| Brand | Western Digital |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 17.8 x 15.4 x 5.1 cm; 140 Grams |
| Item model number | WDBACY5000ASL-EESN |
| Manufacturer | Western Digital |
| Series | My Passport Essential |
| Color | Silver |
| Hard Drive Size | 500 GB |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 140 g |
Add Extra Protection? Check if this cover meets your needs
from London General Insurance Company Ltd. £4.79
- From the moment your product’s delivered it will be covered for accidental damage and any mechanical/electrical faults not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Cover is for UK residents who are over 18 years old.
- No added costs when making a claim; no excess to pay or any charges for parts, labour or callout.
- Easy to make a claim by phone or email. If your product can’t be repaired, it will either be replaced or we’ll issue an Amazon e-gift card to the value of a replacement.
- Cancel anytime: Full refund within 45 days if no claim has been made, pro-rated refund thereafter less claim costs.
- For full product description, please read the Insurance Product Information Document and policy terms and conditions by following the link(s) provided. Please note that another insurance product which has different terms might be available on our website when accessed on a laptop or desktop PC.
Add Extra Protection? Check if this cover meets your needs
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 VIDEOS
-
-
WD My Passport Essential 500 GB Cool Silver Portable Hard Drive (USB 3.0/2.0)
| Price: | £67.83£67.83 |
- Choose from over 13,000 locations across the UK
- Prime members get unlimited deliveries at no additional cost
- Find your preferred location and add it to your address book
- Dispatch to this address when you check out
- Setting up a scheduled backup for your computer
- Backup occurs to customer-provided drive or cloud
- Identification of critical files that need backup
- Walkthrough of backup schedule and configuration
- If additional works are required, additional costs may be incurred
Enhance your purchase
| Digital storage capacity | 500 GB |
| Compatible devices | Desktop |
| Brand | Western Digital |
| Series | My Passport Essential |
| Connectivity technology | USB |
| Hard disk size | 500 GB |
| Cache size | 500 |
| Colour | Silver |
| Item weight | 140 Grams |
| Item dimensions L x W x H | 17.8 x 15.4 x 5.1 centimetres |
About this item
- Make sure this fits by entering your model number.
- Portable hard drive with dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility
- Connectivity for today with speed for tomorrow
- Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0
- Automatic, continuous backup
- Hardware encryption, password protection
There is a newer model of this item:
Customers also viewed these products
Have a question?
Find answers in product info, Q&As, reviews
Your question may be answered by sellers, manufacturers or customers who bought this product.
Please make sure that you've entered a valid question. You can edit your question or post anyway.
Please enter a question.
Product information
Technical Details
Additional Information
| ASIN | B004445JI6 |
|---|---|
| Customer Reviews |
4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Date First Available | 20 Oct. 2010 |
Warranty & Support
Feedback
Product description
Product Description
My Passport Essential – Next Generation Storage To Go.
Put your digital life on the stylishly small My Passport Essential portable hard drive. With WD quality and USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity, this drive is designed for today with tomorrow in mind.
Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Interface
If you're worried that your portable drive won't be able to keep up with the transfer rates of the future, then look no further than the My Passport Essential. With the dual interface you'll have a single drive with both universal compatibility for today, and the next-generation speed you need for tomorrow. Use it with USB 2.0 now and step up to USB 3.0 speed when you're ready.
Up to 3x Faster Transfer Rates
When connected to a USB 3.0 port this drive lets you access and save files up to 3 times faster than USB 2.0. Imagine being able to transfer a 2-hour HD movie in just 5 minutes instead of 13 minutes.* Not only will this save you time and allow you to do other tasks, but it also makes your media that much more portable, available to take with you or be transferred within minutes.
*Performance may vary based on user's hardware and system configuration.
WD Quality Inside and Out
For over 20 years, millions of people worldwide have trusted their data to WD hard drives. We are successful because we understand the importance of your data and our first concern is keeping that data safe.
WD SmartWare Software
You're in control of your backup. With our intuitive backup system you can decide how you approach securing your data for the future - you can install all the features, select just the components you need, or if you prefer, choose not to use the software at all.
