# WD Passport mobile 250GB - $144.99



## MacBookPro (Jun 22, 2006)

Western Digital Passport 250GB mobile hard drive now at Costco for only $144.99.

These drives have excellent reviews.

Best price elsewhere around the $200 mark.

The drives can be pulled from these units and put into Macbooks and MacBook Pros.


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## bluntman (Mar 7, 2007)

I bought one on the weekend with the intent of putting into my MBP and installing Leopard. For some reason the drive I bought kept clicking once every minute and got very annoying. I removed it and returned it. 

FWIW, most versions of these drives contain an 8MB cache, but most are of the 2MB variety. YMMV.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Some of the WD Passport drives have power issues too. They don't have an AC adapter and they can't always draw enough from the USB.

While I haven't seen this problem with the 250GB specifically, it is something to be aware of.


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## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

The power issue is an issue with any 2.5" drive that's only powered by the USB Bus. I don't think it's a Western Digital issue specifically...


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## MACinist (Nov 17, 2003)

Nice, slick looking drive at a great price. They have different colours now too (aside from black) but don't know if they are available at Costco. Bus power depends on you system not the drive. Older systems USB drives are low-powered and can't power a device like that, most new ones do. Used the 160GB version with my Macbook Pro's and it was fine in all the USB ports.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

fyrefly said:


> The power issue is an issue with any 2.5" drive that's only powered by the USB Bus. I don't think it's a Western Digital issue specifically...


While not specific, it has affected the WD 160 and 120 GB drives pretty acutely.

I work for a reseller, I've seen quite a few come back.


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## methodyst (Jun 29, 2006)

I picked up a 500GB WD drive with dual connection for $155 about 2 weeks ago. That was from Costco as well... weird!


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

methodyst said:


> I picked up a 500GB WD drive with dual connection for $155 about 2 weeks ago. That was from Costco as well... weird!


That would be the full sized drive, not the smaller Passport variety.


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## scandy (Aug 11, 2007)

methodyst said:


> I picked up a 500GB WD drive with dual connection for $155 about 2 weeks ago. That was from Costco as well... weird!


Does dual connection mean its both USB and firewire? I'm out of USB ports on my mini and want to get a firewire drive.


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## methodyst (Jun 29, 2006)

PosterBoy said:


> That would be the full sized drive, not the smaller Passport variety.


My bad! It was late and didn't pay attention to the details.

as for Dual Connectivity, yup it has USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 on the back. It actually has 2 firewire ports and 1 USB.


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## ps1 (Jun 24, 2006)

Bluntman:

I'm interested as to whether you've gone ahead and swapped out your internal MBP's hard drive for the WD Passport? If so, please post and let us know how it went.

Thanks.


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

scandy said:


> I'm out of USB ports on my mini and want to get a firewire drive.


If you ever need more USB ports on your Mini..........

I bought this Belkin 4 port powered USB hub - fits right on top or under the Mini; sells for $18 plus change in the US (plus shipping of course)

http://cgi.ebay.com/BELKIN-COMPONEN...yZ114190QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## Demosthenes X (Sep 23, 2004)

I think this is a great idea for any Mini owner - though I hear the unit is quite loud. Still, can't argue with the form factor and convenience.


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

Demosthenes X said:


> Still, can't argue with the form factor and convenience.


Don't you love it when the advertize this Mac Mini hard drive and hub to be "compatible with Windows Vista?

I guess Vista needs all the advertising it can get.

This unit looks similar to the ones sold by OWC.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack/


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## krug1313 (Apr 27, 2007)

I asked this in another posting but no reply. Is the SIG Electronics, Portable Hard Drive, Lacie Mobile Hard Drive 160GB (By F.A.Porsche) a good choice for a portable?


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

krug1313 said:


> I asked this in another posting but no reply. Is the SIG Electronics, Portable Hard Drive, Lacie Mobile Hard Drive 160GB (By F.A.Porsche) a good choice for a portable?


I don't have one of those, but there a few things that require some clarification.

