(Old Model) WD My Passport Ultra 1 TB Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive with Auto Backup, Black

I really like this. I was expecting it to be a little larger, but the small size makes it very easy to carry around. Its about the size of a smart phone. I had a question about the software and emailed customer service, who responded within a few hours, so that was a good experience. I do need to buy some sort of a carrying case for it though, as the little fabric bag they give you with the device wont protect it at all other than from getting dust on it. The speed of the drive is adequate. I schedule mine to backup my files every other day. I make sure the drive is plugged into my laptop during the scheduled time and it takes care of itself. The only problem I have with the software, is that when you allow it to choose which files its going to back up automatically, it doesnt tell you WHICH files they are, it just gives you a general description. I chose this first, since it backed up some system files and then I had to search for them on the new drive to find out what they were. After that, I scheduled a manually selected backup from then on, as I keep all of my photos, music, documents, etc. on a separate partition of my laptop hard drive and thats what I want to make sure I back up. I can back up the system once a week manually. So far, no problems. UPDATE: I had decided to use discs to back up my PC, as I wanted to be able to specifically choose which files on my hard drive to back up (such as photos and important documents) and formatted this external drive to use with my Xbox One. I backed up games from my Xbox One and put the drive inside of the cabinet that my tv sits on and its been sitting there since 2015. I got it out today and tried to access it 3 different Xboxs, but none will see it. I checked it in the Disk Management program of Windows and it says the disk is DEAD. It clicks over and over (the click of death) when I connect it to my Xbox. WHY cant we buy reliable products from large, multi-million dollar corporations any longer?? Its been sitting in one place for the past 3 years, nothing should be wrong with it. What really ticks me off is that I just purchased another WD external hard drive. Thankfully, it has a 3 year warranty and I purchased an additional 2 year data recovery plan with it before I knew this drive was dead as a door nail. Ill never buy another one.

