Amazon.co.uk:Customer reviews: Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB Portable External Hard Drive

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB Portable External Hard...

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Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB Portable External Hard Drive

byWestern Digital

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Top positive review

Positive reviews›

Very easy to use, small, light and neat

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 January 2009

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB Portable External Hard Drive - first impressions...
I was looking for some way to back up Outlook Contacts and Calendar files, as well as photos, videos, and important documents easily from my two Samsung notebook computers (an R700 and a Q70), and also from my new Acer Aspire One which will only have a 16 GB solid state flash drive, when it arrives. (I chose the 16 GB flash drive version over the 120GB or 160GB vesrioins to keep the little Acer light as possible).
The Western Digital My Passport 320GB portable external drive arrived from Amazon vey quickly, and I was instantly impressed by how small and light it is, and how easy it was to get it working with my R700 laptop, running Vista. I just connected it via the USB port and within a few seconds it was up and running.

I backed up all the websites I have designed recently (I am a web designer) within a couple of minutes, and also some other crucial files.
I intend to use the WD hard drive with all my laptop and notebook computers and also possibly with my old desktop computer, even though I have a large external Maxtor drive attached to this, which I hardly ever remember to use for backing up.

I do think the extra software provided with the drive is worth installing. It looks as if it will be very useful - it includes a program called `Dmailer', which allows you to sync all your Outlook files onto this portable hard drive so that they can easily be transferred to any other computer I own or any computer I'm likely to use anywhere in the world. The data is encrypted, so even if you lose the little WD Passport drive (heaven forbid), your data is secure, and it's even possible to give `Lost & Found' details, which are not encrypted.

Also included were some nice features from Google, such as a Google desktop which I prefer to the one that came with Windows Vista Premium Home Edition - it includes a more attractive analogue clock, a note pad which is saved automatically and will save me continually opening Windows Notepad, naming and saving the .txt files; there is also a `To Do' list; a weather report, and various other Google `Gadgets' which may prove useful.

The price of the drive was also very good - I can't believe how cheap memory is now compared to a few years ago. I remember the days when an 80MB hard drive was considered big!

2 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Failed after a couple of years

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 15 January 2014

I have had this for a couple of years and used it rarely.
Specifically I connected it to my laptop about 5 times a year, to make occasional backups and it always worked fine.
Then one day it simply stopped working.

Since it's been a while it's obviously no longer under warranty, but it contains everything I wanted backed up, which in any case the point of existence of this device.
Western digital's troubleshooting only lists remedies such as "restart your computer" or "try another cable" but after trying EVERYTHING and trying to plug it in numerous computers with multitudes of cables their final recommendation is to take it to a data recovery lab.

I am puzzled because this device is supposed to serve as a backup device, one that will not require the employment of a data recovery expert within the foreseeable future. As a guarantee, WD should offer a data recovery guarantee of at least 5 years. The fact that they don't means they know that you it has a short life and those who dare purchase it must tremble in fear that at some point, sooner or later, it will betray them leaving everything they've been trying to save locked inside.

I find myself with no other alternative but to send it to the recommended data recovery partners of WD and end up paying a lot more that it cost me to buy this originally.
For this reason, I give this product one star.

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From United Kingdom

Very easy to use, small, light and neat

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 January 2009

Verified Purchase

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB Portable External Hard Drive - first impressions...
I was looking for some way to back up Outlook Contacts and Calendar files, as well as photos, videos, and important documents easily from my two Samsung notebook computers (an R700 and a Q70), and also from my new Acer Aspire One which will only have a 16 GB solid state flash drive, when it arrives. (I chose the 16 GB flash drive version over the 120GB or 160GB vesrioins to keep the little Acer light as possible).
The Western Digital My Passport 320GB portable external drive arrived from Amazon vey quickly, and I was instantly impressed by how small and light it is, and how easy it was to get it working with my R700 laptop, running Vista. I just connected it via the USB port and within a few seconds it was up and running.

I backed up all the websites I have designed recently (I am a web designer) within a couple of minutes, and also some other crucial files.
I intend to use the WD hard drive with all my laptop and notebook computers and also possibly with my old desktop computer, even though I have a large external Maxtor drive attached to this, which I hardly ever remember to use for backing up.

