Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black)
The 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB Hard Drive from Western Digital is a portable hard drive in a durable housing, great for use with laptop computers. The drive features an interface that allows it to be connected and powered by USB 2.0, a rotation speed of 5400rpm, a 2MB data buffer and bus transfer rates of up to 60MB/sec. The drive is an excellent storage solution for users who are on the move.
- Passport drives are available in many eye-catching colors, allowing you to easily distinguish between your drives on sight
- Includes software for Windows to sync data between multiple computers, as well as 128-bit encryption software to protect your data
- Bus-powered USB 2.0 interface
- Compatible with Windows and Mac systems
- 250GB holds 18.75 hours of DV video, 62,500 MP3 songs, or 53 DVD movies
Go To
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 250GB |
| Interface | 1x USB 2.0 (Mini-B) |
| Drive Speed | 5400rpm |
| Buffer | 2MB |
| Average Seek Time | 12ms |
| Sustained Data Transfer Rate | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| System Requirements |
Windows XP, Vista, 7; Mac OS X Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard USB port |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Mounting | Portable |
| Power Requirements | Bus-powered |
| Environmental Requirements |
Operating Temperature: 41-104°F (5-40°C) Storage Temperature: -4-149°F (-20-65°C) |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 3.1 x 0.6 x 5" (8 x 1.5 x 13cm) |
| Weight | 0.23 lb (0.1kg) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 20 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
94%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Easy to use (18)
- Large capacity / good size (14)
- Portable (12)
- Easy to setup (11)
- Fast (10)
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional storage (16)
- Back-up (15)
- File transfer (10)
- Photo storage (5)
- Music (3)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Casual user (9), Power user (8), Budget shopper (3)
- Primary use:
- Personal (19)
Most Liked Positive Review
Passport Essential Hard drive WD
Compact and fairly easy to use once it was set up. I disliked the fact that I had to download some stuff as I'm a Mac user not a PC. It's formatted for PC ...Read complete review
Compact and fairly easy to use once it was set up. I disliked the fact that I had to download some stuff as I'm a Mac user not a PC. It's formatted for PC (news to me) so it's not a plug and go like the passport. I did tell the sales guy I have a mac so why he suggested this one is beyond me. But eh, it works great once I figured it out. I complain about this as I'm not the saviest of users and get frustrated easily with stuff like set up, so I was very annoyed when I figured out I had to reformat it for my Mac.
But it's small and sleek and has already been given a complement or two. Western Digital is favored by some geeks I know, the drive is made by them instead of offsite like Lacie, so it's supposedly better. Has been working great for me, but then again I don't need it for a lot, I got a 250 after all, it's not like I'm doing a lot with it...
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Passport fun
How you use the product---I had planned on using it as mass storage for my laptop.
Things that are great about it---Lots of room for the bytes in a physically ...Read complete review
How you use the product---I had planned on using it as mass storage for my laptop.
Things that are great about it---Lots of room for the bytes in a physically small package.
Things that aren't so great about it---It is a little power pig on the USB, it draws up to 1 Amp from the line (manufacture spec!) I had to get a USB splitter cable to get enough current for it to run....
REVIEWS
Reviewed by 20 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-20
Pros
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
- High current draw on USB
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- Photo Storage
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
How you use the product---I had planned on using it as mass storage for my laptop.
Things that are great about it---Lots of room for the bytes in a physically small package.
Things that aren't so great about it---It is a little power pig on the USB, it draws up to 1 Amp from the line (manufacture spec!) I had to get a USB splitter cable to get enough current for it to run....
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
is very sure and easy to use, the encrypted is very good and easy to use, thank you
Juan C Truchi
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
- No Power Switch
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Compact and fairly easy to use once it was set up. I disliked the fact that I had to download some stuff as I'm a Mac user not a PC. It's formatted for PC (news to me) so it's not a plug and go like the passport. I did tell the sales guy I have a mac so why he suggested this one is beyond me. But eh, it works great once I figured it out. I complain about this as I'm not the saviest of users and get frustrated easily with stuff like set up, so I was very annoyed when I figured out I had to reformat it for my Mac.
