Typically I like Western Digital drives and this is no exception. However when the package arrived, the packaging for the drive seemed a little odd, including that the seals were broken and the box was cellophane taped. Not serious per se, but the box labels indicated the drive was refurbished, and the Amazon write-up never mentioned refurbished drive only that the drive was an old model.

Drive appears to be factory set - thus no previously used or if used properly refurbished. The plastic casing appeared to have micro scratches and not the pristine factory new.

Although not a real problem, I have used and like refurbished electronics due to the cost savings, but failing to mention that it was refurbished certainly diminishes the integrity of the write-up.

WD 1TB Black My Passport Ultra Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBGPU0010BBK-NESN

This is the first time I have ever used a portable (tiny) external hard drive. I currently use a Cavalry dual disk external drive in RAID configuration which is huge and not really portable.

This new WD drive is fantastic in that it is quite small, doesn't require external power, and it is quite good looking. It is amazing how they fit 1 TB drive in such a small package. One bonus is that when I replace my computer in future with one that has USB 3.0 interface, this drive can handle that. (It works fine with USB 2.0 also.) The device looked and felt solid.

The USB port that is on the drive seems to be proprietary, but it could be a standard port for USB 3.0. The cable that comes with the drive fits snugly and works well. The cable should be saved carefully - I don't have any other cable with that specialized connector.

The backup software resides on the hard disk of the drive. I didn't bother installing that software. I just want to use the drive as plain old storage drive. I connected the drive to a PC with Windows 7, the OS complained with "WD SES Device USB Device - No Driver Found", but showed the drive contents anyway. I could immediately use the drive without haveing to do anything.

Drive properties showed the following:
Used 565 MB
Free 930 GB
Capacity 931 GB

I have split the 1 TB drive into 3 partitions easily (using Win7's built-in tools). I copied a bunch of JPG files into one of the partitions. Everything went smoothly. I am yet to find any issues with the device.

I will update this review if I come across anything significant as I continue to use it.

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I bought this 4 months ago as a back up drive because my iOmega drive is finally starting to fail after 5 years. This drive worked really well when I initially transferred about 150-200 gb of files to it the first day.

After less than 10 uses, it can have trouble registering on any computer. When I plug it in, the drive whirrs and the light illuminates, but the computers simply don't "see" it. I end up unplugging and reinserting over and over until the computers are finally able to read it.

Other days, it works fine and on the first try.

And I'm back on Amazon trying to find another drive that might be more reliable because it's erratic functioning makes me worried that it will crash sooner than later.

*UPDATE*
After the first few weeks, it has been working much more consistently. I'm still don't quite trust this drive after our rocky beginning, but its performance has been much improved over the last few months.

This started out as a 5-star product. Today, I am so heartbroken and disappointed. Friends recommended Western Digital hard drives to me as my laptop can't store all my schoolwork and photos. I transferred ALL my photos onto this, as well as a backup of any and all of my documents. A couple weeks went by just fine, everything was as it should be.

Lo and behold when I plugged it in this time to get photos to print, I was shocked to find over half my photos are gone. I had already deleted many photos off my laptop to make room for new work. I did follow all set-up instructions, and safely disconnect the hard drive every time I remove it as well as using a carrying case so there is no shock damage. No clue as to what happened, but I lost all my photos from vacations, a friends wedding (that I had yet to send her) and digital copies of my childhood photos. All my regular documents are intact.

It earned a second star because: This hard drive had just under 2TB of storage when I first plugged it in. The color is gorgeous, bright and cheerful. I purchased the coordinating grip and cord as an add-on purchase: WD Grip Pack for My Passport Ultra 2TB with USB 3.0 Cable, Fuchsia (WDBFMT0000NPM-NASN) . While it failed me in photos, it has worked for everything else.

I have been using this external hard drive for about 3 months now with no issues whatsoever. We used it primarily to save photos and videos for use when we are camping and without a good signal. About a week ago I noticed an extreme slowness with both writing and reading from the drive along with a "dinging" sound. After doing some research I discovered that this was a common problem and so I reached out to WD support for assistance. The directions they provided to me not only didn't help the issue, but I now cannot access the drive at all. The only option I have now is to use my warranty to get a replacement device (which I had to pay an extra $20 to have shipped overnight because we are leaving for a trip in 2 days). While all of my files are either in the cloud or backed up in other places, had I used this as my main drive I would have been very disappointed to lose all that data. I am contemplating purchasing another hard drive in addition to trying to use the warranty replacement device in an effort to have multiple sources should tWD 1TB Black My Passport Ultra Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBGPU0010BBK-NESNhis happen again.