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 List Price: $229.99 Sale Price: $77.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days 
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Put your digital life on the stylish, maximum capacity My Passport , Essential SE portable hard drive. With WD quality and USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity, this drive is designed for today with tomorrow in mind,My Passport portable drives are the world’s best selling drives. There’s a reason. We’ve been making hard drives for 20 years and we know how to protect your data.
| 5 star: | (849) | |
| 4 star: | (209) | |
| 3 star: | (61) | |
| 2 star: | (54) | |
| 1 star: | (234) | |
Speed tests...
WD Portable 1 TB HD - worked flawlesslyHigh capacity in a slick looking little external hard drivePut your digital life on the stylish, maximum capacity My Passport® Essential™ SE portable hard drive. With WD quality and USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity, this drive is designed for today with tomorrow in mind.
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WD quality inside and outMy Passport portable drives are the world’s best selling drives. There’s a reason. We’ve been making hard drives for 20 years and we know how to protect your data.
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USB 3.0 plus USB 2.0A single drive with universal compatibility today and next-generation speed for tomorrow. Use it with USB 2.0 now and step up to USB 3.0 speed when you’re ready.
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High capacity in a smaller driveMassive capacity in this small, stylish drive that is powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed.
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Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interface- A single drive with universal compatibility today and next-generation speed for tomorrow. Use it with USB 2.0 now and step up to USB 3.0 speed when you’re ready.
Up to 3x faster transfer rates - When connected to a USB 3.0 port this drive lets you access and save files up to 3 times faster than USB 2.0. Transfer a 2-hour HD movie in just 5 minutes instead of 13 minutes.*
*Performance may vary based on user’s hardware and system configuration.
WD quality inside and out - For over 20 years, millions of people worldwide have trusted their data to WD hard drives. We are successful because we understand the importance of your data and our first concern is keeping that data safe.
Maximum capacity - Store all your favorite photos, music, movies, and important files on this high capacity, portable drive.
WD SmartWare™ software - You’re in control of your backup. Install all the features, select just the components you need, or if you prefer, choose not to use the software at all.
Automatic, continuous backup - Works quietly in the background to protect your data using minimal PC resources. Whenever you add or change a file it’s instantly backed up.
Password protection for privacy - Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access with password protection and encryption.
USB-powered - Powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed.
Planet friendly - We designed a small box that uses recycled material and minimizes waste. We encourage you to recycle it.
Ideal for
What’s in the box
Portable hard drive, USB cable, WD SmartWare software, Quick Install Guide.
Compatibility
Formatted NTFS
Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7
Mac OS® X Leopard®, Snow Leopard™ (requires reformatting and will work in USB 2.- mode)
Note: Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system.
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Portable Storage
Rating
I am very satisfied with this external drive. Within 10 minutes of opening the package I was transferring pictures onto it. I have Windows 7. I opened the package up, undid the cord, plugged it into the computer and it took about 5 minutes to locate and install drivers and then I was good to go. I transferred over 300 pictures right away, lightning fast and it didn’t even make a dent on the space available. It has 5-star performance, but a bonus is that it looks 5-star too. Very compact and stylish. It has a user manual installed with it that has more languages than I’ve seen on any other product, so if English isn’t your first language you are set with instructions. The product includes 30 days of free telephone support during the warranty period that starts with the first call you make to tech support. Email support is free through the entire warranty period. I have not had to use tech support so it hasn’t applied, but that is good to know.
Rating
This is an easily portable hard drive with generous 1 TB capacity. It is compact, lightweight and runs nearly silently.
It was instantly recognized when connected to a desktop machine running Windows 7 Professional (32-bit), to a laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), and to a netbook running Windows XP Home.
None of these machines is USB 3 equipped; since all of my data transfers were via USB 2, I can’t comment on the USB 3.0 performance. USB 2 transfers to/from the desktop internal hard drive took about 3 minutes for every 1.5 GB of data.
Since this is a recent purchase, it’s not possible to address the reliability/service life of this drive.
This drive is powered via the USB cable, eliminating one power cord (and wall wart!) from the rear of my desk (and increasing its portability)
Some reviewers have commented on issues with the included backup software. My experience with the offerings from both WD and other vendors is that significant shortcomings in features and functionality are often part of these applications.
I simply deleted this software without installing it, and continued to use this drive with a separate back-up application (I’ve been using Centered System’s “Second Copy” with great success for both automated and manual back-up tasks for 5 years).
One minor gripe about this device: the included data cable is *very* short (about a foot long), limiting drive placement options (I don’t know if this is related to the USB 3 capability or not).
Note: I purchased the blue version (not currently offered on Amazon). I included pictures on the product page and the only the color is different; specifications, form factor and performance are identical to the black model.
Rating
I needed a new backup solution for my pictures, so I was thrilled to get a Western Digital My Passport 1 TB drive. I am really happy with the size, shape, and weight. It is sleek and light, and could easily be used as a large (storage space wise) portable drive. It stays plugged into my computer at all times, but if I needed a drive that I could carry around with me, this would be it. The shell seems sturdy and protects the drive well.
The 1 TB size is great and will enable me to back up pictures for years to come, even the large DSLR files we take.
My issue with the drive, and what prevents this from being a 5 star review, is the included software. Western Digital includes backup and drive protection software. The drive protection password protects the drive, which is essential for anyone who travels with a drive like this one. From what I can tell, it works very well.
The backup software is a different story. It doesn’t allow the user to pick selected files or folders, or even back up a drive other than the C: drive. For someone like me, who doesn’t use the default configuration of a computer and keeps media files on a different drive, this is completely useless. Not being able to select which folders I want backed up means the software is unusable for me.
Again, I really do love the drive and use it with third party software, and it’s reliably backing up my computer. I just wish I could have used the included software instead of having to purchase something new.
Rating
User Friendly – Graphical interface breaks files down by type, allowing for a more controlled back up. Multiple drive syncs are simple and efficient. Plenty of space for the storage for a full system or just important file back up. Password protection is simple and effective though doesn’t give much room for leeway. If you forget your password, there are no hints or bypasses.
Speed – The USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.0 and speed is impressive. A 40 gig back up takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish, including sorting the files and the backup selection. The transfer part of the process is the smallest part.
Compact – The size is very portable and the design is very sleek. The included cord is very short forcing the placement of the drive during use to be close to the computer. Replacements are in short supply since the technology is new, so options are limited.