But it's small and sleek and has already been given a complement or two. Western Digital is favored by some geeks I know, the drive is made by them instead of offsite like Lacie, so it's supposedly better. Has been working great for me, but then again I don't need it for a lot, I got a 250 after all, it's not like I'm doing a lot with it...
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
- None
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
I purchased this drive to act as a secondary storage drive where my wife could store her photos instead of using the "C" drive on our laptop. It is super easy to set up, just plug in the USB cable. It draws power from the USB bus therefore no adapter is needed. I configured it as a shared drive on our home network and can easily access that drive from any PC location in the house to transfer or edit files. The price is one of the top features. Very inexpensive for the amount of storage you are getting.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Compact
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
I have had my hard drive for quite some time now and its performed just as expected.
The only complaint I have is that...It scratches VERY easily...so my hard drive looks a little rough. Originally the hard drive came with a sticky sheet of plastic, so if possible leave this on the hard drive for as long as you can.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Reliable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Laptop
- Video
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
I have the 160 GB version of this product and have been using it for more than 2 years now. I have gifted this 250 GB version to my bro-in-law. He says it was the perfect gift. It really is! Very compact and power packed. I really didnt care about the encryption and stuff, but I love the size of it and the amount of data it can hold. And at this price, it is just total value for money.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
- Not Strongly built
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- Music
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Functionally WD is Perfect. Outer plastic cover somewhat feels like a bad fit. S/W InSync is Ok and not great user friendly interface. Otherwise it is good product.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Compact
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Very convinient (sometimes the only way) to transport a lot of data
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Compact
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- Laptop
- PC & Mac
- Photo Storage
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Excellent so far.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
Cons
- No Power Switch
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Music
- Video
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
...
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Easy to use and very portable...
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Backup
- File Transfer
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Small (you can put into your jacket´s pocket!) and very easy to use. And the price is also very good, if you compare with other HD options.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
I basically use my WD to secure all the stuff I have on my laptop. I love the fact that it's small, lightweight and no power plug is necessary. It did freeze on me once, which was my computer's fault; I didn't lose anything, but like with any form of storage, u always need to back up ur back-up.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
use as back up
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- Fast
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Music
- Video
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Its great. I backed up all of my movies, pictures, and music in under an hour and I have plenty of room left to spare.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Setup
- Easy to use
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
- File Transfer
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
The product works as expected. No problems, it is easy to use. The default format is FAT32 so if you are planning to backup files bigger than 4GB, you must re-format the hard disk.
Unfortunately, the finish is very prompt to get scratches.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- High Capacity
- Portable
Cons
- Difficult To Setup
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
It´s a very practical product. You can easily take your information anywhere.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy To Use
- Fast
- Powerful
Cons
Best Uses
- Backup
- Transport data
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
This disk is very easy to use, just plug in the USB cable, and that's it. The synchronization is very simple and functional. And the design is wonderful. Everything is great about it.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy To Use
- Fast
Cons
Best Uses
- Replacement
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
High copacity & very compact. Fairly high speed.
Easy to use.
- Primary use:
- Personal
Pros
- Durable
- Easy To Use
- Fast
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 250GB My Passport Essential Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive (Black):
Great portable hard drive. Works fast, and no problems with XP, Vista or Mac machines (yet). The USB adapter cord is a little short, but anyone with a digi-camera has at least 5 more of the same cord laying around. Also, it doesn't come with a case. Minor flaws in an otherwise great product. Price is pretty good too!
- Primary use:
- Business
Displaying reviews 1-20
Hard Drive Sleeves & Cases
- Price: $9.95
Hubs & Adapters
- Price: $12.89
USB Device
- Price: $28.00
What's in the Box
- USB 2.0 Cable
- Quick Install Guide
- 3-Year Limited Warranty
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