The 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive from Western Digital is a high-capacity portable hard drive with a no-frills design. The disk is housed in a compact enclosure, and boasts the ubiquitous USB 2.0 interface. The bus-powered drive can be used without the need for an external power adapter.
The drive is preformatted for use in Windows, but can be easily reformatted for use in Mac OS X systems. You won't have to load any software from a CD to get the drive to work. It is an excellent option for users who would like to add storage capacity to their system.
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 320GB |
| Interface | USB 2.0 (mini-B) |
| Drive Speed | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Buffer | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Average Seek Time | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Sustained Data Transfer Rate | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| System Requirements | Windows XP, Vista, 7; Mac OS X Tiger, Leopard |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Mounting | Portable |
| Power Requirements | USB bus-powered |
| Environmental Requirements |
Operating Temperature: 41-104°F (5-40°C) Storage Temperature: -40-149°F (-40-65°C) |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 3.1 x 0.6 x 5" (7.8 x 1.5 x 12.6cm) |
| Weight | 0.44 lb (0.2kg) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviewsPros
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Most Liked Positive Review
Pocket sized Library of Congress
I don't know how many books are in the Library of Congress, but this kind of disk can hold hundreds of thousands of books. And this 320GB version is already obsolescent, so you can...Read complete review
I don't know how many books are in the Library of Congress, but this kind of disk can hold hundreds of thousands of books. And this 320GB version is already obsolescent, so you can get it cheap. I actually have two WD 320GB external disks. This one is the bigger one, but is still only about the size of an ordinary wallet. The smaller one is the size of a very small wallet. But this one is better, because it doesn't have the "virtual CD" and doesn't try to install software on your computer every time you connect it.
This disk is slower than some others, but still pretty fast compared to disks of the past.
I haven't yet used it enough to say anything about its reliability, but have not had any problems yet. I like the light better than the light on the Passport, because it indicates actual amount of activity, and doesn't blink slowly like a distress signal to indicate idle.
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Most Liked Negative Review
Fast and Reliable
Meets all expectations. Loses one star for being pre-formatted in NTFS instead of more portable FAT32, and loses a second star for not including any user documentation explaining how to reformat as FAT32 using ...Read complete review
Meets all expectations. Loses one star for being pre-formatted in NTFS instead of more portable FAT32, and loses a second star for not including any user documentation explaining how to reformat as FAT32 using a PC.
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Reviewed by 22 customers
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Pros
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Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Very easy to copy files onto this device. Wouldn't be without it.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Easy set up and use. Very simple for those of us who are not very technologically sophisticated.
I would highly recommend this drive for back-up.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
This is my favorite external drive. It's compact, light, plug-n-play, and most important, the size is just right for video, tons of music, files, etc.
Think about it: why have external drives in terrabytes? I say have them in the smallest size feasible, because most drives will fail eventually. The bigger the drive, the more you lose. There is almost no reason you need anything bigger than 320gb.
This Western Digital 320GB Elements is the fastest, easiest, most portable external I've ever owned. Plus, both my PC Desktop and my MACbookPro can read it's files!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Small and portable
Easy to use
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Very reliable and easy to use. Does exactly what it's suppose to do and does it well.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
This harddrive is very small, light, and does the job! A great buy!!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
I purchased this hard drive to store my digital pictures and to back up files on my laptop. When I received the hard drive it was simple and easy to plug it into my laptop using the USB port and it took about 5 mins to download roughly 12GB of data. The hard drive was surprisingly small and very light.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
The drive gets the job done so I don't have to worry about lost data. Quick to install and very easy to use.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Little and pratice.
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Great for on the go storage. I use mine for storing projects and work for clients.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Super easy to use, just plug and install the driver your computer will suggest. Great price, best quality/price I found. It does what it has to do.
Only thing I don't like is the fact that there isn't a on/off switch so the small white light always stay on.
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
very good product, easy to use
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
I don't know how many books are in the Library of Congress, but this kind of disk can hold hundreds of thousands of books. And this 320GB version is already obsolescent, so you can get it cheap. I actually have two WD 320GB external disks. This one is the bigger one, but is still only about the size of an ordinary wallet. The smaller one is the size of a very small wallet. But this one is better, because it doesn't have the "virtual CD" and doesn't try to install software on your computer every time you connect it.
This disk is slower than some others, but still pretty fast compared to disks of the past.
I haven't yet used it enough to say anything about its reliability, but have not had any problems yet. I like the light better than the light on the Passport, because it indicates actual amount of activity, and doesn't blink slowly like a distress signal to indicate idle.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
It's very easy to use and for me has been soooo usefull!! It has plenty of space for my needs....
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
External data storage
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive by Western Digital will be used primarily for pictures.
The clearity of the pictures is remarkable.
This product is perfect for my needs
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
This external hard drive is great for backing up all the files on my computer. It's comforting to know that no matter what, my files are safe.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
I bought it to store my files and clear up some clutter from my laptop's hard-drive.
I got the Elements instead of the "Passport" since it does not come with the built in software(for syncing backups) that people say intrudes on normal usage.
all in all, it works as expected, fast upload and download speeds, no noise, no vibration, runs cool, its reasonably small, and inconspicuous.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
Meets all expectations. Loses one star for being pre-formatted in NTFS instead of more portable FAT32, and loses a second star for not including any user documentation explaining how to reformat as FAT32 using a PC.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Western Digital 320GB Elements Portable Hard Drive:
I like the way it's compact and quiet. It works pretty fast and seems to have no problems. Nice product.
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