Update 2/23/14 - Okay fellow Amazon shoppers. Im caving in to some of the comments that have been posted on my review and upping my star rating to four stars. Reason being that the price of this storage drive keeps fluctuating so much that its often a better deal than other, lesser drives out there. Ive also edited my review a bit to accommodate that. The drive itself has been working like a champ for me so far and Ive got no complaints there. However, Im still holding off one star due to most of the reasons I stated in my original review. The WD Smartware included software is still garbage despite recent updates/patches, and I stick to my story that the packaging is misleading to the non-technical. I had been using a Seagate FreeAgent Go 640GB portable drive for about three years now, and wanted something with some more space and higher transfer speeds. I purchased this drive for its beefy 2 TB of storage space and speedier USB 3.0 interface. Out of the box, you get the drive, a 15 USB 3.0 cable, soft pouch, quick install guide, and a 3-year limited warranty. The drive looks nice, and appears to be of good construction. Doesnt look or feel cheaply made. I like how compact it is. Its about an inch shorter in length than my FreeAgent Go, and maybe a millimeter or two thicker. The included soft pouch is a nice addition and helps keep dust and dirt off of it. Not an ideal case solution if youre prone to dropping things or somewhat rough with your belongings, so you might want to invest in a more rugged case. It works fine for me though as I keep mine in a messenger bag when on the go, and its a nice addition considering most other drives dont come with anything. The included USB cable is long enough to plug into the USB port on the front of my PC and reach my desks surface. So, thumbs up there. Functionally, the My Passport Ultra 2TB works as advertised. Transfer rates are roughly 3x faster than that of a USB 2.0 drive. I noticed the difference in speed right away when transferring large files (1-5GB+), taking only 2-3 minutes instead of 5-10 minutes or longer depending on file size. I work with large media files all day long, so the bump up in transfer speeds is really nice. The drive is very quiet while running. You wouldnt even know that its on except for a tiny little LED indicator light to the right of the USB connector port. So, why only four stars? Hardware-wise, The Passport Ultra is no different from WDs regular Passport series of portable drives. Theyre the same exact drives, only slightly different in appearance. What the regular Passports lack from the Ultra is the soft pouch, the Ultra label, and WDs misleading labeling on the box that touts, Auto & Cloud Backup Plus Security. The Auto backup is merely referring to WDs abysmal backup software included on the drive, WD SmartWare (more on that later). The Cloud backup is basically instructions on the box for setting up a DropBox account. No kidding! Theyre advertising cloud storage on the front of their packaging like its a feature theyre offering. Flip the box over and youll see that its nothing more than an advertising gimmick for DropBox with instructions on how to set up an account. As for the included backup software, WD Smartware, they should consider renaming this to Dumbware or Stupidware, because it simply doesnt work. The software is supposed to keep your designated files and folders on your PC synced to your Passport, meaning, when a file is updated or a new file is added, Smartware is supposed to see those changes and update the files on your Passport the next time you sync. Unfortunately, the current version of Smartware has a bug where it doesnt notice any updated or newly added files and doesnt copy them to your drive when you sync, rendering the whole thing useless. People have been complaining about this on WDs support forum for a while now, and WD has yet to acknowledge its customers about the issue on the forums or address the issue with an update or fix. This is highly unacceptable! EDIT 2/23/14: Despite a new update for WD Smartware (v2.2.1, updated 11/25/13) which was supposed to, fix an issue where files are not backing up properly in some instances, it still does not function properly. After running the update, the software often hangs for too long or freezes up altogether. So, Ive given up on WD Smartware. I wish I could use Seagates Manager software with this drive, as I never had a problem with that software. In summary, the WD My Passport Ultra 2TB Portable External Drive is a really great drive. Its small, fast, quiet, and works as advertised. However, the drive retails for $30 more than the regular Passport model of the same storage capacity. All youre really getting for that extra $30 is a silly, soft pouch, Ultra labeling on the drive, and the feeling that youve been made a sucker for believing this product was anything more than it appeared to be. So save yourself a few dollars and get the regular Passport 2TB and put that $30 towards a better protective case. EDIT 2/23/14: Depending on when you purchase the drive, the price may be cheaper than other, lesser drives. In this situation my comment about the more expensive price would be irrelevant. If you find this drive on the cheap, by all means make the purchase. It is a great drive, especially at a bargain price! Pros: - Lots of storage in small, compact form factor. - USB 3.0 transfer speeds. Great for large media files! - Included pouch keeps away dirt and dust. - Included USB cable is long enough for some play. Cons: - Misleading labeling. - Same drive as the regular Passport, except for pouch and Ultra markings. - WD Smartware automatic backup software is garbage. Doesnt work as advertised! Use an alternate 3rd-party backup solution.

What a great value for $70..wow. You cant beat that price. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside knowing that my Macbooks time machine will auto backup to this. I am a tech guy and Ive always told everyone to backup, backup, backup, but I never did myself. Does that make me a hypocrite? Lol. At any rate, for people that are less-tech savvy using a mac, when you first plug it in, just tell your Mac to use it as a time machine disk, then go to system preferences , and look for time machine and make sure its turned to the on position on the left and theres a little checkbox at the bottom of the screen that says show time machine icon in menu bar. I compel you to do that so you can simply click on it and press backup now, when you want, but keep in mind, Mac does it for you once you set it up. If you have anymore questions about time machine, just go to Google and type in time machine Mac with no quotes or just go to Apple.com and type HT201250 into the search area on the top right of the site, you can also type that into Google and it will also pull it up. *I was no compelled by any entity to write a review on this hard drive, the information provided was strictly my own, unless otherwise stated.*

This hard drive is a hardy little workhorse! Bought it almost a year ago, and hasnt failed me yet. I formatted it in Ex-FAT, allowing cross-compatibility reading and writing across Mac and Windows, without the restriction of the 4GB maximum file size. This conveniently allowed me to store my legally obtained HD and Blu-Ray copies of my favorite movies on the hard drive! Many people dont know about thiThis hard drive is a hardy little workhorse! Bought it almost a year ago, and hasnt failed me yet. I formatted it in Ex-FAT, allowing cross-compatibility reading and writing across Mac and Windows, without the restriction of the 4GB maximum file size. This conveniently allowed me to store my legally obtained HD and Blu-Ray copies of my favorite movies on the hard drive! Many people dont know about this new file formatting option. I went home for the week and somehow both the Weimaraner and the Golden Retriever, both puppies one year old (so old enough to do some damage) tore through the entire case, and chewed up the corner where the USB 3.0 plugs into the hard drive. After thinking that the entire endeavor would be hopeless, I still decided to give salvaging a try. The part where the USB 3.0 plugs into the hard drive was dented and squished, and there were random white parts of what looks like paper stuck inside hole. I poked around a bit with a pen and cleared out the hole, and plugged in the cable. To my complete surprise, the little blue light came on and started blinking, and the hard drive started spinning. The thing works. I mean what the hell? Fantastic, I just ordered a replacement.

