External hard drives - http://harddrive-external.net

Editor's picks

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  Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Black)

  CE (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (0 reviews):

  (3.9/5)

  

  Speed tests...

  ### PHYSICAL ###One terabyte that fits in your jeans' pocket. I don't want to go all "when we were young we walked 10 miles to school, etc." on you, but my first hard drive was such that I would have needed 50'000 of 'em to match the capacity, occupying a solid cube 9 feet on each side and setting me back 30 million dollars. That's mind- blowing progress indeed, and while the original advances were made by firms like Seagate and IBM, those have mostly sold off/sourced out in the meantime, leaving Western Digital as the Bleeding Edge hard drive brand.This device looks like a cigarette holder with a glossy finish. The edges are rounded, and the usb connector is the only opening in the case, so for my occasional transport I just carry the drive in my jacket as-is. It would have been super- neat to have a rubber flap over the usb and perhaps a more scratch- resistant matte finish, but there is no issue here, especially since WD offers inexpensive... 4/5 Strohmian (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews, October 21, 2010

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  WD Portable 1 TB HD - worked flawlessly

  First Impressions Review:This is the first time I have ever used a portable (tiny) external hard drive. I currently use a Cavalry dual disk external drive in RAID configuration which is huge and not really portable.This new WD drive is fantastic in that it is quite small, doesn't require external power, and it is quite good looking. It is amazing how they fit 1 TB drive in such a small package. One bonus is that when I replace my computer in future with one that has USB 3.0 interface, this drive can handle that. (It works fine with USB 2.0 also.) The device looked and felt solid.The USB port that is on the drive seems to be proprietary, but it could be a standard port for USB 3.0. The cable that comes with the drive fits snugly and works well. The cable should be saved carefully - I don't have any other cable with that specialized connector.The backup software resides on the hard disk of the drive. I didn't bother installing that... 5/5 Sudarshan Karkada (Missouri City, TX USA) - See all my reviews, September 21, 2010

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  High capacity in a slick looking little external hard drive

  I can remember when I was impressed by a 356 MB hard drive on my new computer. (Remember those days?) Now here's this back-up external drive that is a terabyte, something that not so many years ago was in the domain only of supercomputers that took up whole rooms. The really impressive thing is that this is such a nice compact little drive, not much bigger than a deck of playing cards. I've used other drives for back up and have always avoided the back up software that came with some of them, fearing it would get in the way and slow things down when I'm working or that it would take too much time to figure out what to back up and how often to do so. As a result, I often forget to back things up, which could be a disaster if I ever had a hard drive failure.Now the nice thing about a large external drive such as this one is that it has tons of space and I can just back up everything and keep several copies. The software that comes on the drive installs in minutes and... 5/5 PT Cruiser "PT Cruiser" (West Coast) - See all my reviews, October 20, 2010

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  List Price: $229.99
  

  Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0

  Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility

  Maximum capacity

  Connectivity today; speed for tomorrow

  Automatic, continuous backup

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  Toshiba Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive 320 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive E05A032BAU2XK Black

  CE (Toshiba)
  

  Rating (332 reviews):

  (4.4/5)

  

  Perhaps the best deal available: lowest price + flawless performance

  I spent too much time reading reviews, so I hope this one is useful for you all:- Lowest price I found.- Conected it to my laptop and it recognized it immediately, no installations whatsoever. Works perfect with just a simple USB cable. Real 'plug n play'. No lies from the manufacturer.- Data transfer seems very fast.- Very small. Nice finish. Actually, looks like an iPhone. Very light.How am I using it? Made 3 partitions, 2 NTFS and 1 FAT, to do some Wii-related stuff. If it performed perfect with all that mess I did to it, then it will work perfect to you. 5/5 jsegural01 - See all my reviews This review is from: Toshiba Canvio 500 GB USB 2.0 Basics Portable Hard Drive E05A050BAU2XK (Black) (Personal Computers) I spent too much time reading reviews, so I hope this one is useful for you all:- Lowest price I found.- Conected it to my laptop and it recognized it immediately, no installations whatsoever. Works perfect with just a simple USB cable. Real 'plug n play'. No lies from the manufacturer.- Data transfer seems very fast.- Very small. Nice finish. Actually, looks like an iPhone. Very light.How am I using it? Made 3 partitions, 2 NTFS and 1 FAT, to do some Wii-related stuff. If it performed perfect with all that mess I did to it, then it will work perfect to you. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , December 16, 2010

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  Nice portable hard drive!

