Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBAAA3200ABK-NESN (Midnight Black) Don’t buy it… – E. B. Alvarez –
I won’t recommend, this is a waste of money. I can’t recover the data because the drive just stop to work.
I opened, and I found there is no SATA to USB connection, and only pins everywhere.
I am close to lose my entire documents from office and personal, just because the hard drive is blinking and blinking the light and doesn’t work.
Why Did WD Ruin What Used to be a Great Product?! – S. Scott – Dallas, TX
The micro USB connection is reason enough to rate this one star. It falls out all the time. There is no way to make it stay in. I even thought about gluing it just to make the drive usable, because I was in a bind when I bought it and needed to use it on the road for about a month. I’ve transferred my data to another drive and am currently in the process of figuring out what to do with this hunk of junk. It might make a nice coaster for my morning coffee, although the high gloss finish makes even that prospect iffy.
Avoid it like the plague! – T. W. Galbally – Australia
I have previously bought 5 WD external hard drives & they have all been fantastic, simple to use & reliable. I recently bought this one thnking it would be just the same. I was very wrong.
The first shock was to find they’ve used some new ultra small USB connector which is incompatible with the 10 or so mini USB cables I already have for other devices such as my phone, MP3 player, digital camera, digital audio recorder, PSP, PS3 and my other WD portable hard drives. There is no mention of this on the packaging. This means unlike my other drives, I have to carry this specific cable with me wherever I take it because it is incompatible with every other device I own and none of my friends have devices which use this cable either.
That might not be so bad if the new connector actually worked. Most of the time it doesn’t. I was copying data to it from my MAC when I suddenly got the ‘Device Removal’ warning although I hadn’t removed it. This corrupted the data I was copying so I had to start again. It turns out that the slightest movement will cause this new connector to lose connection with the drive. I’ve even had to jiggle it around just to get it to work in the first place. I often use this type of dive with my laptop on the train where a little bit of movement is unavoidable, it never caused any issues with my other drives.
The drive also got very hot very quickly when transferring data to or from it, unlike my other WD drives. That can’t be a good sign.
Then there’s the virus-like software which shows up as a CD every time you plug the drive in (then jiggle the cable till it works temporarily). Unlike previous drives which had a folder of software you could just delete, once, and it was gone for all time, this software does not show up on the drive & cannot just be deleted. I have read that there’s a way of disabling this by fiddling around with various settings on your PC but I’d have to do that on EVERY diffent machine I plug it into, many of which are not mine. You can imagine the respone that gets from people when you say ‘I just need to change some settings on your computer to make my drive work’
Apparently there’s now a firmware upgrade you can download from WD and then install on your drive to remove the virus-like software. But honestly, why should I have to jump through all these hoops to fix their problem? No amount of patches & fixes will ever get rid of the drive’s built in hardware problems. Much easier just to buy a drive which works properly out of the box, the way WD drives used to.
So in summary, if you value your data and your sanity, DO NOT BY THIS DRIVE!
It’s a parasite – Mr Mojo – Lakewood,NJ
I bought this at Costco for .
It came with the USB cable and a Dock/Cradle.
What I’ve found is that this thing tries to take over your computer. I knocked the USB cable out and ended up with the blue screen of death. After rebooting and plugging it back in, as was normal, or normal for a parastic device such as this.
When I first plugged it in, it prompted me to do a back up, which I did. It copied a whole bunch of files, some of which they don’t tell you what it is.
They have a few catagories and then one titled,”Other Files”, but who knows what those other files are.
Since I will be returning this hunk of junk, I wanted to erase everything I had copied. Well it did except for these “Other Files”.
I will try to format the drive to see if I can remove them, whatever they may be.
Also this WD Smartware needs to be done away with.
I went to WD’s website to see how to remove it, during the firmware update, my laptop crashed and when I started it back up, the “E” drive(WD Smartware) and the “F” drive(My Passport) were missing. So I unplugged the drive and plugged it back in and it was found. I then proceeded to delete all the files with the exception of the “other files”.
I want to return this thing clean, but I can’t seem to figure out how I will do this.
We’ll see what happens, but I don’t recommend this to anyone.
