(Old Model) WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive with Auto Backup, Red

I did not download, nor use, the WD software that came with this drive. WD has a good reputation, and I suspect the SW provided would be worth using. But this drive was purchased for one function. This drive was recognized by the USB3 port on my desktop loaded with Windows 7 64 Bit. I bought this drive primarily to run periodic SYSTEM IMAGEs as a back-up to the software and files loaded on the internal Hard Drive. Unlike my other 1 TB WD external drive (not a My Passport version), it runs off the USB Power and does not require a separate power supply. Yeah! Windows 7 recognized the drive immediately and loaded the drivers. Works like a champ. And the USB 3.0 high speed transfer rate makes System Image backups lightning quick (compared to my other USB 2.0 external drives). I got the RED version because it was priced lower than the silver/black siblings on Amazon. Worth every cent spent. PS: I also used this drive on my HP Laptop as well using an USB 2.0 port for a back-up of my System Image (WIN 7). It ran using the USB 2 power without an issue, although the data transfer rate was considerably slower as expected.

I simply love this portable external disk. Not only is its price very according to the device, but I would say one gets more than one pays for. The quality of the portable disk is very, very good. Its capacity is not exactly 1TB (as expected) but it is pretty close to it. I use it to back up my MacBook Pro with Time Machine and it works perfectly. The only situation is that the disk comes set up for Windows computers and it has to be reformatted to be able to be used with Macintosh computers (before doing this, move all the files already in the disk such as set up instructions and software to your computer, those can be copied but the disk's contents cannot be edited until it is reformatted). The only expectation that was not entirely met was the color of the disk: I expected more of a burgundy/maroon color to it but because it has a glossy finish, it is more of a pinkish red.

Works for me. Fast transfer speeds over USB 3 and decent space at 1 TB. Good backup drive. Would be nice to be able to remove it from the case but not a big deal. Mac and PC compatible, and great for when you're on the go. Not sure how durable it is as I've never dropped it but otherwise A+.

I had been using a Seagate FreeAgent Go 640GB portable drive for about three years now, and wanted something with some more space and higher transfer speeds. I purchased this drive for it's beefy 2 TB of storage space and speedier USB 3.0 interface. Out of the box, you get the drive, a 15" USB 3.0 cable, soft pouch, quick install guide, and a 3-year limited warranty. The drive looks nice, and appears to be of good construction. Doesn't look or feel cheaply made. I like how compact it is. It's about an inch shorter in length than my FreeAgent Go, and maybe a millimeter or two thicker. The included soft pouch is a nice addition and helps keep dust and dirt off of it. Not an ideal case solution if you're prone to dropping things or somewhat rough with your belongings, so you might want to invest in a more rugged case. It works fine for me though as I keep mine in a messenger bag when on the go, and it's a nice addition considering most other drives don't come with anything. The included USB cable is long enough to plug into the USB port on the front of my PC and reach my desk's surface. So, thumbs up there. Functionally, the My Passport Ultra 2TB works as advertised. Transfer rates are roughly 3x faster than that of a USB 2.0 drive. I noticed the difference in speed right away when transferring large files (1-5GB+), taking only 2-3 minutes instead of 5-10 minutes or longer depending on file size. I work with large media files all day long, so the bump up in transfer speeds is really nice. The drive is very quiet while running. You wouldn't even know that it's on except for a tiny little LED indicator light to the right of the USB connector port. So, why only four stars? Hardware-wise, The Passport Ultra is no different from WD's regular Passport series of portable drives. They're the same exact drives, only slightly different in appearance. What the regular Passports lack from the Ultra is the soft pouch, the Ultra label, and WD's misleading labeling on the box that touts, "Auto & Cloud Backup Plus Security." The "Auto" backup is merely referring to WD's abysmal backup software included on the drive, WD SmartWare (more on that later). The "Cloud" backup is basically instructions on the box for setting up a DropBox account. No kidding! They're advertising cloud storage on the front of their packaging like it's a feature they're offering. Flip the box over and you'll see that it's nothing more than an advertising gimmick for DropBox with instructions on how to set up an account.