I do think the extra software provided with the drive is worth installing. It looks as if it will be very useful - it includes a program called `Dmailer', which allows you to sync all your Outlook files onto this portable hard drive so that they can easily be transferred to any other computer I own or any computer I'm likely to use anywhere in the world. The data is encrypted, so even if you lose the little WD Passport drive (heaven forbid), your data is secure, and it's even possible to give `Lost & Found' details, which are not encrypted.

Also included were some nice features from Google, such as a Google desktop which I prefer to the one that came with Windows Vista Premium Home Edition - it includes a more attractive analogue clock, a note pad which is saved automatically and will save me continually opening Windows Notepad, naming and saving the .txt files; there is also a `To Do' list; a weather report, and various other Google `Gadgets' which may prove useful.

The price of the drive was also very good - I can't believe how cheap memory is now compared to a few years ago. I remember the days when an 80MB hard drive was considered big!

2 people found this helpful

Essential 320GB USB Portable External Hard Drive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 8 January 2012

Verified Purchase

Points about the drive
1. Not much of packaging just simple plastic package.
2. Made in Thailand.
3. 2 years warranty, but amazon site is stating that it comes with 1 year warranty.
4. LED blinks when drive is in use.
5. Small printed user guide provided.
6. No external power required, it's powered by USB port it self.
7. cable is short but it's standard USB to mini USB cable.

Plus points.
1. Well built, looks strong.
2. Read write speed is good.
3. plug and play no need to install any driver or any thing.

How I am using it.

I have formatted this first to get rid of all the factory-installed software, after that created 2 partitions one for Time Machine backup (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) up of my mac and other is old FAT32 partition so that I can read this partition on windows Machine and can transfer data back and forth.

Following is xbench read write test result on macbook pro 13.3 inch running Lion.

Results 44.70
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.7.2 (11C74)
Physical RAM 4096 MB
Model MacBookPro5,5
Drive Type WD 3200BEV External
Disk Test 44.70
Sequential 47.52
Uncached Write 65.06 39.94 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 57.53 32.55 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 26.61 7.79 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 72.31 36.34 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 42.19
Uncached Write 17.10 1.81 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 88.13 28.21 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 69.98 0.50 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 93.46 17.34 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Overall really good usb drive.

Great Product - Read if you are worried about the sync software

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 5 February 2009

Verified Purchase

I bought this external drive only a few days ago after reading the good reviews and I was worried about a few things, firstly about the sync software and secondly about the low transfer rate, thirdly about the power required to run the drive.

Let me start off by saying it is a wonderful product and that you should not worry about any of the above. I use the drive to store files that are important such as documents, pictures, films, music and TV series.

Firstly about the sync software, I do not like most software that comes with items like this. It is made for people that just want an "easier" method of transfering files, and creating a better backup of your computer files. But if you are fine with transfering your own files, you know how to create folders, and just use the drive for storing files rather than create a backup to boot from, then just ignore the sync software. You do NOT need to use it for just file storage use, after you tell it to not ask you to run the setup.exe, it no longer will. I was undecided as to whether i would ever require it so i just placed it all in a new folder on the drive in case.

Secondly the transfer rate i found with just moving files onto the drive was great, and not slow as some reviewers said. I cannot give exact speeds, but for about 30GB of data it took about 15-20 minutes or less. I have no had any problems with it on vista, everything was recognised and i just treat it as another drive.

Thirdly I have had no problems with running it from my desktop computer or from my laptop.

On another point, i do not find that it scratches much, it has a four base pads protecting it from the desk, but i find it to be sturdy and easy to just wipe clean with something dry.

If you want an all round good drive, then I would recommend this drive depending on the amount you want to store. Its a great buy.

64 people found this helpful

Great product and looks good too

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 March 2010

Verified Purchase

For me, this is a great product. It's stylish, functional and works perfectly for me. I bought it mainly to back up all my music and photos, but I now use it to completely back up both my personal and work laptops. The sync software works well with both laptops, allowing you to set up two separate profiles...syncing perfectly with both.

Okay it's not the quickest, but for my purposes it's perfect. I just plug the USB cable into both the Passport and the laptop, the sync software starts automatically and backs up the laptop. It works for me without any noise or any noticable temperature problems.

And on top of all of that, it's small, light and very stylish...so it doesn't take up much space or weight and I'm happy getting it out in public (as it were ;) ).

I haven't used it to restore my laptop or used it in another laptops with one of my profiles, but I don't intend to if I can help it.

I would recommend one of these to friends and family.

