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

Update 5-2016: Updated my computer to Win10 and have had no problems with this device. Also managed to buy a longer USB3 Y cable for this at a going-out-of-business Radio Shack for several dollars. ----------------------------------------- Works as advertised. Bought this to backup files and photos from a Dell computer running Win7. This external drive requires no plug-in power supply; it runs off USB power. A nice feature lacking from many external drives. My computer recognized the new drive immediately. Basic setup took less than five minutes. This drive can be encrypted, which I did. This took an addition several minutes. I did not set up multiple partitions, sticking with just one. With multiple, you can encrypt one partition without having to do them all. So far a good performer (3 months so far) and a good price. Only complaints: (a) the USB cord is only 17 inches long, limiting placement in and around the computer, and (2) the USB cord that attaches to the drive is one of the new USB3 mini Y connectors (power and data are split out), so a little more costly to buy a replacement cord if you lose this one. I couldnt find a replacement cord listed on the WD site, but theyre starting to show up on Amazon and other sites.

WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive with Auto Backup - Black (Personal Computers) Received this 5-day free shipping even before the mailed notification - a first for me. This is all used on a very fast desk PC with the latest Win 7 and not a tablet or laptop. 1 Plugged in the cable and the HD started an autorun and tried to download a driver from MS and failed. There was no read me first in the package that said that in order to do this your PC needs to be set for automatic updates. I refuse to let any update suddenly grab a strangle hold on my PC with any update as I could be doing something more important. I also do not run either my car or PCs 24/7. 2. Next I dragged and dropped a bunch of empty folders and files and found no problems (not having installed any WD software). 3. Then I tested further ejecting media and physically removing media and then restarting - edited files and folders on the drive and found that it worked just like any other HD. (or a bunch of about a 10 USB drives I have had and used over the years. I left the WD software in place and was not bothered by more autostart software. 4. The next day M$ notified me of an update - which apparently was the missing WD driver. I took a chance and let it be installed - end of that. In the package there was the drive, the 18-inch cable a list of support phone numbers, a large carefully folded very Limited Warranty info in super small print and nothing else. Problems: There was NO Read Me First that explained that the 18 cable has a Micro USB Type B Connector for USB 3.0 that plugs into the drive end and the standard USB compatible 2.0 on the other end. I saw a 6 foot replacement on Amazon for $5.88 (Will get it with my next $35 Package). I had to use an old USB 2.0 hub and one of my old cables - happy to discover that it would provide the needed power. DEDUCT 1 STAR. There should be a notice in the package that informed the user - you have a choice of NOT using the software provided on the WD web site or that is provided on the drive. This means that it would function as any other HD and you would have to use any trusted software of your choice. ON THE OTHER HAND, You could read, study, understand and guess at WD software described in an 87-page PDF manual found on the drive only named UserManual.pdf period. (From the lousy reviews of the software - it must have been produced in a code-writing sweatshop in Deli) At the top of page 67 of said pdf it says: If you do not install the WD software, you should install the SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) driver on Windows computers to keep the hardware popup wizard from displaying every time you connect your My Passport drive to your computer.” I did no such thing and have had NO such problem. Perhaps the M$oft driver did some good - who knows or who cares. FAILURE TO PROVIDE SUCH NOTICE AND WASTING CUSTOMER TIME DEDUCT 2 STARS. I have installed 677GB of music, multimedia, documents and pictures with NO issues and expect none with the remaining free space of 254GB. Would I buy this again – with my two star rating? Absolutely, since I now know what to expect do. I depend completely on the Amazon reviews before considering buying just about anything. I look for less than 10% of one star ratings compared to number of five star ratings. The Amazon Most Popular label - also seems like an excellent guide. I then read most of the one and two star ratings first - to see what I would likely expect to encounter. Computers are just a tool and not an end in itself - in my book.