And it comes in four different colors! First, most people can use extra storage these days. Secondly, everyone should have a backup drive any way. My Passport Ultra by Western Digital does both very well. This drive works well on both PC's and Macs, and as a Mac user, I was concerned whether this product would be fully compatible with OSX 10.9.1. Yes, you can buy this in a Mac-only version (also made by WD), which costs about $5-$10 more; or you can save the money by getting this one. I got this one. It won't work on a Mac right out of the box, but following the simple reformatting instructions made this drive fully compatible with my operating system. Apple's Time Machine backup program works well with this drive, I have it backing-up my data twice a day. It has worked flawlessly during the three months that I've had it, and anyone who needs 1TB of storage in a small, portable package should give this product a serious look. It comes with the USB cable and is compatible with both USB 3.0 and 2.0. It works quietly, with little or no noticeable vibration. The finish is solid and attractive. Other 1TB portable drives I looked at were priced about $10-$20 more than this one, so the net savings after FREE SHIPPING from Amazon was at least $20. When my storage need increases (hopefully not, but most likely it will), I will be looking at WD's 2TB My Passport Ultra at $108 and free shipping on Amazon. Until then, this one will do the job!

This is the 2nd new Passport I bought. Both work perfectly. I am a writer, artist, teacher and need LOTS of storage. Secure, dependable storage! My new HP computer has a broken DVD burner. Or its the crazy fancy software that came with it. It keeps erasing all my DVD's! I burn files to DVD. Take the DVD out. Put it in back in later to take a file off the DVD and cannot; the computer pops up a window saying it has to format the DVD; It then erases the DVD. Lost many files. I bought the Passports to use as storage, a DVD alternative. It's much faster than DVD, holds a lot more files and I do not lose my files. No formatting problems. All my files are on one Passport drive and copies on another Passport and a 3rd older drive (Seagate) that still works after a few years. I bought Passport due the many positive reviews and quick answers to my questions. Another reviewer taught me how to block auto backup so my old files are not replaced. I set the transfer only when need and overwrite if I choose. Passport is small pocket size, can 'travel with my office'; books, pictures, videos in my pocket to-from California, South Boston. (In video I mentioned it took under 30 minutes to transfer 18 GB of files. Correction; it may have taken about 20 min. The popup window when the transfer starts says a certain time, might have said 30 minutes but it turns out to be less time.) Video shows functions.

- R/W @ 100 MB/s [if @ USB 2 port, it's port-limited to 35 MB/s] - WD reliability - Silent - This works: repartition/format as two volumes; 1 small boot-able system recovery/utilities; 1 big encrypted storage. Now for the complaints: - Unlike their legacy "WD Elements SE 1T USB 2" drive, this one REQUIRES their "WD SES" driver install, lest you get an annoying driver-install-fail message from Windows each time you connect the drive. The drive will function [R/W] regardless, but their SCSI Enclosure Services [SES] driver is needed by their "WD Disk Utilities" app, which also requires installation, to set the drive's sleep timer and run diagnostics. So much for "portable". - Good luck their proprietary software requiring install/setup per machine, but the first thing I do w/ portable drives is clean and repartition disk into 2 volumes; boot-able system recovery and backup. Do people really put up w/ all these different backup/encryption methods for each drive/manufacturer? W[hy]TF does no disk maker go open source w/ their backup/encryption software? It may be counter intuitive, but this would instantly vault make them to industry leadership role AND bring an explosion of goodness from the OS community, at no cost to the manufacturer. They'd steer the development and be the most compatible, so all other manufacturers would be forced by the market to yield. And current market leaders shouldn't rest on their laurels. As things are, none have yet to even match the ease and PORTABILITY of, say, that crappy little native windows app, ROBOCOPY, for backup, or open source for disk encryption; learn it once; use it for ANY and ALL storage; THAT is portability. [hint: we want to protect/backup/clone/port our DATA, not the physical disk].

This is a nicely built and well designed external hard drive. However, the users manual is too complex and the software WD Software is difficult to follow - so be careful to review it carefully. It keeps track of your initial backup and updated file if you use the WD Smartware software in the correct way. I found that I was not scrolling down far enough on the WD Smartware Software screen and so I wasn't using the Backup options correctly. I found that my best bet was to backup only daily at a specific time and to then click on the clock icon at the bottom of the backup tab and choose "backup now". You don't have to do this, but I found it best for me to avoid confusion and also because I do casual backups from time-to-time and don't need continuous backups. It can be used on more that one PC/Laptop and keeps the files separately identified - that's another reason for me not doing a continuous backup option. It also only backups files that have been changed after your initial backup. Also to avoid confusion and problems - when plugged into a PC, it will often popup a message asking if you want to backup "using MS Windows backup" - "DON'T DO THIS" or it will just give you a fragmented backup that is hard to track. Use the "WD Smartware" only to do your backups and it will track your files and revision just fine.