For one the case - I bought a 500GB LaCie external drive, the case looks similar to this one and although it looks like aluminium, it's actually plastic and the 500 GB dirve gets quite hot.
My Acomdata drive on the other hand does have an aluminum case and the drive is cool.
So the question is how hot does this drive get in normal use?

The other question I wuld have is on the interface. In the general info section, this portable drive is described as bus-powered and both USB and firewire.
But then in the detailed spec there is no more mention of firewire. I therefore doubt if this drive actually has a firewire port.


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## krug1313 (Apr 27, 2007)

I was on the Lacie website and can confirm there is a firewire port. Thanks for the info. I might go with a seagate 320 gb http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10089904&catid=20238

I know it's not portable but it is very small so won't take up much room on the desk.


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## bluntman (Mar 7, 2007)

ps1 said:


> Bluntman:
> 
> I'm interested as to whether you've gone ahead and swapped out your internal MBP's hard drive for the WD Passport? If so, please post and let us know how it went.
> 
> Thanks.


Being completely new to the Mac platform, let alone ever opening up a laptop, I was a little apprehensive. However, with the walkthroughs available on the 'net I was completely confident in what I was about to do. 

Most of the screws on my MBP were tiny! You'll need a #0 Philips screwdriver and a #6 Torx screwdriver to complete the swap. Follow the walkthrough and you'll be fine.

To start the installation, I first formatted the 250GB drive when still in its enclosure and then started the procedure. After installing the drive and Leopard on the blank drive, I thought I was home free. I closed up my MBP and moved on. It wasn't until the next morning, sitting in bed using my laptop did I notice that the drive was making a clicking or clunking noise every minute. The drive seemed fine, the SMART utility reported it to be so, but the noise was just too annoying. If I were in a noisy environment and the fans working to cool down the internals, I would not have noticed the noise, but generally, my MBP is silent. This wouldn't do so I removed the drive and returned it to Costco later that day. I don't know what would have caused the clicking/clunking noise, was it inherent in the BEA drives (2MB cache) and not in the BEV drive (8MB cache)? I don't know, but my MBP HD upgrade adventures have ended for now. I will just await the 4GB of RAM that I ordered from NCIX, maybe I will tackle the HD again in the New Year.


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

krug1313 said:


> I was on the Lacie website and can confirm there is a firewire port. Thanks for the info. I might go with a seagate 320 gb http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10089904&catid=20238
> 
> I know it's not portable but it is very small so won't take up much room on the desk.


What are you going to use the external drive for?

That will determine to some degree what to get.
Portable is great but maximum size so far I believe is 250 GB and there is a question if the large ones can be adequately powered by one USB port.
If they are powered by the firewire port things should be OK.
But on a per GB basis, you pay a lot more for a portable drive.
The LaCie external drive I bought was a 500 GB unit and it cost only $108 at Future Shop a month or so ago. It's USB only, I use it to store large files like videos and movies. I also have the drive sitting up vertically, that way the heat dissipates a bit better and it doesn't run so hot - also takes up less room on the desk.
Firewire is nice but is only mandatory if you have a PPC Mac and you want to be able to boot from the external.

Another route is to buy a case and hard drive separately. Putting them together is a very simple five minute job and you get to pick the drive and the enclosure, with a "ready-made" external you are never 100% sure what the drive in the enclosure actually is until you get it and check it.
The 500GB LaCie external came with Seagate and Samsung drives, some even were IDE, others SATA.
I ended up with a Samsung 500GB SATA II drive, so I'm happy, but it could have been a different drive as well.


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## fyrefly (Apr 16, 2005)

Firewire is much better than USB 2.0 for sustained/larger file transfers.

That being said, Western Digital today announced a 320GB 5400RPM 2.5" SATAII mobile hard drive. Retail price is ~$199 US

WD Scorpio 320 GB SATA Hard Drives ( WD3200BEVT )

Looks like an awesome upgrade for MBP/MB owners wanting a lot of stoarge -- or Mac Mini owners wanting a lot of internal storage.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

Massive capacity - Whether they are in an external drive or a notebook computer, WD’s 320 GB 2.5-inch drives offer the *most available capacity for space-hungry operating systems like Windows Vista™*, plus plenty of room left over for photos, music, and video. 