Automatic, Continuous Backup
A backup system that works as you do, running quietly in the background to protect your data using minimal PC resources. Whenever you add or change a file it's instantly backed up, so you can be safe in the knowledge that if the worst happens, your stored data will let you carry on from only moments before.
Password Protection for Privacy
Data privacy is a big concern for many people, and with a portable drive there is always the possibility that it could be misplaced during a journey. Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorised access with password protection and encryption.
USB-Powered
A truly portable drive without a chunky power adapter. As this drive is powered directly from the USB port on your PC, no separate power supply is needed, allowing you the freedom and flexibility to take this small drive anywhere and connect via any compatible device or hub when you need it.
Planet Friendly
We designed a small box that uses recycled material and minimises waste. We encourage you to recycle it when you're finished, to help reduce waste further and help the environment.
Ideal for:
- Connecting with your USB 2.0 port today and using with USB 3.0 when you're ready
- Transferring files up to three times faster when connected to a USB 3.0 port
- Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backup
- Adding extra storage space for photos, videos and music
- Securing private or sensitive data with password protection and hardware encryption
Portable Storage Comparison Table
| Western Digital Elements Portable | Western Digital Elements Portable SE | Western Digital My Passport Essential | Western Digital My Passport Essential SE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUMMARY | Simply affordable, easily portable. | Maximum capacity storage in a compact design. | Next generation storage to go. | Next generation high-capacity storage to go. |
| Capacity | 250GB - 500GB | 500GB - 1TB | 500GB | 750GB - 1TB |
| Interface | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 | USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 |
| Available Colours | Black | Black | ||
| WD SmartWare | Yes | Yes | ||
| Automatic Backup | Yes | Yes | ||
| Password Protection and Hardware Encryption | Yes | Yes |
Box Contains
1x LogiLink HDMI Cable 2m
1 x Toslink Cable 1.5m
1 x Scart Cable 1.5m
Customer reviews
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
I was a little concerned when buying this as I use a Macbook when I am working on the move/at home whereas I use a PC when in the Office and there are separate Mac and PC versions of this apparently. I took the chance and bought the "ordinary" one (PC). It works fine between PCs and is recognised and can open files on my Mac, however I cannot write to it using the Mac. This is due to the NTFS format of the drive. So I formatted the drive to work as MS_DOS (FAT) and now it has no problems working between the 2 systems at all.
The drive comes with special software installed for backing up your files but I have not used this as I dont feel the need to, so I have used it as I would use a USB stick, drag and drop.
The transfer rate is pretty quick. Im not a computer expert but it was clearly quicker than any transfers i have done from my computer to usb sticks.
I think this is a great little hard drive and is perfect for general data storage.
Would highly recommend it, good value for money and such a neat size it's easy to pop in your handbag (girls) or small laptop bag pocket (boys).
Update May 2013 - my own 1TB version failed after just over a year - if it starts asking if you want to reformat the drive when you plug it in, make a back up quick! However, I was able to retrieve the information via a Linux programme thank goodness, having tested it via their website to confirm it had terminally failed. Even though I could not return this item via Amazon, dealing with WD direct was easy, and they have replaced it with no problem, as it was within its 2 year warrantee. Just make sure you register your Hard Drive upon purchase, but they still have a record of it if you forget. My replacement arrived having returned the original, and I am still happy with the performance, and would still recommend.
The first thing I did was reformat the drive to get rid of the bloatware pieces, as I did not want the backup software. You can just delete them (once copied if you do intend to use them later) but i preferred a clean start.
Was going to plug this straight into my Sumvision Cyclone Fusion Media Player but it will not read the drive. Perhaps there is not enough power supplied by the device through the USB port? Anyway, got another device and that reads it no problem.
Can not tell what the USB3 speeds are like, but should be super fast.
Overall, a great little drive.
A small LED flickers away when the thing is working away, but it's not distracting in any way. Additionally, it's quiet... I can't here it working.
The only issue I have is when I plug the USB cable bale in, I have to do a half turn on the cable for it to go into the USB socket of my MacBook in order for the My Passport to be the right way round. This may not seem all that alarming, but the plastic coating protecting the cabling is very stiff. But this is my only criticism.
My laptop crashed last night - suspect virus, but the windows system image backup recovered my laptop - took my first ever backup last week when I bought this hdd and it proved its worth last night.