  I purchased this portable hard drive when it was on sale during Amazon's Black Friday week. We weren't sure what to expect b/c the price was so low, but we were pleasantly surprised when it arrived. It's as simple as simple gets. Plug it into your USB port and drag and drop file. It's not loaded with any backup software, but we weren't looking for any. We copied all the data off our laptop (music, pictures, etc) in under an hour. It's not something that we'll use on a daily basis so I can't rate how well it takes abuse. Love that it's nice and small and super easy to use. Very happy with this hard drive! Perfect for extra storage! 5/5 Katie B (SC) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Toshiba Canvio 500 GB USB 2.0 Basics Portable Hard Drive E05A050BAU2XK (Black) (Personal Computers) I purchased this portable hard drive when it was on sale during Amazon's Black Friday week. We weren't sure what to expect b/c the price was so low, but we were pleasantly surprised when it arrived. It's as simple as simple gets. Plug it into your USB port and drag and drop file. It's not loaded with any backup software, but we weren't looking for any. We copied all the data off our laptop (music, pictures, etc) in under an hour. It's not something that we'll use on a daily basis so I can't rate how well it takes abuse. Love that it's nice and small and super easy to use. Very happy with this hard drive! Perfect for extra storage! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , December 6, 2010

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  Easy & Speedy to Use

  I am very happy with this item. I had been holding off buying one until I had come across one that I liked at a decent price and this was it. All you have to do is plug it into your laptop/PC and wait a few minutes while it installs drivers, etc. Copying data to it is as easy as copying to a 'thumb' drive. It took less than two minutes for me to transfer over 50gb of data. 5/5 Theresa - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Toshiba Canvio 500 GB USB 2.0 Basics Portable Hard Drive E05A050BAU2XK (Black) (Personal Computers) I am very happy with this item. I had been holding off buying one until I had come across one that I liked at a decent price and this was it. All you have to do is plug it into your laptop/PC and wait a few minutes while it installs drivers, etc. Copying data to it is as easy as copying to a 'thumb' drive. It took less than two minutes for me to transfer over 50gb of data. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , December 24, 2010

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  List Price: $89.99
  

  USB 2.0-powered portable add-on storage.

  Gives you peace of mind (Toshiba 3-Year Limited Warranty).

  Protects your drive (Internal Shock Sensor and Ramp Loading Technology).

  Easy to use with no software to install.

  Accommodates large digital files with spacious storage capacity.

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  Western Digital WD Elements 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

  CE (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (0 reviews):

  (4.0/5)

  

  Good value, no extra junk software!

  I purchased the 1tb Elements (WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN) for use with a Dish DVR 622.Installation was was truly "plug and play". I simply took it out of the box, plugged it in, and it was immediately recognized by the DVR. I have since transferred about 200gb of content to/from it, and have watched content directly from the drive. So far, it is working perfectly. It automatically spins down after a few minutes of non-use, as well as when the DVR is powered off. It also spins back up automatically (less than 10 seconds) when the DVR accesses it.One thing some people might not like: The case is designed to sit flat (as pictured), not on its side. There are four small non-skid pads on the bottom corners, but none on either side. There is no indication on the box, in the documentation, or on Western Digital's web site as to whether the drive will work properly on edge. As a general rule, WD drives are designed to operate sideways or even upside down (any X,Y,Z... 5/5 Scott "Scott" (Northwest Washington) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN (Personal Computers) I purchased the 1tb Elements (WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN) for use with a Dish DVR 622.Installation was was truly "plug and play". I simply took it out of the box, plugged it in, and it was immediately recognized by the DVR. I have since transferred about 200gb of content to/from it, and have watched content directly from the drive. So far, it is working perfectly. It automatically spins down after a few minutes of non-use, as well as when the DVR is powered off. It also spins back up automatically (less than 10 seconds) when the DVR accesses it.One thing some people might not like: The case is designed to sit flat (as pictured), not on its side. There are four small non-skid pads on the bottom corners, but none on either side. There is no indication on the box, in the documentation, or on Western Digital's web site as to whether the drive will work properly on edge. As a general rule, WD drives are designed to operate sideways or even upside down (any X,Y,Z... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , December 2, 2009

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  Register the drive with Western Digital to get the warranty updated !

  I bought 3 of these drives for $99 each around Black Friday. The value cannot be beat and I always prefer Western Digital due to their Advance Replacement policy.One of the drives had issues. I always check all new drives I buy with the Western Digital Life Diagnostics program which is available for free from Western Digital. All drives passed the test without issues. The test will take at least 12 hours to complete on such a large drive. One of the drives was dropping the transfer rate after copying 500 GB to it for no reason and I had to replace it. What is really disappointing is that the drive passed the test so I have no confidence in the diagnostic program anymore.The moment you receive the drive check your warranty online at the Western Digital website. The warranty for this model is only 1 year which I consider absolutely insufficient for a drive. The bad thing about it is that Western Digital starts counting from the manufacturing date and by the time you... 5/5 A. E. "AE" (NY United States) - See all my reviews, December 16, 2009

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  Very good hard drive!

