spraint is offlineAdd to spraint's Reputation
spraint's Avatar
spraint
Solar Flare
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1099

WD 500GB My Passport Essential Portable Storage - £60 collect from PCW


£60.00

420°

FOUND BY: spraint 4 weeks, 16 hours ago

500GB 2.5" USB powered portable external drive. Blue in photo, but description mentions black. Product code: 655573.
Available for collect at store. Order online to get £60

Note that these apparently contain custom USB hard drives inside, not SATA, so no use for opening for use in notebooks etc. Also appears to lack a power connector port, so you might need a Y-usb cable if your usb ports do not provide sufficient power to power off just one. These newer Passport drives are supposed to offer better spin-down/sleep functions and backup functions over basic external drives.

Further details about this drive here:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=700

More: PCWorld reviewsTags: , , , (Add a tag)


Reply    
Thread Tools   
First Previous 1  2  3  Next Last

#2

24-10-2009, 14:10
sil0 is offline  
sil0's Avatar
sil0
Matchstick
sil0 is a jewel in the roughsil0 is a jewel in the roughsil0 is a jewel in the rough
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 87
View FS/FT Feedback
Hot for me,Unfortunately no stock near me
Reply With Quote

#3

24-10-2009, 16:45
intime is offline  
intime's Avatar
intime
Pilot Light
intime is a jewel in the roughintime is a jewel in the roughintime is a jewel in the rough
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 171
View FS/FT Feedback
non in London either ;(
Reply With Quote

#4

24-10-2009, 16:46
V6ALFISTI is offline  
V6ALFISTI's Avatar
V6ALFISTI
Matchstick
V6ALFISTI will become famous soon enough
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 48
View FS/FT Feedback
There are some in Weston Super Mare/Gloucester for anyone interested
Reply With Quote

#5

24-10-2009, 16:49
charlie12 is offline  
charlie12's Avatar
charlie12
Solar Flare
charlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond repute
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,055
View FS/FT Feedback
review
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10...essential_hdd/
Reply With Quote

#6

24-10-2009, 16:49
doivey is offline  
doivey's Avatar
doivey
Pilot Light
doivey is on a distinguished road
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 294
View FS/FT Feedback
Are these compatible with both Windows and MAC ?

I have read that you need to format to FAT 32 , but is this possible ?

Thanks

Dave
Reply With Quote

#7

24-10-2009, 16:52
TonyLeMesmer is offline  
TonyLeMesmer's Avatar
TonyLeMesmer
Matchstick
TonyLeMesmer will become famous soon enough
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 29
View FS/FT Feedback
You're kidding...

I bought this on Tuesday for £79.99 R&C,Sod's law I suppose. Good drive though, voted hot!
Reply With Quote

#8

24-10-2009, 17:03
agneepath is offline  
agneepath's Avatar
agneepath
Pilot Light
agneepath is on a distinguished road
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 108
View FS/FT Feedback
charlie12:
review
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/10...essential_hdd/
"The WD drive has no such benefit and, worse, its socket and bundled cable conjoin even less snuggly than their mini USB siblings do. We'll go further: the two parts fit together so loosely that it doesn't take much of a tap to dislodge them far enough to disconnect the drive from a host computer.

"But we come back to that micro USB port. With a desktop drive and computer, neither of which are likely to be moved, it would be acceptable, but not in a portable drive which, like as not, will be hooked up to a laptop. Nudge computer, cable or drive and you risk data loss"

I have the 320GB version of this - and would agree with the review above.

The connection is so useless that I have no confidence in the drive. For this reason alone I would not recommend it.
Last edited by agneepath : 24-10-2009 at 17:18.
Reply With Quote

#9

24-10-2009, 17:18
chris197 is offline  
chris197's Avatar
chris197
Flame Thrower
chris197 is just really nicechris197 is just really nicechris197 is just really nicechris197 is just really nicechris197 is just really nice
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Swindon
Posts: 541
View FS/FT Feedback
Stock still in Oxford and Gloucester if it helps anyone
Reply With Quote

#10

24-10-2009, 17:20
Rhoobarb is offline  
Rhoobarb
Matchstick
Rhoobarb will become famous soon enough
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 14
View FS/FT Feedback
You can format it to fat32. Just not using XP's built in format. Search tinterweb, theres plenty of programs for free ;)
Reply With Quote

#11

24-10-2009, 18:13
Send a message via Yahoo to mcnally32
mcnally32 is offline  
mcnally32's Avatar
mcnally32
Flame Thrower
mcnally32 is a splendid one to beholdmcnally32 is a splendid one to beholdmcnally32 is a splendid one to beholdmcnally32 is a splendid one to beholdmcnally32 is a splendid one to beholdmcnally32 is a splendid one to beholdmcnally32 is a splendid one to behold
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: North of Ireland
Posts: 963
View FS/FT Feedback
agneepath:
"The WD drive has no such benefit and, worse, its socket and bundled cable conjoin even less snuggly than their mini USB siblings do. We'll go further: the two parts fit together so loosely that it doesn't take much of a tap to dislodge them far enough to disconnect the drive from a host computer.

"But we come back to that micro USB port. With a desktop drive and computer, neither of which are likely to be moved, it would be acceptable, but not in a portable drive which, like as not, will be hooked up to a laptop. Nudge computer, cable or drive and you risk data loss"

I have the 320GB version of this - and would agree with the review above.

The connection is so useless that I have no confidence in the drive. For this reason alone I would not recommend it.
i have this drive too and never had one single problem with a loose cable. bad batch?
Reply With Quote

#12

24-10-2009, 18:31
Matthew Leeds is offline  
Matthew Leeds's Avatar
Matthew Leeds
Matchstick
Matthew Leeds is on a distinguished road
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In a House
Posts: 85
View FS/FT Feedback
for an extra £4.95 u can get a 1TB

1TB LaCie Hard Disk

@ cclonline
Reply With Quote

#13

24-10-2009, 18:35
AndrewRoss is offline  
AndrewRoss's Avatar
AndrewRoss
Pilot Light
AndrewRoss has a spectacular aura aboutAndrewRoss has a spectacular aura about
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Belfast
Posts: 102
View FS/FT Feedback
I'm not sure about this 500gb model (maybe it's different) but most wd passport drives are standard 2.5" sata when dismantled; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0bgz3tyNk
Reply With Quote

#14

24-10-2009, 18:46
spraint is offline  
spraint's Avatar
spraint
Solar Flare
spraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud ofspraint has much to be proud of
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,099
View FS/FT Feedback
AndrewRoss:
I'm not sure about this 500gb model (maybe it's different) but most wd passport drives are standard 2.5" sata when dismantled; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0bgz3tyNk
This one isn't. Nor are any of the other Passport Essential 2009 drives. Like the Samsung recently posted, this drive has a usb interface instead of SATA. If you were to open the case, I imagine the drive inside would look something like this:



To help identify the 2009 range over the previous Essential models, which did have a standard SATA disk inside, the packaging looks like this:
Reply With Quote

#15

24-10-2009, 18:51
charlie12 is offline  
charlie12's Avatar
charlie12
Solar Flare
charlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond reputecharlie12 has a reputation beyond repute
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,055
View FS/FT Feedback
mcnally32:
i have this drive too and never had one single problem with a loose cable. bad batch?
Do you have this new model with the micro USB (as opposed to mini USB in the older models)? It's only just hit the market a couple of weeks ago.

spraint has just posted a box pic.
Last edited by charlie12 : 24-10-2009 at 18:55.
Reply With Quote
First Previous 1  2  3  Next Last

Reply


Thread Tools