The My Passport Essential Portable Hard Drive from Western Digital is your answer to sleek, 'future-proof' portability. With this bus-powered drive, you can have up to 5Gb/s USB 3.0 speeds with complete backward compatibility with USB 2.0, allowing you to take full advantage of your drive immediately while still ensuring future usability.
| Interface | USB 3.0 (backward compatible with USB 2.0) |
| Data Transfer Rate |
USB 2.0: Up to 480Mb/s USB 3.0: Up to 5Gb/s |
| System Compatibility | Formatted NTFS for Windows XP / Vista / 7, requires reformatting for Mac OS X 10.5 / 10.6 |
| Operating Temperature | 41-95°F (5-35°C) |
| Storage Temperature | -4-149°F (-20-65°C) |
| Dimensions | 0.6 x 4.3 x 3.2" (1.5 x 11.0 x 8.3 cm) |
| Weight | 0.31 lb (0.14 kg) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviewsPros
Cons
Best Uses
Most Liked Positive Review
Great hard drive for great price!
This is the latest model of the WD Passport family and the best one yet! Not only is it smaller, lighter, quieter and more compact than previous generations but it is also USB 3...Read complete review
This is the latest model of the WD Passport family and the best one yet! Not only is it smaller, lighter, quieter and more compact than previous generations but it is also USB 3 compatible! It's an excellent choice to keep and backup data, doesn't take up any room and virtually no weight when on the go! Boots right out of the box, has instant format feature right on the drive. I cannot think of any cons. And of course the best part is that B&H has the best price available anywhere for this! I am very pleased with this product.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Pain in the ne
To read the installation instructions, first you have to go to a website that is shown on the enclosed tech support sheets in a font that requires a magnifying glass. You try to print ...Read complete review
To read the installation instructions, first you have to go to a website that is shown on the enclosed tech support sheets in a font that requires a magnifying glass. You try to print the handbook, most of it is sent to the printer in Korean (although you select "ENGLISH." Finally, you figure out how to do it - halfway in the backup process it reports a fatal error. You want to erase the drive, it tells you that for that you must disconnect it from your computer. Once it is disconnected, of course the drive becomes inaccessible. At which point you remove and reinstall the program - finally, it works. You want to check how the retrieval process works: essentially, you have to stand on your head while juggling six porcelain plates and several lit torches. In short, this is a pain in the neck. I backed up all my data on a Lexar Flash Drive: you see what you have and you can retrieve anything by one click. The only disadvantage of a flash drive is that it does not do automatick backups - like WD promises (although I will have to see if it really does it.)
REVIEWS
Reviewed by 69 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-20
Previous | Next »
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I like this small portable hard drive. I carry a small laptop that doesn't have much memory nor the ability to do image processing. i susally download eac day's images from the cards to this portable drive, so I can reuse the cards. I have used it on 3 trips so far and I haven't found any problems with it.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I use this for music, graphics and all important documents. Dependable, fast load and save. Now on my second one of these because the first one is full and still works great after more than 12 mos daily use.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Bought to serve as backup for my imac. Very portable, quiet and works just fine.Product has been great. Will recommend it to friends
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
This is the second Passport unit that I've bought.
They provide a lot of storage for their small size. They also do not require a separate power supply and provide that extra storage needed for saving and archiving photos and other large files..
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I'm very happy with the performance of this disk with my late 2011 MacBook Pro. My MBP only has USB 2.0, so there's only so much performance I can get, but unlike reviews I saw for another brand of USB3.0 disk when used on a Mac like mine, this one seems to stay within USB2.0 power limits and works flawlessly. I reformatted for use with Time Machine and feel confident in the storage.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Very happy with the purchase.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Good portable option, well built and reliable
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I have used this for backups not only at home, but also at work. It has never failed me.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I haven't had this drive for very long, but it's essentially the same as my 1 TB external. I've used several brands of external drives, and Western Digital always makes me happy. This drive, like my previous WD drives, is fast, quiet, and will probably last a very long time!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I use it to back up my music, and so far it's everything I need it to be.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Use it to backup my data every week.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Its worth the money if you hate to loose information
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Needed an small portable HD to carry with my laptop. This HD is small, light, fast, and has the capacity that I was looking for. I have a linux and a NTFS partition on it and is working great. No extra cable needed to power it up. Great design.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I have not really used it yet. I had to reformat the drive for Mac. As far as I can tell the hardware is excellent. There is software available for use on the Mac. The documentation for that software does not make at all clear any reason why it might be better than using Time Machine on the Mac. It may be that it allows encryption of the data on the drive. It was not clear. The real downside of the drive was that when I attempted to register it with Western Digital I was told the warranty had expired.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
This product is so easy to use. I quickly synced my information from the computer. It works fast and it is durable. The cover is easy to become scratched so if you mind, buy a dark color or a cover for it. Beyond that I have nothing to complain! It is light, small and serves its purpose:)
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Hooked it up and it was ready to go. Only problem is the USB cord is about 18 inches.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Compact, sleek and works good. Good product for the price.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I use this to back up all our files on our home computer. Most importantly used to back up irreplaceable photos and videos.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I just got it and started to back data from my PC. It is definitely better than the toshiba hard drive that i had from past. Transfer speeds are good and i did not see any issues with this product so far.I would definitely recommend it.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Easy to use, but I have had to replace 3 of these after about 2 years use each.