  I work for Computing support at Arizona State University, and I have enough technical knowledge to be certified as a TECH JUNKIE :) I am a photographer too, so I have tons of Photos (about 160GB), Videos, Software, Movies and Documentaries. I was looking for a simple external hard drive without any backup software included, I am smart enough to do manual incremental backups with file tree structure intact (I use GOODSYNC to backup, its very simple and easy to use, for not so TECH savvy people try SYNCTOY by Microsoft). I have looked at many many external HDDs and narrowed down to two models "Samsung Story 1TB - very good one too" and this one (I wanted it to be cheap too - got this for $85. I did not go with other WD models because of their annoying Backup Software. Coming to the WD Elements 1TB: Its much smaller than I expected. It is dead silent, I had to touch it to convince myself that it was running, when I first turned it on. Its not too... 5/5 Sree V. Remella "Sree" (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews This review is from: Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN (Personal Computers) I work for Computing support at Arizona State University, and I have enough technical knowledge to be certified as a TECH JUNKIE :) I am a photographer too, so I have tons of Photos (about 160GB), Videos, Software, Movies and Documentaries. I was looking for a simple external hard drive without any backup software included, I am smart enough to do manual incremental backups with file tree structure intact (I use GOODSYNC to backup, its very simple and easy to use, for not so TECH savvy people try SYNCTOY by Microsoft). I have looked at many many external HDDs and narrowed down to two models "Samsung Story 1TB - very good one too" and this one (I wanted it to be cheap too - got this for $85. I did not go with other WD models because of their annoying Backup Software. Coming to the WD Elements 1TB: Its much smaller than I expected. It is dead silent, I had to touch it to convince myself that it was running, when I first turned it on. Its not too... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , November 23, 2009

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  List Price: $179.99
  

  Simply affordable

  Easy to use USB 2.0

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  Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN

  CE (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (0 reviews):

  (4.0/5)

  

  Good value, no extra junk software!

  I purchased the 1tb Elements (WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN) for use with a Dish DVR 622.Installation was was truly "plug and play". I simply took it out of the box, plugged it in, and it was immediately recognized by the DVR. I have since transferred about 200gb of content to/from it, and have watched content directly from the drive. So far, it is working perfectly. It automatically spins down after a few minutes of non-use, as well as when the DVR is powered off. It also spins back up automatically (less than 10 seconds) when the DVR accesses it.One thing some people might not like: The case is designed to sit flat (as pictured), not on its side. There are four small non-skid pads on the bottom corners, but none on either side. There is no indication on the box, in the documentation, or on Western Digital's web site as to whether the drive will work properly on edge. As a general rule, WD drives are designed to operate sideways or even upside down (any X,Y,Z... 5/5 Scott "Scott" (Northwest Washington) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN (Personal Computers) I purchased the 1tb Elements (WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN) for use with a Dish DVR 622.Installation was was truly "plug and play". I simply took it out of the box, plugged it in, and it was immediately recognized by the DVR. I have since transferred about 200gb of content to/from it, and have watched content directly from the drive. So far, it is working perfectly. It automatically spins down after a few minutes of non-use, as well as when the DVR is powered off. It also spins back up automatically (less than 10 seconds) when the DVR accesses it.One thing some people might not like: The case is designed to sit flat (as pictured), not on its side. There are four small non-skid pads on the bottom corners, but none on either side. There is no indication on the box, in the documentation, or on Western Digital's web site as to whether the drive will work properly on edge. As a general rule, WD drives are designed to operate sideways or even upside down (any X,Y,Z... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , December 2, 2009

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  Register the drive with Western Digital to get the warranty updated !

  I bought 3 of these drives for $99 each around Black Friday. The value cannot be beat and I always prefer Western Digital due to their Advance Replacement policy.One of the drives had issues. I always check all new drives I buy with the Western Digital Life Diagnostics program which is available for free from Western Digital. All drives passed the test without issues. The test will take at least 12 hours to complete on such a large drive. One of the drives was dropping the transfer rate after copying 500 GB to it for no reason and I had to replace it. What is really disappointing is that the drive passed the test so I have no confidence in the diagnostic program anymore.The moment you receive the drive check your warranty online at the Western Digital website. The warranty for this model is only 1 year which I consider absolutely insufficient for a drive. The bad thing about it is that Western Digital starts counting from the manufacturing date and by the time you... 5/5 A. E. "AE" (NY United States) - See all my reviews, December 16, 2009

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  Very good hard drive!

