Customer Reviews

Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Cool Silver)

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(134)

 

 

I have been using Western Digital My Passport model drives for a few years now in my work and have more than a dozen in a various capacities. Until now, there has been nothing unique about these drives. Plug them into USB port and you're ready to go. Some older laptop computers might not have enough power for them, but that means nothing more than using a special cable that plugs into two USB ports instead of one. The My Passport units have always come with some kind of backup software, which I have never used because I have preferred backup solutions. So I would simply get a new drive, reformat it and be ready to go.

This unit with its WD SmartWare solution is different: very different. Different enough to ruin the day for many people who find that they have something they don't want - an automatic backup system. Thus, this unit must be reviewed from two very different perspectives. One as a standalone backup system - and the other as a standalone external drive.

Essentially (pun intended), Western Digital blew it on this product line. I guess some MBAs decided that people wanted a plug-n-play backup system. Maybe some people do. But they sure don't make it clear on the box that when you plug this puppy in, it is very insistent on installing its backup software. And there is as virtual CD that pops up and pops up and pops up and pops up: you seemingly can't get rid of it.

As delivered - unless you want a simple backup system - this My Passport model is bad news. Western Digital got the message after the marketplace blasted it with reviews running from bad to awful. They finally introduced some software that would update the firmware and suppress the virtual CD function.

So now if you're willing to take the time to download and run the firmware updater and the software manager, in about thirty minutes or so, you'll have what you might have been looking for in the first place - an external hard drive without any bells and whistles.

Western Digital did this one wrong. The advertising and the outside of the box should make it absolutely crystal clear that this is intended as a standalone backup system that can be converted to an ordinary external hard drive.

As a backup system for people who don't want to learn anything about backing up hard drives, it isn't bad. It is simple to use, configurable for default operation and even provides for whole drive encryption. However, it is not a system experienced users will like. It is inflexible and it is WD's backup way or no way. It is, effectively, backup for dummies - and the unsophisticated will probably appreciate it simplicity.

A lot of people, however, are going to buy this unit without reading the current descriptions or the notice of a firmware updater from Western Digital and are going to be very aggravated as they try to get rid of the virtual CD and defeat the backup software.

Physically, the unit is smaller than previous My Passport units, which is nice. I am told it is because the external micro-USB connector is soldered directly to the drive, which makes the drive unusable for any other purpose, which is not so nice. Also, Western Digital has opted to use a micro-USB connector instead of the more common mini-USB. This means you must remember to carry the micro-USB cable with you and not confuse it with the more common mini-USB cable. For someone like me who may carry several small form external hard drives around on field assignments, this is as showstopper. Try finding a USB cable with a micro-USB connector in the field. Until all small from factor external hard drives use micro-ISB cables, this unit will be staying out of my travel kit. In their quest to be brilliant and different, the MBAs at Western Digital also put the USB symbol on what amounts to the wrong side of the USB connector. Western Digital would be well advised to do some housecleaning of its personnel: the people who designed this product line don't know which way is up. Literally.

So, the bottom line(s). For someone seeking a simple backup solution, this is a pretty good idea. For someone who just wants an external hard drive, it works, but only after you remove the backup features. The design is nice, but don't forget to keep an eye on that micro-USB cable. (Many Amazon reviewers have complained of the micro-USB end of the cable being loose. On my review unit, the connection was very firm.) The hard drive itself is a Western Digital product and I have been pleased with them over the hundreds of drives I use in my work.

If you're looking for just an external hard drive, don't buy this unit unless you don't mind getting rid of the backup features: get one without the WD SmartWare features. If you're looking for a very simple backup system that doesn't require you to learn anything, this unit works well.

Jerry

Contrary to what many other reviewers are saying, the USB interface on this drive is not proprietary. It's the new (about 2 years old) Micro USB interface which we'll see on many new electronic products.

My Samsung cell phone has it and it's used on some bluetooth headset chargers. The advantage is it allows a slimmer product and is supposed to provide a more secure connection. But WD should disclose that they've switched to this new cable.

** Update ** After trying out this drive I decided not to buy it (and bought a Toshiba drive instead). The micro USB connector worked fine and was secure. Perhaps WD fixed this. The drive itself is a marvel -- tiny and very light.

But that Virtual CD and the software is a showstopper. What was WD thinking? They listened to the complaints and now have downloads on their website to disable it. But the 700 MB software can't be deleted from the drive.

