Western Digital My Passport Elite 250GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive (Titanium)
See it at Amazon.com for $96.69Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(4 out of 5)Nice drive, slow software with quirks
The drive itself is tiny, even though the online photos make it look big. Runs quiet & cool.
You pay extra for the Elite version of this product as the software runs continuously in the background, backing up files as they are modified. (However Time Machine on the Mac is easier to set up, more reliable, and more intuitive.)
It does work; however as other reviewers elsewhere have pointed out, it is incredibly slow. When choosing to encrypt backups, it takes several minutes to process a large file, and even small files are handled an average of one per second.
If you look at the folder structure of a backup, you can see why - it has placeholder files for each "real" filename (so the filenames are NOT encrypted), then the encrypted contents of the file are stored elsewhere in an odd-looking multi-level hidden directory structure.
Unencrypted backups are much quicker, and you can retrieve the files individually using Explorer, or use the one-click restore utility. As long as the software is running, it backs up continuously in real-time as files change, instead of hourly, and that process is almost instant. It does not make use of the file property's Archive flag. If the drive is unplugged, it queues the files (seemingly in a persistent storage area, as even after a logout it will write them once the drive is plugged back in).
WARNING: If the software is not running, a new or modified file will NEVER be backed up. If you log in as another user who doesn't have a backup plan active and modify a shared file, then log back in as the original user, the file will be missed!!
The software installation package is contained on the drive, and while you still need to install it, it does not require admin rights on your PC.
The drive is by default formatted as FAT32, so if you want permissions or files larger than 4GB, you need to reformat it as NTFS. Otherwise you will get an odd error "Volume is out of space" when it clearly isn't, once it reaches a 4GB file. Note that it will pause the backup at this stage, and not continue with the remainder of the files!
CAUTION: If you have files open (such as Outlook PST files), the software will skip them. As soon as you quit Outlook, it will notice the file was modified and back it up. I believe this means Registry entries are not backed up, which means it isn't possible to do a one-click straight restore after a HD crash, unlike Time Machine.
This product is appropriate for casual users on a home PC who want to ensure their documents, photos, etc. are backed up, and are not worried about Windows system files and do not have a multitude of application settings, because these can be recreated from installation CDs, and reconfigured by hand.
Mac users would want the cheaper version without the Elite software.
(4 out of 5)Decent little, but review your options first
Western digital sells the Passport Essential, Elite, and Studio. The essential has a 3 year warranty. The elite has a 5 year warranty. The Studio gives you firewire and USB connectivity.
In the real world, firewire for external hard drives is always faster. Ignore the 480 mb/s spec for USB 2.0.
Thing is, these drives are all priced fairly closely with each other. Why would you choose a lesser drive for the same price? Be very careful when you do the Amazon search, I thought I was looking for the 320GB elite and accidentally bought the 250GB. The restocking fee was so high, I just kept it.
(5 out of 5)WD Review from Atlanta
The WD external drive was well priced and arrived exactly as ordered. Delivery was slow due to the USPS. Would suggest UPS or FedEx instead. Overall, I would recommend them and will buy again.
(5 out of 5)Great little drive
I bought this drive to replace a WD MyBook 500GB external drive that failed within 19 months of the purchase date (it came supplied with a 1 year warranty). By the way, I'm not the only one to report the failure of the MyBook drives slightly after the warranty period's expiry--if you check out reviews of the product, chances are you'll find quite a few people who have experienced the same issue within a 14-19 month period.
This time I wanted a drive with a long warranty. This drive provides a 5 year warranty--which is great. I am happy with WD drives, I just don't like being left in the dust without a warranty. This particular drive features a great form-factor--it fits in my pocket along with my iPhone without any problems. It looks great, I like the silver color. The drive is being used with OSX so the capacity LED gauge serves little purpose for me (only supports Windows XP/Vista). Not requiring a power cable was a great design decision by WD. This drive serves as a TimeMachine backup drive, which for my two 80 GB drives, works well in respect to capacity. In terms of performance, I measured the time it took to transfer (backup) 1GB of assorted data and calculated that on average, the data moved at ~8MB/sec, which is worse than my old 7200RPM MyBook, but not bad. Since TimeMachine runs on a backup stealth schedule without any intervention on my behalf, I don't care how fast the data moves as long as it works.
Overall, highly recommended. Hope it lasts longer than my 500GB MyBook. If not, 5 year protection.
(5 out of 5)Great hard drive
This is a great hard drive. This is the third passport that I have purchased in the last year and I have had great results.
BE AWARE - This drive does NOT contain the drawstring pouch that is advertised above. No big deal but if you are expecting a carrying pouch, order one.