  I work for Computing support at Arizona State University, and I have enough technical knowledge to be certified as a TECH JUNKIE :) I am a photographer too, so I have tons of Photos (about 160GB), Videos, Software, Movies and Documentaries. I was looking for a simple external hard drive without any backup software included, I am smart enough to do manual incremental backups with file tree structure intact (I use GOODSYNC to backup, its very simple and easy to use, for not so TECH savvy people try SYNCTOY by Microsoft). I have looked at many many external HDDs and narrowed down to two models "Samsung Story 1TB - very good one too" and this one (I wanted it to be cheap too - got this for $85. I did not go with other WD models because of their annoying Backup Software. Coming to the WD Elements 1TB: Its much smaller than I expected. It is dead silent, I had to touch it to convince myself that it was running, when I first turned it on. Its not too... 5/5 Sree V. Remella "Sree" (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews This review is from: Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN (Personal Computers) I work for Computing support at Arizona State University, and I have enough technical knowledge to be certified as a TECH JUNKIE :) I am a photographer too, so I have tons of Photos (about 160GB), Videos, Software, Movies and Documentaries. I was looking for a simple external hard drive without any backup software included, I am smart enough to do manual incremental backups with file tree structure intact (I use GOODSYNC to backup, its very simple and easy to use, for not so TECH savvy people try SYNCTOY by Microsoft). I have looked at many many external HDDs and narrowed down to two models "Samsung Story 1TB - very good one too" and this one (I wanted it to be cheap too - got this for $85. I did not go with other WD models because of their annoying Backup Software. Coming to the WD Elements 1TB: Its much smaller than I expected. It is dead silent, I had to touch it to convince myself that it was running, when I first turned it on. Its not too... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , November 23, 2009

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  List Price: $129.99
  

  USB 2.0 Hard drive

  Easy to use

  Simply affordable

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  Western Digital My Passport 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - WDBKXH5000ABK-NESN (Black)

  Personal Computer (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (28 reviews):

  (4.1/5)

  

  An essential storage backup tool in a digital world

  I'm a computer repair technician, and one issue I have all the time with my customers is, the famous, 'a virus hijacked my computer and those precious pictures are inside'. Yeah, the prom, the honeymoon, or the newborn pictures are usually held without ransom. Most of the time we are dealing with malware of some sort that affects the Windows operating system files, but leaves the data intact. So, before I repair the computer, I rescue the pictures, and any other file they might value. However, not all repair technicians do this, most allege that the files are corrupted, which might be the case, but usually it really means they are too busy to rescue anything, don't know how to do it, or will not do it unless paid big cash.For one own's sakes, the best thing to do is backing up the data before the computer gets infected, or the hard drive fails. For pictures I recommend backing up the original files into data discs, but for faster everyday files backups (music, movies,... 5/5 Joanna Terrero (N.J. USA) - See all my reviews, April 24, 2012

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  Smart form-factor. So-So software

  This is my first experience with a Western Digital hard drive. I purchased the 1 TB Passport drive as opposed to others mainly because CNET awarded its Editors' Choice for the 2 TB model ( which was not available for sale when I placed my order). I am currently using the WD SmartWare (version 1.5.4.5) that comes with loaded the device.Pros:Smart form-factor. Very small and sleek for a 1TB drive.USB powered ( just plug it into your USB port). No need for a power cable or bulky ac adapter. Makes for true portability.Impressive USB 2.0 speed during my initial back up of 131 GBs worth of files/content.Automatic file backup featureOne USB cable( supplied)supports both 3.0 and 2.0.Surprisingly quiet and runs fairly cool too.Excellent customer support. I called twice and spoke to well trained/professional technicians.Cons:WD Smartware software. Surprisingly so-so for this cool little device. Not as intuitive or... 4/5 LDB (Florida) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - WDBBEP0010BBK-NESN (Black) (Personal Computers) This is my first experience with a Western Digital hard drive. I purchased the 1 TB Passport drive as opposed to others mainly because CNET awarded its Editors' Choice for the 2 TB model ( which was not available for sale when I placed my order). I am currently using the WD SmartWare (version 1.5.4.5) that comes with loaded the device.Pros:Smart form-factor. Very small and sleek for a 1TB drive.USB powered ( just plug it into your USB port). No need for a power cable or bulky ac adapter. Makes for true portability.Impressive USB 2.0 speed during my initial back up of 131 GBs worth of files/content.Automatic file backup featureOne USB cable( supplied)supports both 3.0 and 2.0.Surprisingly quiet and runs fairly cool too.Excellent customer support. I called twice and spoke to well trained/professional technicians.Cons:WD Smartware software. Surprisingly so-so for this cool little device. Not as intuitive or... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , April 5, 2012