AHAHAHAH!!! GREAT! Even WD is getting in on the Vista bashing 

Oh and P.S.: I bought one of these the other day  My Macbook is now complete... 2ghz, 2gb of ram and 250gb hd  ... it's my little beast


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## hhk (May 31, 2006)

adam.sn said:


> Massive capacity - Whether they are in an external drive or a notebook computer, WD’s 320 GB 2.5-inch drives offer the *most available capacity for space-hungry operating systems like Windows Vista™*, plus plenty of room left over for photos, music, and video.
> 
> 
> AHAHAHAH!!! GREAT! Even WD is getting in on the Vista bashing
> ...


Did you get the 2MB or 8MB cache version? Is the drive quiet?


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

MacBookPro said:


> Western Digital Passport 250GB mobile hard drive now at Costco for only $144.99.
> 
> These drives have excellent reviews.
> 
> ...


The 160GB is under $100 at Costco, but I grabbed the 500GB "MyBook" (USB & FireWire) for $159. Gonna backup my G5 tower before I install 10.5


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

I was looking at the Elephant Drives at Carbon earlier today
and thought the little Elephant 2 Go looked good.

Even the "Mini" version external drives were tempting.

Dave


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

dolawren said:


> I was looking at the Elephant Drives at Carbon earlier today
> and thought the little Elephant 2 Go looked good.
> 
> Even the "Mini" version external drives were tempting.
> ...


Any one know who actually makes these drives and which Hard drive is inside?

Or are these just rebranded versions of one of these:

http://www.ehmac.ca/anything-mac/57332-mini-owners-mac-mini-form-factor-external-hard-drives.html


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

krs said:


> Any one know who actually makes these drives and which Hard drive is inside?
> 
> Or are these just rebranded versions of one of these:
> 
> http://www.ehmac.ca/anything-mac/57332-mini-owners-mac-mini-form-factor-external-hard-drives.html


I talked to the sales person at Carbon and he said it has a Seagate drive in it.
The Elephant 2 Go external drive will be the next drive I buy for my laptop,
Although the Elephant mini looks nice too.

Dave


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

Picked up a LaCie 500Gb Porsche design external drive for my son at BestBuy for $130. HD prices have been dropping like the US dollar.....


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## 20DDan (May 2, 2005)

has anyone purchased that WD 250GB USB 2.0 drive n installed it in their system without clicking issues? Also someone mentioned that they installed it into a MBP.. isn't that SATA... is it possible to take appart this usb drive n simply put it in a laptop? with ATA interface?


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

krs said:


> Any one know who actually makes these drives and which Hard drive is inside?
> 
> Or are these just rebranded versions of one of these:
> 
> http://www.ehmac.ca/anything-mac/57332-mini-owners-mac-mini-form-factor-external-hard-drives.html


The Elephant series of external drives are exclusive to Carbon, and are assembled on-site. They use Seagate drives, and enclosures from MacPower.com.tw (the same source as many other enclosures, and they only sell wholesale).


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

Thanks JC, added this to the thread on Mini form-factor external drives.


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## MACinist (Nov 17, 2003)

dolawren said:


> I was looking at the Elephant Drives at Carbon earlier today
> and thought the little Elephant 2 Go looked good.
> 
> Even the "Mini" version external drives were tempting.
> ...


$219.95 for a 160GB? Isn't the WD at Costco under $100? I know you get the FW connections but still. Anyone know what the warranty is on the Elephant drives?


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## lindmar (Nov 13, 2003)

I just bought the passport 160 at BB in the US. The 250 was only $40 bucks more but I decided to save the $40 bucks.

Anyways, I cracked the thing open and its an SATA drive.. making the clone and going to pop into my macbook.

WIll then stick the 80 back in the passport.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

7gabriel5elpher said:


> has anyone purchased that WD 250GB USB 2.0 drive n installed it in their system without clicking issues? Also someone mentioned that they installed it into a MBP.. isn't that SATA... is it possible to take appart this usb drive n simply put it in a laptop? with ATA interface?


