💾 WD My Passport Elite 500 GB USB 2.0: Portable External Hard Drive in Metallic Blue - Efficient Data Storage Solution Review

After much research, I bought this Western Digital My Passport Elite 320GB external hard drive because I felt it was the best choice in terms of manufacturer's reputation, portability, capacity and price. I was most interested in a product that would allow me to back up important data, and the automatic backup feature was a definite plus. Although I'm currently using Windows XP Home, I've deliberately waited until I see a hard drive that works with Windows 7 in case I upgrade my operating…

I was looking for a portable external drive and based on some friends experiences with Western Digital products I decided to give it a try. When I received it I was surprised by the size of this portable external drive, it's smaller than I expected. I have 2 LaCie portable drives and this one is smaller. One of my issues with WD products that I've seen was the reflective plastic finish on the "My Passport Essential" model, which reviews say are easily scratched. This model has a matte finish…

I was so sad and disappointed with the WD brand. I couldn't believe it. How could they develop this software. After reading all the comments I realized that in order to have the freedom to use my own backup method I had to use my own software. All lit capacities, automatic permanent backups and password protection, and 256-bit encryption features are gone with the latest update for WD SmartWare. That leaves the grab-and-go USB docking station with premium-finish features that aren't worth…

I just bought this drive and the overall size is much smaller than the original Western Digital Passport USB drives. Unfortunately, it comes with software similar to, but not exactly the same as, the U3 that some USB dongle manufacturers use. In short, it will automatically launch and attempt to install the software when the drive is connected. But unlike U3, it cannot be completely removed. The software is usually just hidden. The drive also loads its own custom WD SES driver even when the…

Who knew 500GB could fit in such a small container? Love the color (red) - it matches the NY Hoodie hard drive case which I also bought. What I didn't like was the constant backup that happens with the bundled software. I prefer to unplug the hard drive once in a while (you should keep your backups somewhere else anyway, in case of fire etc), which wasn't easy due to running backups. However, scheduled backups are possible with third-party software, but the capacity indicators only work if the…