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  High Capacity, Easy to Use Backup Drive

  Let's face it. Computers break and hard drives fail. If you're like me, you have your entire music collection, countless photos, and important documents on your home computer. It's important to back up your files in at least one, if not two, places.Cloud services are becoming more popular, with the Amazon Cloud, the iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and others offering free and paid cloud storage. While these services have their merits, it would take me a super long time to upload my entire music collection (over 90 gigabytes) to a cloud service, so a hard drive is a better solution.Enter the Western Digital Two terabyte My Passport portable hard drive, which offers a relatively fast and easy way to back up your important files.The My Passport is super small. It's USB-powered, which means you don't need an adaptor to run the hard drive. One negative for me is the proprietary cable needed to connect the drive to your computer. If you lose the cable, you can't... 4/5 R. Angeloni "slicktiger28" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews, April 26, 2012

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  List Price: $119.99
  

  Sleek, compact design

  Automatic backup software

  Password protection and hardware encryption

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  Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 3.0/2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Midnight Black)

  CE (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (263 reviews):

  (3.9/5)

  

  Small, fast, high-capacity drive

  It was time to create fresh backup of my laptop, so I got this blue, 500GB WD drive because it was one of the cheapest and I know the manufacturer (used their products before).The drive is definitely the smallest 2.5 inch portable drive I have ever seen personally. It was the first USB 3.0 device I have purchased, so discovering new, wider USB 3.0 connector on the drive side was a surprise to me. Please note that that the larger plug on the cable (the one you insert into the computer) is also USB 3.0, but fortunately it fits into any USB socket. If your computer does not have USB 3.0 hardware, you can use regular 'micro-USB' cable to connect: just plug it into the wider of the two sections of the socket in the drive.First backup with the drive was successful, but lengthy as usual. I'm going to buy USB 3.0 express card for my laptop to speed up the process in the future.One note about the software that comes with the drive - it is horrible! While my hardware... 5/5 Jaroslaw Kaczynski "jerry_drake" (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews, October 26, 2010

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  Another Winner from Western Digital

  I recently received this from Amazon Vine and I am very pleased with it. It is the first USB 3.0-capable device I have owned. I am using this, and all of my other external hard drives, as storage units only (in other words, for backing up and storing my document files and folders, my music, my pictures, and my videos, not for backing up the computer itself). It is a nice large portable hard drive, as large or larger in capacity than most laptop computers. It requires no power other than that supplied by the USB port.When it arrived I opened the box and retrieved the drive. Having done that, I gently shook the drive to make certain that nothing was loose inside. Then I physically examined it to make... 5/5 Lawrence H. Bulk "Lawrence H. Bulk" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews, October 5, 2010

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  Very solid entry for Western Digital

  While USB 3.0 devices are slow to trickle out into the mainstream, Western Digital has released this 500GB USB 3.0 (USB 2.0 compatible) drive that works just as you'd expect it to.Transfer speeds are what you'd expect over USB 2.0 (i.e. average), and the drive is very quiet. I suspect it's a 5400rpm drive inside...Some things to note:1.) The device itself is pretty small. Very, very portable.2.) It has a plastic coating that scratches very easily, sadly.3.) I don't see an easy way to open the casing to put in a larger drive in the future...4.) The USB 3.0 cable is different from your normal USB 2.0 cable, but for USB 2.0 use you can use a standard MicroUSB cable, and I tested this to work perfectly. USB 3.0 is MicroUSB + an additional port next to it for USB 3.0 speeds, but you can just use the MicroUSB part for older systems!Overall, this worked great on my 2009 i7 iMac formatted in HFS, and on Windows 7 formatted as... 5/5 I. R. Smart. "Tzu Crazy" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews, October 8, 2010

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  List Price: $129.99
  

  Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility

  Automatic, continuous backup

  Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 30

  Dual USB 30 and USB 20 compatibility

  Connectivity today; speed tomorrow

  Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0

  Hardware encryption, password protection

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  Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBACW0020HBK-NESN

  CE (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (510 reviews):

  (3.4/5)

  

