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"Does not work with most laptops" on by emanonco
Pros: Stylish, Large capacity, good brand
Cons: most computers will not power the device, as stated in the box. Must buy extra power supply cord, making the "portability" pointless.
Summary: After purchasing the HD, I plugged it in and to my supprise it was not working. After some research on WD's website I quickly found out that most laptops will not power up this hardrive, as it draws more power than USB drives are allowed to supply in specs. They stated you need to buy a power source from thier website. This compltetly took the portability away from this drive. Super bummer. Thank god I was able to return it. I ended up getting the LaCie 160GB with USB 2.0 and firewaire. Started up, no problem! My computer is a Powerbook G4 for your reference.
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"Doesn't work in front USB ports, doesn't work in laptops, very short cord" on by frndlyjen
Pros: small, seems very portable, sleek
Cons: usb cord is ridiculously short, doesn't work with laptops, front USBs
Summary: This thing would be awesome if it worked - it's nice and small and sleek, comes with a handy zip-up carrying case, very lightweight, and fits 160 GB! Supposedly.
It seemed ok in the beginning - installed itself quickly and easily, and started humming along as I moved my 120 GB of music from my brand new XP desktop to the drive. But when I checked on it an hour later, there was an error, saying the drive was not recognized. I tried different USB ports, which would work for a few seconds, and then again, the drive wouldn't be recognized.
I tested my USB ports with other devices - all were fine. When I called WDC Customer Support, they told me the drive does not work with front USB ports (not close enough to the motherboard), but the cord is too short to use it effectively on the back ports. I tried it anyway - doesn't work. There are no drivers to download, no fixes, it's just a bad drive. Apparently this is a common issue.
And by the way, to concur with the other review - I tried it on my laptop as well, and it does not work there. WD customer support confirmed that these drives do not work well with laptops. It'd be nice if they put that on the packaging so that the consumer would know that BEFORE purchasing. Just a word to the wise. -
"overall good to back up single computer" on by umber76
Pros: easy to use, light, pocket-sized version of your computer
Cons: not ideal to back up multiple computers, need to request special cable from WD for laptops
Summary: I agree with the previous user that this cannot be used out of the box with most laptops since it draws too much power to be plugged into a single USB port. BUT, Western Digital supplied me a replacement cable free of charge that plugged into both USB ports. That fixed the problem. It did mean that it took over a week receive the dual USB cable. And I was frustrated until I figured ou the problem (they do mention it in their manual). Western Digital provides one month of free tech support to help you with any initial problems setting up the drive.
It is a very quick and smart drive that "syncs" with your computer similar to a lot of handhelds/PDAs out there. This is good and bad:
The good thing is that, after the initial set up (where you specify which files/drives/programs from your computer you want synced on a regular basis), you just hit "sync" and within 5 minutes, your entire drive is backed up. It lets you tell it if you want to back up the email program of your choice (Outlook/Outlook Express/etc) and if you want it to automatically sync each time. You can also plug it into any computer and essentially turn that computer into your own computer (since it is a copy of your hard drive). You can also easily copy files from the drive to a new computer. It is very light and portable -- similar to any handheld.
The bad thing is that to copy files FROM a NEW computer TO the drive, you have to go through the set up again, which erases whatever you have on the drive. That means, you first have to copy the saved files to the new computer, reformat drive, then sync with the new computer. In that way, it is not ideal for saving information from multiple computers onto this drive. Since it "syncs", if you erase something from your computer, it will also erase it from the drive -- that means you can't use it to store more than what you can already store on your computer. Also, if you use it with a laptop, it will take up both of your USB ports (because of the power issue).
Overall, I think it is a good drive if you are backing up a single computer and if you want a more portable form of your computer's hard drive that will fit into your pocket. -
"Great Device, Extremely Convenient" on by ctime
Pros: Portable USB 2.0 Hi Speed Backup
Cons: Too bad transfers can't be instant! ; )
Summary: I purchased this new off eBay and am very pleased.
I Plugged it into laptop USB port, Ran Sync, Configured import folders, Synched my files, Everything Backed Up. No problems.
You can also just drag and drop, thus bypassing the sync option. But doing this requires manual searching, copying etc. over and over.
As a test, I ran sync a second time and it just breezed right through knowing everything that there was to copy had been already and took only a few seconds to recognize this fact and stop. In settings option make sure you choose to copy all file extensions.
When copying back to PC software lets you choose what folder to copy to but copies individual folders with all their files rather than individual files. For this reason I rate as 9 out of 10. But no big deal I guess.
BTW - USB powered only. Now other cords or power source required for me, unlike other reviewers.
All in all a great device for back up peace of mind!Updated
Also can't copy folders directly from Desktop when using Synch. So if you want the sync 128 bit encryption protection, drag any files/ folders on Desktop into your C;/ somewhere. Otherwise drag and drop onto the passport.
Forgot to mention that all files using sync function get encrypted in case of loss with very easy configuration settings, i.e. password, reset, delete all data, lost and found info. -
"More convenient than my laptop" on by Vijames007
Pros: Good size storage, compact design, USB powered
Cons: Wish it was bigger with a little longer cord
Summary: I debated about getting this drive based on all the negative reviews I had read. Out of necessity and wanting convenience, I bought it. I got it at Costco for $119. I figured since Costco has a 2 year warranty with all computers and peripherals, why not. They seem to have a great return policy. I have had this drive for 2 weeks now. I love it. It works great. No hang up or power issues like all the other reviews. I wanted to use it the same way I would my thumb drive. I didn’t install the hardware because I didn’t want to backup everything, just the most important stuff.
XP recognized it right away. Also I was transferring info from my old laptop with XP to my new laptop with Vista on it. I was worried Vista wouldn’t recognize it, based on all the reviews I read. To my delight and surprise it worked without a problem. I have to say it has been great addition. What is even better now is I don’t have to carry around my laptop everywhere I go. I can install a program to this little guy and work off of it anywhere. As long as I have this drive with all my stuff on it I can use it anywhere. So against all negative reviews, I would say I am very happy with it.
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