Western Digital: WDBAAA3200ABK-NESN The world’s most popular portable drive is now smaller than ever. And it’s smarter than ever with WD SmartWare data management and backup software that backs up your data automatically and continuously, shows your backup as it happens, and restores lost files effortlessly. Password protection and military-grade, 256-bit hardware-based encryption lets you secure your data. One of the five beautiful colors is just what you need to make you look smart (and very stylish). WD’s smallest portable drive ever – WD is an expert in portable storage, so they designed a smaller, high-quality integrated USB hard drive inside a stylish package. With a variety of fun colors, there’s sure to be one to suit your style. WD SmartWare – control center for your drive that gives you the power to: Protect your data automatically – Relax. Your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file. See your backup as it happens – Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content categories and shows the progress of your backup. Bring back lost files effortlessly – Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you’ve lost all your data or just overwritten an important file. Take control – Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, and more from the WD SmartWare control center. Drive lock – Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and military-grade 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PCs – if you’re a Mac user, check out our Mac version of this product. USB 2.0 powered – Powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed*. * An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port. Planet friendly – We designed a small box that uses recycled material and minimizes waste. We encourage you to recycle it.
The world’s most popular portable drive is now smaller than ever. And it’s smarter than ever with automatic, continuous backup software and password protection. Choose your favorite fun color to look smart and stylish.
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Our smallest portable ever. We designed a smaller, high-quality, integrated USB hard drive inside a stylish package. With a variety of fun colors, there’s sure to be one to suit your style. |
See your life safe in one place. WD SmartWare software – A visual control center with a single screen view of all your data. From it you can back up, retrieve, and secure your files. |
Password protection. An extra level of security with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. |
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Our smallest portable drive ever - We’re experts in portable storage, so we designed a smaller, high-quality, integrated USB hard drive inside a stylish package. With a variety of fun colors, there’s sure to be one to suit your style.
WD SmartWare™ – A control center for your drive that gives you the power to:
– Protect your data automatically – Relax, your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file.
– See your backup as it happens – Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content in categories and shows the progress of your backup.
– Bring back lost files effortlessly – Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you’ve lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.
– Take control – Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.
Find out more about WD SmartWare™
Drive lock – Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.
Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PC’s – if you’re a Mac user, check out our Mac version of this product.
USB 2.0 interface – Powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed*.
* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port.
Planet friendly – We designed a small box from recycled materials to minimize waste. We encourage you to recycle it.
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Ideal For
- Protecting your data with automatic, continous backup
- Retrieving lost data effortlessly
- Adding extra storage space for photos, videos and music
- Securing private or sensitive data
Compatibility
Formatted NTFS
Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7
Mac OS® X Tiger®, Leopard®, Snow Leopard™ (requires reformatting)
Note: Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system.
What’s in the box
Ultra-portable hard drive, WD SmartWare software, USB cable, Quick Install Guide.
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Backup software you’ll really use � WD SmartWare Five great reasons to love it: |
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1. It’s easy – Data backup can be a chore, but it’s your family photos, your movies, your music – your life – and it’s important to protect it. So we made this software extra easy because we really want you to use it. |
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2. You can see your life safe in one place –
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3. It’s always on the job – WD SmartWare is always watching your computer, so when you change a file and save it, create new files, add new pictures, movies, or songs, WD SmartWare will instantly back them up. |
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4. You can bring back lost files effortlessly – If you ever accidentally delete an important file, or need to get an earlier version of a file, you can find and retrieve it in seconds with this easy-to-use interface.
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5. You’re in control – WD SmartWare software is also a control center for your external drives. From it you can:
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- Western Digital Neoprene Carrying Case for My Passport Portable Drives WEBABH0000NBK-NRSN – Black
- Western Digital Hard Carrying Case for My Passport Portable Drives WDBABJ0000NBK-NRSN – Black
- Western Digital Soft Carrying Case for My Passport Portable Hard Drives WDBABK0000NSL-WASN (Silver)
- Western Digital Protective Carrying Case for My Passport Portable Hard Drives WDBABL0000NBL-WASN (Midnight Blue)
- Case Logic Compact Portable Hard Drive Case (Black)