  Extremely flimsy usb3 connector design - BUYER BEWARE

  This applies to the My Book USB3 2TB drive.First the good stuff -It is a nice fast drive. HDTune showed and average speed around 90-100MB/s when connected to a USB3 port on my Lenovo W510 laptop. That is why I bought the thing, and it works well. I had NO trouble accessing the drive (but then I reformatted it completely and did not see any issues with the CD partition etc..).Note: I needed to update the USB3 drivers on my W510 to get it to be recognized consistently by Windows 7. That is likely an issue with the Win7 NEC USB3 drivers preinstalled on my Lenovo, and nothing to do with the WD drive.Now the awful part:After about 4 months of usage, the USB3 female connector in the cabinet came loose - and was stuck to the USB3 cable when I removed it!I have owned close to ten different WD external USB drives from ~320GB and up to 2TB drives. I have *never* had any such issue with any previous drive (my only real gripe has been... 1/5 INGE STUBDAL "Inge" (Oslo, - Norway) - See all my reviews This review is from: Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBACW0020HBK-NESN (Personal Computers) This applies to the My Book USB3 2TB drive.First the good stuff -It is a nice fast drive. HDTune showed and average speed around 90-100MB/s when connected to a USB3 port on my Lenovo W510 laptop. That is why I bought the thing, and it works well. I had NO trouble accessing the drive (but then I reformatted it completely and did not see any issues with the CD partition etc..).Note: I needed to update the USB3 drivers on my W510 to get it to be recognized consistently by Windows 7. That is likely an issue with the Win7 NEC USB3 drivers preinstalled on my Lenovo, and nothing to do with the WD drive.Now the awful part:After about 4 months of usage, the USB3 female connector in the cabinet came loose - and was stuck to the USB3 cable when I removed it!I have owned close to ten different WD external USB drives from ~320GB and up to 2TB drives. I have *never* had any such issue with any previous drive (my only real gripe has been... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , June 21, 2011

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  A little pricey if you just need the space, but...

  There are 2TB drives out there for less money and if all you need is a huge space, you might consider one of those. The value added in this package is the backup software that is bundled with the drive (actually, delivered right on the drive).WD Smartware is a backup/restore suite that, once installed, boots with your machine. If the MyBook is attached via your USB port, it will constantly monitor activity and make backups accordingly in the background in near real time without any action on your part. It also maintains multiple generations of files (you choose how many), so you can go back to, say, three versions ago if you need to recover a spreadsheet or other data file.You can also use it on multiple computers. Backups are stored under folders with the same name as the PC they're created on.I tested on a Win XP Pro laptop and a Win7 laptop and detected no system slowdowns at all. Every now and then the activity light on the drive would... 4/5 Jeff Pittman "Jeff" (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews, November 2, 2010

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  Impressive Design And Fast Technology - 5 Stars All Around

  First, the packaging. Western Digital (WD) does an impressive job of securely packaging this hard drive with a minimal amount of waste. There's no unnecessary plastic or cardboard.This 2 TB drive has to be plugged into the wall socket as well as powered with a USB cable. One of my major complaints about electronics products are the ridiculously short power cables. This My Book Essential External Hard Drive has an impressively long power cable - which is a plus for any experienced tech user. WD figures the customer is smart enough not to accidentally strangle themselves with a long power cord. So many products I buy have a cord that is so short as to make the item almost unusable. 5 stars to WD for trusting the intelligence of the buyers of their products.Here are the results I obtained after testing out this drive:The drive did not have to be formatted before I used it. It worked with my Windows XP-based computer right out of the box.It... 5/5 Sam I Am (los angeles) - See all my reviews, October 23, 2010

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  List Price: $229.99
  

  Hardware encryption, password protection

  Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0

  Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility

  Automatic, continuous backup

  Connectivity today; speed for tomorrow

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  Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - WDBBEP0010BBK-NESN (Black)

  Personal Computer (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (28 reviews):

  (4.1/5)

  

  An essential storage backup tool in a digital world

  I'm a computer repair technician, and one issue I have all the time with my customers is, the famous, 'a virus hijacked my computer and those precious pictures are inside'. Yeah, the prom, the honeymoon, or the newborn pictures are usually held without ransom. Most of the time we are dealing with malware of some sort that affects the Windows operating system files, but leaves the data intact. So, before I repair the computer, I rescue the pictures, and any other file they might value. However, not all repair technicians do this, most allege that the files are corrupted, which might be the case, but usually it really means they are too busy to rescue anything, don't know how to do it, or will not do it unless paid big cash.For one own's sakes, the best thing to do is backing up the data before the computer gets infected, or the hard drive fails. For pictures I recommend backing up the original files into data discs, but for faster everyday files backups (music, movies,... 5/5 Joanna Terrero (N.J. USA) - See all my reviews, April 24, 2012

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  Smart form-factor. So-So software