I wanted an external drive for my Macbook Pro. I was looking for a good looking drive that was small, had USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt connectivity and one that didnt need an external power source. Of the drives that fit my criteria, I was drawn to the Western Digital drive because of the form factor, the price and the brand. This drive looks good. It is fairy small, about the size of an index card and a little large than .5 inch tall. The drive has a small white LED on the front that lets you know when the disk is being accessed. It comes in a variety of colors. I loved the both the red and blue versions because I was simply tired of the blacks and grays. I know it seems odd to be concerned with how the drive looks but I think you should get pleasure from the things you see and use all the time. When you see this drive you should not only see something that is technically competent but also something that is pleasing to the eye. I have experience with Western Digital drives in a number of internal applications over the year and have never been disappointed. This external drive has been in use since January and I am completely satisfied. It is very reasonably priced. It is quiet and stays cool to the touch. It has USB 3.0 connectivity so it is zippy. A thunderbolt 2 connection would have been great since my Macbook supported it, but those drives were hard to find at the time and I didnt think it was worth the extra money for just a thunderbolt connection. As far as throughput spend are concerned, USB 3.0 has max throughput is 5 Gbps, Thunderbolt is 10 Gbps and Thunderbolt 2 is 20 Gbps. USB 3.1 will be also 10 Gbps.

I received my WD portable hard drive about two months ago now and up to now I can say, So far, so good. I would certainly recommend this to anyone asking around for portable hard drives as there isnt a reason not to. I havent had any issues with the product that inhibit use, other than when occasionally windows falsely gathers the idea that the drive volume contains errors. Transfer speeds are up to par with what I would expect from my system, although its bound to vary on a hardware to hardware basis. It was worth it to me to pay the extra $20 or so (at the time of my purchase) for the auto-backup and 256-bit encryption features that work surprisingly well. I would still take reasonable precautions to handle the product carefully, so dont expect the device to take abuse even thought the build quality is reasonable, not premium. No portable hard drive is going to take damage well due to the delicate fast moving parts inside. TAKE NOTE, that if you intend to use this on networked school campus or workstation computers that block users from running applications from removable media, you will not be able to run WD decryption software. This means your hard drive may be locked until you can run the decryption software on a less restricted or personal computer or decrypt the drive beforehand.

Refurbished but works great. Noticeably faster than the old WD Passport Ultra 320gb I still have from 6 years ago. Be forewarned, this has NO cable included. For the same amount I paid for the PP Ultra 320Gb, I bought a 1kgB. Amazon didnt carry the cable I wanted, so I traveled to the other site and bought a 3 foot red braided cable for it. I dont know how valid the WD 6 months warranty on manufactured warranty really is per claim above, but hopefully dont have to find out. Came partitioned for windows with the extra tools/ progs onboard that I wont use. If I have problems with this I will update. Tested fine on: Win 7 Pro Ubuntu Mint 17 Ubuntu Mint 17.3 I also picked up a red case for it to match and have checked it and it holds a 3 foot cord & hd just fine. I dont think I would put sd cards in there though. Khanka EVA Hard Travel Shockproof Carrying Case Bag Box for Western Digital Wd My Passport Ultra / Wd Elements Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive http://www.amazon.com/Khanka-Shockproof-Carrying-Passport-Elements/dp/B012BY6IJY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