Experienced users already have a backup solution and don't need this software. Less technical users (like the one whose drive I tried out) are completely confused by the virtual CD dialog box always popping up when plugging in the drive and don't know how to disable it (a complicated process requiring first updating the drive firmware then updating the software).

Amazon now allows me to change my stars rating, so I'm decreasing it from 4 stars to 3 stars. WD has needlessly complicated their very good drives. Instead I bought a Toshiba, a very good USB drive with none of the WD problems. For more details, see my review on this drive.

This is simple. Don't even think about buying this drive. I bought this just before the other reviews were posted. They are correct. My bad.

1. The cable is horrible. It disconnects and/or pulls out easily. They previous models with the standard USB cable were perfect. These are the opposite of perfect.

2. Even worse is the process to "install" the disk drive EVERY time you plug it in. I reformatted the disk to wipe everything from it, hoping that it would turn into a standard USB external disk drive. No luck.

Since I had other WD Passport drives (previous model) that were all excellent, I didn't give this much thought. I just bought it. I even tossed packaging away, being so sure it would be fine. Now we will see if Amazon will take this back with no packaging...

If you want the poster child for how to "update" a very good product into something that is virtually unusable, this would be it.

PROS:
- Very small footprint
- Extremely lightweight
- Beautiful finish

CONS:
- Glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet (a questionable design decision for something users will handle frequently)
- Fragile USB connector breaks connection at the slightest touch
- Hardware-hidden, unremovable partition containing SES software

DETAILS:
A tiny portion of the drive's usable space has been set aside for the onboard backup and encryption software (SES). Wouldn't be a problem if we could just wipe out this partition, but it's hidden via the drive's firmware, therefore inaccessible; it can never be removed or deleted.

Windows will detect this secret partition as a new virtual CD-ROM device every single time you plug in the drive, and pester you with the "Found New Hardware" wizard, unless you install the unwanted drivers (unforgivable just on principle, to say nothing of contributing another layer of useless drivers to the house of cards we call Windows).

Contrary to a previous reviewer's comments, removing the drive letter of the virtual CD-ROM drive does not eliminate the wizard pestering. (Windows doesn't care if the virtual device has a drive letter or not; it simply recognizes the new device each time the drive comes alive and doesn't know what to do with it, hence the nagging.)

A tolerable drive for grandma or the kids, but an abomination for the rest of us who know better. Mine's going back, hopefully to find new life as something more useful, like a hockey puck.

When I first purchased this device and plugged it in, I was horrified to see that the embedded Smartware software not only forced you to use it to back up your files, but you have no ability to actually see what it's backing up beyond major categories (music, video, 'other'). This would be great for my parents in their 70's or anyone with little computer savvy, but is completely unacceptable to someone like me who wants to SEE what EXACTLY is being backed up and be able to choose what to keep. You can't even manually move files like on any other normal storage device.

It seems that Western Digital is listening - if you type 'smartware' in the 'Knowledge base' tool found here:[...] There is an FAQ that states "How to disable and re-enable a WD My Book (+ WD SmartWare) Virtual CD in Windows or Mac"

I tried it and it works - I can now use my new little hard drive as usual and the virtual cd software does not reappear. Yes, a pain in the butt but WD also states that in the future there will be a tool to remove the software for those who do not want it.

Long story short, I think the Smartware software might be great for the right user, but not for me. I was 10 seconds from returning this drive before I found the ability to disable the thing. As far as the cable (what other people have complained about regarding this drive) - it's no biggie to me.

Comes with Virtual CD that loads every time I plug it into my Mac Book. This takes up disk space, resources, and you can not disable it. Formatting the drive does not work.

I've bought WD products for a while; I've always like their hard drives. This is the last product of theirs I will ever own. Waste of money.

The drive disconnects itself. Here, let me repeat that for you: The drive disconnects itself. Imagine you are transferring photos, working on business files, watching a movie, or editing your resume... when suddenly the drive DISCONNECTS!!!!!!!!!! OMG! How did this product get past Quality Assurance!?!?!?! It disconnects every time you touch it! This drive is completely useless to me. I am returning it. Other issues: It comes with pre-installed software. each and every single time you connect the drive you will get an icon on your desktop that contains Western Digitals software. Remember the days of AOL, NetZero, and CompuServe? How about those days when people used to install Comet Cursor? Well, this drive makes me feel as if I am back in 1999. I would only recommend this product if you are going to give it as a gift to someone you hate.