  This is my first experience with a Western Digital hard drive. I purchased the 1 TB Passport drive as opposed to others mainly because CNET awarded its Editors' Choice for the 2 TB model ( which was not available for sale when I placed my order). I am currently using the WD SmartWare (version 1.5.4.5) that comes with loaded the device.Pros:Smart form-factor. Very small and sleek for a 1TB drive.USB powered ( just plug it into your USB port). No need for a power cable or bulky ac adapter. Makes for true portability.Impressive USB 2.0 speed during my initial back up of 131 GBs worth of files/content.Automatic file backup featureOne USB cable( supplied)supports both 3.0 and 2.0.Surprisingly quiet and runs fairly cool too.Excellent customer support. I called twice and spoke to well trained/professional technicians.Cons:WD Smartware software. Surprisingly so-so for this cool little device. Not as intuitive or... 4/5 LDB (Florida) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - WDBBEP0010BBK-NESN (Black) (Personal Computers) This is my first experience with a Western Digital hard drive. I purchased the 1 TB Passport drive as opposed to others mainly because CNET awarded its Editors' Choice for the 2 TB model ( which was not available for sale when I placed my order). I am currently using the WD SmartWare (version 1.5.4.5) that comes with loaded the device.Pros:Smart form-factor. Very small and sleek for a 1TB drive.USB powered ( just plug it into your USB port). No need for a power cable or bulky ac adapter. Makes for true portability.Impressive USB 2.0 speed during my initial back up of 131 GBs worth of files/content.Automatic file backup featureOne USB cable( supplied)supports both 3.0 and 2.0.Surprisingly quiet and runs fairly cool too.Excellent customer support. I called twice and spoke to well trained/professional technicians.Cons:WD Smartware software. Surprisingly so-so for this cool little device. Not as intuitive or... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , April 5, 2012

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  High Capacity, Easy to Use Backup Drive

  Let's face it. Computers break and hard drives fail. If you're like me, you have your entire music collection, countless photos, and important documents on your home computer. It's important to back up your files in at least one, if not two, places.Cloud services are becoming more popular, with the Amazon Cloud, the iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and others offering free and paid cloud storage. While these services have their merits, it would take me a super long time to upload my entire music collection (over 90 gigabytes) to a cloud service, so a hard drive is a better solution.Enter the Western Digital Two terabyte My Passport portable hard drive, which offers a relatively fast and easy way to back up your important files.The My Passport is super small. It's USB-powered, which means you don't need an adaptor to run the hard drive. One negative for me is the proprietary cable needed to connect the drive to your computer. If you lose the cable, you can't... 4/5 R. Angeloni "slicktiger28" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews, April 26, 2012

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  List Price: $159.99
  

  Sleek, compact design

  Password protection and hardware encryption

  Automatic backup software

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  Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive STAX500102

  PC Accessory (Seagate)
  

  Rating (92 reviews):

  (3.8/5)

  

  Nice Drive

  USB 3.0 is a major improvement over the older 2.0 version, with speed up to 5 Gigabits/sec (versus 480 Megabits/sec of USB 2.0). Computers with USB 3.0 are still relatively rare but this SEAGATE Expansion 500 GB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive STAX500102 is backward-compatible to USB 2.0, which is what I got in my HP desktop. There was no connectivity problem. The hard drive is plug-N-play; within seconds after I plugged it in, it was up and running. A USB 3.0 cable is included. It is different in construction from USB 2.0 cables. A tiny green LED lights up when the connection is made. Like most of the portable hard drives, power is drawn from the computer via the USB cable. No AC transformer or cord is necessary. This hard drive is cool to the touch, even after prolonged usage. This drive is highly portable, measuring 3-1/4" X 5-3/8" X 5/8" thick. A backup software called Memeo is included. I did not install it. Frankly, I was leery of cluttering up my hard drive with unfamiliar... 5/5 Big Al "Alan Rivière" (Southwest, USA) - See all my reviews, August 5, 2011

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  Not a bad cheap external, but not amazing

  I have quite a few external drives so I'm pretty familiar with their general specs, so honestly I wasn't expecting too much out of the Seagate Expansion drive. Other than the USB 3.0 connector, there's really nothing really "new" about this drive.The basics - it's a 2.5" 5400 RPM "green" drive - which means the disk has a habit of going to sleep when not in use, but it also means that it's pretty light on the power consumption. It's also quiet and has a very low heat signature. Average read/write speeds (over USB 3.0): 30/25 MBps (see "customer images" for my benchmark results).What it's good for:At 500GB, this drive is pretty small when compared to its 2-4TB neighbors. However this drive is nice because it's completely powered via USB and has a small footprint. The portability comes in handy when a USB memory stick just doesn't have enough room. And this is where the Expansion might be the best fit - as an IT Consultant it's nice to be able to have an... 4/5 Naomi (Storm) (Texas) - See all my reviews, September 12, 2011

