost fits in your pocket. No problems with the USB cables as many users have reported. I've tried it on a 6 years old PC and it still worked, if you have something older than that you should consider upgrading your PC instead of complaining about the hard drive. It comes pre-formatted with FAT32, but if you want to store files greater than 1 GB you might want to format it to NTFS before you use the drive. A little note that actual storage space is about 290-297 GB not 320 as it says on the box.
  
  
• Didn't even last 6 months!!!
  By A2YBQCX2AGS8A1 on 2008-08-16
  I bought my WD Hard Drive around February 2008, formatted it, used it heavily to back up my precious data, had to re-format it twice since I initially bought it and around July, it finally kicked the bucket.
  
  I'm no expert on tech stuff, but I'm definitely no novice either, but I know crappy hardware when I see it, or in this case use it. The flimsy plastic case should of been a dead giveaway, but I bought into it and continued to trust it.
  
  My next drive is going to be an Iomega FireWire drive.
  
  

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