If you want a portable hard drive that can carry a serious load od data, or simply have an Xbox 1 and want to increase your storage drive, this is a wicked cool drive to do it with. If you type Western Digital My Passport Ultra in YOU TUBE, you will get BOMBED with thumbs up comments, along with how to set it up to be either Ones Xbox SECONDARY drive, OR ones PRIMARY (by the process of simply moving your actually game related information to the secondary, and keeping your APPS on your original Xbox drive. Heres a funny guy that can walk you right through the entire process ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ktwLI_uokk ). NOTE: I have HEARD that: 1.> This drive is all OVER the place. 2.> You can buy a additional protector case for travel 3.> If you FORMAT this buster for a XBOX, you CANNOT go BACK to say for PC use. 4.> This IS A SMALL drive, for XBOX people, you DONT INSTALL it physically. You let it sit in top of the Xbox1 or behind it. You hook up USB 2 USB 3. Your Xbox it waiting for it now with an opened XBOX. 5.> Install process determines on your current data load. 6.> Comes silver as well. 7> NOT intended for this drive to run while INSIDE the optional travel case, due to venting. 8.> You CAN move this drive to a FRIENDS Xbox 1, and use it, but your DONT forget YOUR GAME DISKS. You WILL need them. 9.> This drive MODEL is limited to 2 TB, Western Digital makes BITTLE (3 TB, etc) as portables. 10 This drive has a little white status light, so if you have any reflective that can the REAR of this drive, it can be seen from across the room, Example: I have a glass and black gloss painted TV stand. My Xbox is on the top shelf just below the tv. This light Im talking about is reflecting by my TV stand right at me. I fixed the problem by simple some wrapping the TV reflecting area with some electrical tape. No more reflecting. Later ;-)

I bought four of these for my kids and I so that I could save all their pictures in their respective hard drives. I use different venues for saving my photos from our family trips and I try to save it in two or more locations so that I won’t lose any of it. When I received the package, I was excited to use it because I’ll have a peace of mind that I may be able to save our family excursion pictures in a much safer place (unlike saving it in the desktop which might get deleted overtime). The product worked out fine at first but then it stopped working all throughout. I was using our Windows computer but the hard drive won’t open. I was so scared that I might lose the files inside! Good thing my husband tried something which let me back up the pictures. I thought it’s our Windows desktop to blame for that but when my Mac came, I tried using the hard drive to retrieve my files but to my surprise it still didn’t work. I called their customer service for help and they told me that I have to reformat the hard drive so that it will be compatible. I felt horrible because it took me a long time to organize all the pictures and the folders inside that hard drive and knowing that all my hard work will be put to waste. I paid not just for one device but for four devices made of crap. This hard drive doesn’t come cheap and it makes me angry that I can’t use it properly. There are malfunctions in the hard drive that I find annoying, when I plug it in, my files don’t open, both for our Mac and for our Windows. I have to repeat it several times up to the extent that I’ll just give up. It gave me more problems than good. I tried calling their hotline several times reporting the difficulty that it’s causing me but all they can say is to offer me for an exchange of product. I tried asking them if they could just refund my money but they told me that it can’t be done because it’s already past the warranty. The only thing that I can do is to warn the future customers that this product is no good and that you should just buy something else. The four devices that I bought are useless and are now just collecting dust in our home. If you want to throw your $56.99 away, be my guess, buy this product.

I love that this is the Old Model. Dont know exactly what that means. Im guessing that the newer version is sleeker and sexier (isnt that why one trades in an old(er) model for a new(er) one??). But this worked for me exactly as is. Its light and easy to set up and use. I desperately needed an external hard drive because I had two work laptops crash and lost all my documents. But more importantly, all my pictures and videos (dont tell my boss... Oh, wait - thats me!). Sure, I knew I needed one before - just to back up my files. And I had had one when I worked in an actual office. I just didnt think about it, until I lost everything. The computer geniuses found a way to get to my data, despite the fact the laptops wouldnt even turn on (might not be a huge feat in the IT world - but it amazed and thrilled me!). Then they offered to sell me a smaller drive - for $100 more! Jumped on Amazon. Found what I needed at a great price. Got my 2 day shipping and spent the last day smiling and laughing and explaining the photos to my kiddos. So while this may be the OLD model - it still worked just as it was supposed to... perfectly!