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  Works Fine Backing Up My MacBook

  The first thing I did after getting this drive was to format it to work on a Mac. Why they don't say this is Mac compatible, I don't know, but it is. Once you format it, it's a Mac drive. I use this as a backup to my white MacBook which also has a 500 GB drive. I don't use Time Machine as I like Super Duper better. This drive is quiet and does it job. You can't ask more of a hard drive than that. At least I don't think so. 5/5 Shane Shogren (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews, August 4, 2011

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  List Price: $119.99
  

  1 year limited warranty

  USB 3.0, backwards compatible with USB 2.0

  Built-in power management ensures energy efficient operation

  Plug n' play - no software to install

  Simply drag-and-drop to save files

  USB powered

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  Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - WDBBEP0010BBL-NESN (Blue)

  Personal Computer (Western Digital)
  

  Rating (28 reviews):

  (4.1/5)

  

  An essential storage backup tool in a digital world

  I'm a computer repair technician, and one issue I have all the time with my customers is, the famous, 'a virus hijacked my computer and those precious pictures are inside'. Yeah, the prom, the honeymoon, or the newborn pictures are usually held without ransom. Most of the time we are dealing with malware of some sort that affects the Windows operating system files, but leaves the data intact. So, before I repair the computer, I rescue the pictures, and any other file they might value. However, not all repair technicians do this, most allege that the files are corrupted, which might be the case, but usually it really means they are too busy to rescue anything, don't know how to do it, or will not do it unless paid big cash.For one own's sakes, the best thing to do is backing up the data before the computer gets infected, or the hard drive fails. For pictures I recommend backing up the original files into data discs, but for faster everyday files backups (music, movies,... 5/5 Joanna Terrero (N.J. USA) - See all my reviews, April 24, 2012

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  Smart form-factor. So-So software

  This is my first experience with a Western Digital hard drive. I purchased the 1 TB Passport drive as opposed to others mainly because CNET awarded its Editors' Choice for the 2 TB model ( which was not available for sale when I placed my order). I am currently using the WD SmartWare (version 1.5.4.5) that comes with loaded the device.Pros:Smart form-factor. Very small and sleek for a 1TB drive.USB powered ( just plug it into your USB port). No need for a power cable or bulky ac adapter. Makes for true portability.Impressive USB 2.0 speed during my initial back up of 131 GBs worth of files/content.Automatic file backup featureOne USB cable( supplied)supports both 3.0 and 2.0.Surprisingly quiet and runs fairly cool too.Excellent customer support. I called twice and spoke to well trained/professional technicians.Cons:WD Smartware software. Surprisingly so-so for this cool little device. Not as intuitive or... 4/5 LDB (Florida) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - WDBBEP0010BBK-NESN (Black) (Personal Computers) This is my first experience with a Western Digital hard drive. I purchased the 1 TB Passport drive as opposed to others mainly because CNET awarded its Editors' Choice for the 2 TB model ( which was not available for sale when I placed my order). I am currently using the WD SmartWare (version 1.5.4.5) that comes with loaded the device.Pros:Smart form-factor. Very small and sleek for a 1TB drive.USB powered ( just plug it into your USB port). No need for a power cable or bulky ac adapter. Makes for true portability.Impressive USB 2.0 speed during my initial back up of 131 GBs worth of files/content.Automatic file backup featureOne USB cable( supplied)supports both 3.0 and 2.0.Surprisingly quiet and runs fairly cool too.Excellent customer support. I called twice and spoke to well trained/professional technicians.Cons:WD Smartware software. Surprisingly so-so for this cool little device. Not as intuitive or... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you? , April 5, 2012

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  High Capacity, Easy to Use Backup Drive

  Let's face it. Computers break and hard drives fail. If you're like me, you have your entire music collection, countless photos, and important documents on your home computer. It's important to back up your files in at least one, if not two, places.Cloud services are becoming more popular, with the Amazon Cloud, the iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and others offering free and paid cloud storage. While these services have their merits, it would take me a super long time to upload my entire music collection (over 90 gigabytes) to a cloud service, so a hard drive is a better solution.Enter the Western Digital Two terabyte My Passport portable hard drive, which offers a relatively fast and easy way to back up your important files.The My Passport is super small. It's USB-powered, which means you don't need an adaptor to run the hard drive. One negative for me is the proprietary cable needed to connect the drive to your computer. If you lose the cable, you can't... 4/5 R. Angeloni "slicktiger28" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews, April 26, 2012

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  List Price: $159.99
  Price: $107.00
  You Save: $52.99 (33%)

  Automatic backup software

  Sleek, compact design

  Password protection and hardware encryption

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