STORAGE, 250GB PASSPORT PORTABLE
by WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
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List Price: 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 STORAGE, 250GB PASSPORT PORTABLE
Customer Review: Most Excellent! Portable and durable (for the most part)
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the main qualms I have with WD's storage based products is the highly-scratchable glossy plastic that plates their line of products. While at first it glistens like new, you'll soon have scratches crisscrossed all over the entire body, filling you with a feeling of distant sadness.
That aside, this harddrive was my first 'true' portable harddrive, and has been through 'the works'. I went from reverently packing it into large cushioned bags and boxes to a simple felt bag, to finally whatever would pretend to protect it from any damage. (Large empty candy bag) Anyways, I have not had any transfer problems, no heating issues and I've been pleased with the transfer speeds the drive is capable of. It has come with me to Japan (works well up on an airplane too) and dealt with their lovely summer humidity, it's idled in my apartment during the winter without any heat, and right now it's still chugging along happily.
Of course, they have much higher capacity drives now, but this model is one that I can truly trust with my more valuable files.
Customer Review: Great backup HD
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought nifty portable hard drive to work with a MacBook and Time Machine. Before buying, my main concern was compatibility with my Mac. Reading other Amazon reviews and checking the Western Digital website (www.wdc.com/en/) reassured. This was plug and play simple. Leopard/Time Machine took care of formatting, etc automatically. One issue in other reviews was the power to the HD - not a problem. The Passport powers itself thru the USB cable and must draw a fairly low amount because I haven't noticed any effect on the battery life. A couple reviews were critical of the short USB cable. It is short but certainly is long enough to tuck the Passport behind the laptop out of sight. The length is perfect for use on my knees - any longer would be in the way. I'd debated Firewire vs a USB drive. The first Time Machine backup took about 20 minutes, but since then I hardly notice it is even happening. The USB is plenty fast. Bottom line after a month of use - 5 stars.Customer Review: Sleek Design - Great Hard Drive
Summary: 5 Stars
The drive is a great drive. Worked right out of the box with my Windows Vista Laptop.
The hard drive does come with the option to install synchronizing and encrypting software to protect the data you transfer to the drive.
The glossy finish gives the drive a nice touch.
Other great features:
-Very Quiet
-Requires no extra power source, simply use the USB Cable
-Small and lightweight
-Does not get very hot
-Has a flap that covers and protects the drive's USB plug when not in use
The drive is formatted as a FAT32 file system. I converted mine to NTFS because FAT32 cannot support files larger than 4GB (which you might run into if you work with digital video). Formatting the drive is as easy as right-clicking the drive (in Vista) and selecting "Format...". Formatting will erase the data currently on the drive, so make a backup.
Customer Review: Love it but it comes with very little Instructions
Summary: 5 Stars
Got it yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see that it came with a neoprene case. With the case on it still fits into a coat pockect with room to spare. I guess WD saw all the complaints that it didn't come with a case.
There is no step by step instruction manual. I was lost on how to get it to start copying my files. After calling the help line (in India), going to their website and using the help menu from Mac's TimeMachine backup I figured out how to get it to start backing up. It took 5 hours to back up 105 GB of files from my G4 12" Powerbook. If it does what everyone else says I will love this little baby.
I removed the glossy finish with 000 steel wool(available at any hardware store). That gives it a nice matted finish. This prevents scratches and finger prints from being visible.
Customer Review: Excellent Backup Solution
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought this drive primarily to backup my MacBook Pro using Time Machine. As with all hard drives, keep in mind that it's sold as a 250GB drive, but the actual drive capacity is 232GB.
I wiped the drive clean and partitioned it -- 200GB for Time Machine use on my Mac and 32GB for storage use on a PC and Mac.
Power isn't an issue on my MBP, the WD Passport operates whether my Mac is plugged in to a power source or running on the battery. Only wish the USB cord was longer.
It comes with WD Passport Software (Windows only) installed on the drive, but I'd highly recommend not installing it or using it especially since it's the drive is PnP and the software (as reported elsewhere) makes the loading time slower.