Well, I was really excited to have all my file & system image backups on a single drive, without a wall wart and in a portable small form factor (I never move it as it is connected to a desktop system). Unfortunately, after 3 months, it started whining, then grinding and clicking and now it comes on only 5% of the time, regardless of the computer it is hooked up to - I thought it was the antique of a PATA drive I had connected to the motherboard making the noise but it wasnt. WD Drive Utilities says the SMART status passed, CrystalDisk Info says it failed and the Quick Drive test in the WD Utility says it failed. This just reinforces the need for a complementary Cloud backup solution or a second backup drive. This drive was Made in Thailand so who knows if it was made with the equipment that got affected by the flooding in the past. Usually, I only go with WD Black hard disk drives due to their well known, industry reliability and warranty coverage. I would just buy that with an external hd case but Im already invested in this drive now. Hopefully the replacement is new and works like expected. UPDATE: Since I had files on there that I wanted but wasnt willing to pay $500-$1000+ for data recovery services, I tried doing a PCB swap with a donor board and firmware transfer since that seemed like an inexpensive possible fix (pros did the firmware transfer). When that didnt resolve the situation, I had another 2TB WD My Passport Ultra around and I opened up that case to see what is involved with a potential platter swap (that didnt go well either). While doing so, when I opened up the new Passport Ultra, I noticed it specifically said on the drive Recertified!!!! I cant believe it. Seeing this only reaffirms my thoughts on just buying an external hard drive case and OEM HDD together and using that instead because otherwise, you dont know what you are getting. I still will use the WD Blacks as they have never failed me and I am very impressed with their performance and warranty. Also, for backup, I will stick with the 3.5 size as now I know, with everything so miniaturized on the the 2.5, recovery seems a little more challenging (which I will do what I can to even prevent that from being needed again).

All I wanted was a rugged, high-capacity outboard hard drive to store certain files on--and I wanted one that was powered from the USB cable. This little Passport Ultra 2TB drive does the job perfectly, in a snappy, rugged, businesslike package that seems to be of very high-quality construction. You get 2TB of storage in a drive that is about the size of a deck of cards. Cant beat that. The drive was ridiculously easy to install; I just plugged mine in and my HP EliteBook notebook computer recognized it within about 20 seconds. A very minor but nice point--this drive has little rubber footpads so it does not just lie flat on ones desk. A nice little touch; some drives in this class do not have the pads. The drive comes with a short but adequate USB 3.0 cable and is all ready to go out of the box. Being USB 3.0, this drive appears to be VERY fast. It is certainly noticeably faster than my older USB 2.0 drive, but I have not run any rigorous benchmark tests. Overall I am very pleased with this purchase. The price/Terabyte was pretty good for what I paid on Amazon -- the prices fluctuate all the time on these drives, but I got a good deal. I got the Titanium colored version and I really like it. RJB.

Ive had this for a few weeks now. I have to admit, I turned on the backup functions, etc., but havnt been monitoring how/when it does everything, or even gone to look at what is backed up since I set it up. With that out of the way: its been great. USB 3.0 connection is a very worthwhile upgrade. When you want to move files of the size that may be on a 2TB hard drive, the time difference really adds up. Many times faster. Ive had mine connected and lit up since I got it. No overheating or performance issues. So, as far as I can say at this date, there will be no issue plugging it in and using it for your daily activities. I keep movies, music, etc on the drive. I play them from there with no issue. Etc. Which, while that should be expected, there are enough bad products that you cant be sure until someone says so. Beyond that, I cant tell you if its a good purchase. Depends on the price and whats on th market. A year from now maybe a a 2 TB SSD drive costs the same as this does today.

Thank God i picked up this little guy, my computer got messed up and i was able to get everythign back because i had backed up everything just a few days ago.. Anyways, on to the review: Ok so i did my research before buying and went with Western Digital since i had already owned a previous external hard drive from them and know of its reputation. The price was perfect and I got a good deal of Amazon. I personally did look around and I dont think you will be able to find a better deal than the one Amazon is curently providing.. This portable hard drive is so light , im amazed how far these things have come.. it feels like it weighs less than my smart phone! The drive is pretty fast and has plenty of storage with the 1 TB option.. I usually dont install the software that manufacturers send with their devices but i thought why not, I was so impressed that this drive actually backed up my whole PC, and that too just the way i wanted it to and im sure most people would want, all the pictures in a seperate folder, music in another documents in another , videos in another... I mean it blew my mind, i just watched it do everything on its own and it barely took any time.. I backed up my own laptop and my wifes laptop the same day and it did it quickly and everything is well organized.. I would also recommend you to look at the Amazon Basics Case for this drive, thats the one i got and its fits perfectly..Highly recommend this drive to anyone.. Extremely easy to use.

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.