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Western Digital 160GB 2.5-inch Passport USB Portable Hard Drive | 
 enlarge | Brand: Western Digital
Category: CE
List Price: $191.61
Buy New: $64.00
You Save: $127.61 (67%)
New (7) from $64.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  216 reviews
Format: Cd
Platforms: Macintosh, Windows
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows & Macintosh
Hard Drive Size: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.1 x 3.1 x 0.6
Warranty: 3 years warranty
MPN: WDXMS1600TN
Model: WDXMS1600TN
UPC: 718037119052
EAN: 0718037119052
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Form Factor - 2.5"-External | | • | Dimensions WxDxH - 79.78 x 129.78 x 15 mm | | • | Weight - 0.1048 kg |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Pack up your office files and take them home. Carry thousands of songs or pictures. These drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter - they are powered directly through the USB cable.Installation is a snap because you don't really "install" this drive; you just plug it in and it's ready to use. There is no CD to install; the included software loads from the drive the first time you plug it in. Powered by the USB bus, so no separate power supply needed. This ultra-portable drive fits easily in your pocket or purse, weighs only a few ounces and holds tons of valuable data.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 211 more reviews...
 Excellent Price in a Compact Package April 21, 2007
148 out of 151 found this review helpful
This hard drive is worthy of consideration given its compact size, capacity and ease of set up. I have 3 external hard drives, all of which need an AC adapter. Given that the weight of those are quite heavy and the inconvenience of needing a plug, I needed an alternative.
I attached the USB cable to the laptop and the drive, and that was it. Before saving any data, you might as well format it to NTFS, since FAT32 is the default (files greater than 4 GB minus 2 bytes won't transfer on FAT32)
Just right click with the new hard drive highlighted and click "Format" with NTFS selected and you're off to archiving your data. Even more importantly is the ability to back up data on the laptop and have some convenient method of restoring the information.
Powered through the USB cable, this convenient package eliminates the need for an additional power outlet. This is especially useful for the traveling user where all you may get is a plug for the laptop. This unit is quiet and I barely hear it which limits any distraction from the 'plug in units' that I own.
The case is about the size of a 30 GB video ipod with a glossy black finish. My only grip is the 8 inch cable that accompanies it but it is hardly a showstopper.
Your other brand considerations are the Smart disk Firelite which is the pioneer of the portable high capacity HDs and the Seagate double USB corded hard drives.
Seagate 120 GB 2.5" Portable External Hard Drive 8 MB Cache ( ST9120801U2-RK )
Wolverine Data Portable Series 120GB External Hard Drive USB 2.0 ( 2120 )
SmartDisk FireLite - Hard drive - 100 GB - external - Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB -
For cost, capacity, styling and size, this one has absolutely NO comparison.
Any case that can hold a Nintendo DS will hold this drive. Here are some examples:
Nintendo DS Lite Carrying Case
Nintendo DS Lite Ultimate Leather Case
Two thumbs up.
 No Power Booster Cable July 9, 2007
80 out of 81 found this review helpful
This is a very good drive but be aware that it does not work with all USB ports - a lot of them will not supply enough power to run the drive so you will need the power booster cable WDCA029RNN which connects to 2 USB ports to get enough power to the drive. The pity is that WD do not include this as standard since quite a number people buying this item will actually need it to run the drive. Would have got 5 stars were it not for this.[[Western Digital 160 GB USB 2.0 Passport 2.5" External Hard Drive ( WDXMS1600TN )
 Many Laptops won't provide enough USB power May 27, 2007
76 out of 78 found this review helpful
I needed to move my data from a Dell Inspiron 8500 (a large laptop) but when I plugged the drive in I got 'USB Power Overload' messages and the drive wouldn't power up. Tried it in a few other models of Dell laptops in the office and got a 50% success rate.. only some laptops had enough power to drive this thing.
I ended up spending another $20 on an AC powered USB hub to get it working. The extra gear makes this drive much less portable. Otherwise it works fine, and no problems when used with a desktop machine.
 A Very Attractive Piece of Junk--Updated January 21, 2007
42 out of 58 found this review helpful
I got a good price on this drive and the piano black finish exactly matched my new HP Laptop, so I thought, why not? Usually I'm more careful -- I should have checked here first.
When I plugged it in, the drive was recognized and all seemed well. But it's pre-formatted for FAT32, and I run NTFS files system, so I went to the Western Digital site to find out how to re-format it. I CAREFULLY followed the directions, and after that the drive was recognized in Windows, but showed it wasn't formatted. Every format attempt in Windows, even low-level, failed.
So I downloaded the Western Digital utilities, which tested the drive and found no problems. Then I used the WD utilities to format the drive. It said the drive was successfully formatted, but again, when I tried to use it in Windows, no luck. Windows called it an unformatted drive and continued to give an unhelpful error message when I tried to format it. I even tried the "long format" method and that came up with the same "Drive could not be formatted" error, but only after two hours of seemingly formatting correctly.
I returned it to the store and bought a Maxtor-mini III which I plugged in and it recognized my file system immediately. I'm not sure whether it was pre-formatted in NFTS or re-formatted during the quick setup, but it works very well.
Western Digital used to make excellent products. The Western Digital 160 GB USB 2.0 Passport is a mess.
Update: (4-15-07)In reviewing my reviews I notice that many recent reviews have been more positive. I am thus willing to concede that the some early models may have fallen victim to startup production problems. If you note the review arc for the Passport, you'll see a steady climb in the ratings. Still I would caution against trying to re-format the drive to NTFS, even though WD claims you can do it. Even if I could change my rating now, I wouldn't. Following WD's instructions explicitly, the drive failed for me and could not be recovered. As always, YMMV.
Uses more power than the USB spec requires--so it doesn't work July 27, 2007
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
I'd been eyeing this and some other portable drives here on Amazon for awhile and bought it from a brick-and-mortar store on a lark yesterday when I was in desperate need of some extra space.
I plugged it in and waited for the drive to appear on my PowerBook's desktop. Nothing. I checked Disk Utility and it didn't show as even an unmounted drive there, so I checked System Profiler and it didn't even register as anything connected by USB, which was strange, I thought, because the light on the device was pulsating.
A bit of Internet research and I've figured out the problem: the USB specifications only require each USB controller to put out 500mA, and this WD drive requires more than that (1000mA at spinup and 650mA continuous). Unfortunately, my PowerBook G4's (17") ports only put out the required 500mA, but you can't really fault Apple, since they're just following the standard.
This is a known issue, too. A Google search for "western digital passport not enough power" returns a half a million pages, and the top few dozen are all reviews from here and other stores as well as from professional reviewers that all mention the same problem. It would be nice if the USB standard were upgraded to support higher-power devices, but until that happens, WD should post a disclaimer on their product descriptions or at least, as one Web site poster said, should not put the USB logo on their products since they're out of compliance.
WD seems to say this is a "rare problem." Unfortunately, it appears that it is not as rare was WD might claim. It would be nice if they would include the USB Y cable they sell online (it allows you to draw power from two USB ports), although this is far from a perfect solution (tying up both of my USB ports is not nice, especially since I need one for the Logic Pro USB key fob).
Fortunately, that brick-and-mortar store's very liberal return policy will be working in my favor this afternoon.
One star for false advertising. If WD were clearer about their requirements (or better, included the Y cable), I'd consider upping the rating.
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