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviewsPros
Cons
Best Uses
Most Liked Positive Review
Great hard drive for great price!
This is the latest model of the WD Passport family and the best one yet! Not only is it smaller, lighter, quieter and more compact than previous generations but it is also USB 3...Read complete review
This is the latest model of the WD Passport family and the best one yet! Not only is it smaller, lighter, quieter and more compact than previous generations but it is also USB 3 compatible! It's an excellent choice to keep and backup data, doesn't take up any room and virtually no weight when on the go! Boots right out of the box, has instant format feature right on the drive. I cannot think of any cons. And of course the best part is that B&H has the best price available anywhere for this! I am very pleased with this product.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Pain in the ne
To read the installation instructions, first you have to go to a website that is shown on the enclosed tech support sheets in a font that requires a magnifying glass. You try to print ...Read complete review
To read the installation instructions, first you have to go to a website that is shown on the enclosed tech support sheets in a font that requires a magnifying glass. You try to print the handbook, most of it is sent to the printer in Korean (although you select "ENGLISH." Finally, you figure out how to do it - halfway in the backup process it reports a fatal error. You want to erase the drive, it tells you that for that you must disconnect it from your computer. Once it is disconnected, of course the drive becomes inaccessible. At which point you remove and reinstall the program - finally, it works. You want to check how the retrieval process works: essentially, you have to stand on your head while juggling six porcelain plates and several lit torches. In short, this is a pain in the neck. I backed up all my data on a Lexar Flash Drive: you see what you have and you can retrieve anything by one click. The only disadvantage of a flash drive is that it does not do automatick backups - like WD promises (although I will have to see if it really does it.)
REVIEWS
Reviewed by 69 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-20
Previous | Next »
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I like this small portable hard drive. I carry a small laptop that doesn't have much memory nor the ability to do image processing. i susally download eac day's images from the cards to this portable drive, so I can reuse the cards. I have used it on 3 trips so far and I haven't found any problems with it.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I use this for music, graphics and all important documents. Dependable, fast load and save. Now on my second one of these because the first one is full and still works great after more than 12 mos daily use.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Bought to serve as backup for my imac. Very portable, quiet and works just fine.Product has been great. Will recommend it to friends
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
This is the second Passport unit that I've bought.
They provide a lot of storage for their small size. They also do not require a separate power supply and provide that extra storage needed for saving and archiving photos and other large files..
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I'm very happy with the performance of this disk with my late 2011 MacBook Pro. My MBP only has USB 2.0, so there's only so much performance I can get, but unlike reviews I saw for another brand of USB3.0 disk when used on a Mac like mine, this one seems to stay within USB2.0 power limits and works flawlessly. I reformatted for use with Time Machine and feel confident in the storage.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Very happy with the purchase.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Good portable option, well built and reliable
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I have used this for backups not only at home, but also at work. It has never failed me.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I haven't had this drive for very long, but it's essentially the same as my 1 TB external. I've used several brands of external drives, and Western Digital always makes me happy. This drive, like my previous WD drives, is fast, quiet, and will probably last a very long time!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I use it to back up my music, and so far it's everything I need it to be.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Use it to backup my data every week.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Its worth the money if you hate to loose information
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Needed an small portable HD to carry with my laptop. This HD is small, light, fast, and has the capacity that I was looking for. I have a linux and a NTFS partition on it and is working great. No extra cable needed to power it up. Great design.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I have not really used it yet. I had to reformat the drive for Mac. As far as I can tell the hardware is excellent. There is software available for use on the Mac. The documentation for that software does not make at all clear any reason why it might be better than using Time Machine on the Mac. It may be that it allows encryption of the data on the drive. It was not clear. The real downside of the drive was that when I attempted to register it with Western Digital I was told the warranty had expired.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
This product is so easy to use. I quickly synced my information from the computer. It works fast and it is durable. The cover is easy to become scratched so if you mind, buy a dark color or a cover for it. Beyond that I have nothing to complain! It is light, small and serves its purpose:)
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Hooked it up and it was ready to go. Only problem is the USB cord is about 18 inches.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Compact, sleek and works good. Good product for the price.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I use this to back up all our files on our home computer. Most importantly used to back up irreplaceable photos and videos.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
I just got it and started to back data from my PC. It is definitely better than the toshiba hard drive that i had from past. Transfer speeds are good and i did not see any issues with this product so far.I would definitely recommend it.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive (Black):
Easy to use, but I have had to replace 3 of these after about 2 years use each.