Entered CNET Catalog: 05/23/2008
SKU: WDMS3200
Manufacturer: Western Digital Corp.
Manufacturer description
Equipped with both FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces, and formatted for Mac, this portable hard drive features a clever capacity gauge and comes with a soft drawstring bag. It is perfect for Mac users on the go and. Use it to pack up your office files and take them home, carry thousands of songs or pictures and back up your Mac laptop using Apple Time Machine.Product summary
The good: Decent performance; bus-powered; capacity gauge works as port cover; Mac OS X-ready; cool and quiet during operation; five-year warranty; low cost per gigabyte.
The bad: No option for external power; no FireWire 800.
The bottom line: Whether you use a Mac or a PC, the 320GB Western Digital My Passport Studio is the perfect compact external drive with a low cost per GB, a compact design, decent performance, and a surprisingly lengthy warranty.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15out of 15 user reviews
Will Never Buy WD Again!
Pros: Small, easy connectibility
Cons: Unreliable - crashed after only 3 months of normal usage, almost lost all of my precious data.
out of 15 user reviews
DO NOT PURCHAS
Pros: It is inexpensive.
Cons: It does not work.
out of 15 user reviews
lost 200BGworth of data b/c none of my pcs recognize it
Pros: this is a ***** product, you will loose all your data. you can read around the internet and see how any people are trying to figure out why this device is not recognized by any pc. i bought it 2 mnts ago and now i can't access my 200GB worth of data
Cons: no support from WD. i can't find the reason why this devise is not recognized by none of my computers, not only one but all of them, the same for windows
out of 15 user reviews
Two Broken in One Year
Pros: Good Shape - Small.
Cons: Two of these broke with in a year of each other.
out of 15 user reviews
Minimal performer, terrible Mac instructions
Pros: Quiet, small, blue
Cons: Difficult to configure for Mac; can't store data on multiple OS's
out of 15 user reviews
Not as easy or as friendly to use
Pros: It has plenty of memory-320gigs.
Cons: When I plug it in, it does not offer me easy and friendly access to use it. I am not a tech, I'm just like the other 99% of users out there. I need easy, friendly operation. I want it to open up a window like a browser, on any computer, and help me.
out of 15 user reviews
TEMPERATURE PROBLEM
Pros: NOT GOOD BECAUSE I PAY 50$ MORE TO USE FIRE WIRE 800 CABLE
Cons: FREEZ WITH MAC
1. 11 sep 2009 i had one.
after one hour it gone to be self disconnected, hanged after 20gb file transfer, and doesn't matched with time machine.
2. 12 sep 2009 get help from apple & DW
3. 13 sep apple send me some non useful information.
4. 15 sep DW sent me new link for new driver, but problem existed.
5. 16 sep gone to DW guaranty.
6. 19 sep they changed my device.
7. problem exist whit new device
8. i use a new cooling system under storage.
what you think:
every thing work with fire wire 800 with out problem.
result: DW calculation for heat transferring is fail.
out of 15 user reviews
Failed within 5 months
Pros: it was small and seemed to travel well
Cons: Stopped working after 5 months. Company warranty sucks and did not cover recovery. It cost me $700 dollars to recover wedding pictures I had tried to store - thank god I got them back. This is a very untrustworthy product.
out of 15 user reviews
Dead in 3 months
Pros: Small and compact.
Cons: It died in 3 months. It failed at its most important function...to store data.
out of 15 user reviews
LOTSA SPACE; BUT VERY UNRELIABLE; BROKEN IN 5 WEEKS
Pros: LOTS of space; brilliant for storing games; superb for backup
Cons: BUT IT WAS BROKEN IN ONLY 5 WEEKS
Needs an extra power supply if you use a USB hub (like me!) which'll eventually crashed by either 2 much voltage or your dog tripping over it
Unreliable workiness on XP laptops due to lack of power: unsafe removal
out of 15 user reviews
Unsure of Reliability
Pros: Very small and works like a dream when it does work.
Cons: Very unreliable, after looking online I've read about a lot of people who cannot mount the drive after some time (usually when the warranty dies) or they have to format to get it to work again! Eeeesh!!
out of 15 user reviews
excellent, easy, no criticism
Pros: Perfect operation, quiet, no problems
Cons: Nothing at all!
out of 15 user reviews
Love these Drives!
Pros: I currently have 5 of these puppies. They run and run and run. Plenty of space for data and app storage, and work well for backups, too.
Cons: No external power.
No Firewire 800.
Should be armored (rubberized) against shock.
Connection cable way too short.
Better padded cases.
Indicator to tell when drive is 'disconnectable."
out of 15 user reviews
Broken in 90-days
Pros: The drive is small therefore takes up almost no desk space. No power source needed and very quite.
Cons: It lasted just about 90-days and went south on me. Unfortunately, I purchased it at Best Buy and it was a real hassle getting my money back. I would not buy another. All my backup was gone.
out of 15 user reviews
Fast and portable storage
Pros: Small size; lightning quick data transfer via Firewire; no separate power cable needed
Cons: Proprietary cable needs improved design
I use mine for video file storage. I plug my camcorder into the Mac, start up iMovie and import the footage off the DV tape, then unplug the camera and plug in the My Passport Studio. I can move the new footage from my hard drive to the Passport drive, and iMovie treats the Passport drive just as it does the the Mac's hard drive, making it simple to pull from up to 320 GB of video clips.
On the down side, the Passport's proprietary cable is short and difficult to keep plugged in on the Passport side, with it's mini-USB and Firewire 400 plugs on seperate cables, yet molded together about 6"/15 cm from the plugs. On mine, one of the plugs must be twisted slightly when inserted, and one of the leads is a little longer then the other. Since they're fused together the tendency is for the shorter lead to come unplugged, not a good thing when doing data transfer. Also, if you lose the cable or leave it behind, you'll need to be prepared with an extra on since you can't pick one up just anywhere.
All in all, though, the Passports small size, huge storage and ease of use makes it a great product.
Updated on Sep 13, 2009BUYER BEWARE! I'm updating my review; I didn't know I would need to get a replacement cable for my WD My Passport Studio 320Gb for Mac, but I did foresee possible problems owing to the proprietary nature of the interface cable. Now I'm a victim. After waiting a couple of weeks for the cable, listed as "Out of Stock" on WD Store's website, I called their support line and explained that I needed to get a cable since my Macbook Pro was using WD's MPS for Time Machine backups. I was told they would get one out to me right away ("Hmm...I thought they were out of stock.") As you may have guessed I was sent the wrong cable and now, months later, the cable is still listed as "out of stock." So unless you want your portable storage to last only as long as the cable lasts (my didn't last but a few months), I'd stay away from this one.
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