Cheap Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)

I was a bit disappointed to plug the hard drive in and just find 298 GBs of space on it, instead of the advertised 320. Then I did some googeling and found out that this is a scam run by all the hard drive makers when they say they count in the decimal system (1GB = 1000 MBs)whereas the rest of the computer world works in binary (1GB = 1024 MBs)...This is they very very cheap way of fooling customers which I didn't like...

Secondly this particular brand of hard drives has a problem in trying to remove them safely, which I found out after I bought this product...you need to shut down the computer to remove it or remove it "unsafely"...

I don't know if there is a better product out there but if there is then go for that...Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

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I bought this to store my music and photos off-site. Thus, the drive is not in use - it just sits in a drawer at work. For this, it is perfect: inexpensive, large capacity, small.

I pulled the material from my iMac/Leopard and have used it successfully with my HP Mini 1000 netbook/XP SP3 - the fact that it is formatted MS DOS/FAT 32 means that it is a perfect drive to use when transferring iTunes between operating systems - a "Mac compatible" drive would be a problem with XP.

Since I don't write to it all the time, I have no real sense of speed - but moving 187 GB of music to it took a perfectly reasonable amount of time.

Maybe it is me, but I just wouldn't think of using a tiny drive like this for mission-critical data - they're just not designed for that, no matter what anyone tells you. Every external drive, no matter the size, has a high failure rate - just read the reviews here on Amazon - and back the stuff you REALLY care about to an SSD or a DVD...Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

Buy Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)

This is the second WD drive I own. Its plug and play so no "set-up" is necessary. The price is right, it is small, thin and light therefore easy to carry and store. The only problem is the light doesn't go off when the drive is ejected so that you might be mislead into thinking it wasn't safely removed. But I would recommend it.Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

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I have owned several Western Digital Passport drives and a few other mobile drive brands. This drive is great for backups, as you can hook it up fast without a power supply and store it anywhere. Put it in your briefcase, put it in your safe, take it with you anywhere and keep a copy of your data. It is almost pocket-size and the only thing you have to keep with you is a USB cable. Some people consider the short cable that's included to be too short, but it's mobile! Plus, the more recent models of Passport drives (this one included) has a cable that is a bit longer.

Some owners have commented on needing a power adapter or extra usb cable for it, but I've never had that issue and I have owned probably ten of the Passports over the last couple of years. I've used it on multiple desktops and multiple laptops with no issues at all, but you'll have to try it on your own system. You likely will not have an issue on newer systems.

The surface of the Passports can be easy to scratch if you throw it around or keep it in your bag with other items. That would be my only complaint, but it doesn't really bother me.

All WD Passports that I've owned, including this one, have stood up very well. I've never had a drive failure, the transfer speed is always quick, and the case is very sturdy. I have these drives everywhere, because of their mobility and performance. You can't beat them!

The speed is very responsive. I've used it on an XP and Vista machine and both have copied data to it fairly quick. I haven't performed tests on it, but it always gets the job done for me. The 500GB version is a great upgrade on the previous Passport models.

Also, I usually reformat the Passport drives when I first get them. The file system is FAT32 and I usually prefer NFTS due to file size restrictions. But if you do not store huge files on your drive, you won't have a problem and the Passport will be ready to use right out of the box!

Check back often for pricing. Amazon and other retailers change the prices of the WD Passport drives all the time! Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

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Very easy to use. I'm very pleased with the purchase and will recommend to anyone. I bought it since I need additional hard drive space to save my pictures and videos; my laptop is running low on space. Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

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Lots of storage space for a small amount of device space. Upload and download speeds are very good for my data applications. Have not yet begun to fill the device with information. Have used to transfer files from one computer to another and to backup main desktop computer. Highly recommend, but recognize that prices may come down even more.Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

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This product was easy to connet and use. it is an excellent was to back up your hard disk. it is also an excellent way to take data on trips and visits.Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).

Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)

This absolute worthless piece of junk lasted for five days of mild use and I lost 500 gbs of photos. This is the 2nd Passport that I have problems with. Stick to a Lacie Rugged, Much better product. Oh yeah and DO NOT PURCHASE FROM "INFINITE SURPLUS" !!! They refused to take it back and asked me to go thru Western Digital directly even though it's only been 5 days. Scumbags. Stick to a decent company with a decent return policy.Get more detail about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black).