WD Passport drives have always been reliable, excellent drives and I've owned several without any issues, but this new version is very disappointing for 2 key reasons:

1) The included software is incredibly tricky to disable if you don't want to use it. You have to go to WD's website and download new hardware and software drivers. I am relative tech-savvy, but it took me 90 minutes to finally get the drive ready to drag and drop files over to it. I almost gave up..I should have.

2) New mini USB cable is VERY unstable. The slightest touch, and I mean just barely touching the cable while the drive is connected to your USB port, will disconnect the drive from your computer. The problem lies with the mini USB connection where it connects to the drive itself.

I could have lived with reason 1, as I overcame it and my frustrations would have subsided, but reason 2 makes the drive simply unusable. I am returning it to Amazon.

WD management - you are damaging your loyal customer base with this product, and should immediately cease production and remedy these issues. Your stock may be at a 52 week high, but I wonder for how long...

Amazon management - please stop selling this product. Read the overwhelming negative reviews. Save your customers the frustrations, and save yourself the added cost burden of processing returns.

The 500 GB looks good, but is unusable.

I am in the processing of transferring my files to another external hard drive.

There is a very good reason why the Passport has an optional charging stand.
That is because it can not be used as a typical hard drive plugging the
drive into your laptop directly just using the USB cord.

The problem is the short depth of the cable that inserts into the drive.
The USB end of the cable is conventional and OK. But the end that
goes into the drive is so short that it "wiggles" with the slightest
movement. Don't breath on this cable if you don't want to corrupt or
lose your files.

Then guess what happens?
You loose the drive and get this windows message:
One of the USB devices attached to this computer
has malfunctioned and windows does not recognize it.

This is a major design flaw and the only solution I can think
of is to try to jerry-rig a rubber band around the cable and the
hard drive so the cable doesn't loosen.

Come on WD, you can do better than this.

Bob McGaffic
Pittsburgh, PA

I purchased a Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB at a local retail store and returned it a few days later. I installed it like any other USB external harddrive by just plugging it in. The drive worked ok and the small package takes very little space in a laptop bag, so really hated to give it up. The problem is the SmartWare on Virtual CD. Whenever the drive is plugged in, a Virtual CD appears. The SmartWare installer autoruns as if a CD was inserted. There is no way to remove this feature from the harddrive. Most portable harddrives include some 'free' software, and you may delete it is you don't want to use it. This is different.

This is why WD did it this way --
When the Passport Essential's hardware encryption feature is used, the entire harddrive gets locked, so the software to unlock must be kept somewhere else. The Virtual CD is a clever solution. When you take the portable drive to another computer, the Virtual CD installs WD SmartWare and you can enter the password. Without the Virtual CD, you would need to keep a safe copy of the SmartWare installer somewhere ready to install next time the portable harddrive is used with a new computer.

Why you need the WD hardware encryption feature --
Hardware encryption locks the entire portable harddrive so that it can be used only with your password on a computer that has SmartWare installed. If the portable harddrive is lost or stolen, no one can read it. If you use this portable drive to share files with your other computers or with a friend's computer, the other computers must be able to run SmartWare, SmartWare must be installed, and SmartWare must have the password. SmartWare does not run on Linux. If you ignore SmartWare and leave the drive unencrypted, file sharing is easy. For files that need security, these may encrypted and compressed (by WinZip, WinRar, etc). I have no idea why you need the WD hardware encryption feature.

This is why I can't use this portable harddrive --
I use the portable harddrive to move files between computers and between operating systems. When running Linux, the Virtual CD interferes with the normal CD, so I must remember to disconnect the portable harddrive whenever writing a to a CD. I contacted Western Digital support. They emailed instructions to make Windows ignore the Virtual CD, but they have no answers for Linux. Also, the Windows fix-up must be repeated on each Windows computer. There is still no way to remove the Virtual CD from the portable harddrive.

Western Digital includes hardware encryption and SmartWare Virtual CD on several new products. It would be ok if the portable harddrive is used on only one computer running only Windows. Otherwise, wait for Western Digital to provide a utility to remove the Virtual CD. (Not available as of 2009 Oct 25.)