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Note Power Requirements

I bought this drive, saved the included software to another computer, then deleted it from the WD Passport….then reformatted the Passport. It worked fine on both my desktop and my laptop even though my USB ports (on both desktop and laptop) only provide 500mA of power. This drive, like most of it’s competitors, requires 1000mA through the USB port to power itself. Some users have reported all sorts of problems because of this, as you can tell by the negative reviews here.

As i said, for some reason it works fine on my computers. My desktop did have some weird issues the first night i used this drive, but they stopped occurring since then.

You can check how much power is going to your USB ports by (in XP) going to Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> System. Then click on the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager. At the botton of the next window will be the USB (universal serial bus)controllers. Double click on the “USB Root Hub”s and then click the Power Tab to see what the ‘Total power available” is for your ports. If it says ‘500mA per port’ then this WD Passport will not work properly on your computer without a special cable (available at WD’s site, though it has been out of stock for several months).

Even if it does work on a 500mA port, like my situation, you still really shouldn’t use it on the lower amount of power. Electrically, the USB hub is being strained and may eventually have problems.

And THAT is why i’m exchanging this unit for the Maxtor or the Samsung Zirex Pleomax, both of which COME WITH THE SPECIAL USB CABLE REQUIRED TO POWER THE UNIT OFF A 500mA PORT!

Those units are also encased in metal, which dissipates heat better than the black plastic of the Passport.

I really wish the Passport came with that USB Y-cable though. Other than this power issue, it is really nice. Western Digital really messed up by not providing the necessary cable for most users to operate the device safely.

Update (2/8/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen.

The featured review for this product, Western Digital WDXMS800TN Passport 80 GB USB 2.0 2.5-Inch Portable Hard Drive Electronics, was written by Ausar.

The average rating for this item is 2.7 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.