Don't buy the WD My Passport USB drive

[fuzzybabybunny]

http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Porta.../dp/B005HMKKH4

Mine spins up and everything when I plug it in, but I either get no response from the computer or I get a message saying that the disk needs to be formatted before use.

This disk has 2TB of data already on it and just one day stopped working correctly.

So my guess is that there's something wrong with the enclosure. Not a big deal. I'll just pop out the 2.5" drive and put it into an enclosure that works.

This is what I find:

Completely proprietary. No way to access regular sata ports. The disk itself is also incredibly thick.

So basically my data is completely hosed.

 

[Morbus]

Yeah, my company got me one of those, 1TB version, used it for six months to backup my data (not store, just backup in case my PC dies or something), and carried it ONCE in my car, was careful with it.

It died with the same symptoms after six months.

WD MyPassport sucks big time, in my book. It's not the first I've heard of this either.

 

[MustISO]

I'd be really surprised if that block can't be removed. I've yet to see any company using one that couldn't be but maybe this is one I have yet to see.

Not to rub salt in the wound but where are your backups?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Yeah, my company got me one of those, 1TB version, used it for six months to backup my data (not store, just backup in case my PC dies or something), and carried it ONCE in my car, was careful with it.

It died with the same symptoms after six months.

WD MyPassport sucks big time, in my book. It's not the first I've heard of this either.

I thought that it would be a great buy based on all the positive reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Porta.../dp/B005HMKKH4

I ended up buying it at a Brick and Mortar because I needed it in an emergency. Don't have the receipt anymore. Can't prove I bought it within the 2 year warranty window. Not that I would want a replacement anyway.

I'm just dumbfounded. 2TB is a LOT of data. This was also my go-to drive since it is so compact and easy to carry.

And to think that this is due ENTIRELY to some f*ck for brains who decided it would be a good idea to fuse the USB controller and proprietary connectors to the drive.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I'd be really surprised if that block can't be removed. I've yet to see any company using one that couldn't be but maybe this is one I have yet to see.

Not to rub salt in the wound but where are your backups?

Nope. I checked. It absolutely cannot be removed. The SATA connectors don't even exist on the drive. They're simply not there.

This is my very, very first time I've seen a manufacturer take this design route too.

I have backups, but of course they're incomplete since I generally don't back up to two drives at the same time. If anything, I alternate, and then when I have time I sync the two drives. But I don't think I've synced in a while.

 

[Viper GTS]

That's not proprietary, that's USB 3.0.

There are lots of USB native drives on the market these days both 2.0 and 3.0.

I've seen symptoms like that when drives weren't receiving enough power. With 2.0 drives a Y adapter (with one lead that is just power) will help but I'm not sure that's likely on 3.0. Have you tried a native 3.0 port?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...05029&ef_id=Ut6pcQAABQ0jezX8:20140129225435:s

That's what I mean by Y cable.

Viper GTS

 

[Soundmanred]

I've had tons of WD external drives from 120GB to 2TB and 2.5" & 3.5" and they all still work great. I always eject and make sure it spins down before moving them of course.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

That's not proprietary, that's USB 3.0.

There are lots of USB native drives on the market these days both 2.0 and 3.0.

I've seen symptoms like that when drives weren't receiving enough power. With 2.0 drives a Y adapter (with one lead that is just power) will help but I'm not sure that's likely on 3.0. Have you tried a native 3.0 port?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...140129225435:s

That's what I mean by Y cable.

Viper GTS

Why is the USB 3.0 built right into the disk? *that's* proprietary.

Same ports as before. Worked then. Doesn't work now.

 

[Throckmorton]

There are companies that can probably recover your data. I've seen one that will get data off the platters for $5000 or something like that. They might be able to get another one of the same drives and replace the controller board.

I got one of these drives because the Toshiba I have kept having issues with files failing to copy (failed to read from source error when copying TO that drive, and that drive alone). It works a lot better and is faster, but it's good to know I should be extra careful to backup.

I did notice too that it's much thicker than a normal external. So it's definitely not a standard laptop drive.

 

[razel]

Nope. I checked. It absolutely cannot be removed. The SATA connectors don't even exist on the drive. They're simply not there.

This is my very, very first time I've seen a manufacturer take this design route too.

Unfortunately, direct USB has been like this for years. The only manufacturer that makes portable external that's still SATA inside for sure is Seagate. This was obvious since their Backup Plus series used USM interface and you were allowed to remove the USB-SATA interface without voiding the warranty

Now with their 2014 line I am not sure. Their Backup Plus Slim no longer has the USM interface. I have yet to see anyone take one apart yet. I'm crossing my fingers that they are still SATA inside.

 

[Merovign]

I can't be sure it's actually *standard* but the drive connector itself looks like a USB micro-B.

Which is rare and funky (why is the micro connector almost as big as the A connector?), but if it *is* standard and they were just "kind of dumb" and not looking to sabotage data recover, with a $2-5 cable you should be able to at least try to access the data.