This drive had all the selling points good price, good capacity, looked good, nice transfer speeds all in one 2.5 inch package. Sounds to good to be true... and it is. The story begins when I ordered it from amazon and opted for the UPSsmartPost. This is shipped by UPS, but the most important part was handled by the USPS! It said it was delivered right on time to my house, but it was never there. So I called Amazon told me USPS sometimes does this gave me a $20 promo code for my next purchase. Cool! So I get the drive transfer about 100gbs of data over (important data may I say). The drive was very fast (USB 3.0 is amazing) worked like a dream. I put it away and didnt use it until the next day. Next day it wasnt regonized by Windows. Finally windows regonized it then it wanted me to format. I waited a little while and I finally could see my folders I made on the drive. I thought I could get my data off and be on my marry way. Nope wouldnt let me access the data. I tried every data recovery software I could find and it would do the same thing cause it to not respond because it took forever to detect that the drive was there. I lost 100 gbs of data I needed off a faulty drive. I called amazon anf they said they couldnt replace the drive but could refund it. So I took that money and ordered another one ( I keep reading great reviews on this and I want that experiance) this one costed more money than the last one. The lady at Amazon gave me free expedited shipping which I was very grateful for. I truly did enjoy the drive when I could use it, it just crapped out on me the next day. Hope whoever reads this has a better overall experiance than I had.

I wrote this glowing review below and only hours later I went to do an update of an existing backup and it is not working (or if it is, its going so slowly that it will take days to backup * FIVE GB * - which is ridiculous. It took less than 5 minutes to do the initial backup, and now that Ive connected the passport to my PC to update the files already backed up, its been going for over an hour. Same data (just a couple of edits on some excel files), same USB port, etc. For 5GB of data. You can copy / paste to the drive, but the whole reason I liked it is because I thought it would backup changes for me. Sigh. ******************************************************************** So easy to use! I was dreading picking out a new external hard because I was sure I would experience some awful technical issue and end up buying my brother a plane ticket to Atlanta just to help me backup some music and photos of my kids. But the WD Passort Ultra is really fast and easy to figure out. You plug it into the USB 3.0 port if you have one (it will say SS = Super Speed) or any other USB port if you dont. It does its installing new hardware thing and then the notification pops up that the device is ready to use (I use my Passport using Windows 7 and Windows 8). You go to My Computer, double click on WD Apps Setup, follow the prompts and after a minute the WD Smartware is installed on your PC. You then double click the WD Smartware icon and you can set your preferences. I chose continuous backup, but you can also set a certain day of the week and time to have your files backed up. I dont intend to keep the drive plugged into my PC while I work, this way it updates right away when I plug it in. For the backup scope, I chose the advanced setting. It says this is for experienced users, but all it asks you to do is select the folders you want to back up. I selected my Document, Pictures, Videos & Music folders. If you need your email backed up or anything that is not in a central location, you might want to use the default setting. You click enable backup and it begins backing up the folders youve specified onto the Passport. I use this drive to backup personal documents on my work PC and all doc/photos/videos/music from my personal PC. I can view them by viewing the folders on the drive and opening the WD SmartWare.swstor folder. There I see a folder for each of my PCs and if you drill through into those folders you will see your backed up data. You can do all kinds of other fancy things (versioning, etc.) but Im just trying to keep it simple. I bought the Amazon basics case for it, and its perfect, holds the device and the cords.

And it comes in four different colors! First, most people can use extra storage these days. Secondly, everyone should have a backup drive any way. My Passport Ultra by Western Digital does both very well. This drive works well on both PCs and Macs, and as a Mac user, I was concerned whether this product would be fully compatible with OSX 10.9.1. Yes, you can buy this in a Mac-only version (also made by WD), which costs about $5-$10 more; or you can save the money by getting this one. I got this one. It wont work on a Mac right out of the box, but following the simple reformatting instructions made this drive fully compatible with my operating system. Apples Time Machine backup program works well with this drive, I have it backing-up my data twice a day. It has worked flawlessly during the three months that Ive had it, and anyone who needs 1TB of storage in a small, portable package should give this product a serious look. It comes with the USB cable and is compatible with both USB 3.0 and 2.0. It works quietly, with little or no noticeable vibration. The finish is solid and attractive. Other 1TB portable drives I looked at were priced about $10-$20 more than this one, so the net savings after FREE SHIPPING from Amazon was at least $20. When my storage need increases (hopefully not, but most likely it will), I will be looking at WDs 2TB My Passport Ultra at $108 and free shipping on Amazon. Until then, this one will do the job!