Yeah!!! Just installed it - no clicking!

-Adam


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## 20DDan (May 2, 2005)

adam.sn said:


> Yeah!!! Just installed it - no clicking!
> 
> -Adam


is it SATA or ATA interface?


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

7gabriel5elpher said:


> is it SATA or ATA interface?


If it's in a MacBook or MBP, it must be SATA.

Intel Macs DO NOT USE ata drives internally. At all.


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## BikerRob (Sep 19, 2007)

It is a SATA ... I've been using it in my MB for about a month now. Before that, I was using the 160 GB from WD. 
Great little drive - very inexprensive and gives me a 250 GB internal!


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## Fox (Oct 4, 2002)

Someone mentioned in an earlier posting that the drive inside the 250gb Passport can have either a 2mb or 8mb cache. I thought these units all had an 8mb cache. Has anyone seen a 2?


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## Blood_Lust (Sep 7, 2003)

How do you open the enclosure? I want to put this 250GB to my macbook pro. 

NEvermind: I got it figured out and HD is SATA :clap:. I wonder how much is gonna cost me to ask Carbon to replace my HD in my macbook pro? Anyone had experience?


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## moonsocket (Apr 1, 2002)

Fox said:


> Someone mentioned in an earlier posting that the drive inside the 250gb Passport can have either a 2mb or 8mb cache. I thought these units all had an 8mb cache. Has anyone seen a 2?



The one I have is 2 meg cache. I want an 8meg one. Anyone that has one with 8 meg that uses it as an external want to trade?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## moonsocket (Apr 1, 2002)

great deal


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## mkurtes (Aug 27, 2003)

I was lucky enough to pick up an external 1TB (1000GB) Western Digital My Book hard drive on Boxing Day for only $199.99 at Best Buy. So far it's been excellent, it's working well with Time Machine.


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## benmossm (Mar 10, 2008)

*Where?*

I have been looking around on the costco site, along with a few others, and haven't been able to find the passport 250GB. It's on the American site, but not the Canadian one. Perhaps its only in store, I'm not sure, anyone have any insight?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## benmossm (Mar 10, 2008)

Yea I figured it was instore only, and I was looking at the 320GB as well, good call. Thanks!


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## Another_Paul (Sep 20, 2005)

I'm hoping to make it to Costco this weekend...hopefully they will have the 250GB WD Passports in stock!


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## Another_Paul (Sep 20, 2005)

Are these Anitec.ca - Western Digital Scopio 250GB 2.5" 5400RPM SATA Notebook Hard Drive - OEM hard drives the same ones that are used in the Passports?


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Just wanted to add my experiences to the mix...

While in Vancouver last week for a conference (and a rare trip to Canada where I can buy tech gear without Mexico's 50% markup!), we dropped into the UBC computer store. As faculty / staff / students at Canadian universities, we could buy there at EDU prices.

We bought out their entire stock of Western Digital Passport 250 gig USB drives (that would be a grand total of four). At $150 for 250 gigs, how could we go wrong? Especially when every other drive they had was, like, 160-gigs for $210.

One was used to do a Time Machine backup of a MacBook Pro, then a restoration to my pal's new MacBook Air (purchased at the same time as the Passport). Flawless.

Another was used to rescue the data from our Director's dying Sony Vaio mini-laptop. Windows was just not happening... he uses Paint to create graphics for his PowerPoint presentations, but every time he launched Paint, the entire system slowed to a crawl (you could *see* windows being drawn on screen!), and no amount of force-quitting or whatever you call it in Windows would work. A force-shutdown would get it back to usable, but still very pokey, condition. At least he has his files saved.

Mine is now my TimeMachine backup drive. It's idiot-proof, and so ridiculously tiny.... It's partitioned (GUID) with a Rescue installation of OS X and some drive utilities (great now that Intel laptops can boot from USB).










I have another "anonymous" brand, Chinese-made SATA / eSATA / FW800 enclosure into which I put my original MB hard drive, and the darn thing is hit-or-miss when it comes to mounting...

Anyway: Passport 250 gig seems to be a great buy - if you can find one!


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