I think additional disclaimers are unnecessary in this case.

Personally I will try to avoid these just because *why*?

(I know this is kind of mentioned above but some might be looking for the actual *name* of the cable.)

(Or did you try the USB 3 cable and I just didn't grok that from the post?)

 

[Morbus]

Companies do this to prevent costumers from buying their external hard drives and using them as internal hard drives but simply removing their casing. Costumers would want to do that because external hard drives are cheaper than internal hard drives, despite being the same exact hardware. The reason they are cheaper is because their quality control is worse.

I never owned an external hard drive, but for this reason alone I'll be buying a case and an internal hard drive of my choice, and doing my own external hard drive that won't die in 6 months...

 

[pauldun170]

WD elements and passport are like that. Any WD external that runs completely off the usb is configured like that (I think).

 

[Zxian]

This is normal. You got a dud drive, or threw it around a bit too much. Anyone who expects a portable drive that's transported from A to B to C to last as long as an internal drive is asking a bit too much IMO.

You could have just registered the drive on WDC's support portal. You don't need the receipt for that. If you hadn't gone and ripped apart the casing, you could have just completed the RMA process and ended up with a new drive.

You're blaming WD for a problem you created.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Things break. I've got a few WD 2.5" HDs. They've lasted me years, mostly because I stick them on a shelf and use flash for transportation.

The idea of a 2TB 2.5" HDD has my curiosity piqued, though. :wub:

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

So basically what I'm getting from the replies to this thread is that if I buy a portable drive with the purpose of using it in a portable fashion I should never put anything important on it.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

This is normal. You got a dud drive, or threw it around a bit too much. Anyone who expects a portable drive that's transported from A to B to C to last as long as an internal drive is asking a bit too much IMO.

You could have just registered the drive on WDC's support portal. You don't need the receipt for that. If you hadn't gone and ripped apart the casing, you could have just completed the RMA process and ended up with a new drive.

You're blaming WD for a problem you created.

Your "solutions" don't actually solve anything, you know that right? The problem is data loss because the consumer has no way to pull data off of a working drive due to integrated connectors.

 

[Morbus]

So basically what I'm getting from the replies to this thread is that if I buy a portable drive with the purpose of using it in a portable fashion I should never put anything important on it.

Not exactly, but you should ALWAYS have a backup. Either it's portable or not, duplicate your data whenever possible.

 

[Charlie98]

Love my Seagate GoFlexes... at least the proprietary interface is detachable.

That's an interesting drive you have there, OP. I wouldn't have guessed WD would have gone through all that trouble to mod an existing HD design.

 

[C1]

Ya, since the flood I dont mess around with integrated externals. Most of them are proprietary now. It is best to select and buy separately a five star HDD and a five star rated enclosure (make sure the enclosure is rated as ability to power via USB cable; ie, one wire). That way you have the flexibility of transferring your HDD of known quality to another standard hardware platform.

 

[Old Hippie]

Ya, since the flood I dont mess around with integrated externals. Most of them are proprietary now. It is best to select and buy separately a five star HDD and a five star rated enclosure (make sure the enclosure is rated as ability to power via USB cable; ie, one wire). That way you have the flexibility of transferring your HDD of known quality to another standard hardware platform.

Best answer in the whole thread except you can't power a 3.5" drive via USB.

Anyone who buys a prebuilt external is just asking for trouble.

 

[PowerYoga]

Your "solutions" don't actually solve anything, you know that right? The problem is data loss because the consumer has no way to pull data off of a working drive due to integrated connectors.

I never treat a portable drive as something I can toss around. I treat it as a hardisk, something that will break if it is jolted around too much and carried around improperly without proper padding and cushioning, or at least suffer from greatly reduced lifespan. In my college days I've killed more than a few "portal" harddrives because I would toss the pocket sized ones into my backpack without thinking.

To me, the "portable" aspect just means you can detach it and bring it from point A to point B without needing a screwdriver and pliers.

 

[Zxian]

Your "solutions" don't actually solve anything, you know that right? The problem is data loss because the consumer has no way to pull data off of a working drive due to integrated connectors.

If the drive itself were faulty instead of the enclosure, you would still have been hosed. You would have still voided the warranty by opening the drive and you would have still lost all your data. What was your approach going to be then?

External drives should *never* be the primary storage solution for any data worth saving. Your problem here isn't with the drive itself. It's with the fact that you didn't have any backups.

To help you come up with a better overall storage solution - what kind of data had you been keeping on the external drive? Is a NAS a viable option for you for backup purposes?

 

[Zxian]

Best answer in the whole thread except you can't power a 3.5" drive via USB.

Anyone who buys a prebuilt external is just asking for trouble.

I've bought several of the WD Passports before. They're reasonably priced and Western Digital has an excellent RMA process. I wouldn't expect a hard drive that's frequently moved to live a long life - OEM or self-assembled.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I had no idea that portables were made from low quality drives. Moral of the story I guess is just to never buy preassembled portables.