Weston Digital External HD's

Dave in Wales

Dave in Wales

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I'm after a WDEHD, desktop or portable that uses just a USB cable.

Living as I do In Cardiganshire I wan't the cheapest to do the job, It'll probably be hidden under a desk.

How can I identify the USB cable only ones.

TIA.

D in W
 
I'm not sure of the exact answer to your question.
Should state if they are USB powered.
The "My Book" ones aren't.
 
Most of the larger capacity drives are mains powered, you'll have to read the descriptions carefully to spot the USB powered ones.

If it's just stuck under a desk then mains powered might not be a problem, in which case the USB is just used for data transfer.

From memory the WD drives with just USB max out at about 320/500gb - I ended up getting a USB only Samsung 1tb drive.
 
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UBS powered ones are called 'passports' and come in USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 versions
 
Companies do 2 main types of external hard drives (ignoring the network/media ones for the time being!)

They have 'portable' external hard drives, which are about 5 inches x 3 inches (ish!), and are usually solely USB powered.
As someone said, WD use the name 'Passport' for the portable drives.

They also make 'desktop' external hard drives, which are about 8 inches x 5 inches (again, ish!), these are often mains powered with USB connection to the computer.
WD use the names 'Elements' and 'My Book' for the desktop drives.



PC World have quite a tidy deal on the WD Elements 1TB desktop hard drive - it's only £50!
 
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If its a 2.5" drive its usb powered.

If its a 3.5" drive you need a power supply.

All manufacturers work this way
 
I'm currently using five 1Tb WD Elements drives - one of those is 18 months old, the others were quickly added to replace my older 250Gb and 500Gb drives as the prices kept dropping...lol
The 2Tb drives are only about £80-£90 now as well...
 
Cyprino said:
Companies do 2 main types of external hard drives (ignoring the network/media ones for the time being!)

They have 'portable' external hard drives, which are about 5 inches x 3 inches (ish!), and are usually solely USB powered.
As someone said, WD use the name 'Passport' for the portable drives.

They also make 'desktop' external hard drives, which are about 8 inches x 5 inches (again, ish!), these are often mains powered with USB connection to the computer.
WD use the names 'Elements' and 'My Book' for the desktop drives.



PC World have quite a tidy deal on the WD Elements 1TB desktop hard drive - it's only £50!
Click to expand...

great price, although it's a couple of quid cheaper on Amazon, and the 2TB version is only £74, i'm tempted to replace my annoying all flashing lights 'my book' 1TB.
 
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I use two WD "passports" for back up one is 4 years old now at 120G it is nearly full but it has lasted well considering it has spent most of it's life in my car, bag or pocket. I have dropped a number of times it even rattles but still works fine.
I bought the newer version 500G one last year mainly for photos and because it was less than £50 at the time. It is smaller than the above, has also taken a few knocks but I would still highly recommend getting the protective pouch they also now sell if you intend to use it as an off site back up.

Amazon were the cheapest when I bought.
 
Wow, these have come down in price. I purchased a My Book 500GB (Mains powered) for £170ish - Going as strong as day one. No complaints. I briefly used a passport at work and it took a few knocks but no problems.
 
I use a Western Digital Elements 500gig ( mains powered) and a Maxtor 250gig USB for Mac back-ups.

I am getting splinters in my hands from touching wood, but both work well
 
Another 1TB My Book user here, superb bit of kit. As mentioned above the 2.5" drives ie. the passports are usb powered whereas the bigger 3.5" My Books are mains powered and use either usb or firewire to transfer data only. One word of advice that i will give you is that just because it's classed as a "portable" hard drive doesn't mean that it will accept being bumped abound in a bag or chucked on the passenger seat too often.

So to answer your question - WD Passports / Passports Essential / Elements.

The non-mains adapter ones are here: http://www.ebuyer.com/search?page=1&store=33&cat=393&filtermfr=15&subcat=3267
 
I have the basic 1TB WD drive, £50 from currys! (only £5 more than amazon!!):clap:

If its a 2.5" drive its usb powered.

If its a 3.5" drive you need a power supply.
Click to expand...

Yup its due to the power requirements to spin up the drives!

As my basic walk around drive, I have a 40GB WD 2.5"drive (never buy 10-30-50gb's!) in a dirt cheap ebay caddy and I've used it for about 3 years!
 
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