EDIT: April 2014
My 320GB My Passport has been handed down to my parents for their backup needs, and I've upgraded to 1TB. I've stayed with Western Digital My Passport for my portable backup requirements and it continues to work well.

Smaller than i thought - Performs with quality

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 10 June 2009

Verified Purchase

Great portable hard-drive. I have 2 WD "My Book" products which have given me no bother and work perfectly (one of which is over 3 years old).

So I went with WD again because i generally feel they are the strongest and most reliable company with a great track record.

Bought this little thing and was shocked at the size, its tiny. Yet wit this small size it doesn't feel cheap. It's a solid build and perfect for transporting around.

It doesn't require an additional power plug as it gets its power straight through the USB which is brilliant.

This sized item is more than enough to hold all your work, movies, music and images. I travel a lot and this device is perfect, but i would recommend it for home use also (you pay a bit more for the "passport" over the "book" model but it consumes no space and doesn't require more plug sockets!)

The only downside (and this is not enough for me to have marked this item down) is the really short USB cable that comes with it. For laptop use its fine, which im guessing is the general demographic.

Overall a brilliant portable hard-drive, lots of space, solid build, practical and reliable!

Amazon Customer

Cracking good disk!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 3 March 2009

Verified Purchase

So the first thing I do as I open the packaging is drop the drive on the floor. After a bit of swearing I plug it to a USB port in with my fingers crossed, and the drive worked straight away. So reasonably robust then. It's recognised in XP from my Vaio laptop and has no problems with drawing enough power from the USB port. It's small and portable, but think of a wallet size rather than a matchbox. The black plastic case is, as others have said, very scratchable, but it just sprang open slightly when I dropped it and could easily be clicked back together. Mine doesn't have the groovy grey and black two tone effect of the item in the pictures, and is just gloss black. Doesn't bother me, but I don't think it's a stylish case. The disk seems to read and write very quickly, and at this price is great value.

One person found this helpful

Handy portable hard drive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 1 March 2009

Verified Purchase

I bought my first Western Digital Passport to use as a backup drive that I could lock in a small domestic safe. Its diminutive size makes it ideal for this purpose and the drive size of 320GB is more thqan adequate for my purposes. I was so pleased with it that I have now bought a second one to use as the main storage for pictures that I want to be able to access from both my desktop and laptop computers - though not at the same time. Again the small size means that it is easy to carry in the laptop bag - and it doesn't take up too much room if I am using it on the desk. The only downside is the ease with which it can be scratched. I am not a devotee of the shiny black case, but for me that is really a minor problem.

Great drive, dodgy software

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 11 September 2009

Verified Purchase

I bought this to back up the many Gb of documents, music & photos on the PCs in our household.

I plugged it into the PC and it offered me the chance to install/run its own backup software, which I did. Unfortunately I found the software was clunky and very very slow so I deleted it and reformatted the whole drive as NTFS, as recommended by another reviewer. I now use SyncBack (free) software from BrightSparks to do the backups which is much better.

The drive seems fast enough and works well, it's surprisingly small and looks very sleek, very unobtrusive. As long as it remains reliable I think it's excellent value for money and would recommend it to others.

Small, light and functional

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 18 September 2008

Verified Purchase

Over the past months, I have used the Mac Time Capsule with my IMac. However, that expensive piece of kit was full of faults or, at least, never really worked for me. I therefore decided to change it for something smaller. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with this little machine. It is small and neat in its form but also functional, effective and efficient. It immediately connected with my IMac and its Time Machine. Of course, the first back up is a bit on the slow side but this is normal, if one thinks that I have really many files of different types (documents, photos, music, videos etc) on my computer and that the much more expensive Time Capsule behaved in exactly the same way.

I would say that for simplicity of use, its neat and portable form, and a very accessible price for the amount of memory it offers, this machine is highly recommendable!

WD Passport (E) 320GB External Drive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 13 August 2008

Verified Purchase

I have recently purchased this product and I am delighted about its portability and massive capacity of 320GB. My only disappointment is that
I have been unabled to synchronize this drive with my computer hard drive, as claimed by Western Digital. I am running Windows XP SP3. I am
in contact with Western Digital Support, who are great in providing the
required advice, and I hope that eventually I will succeed in synchronizing my device with my computer. As a storage device and portability gets full marks. If anybody managed to get this device synchronized with their computer, using Windows XP, please advise me accordingly.
Best regards
E. Sophocleous

6 people found this helpful

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