Really great portable back-up disk;  not for USB1
934390
The rugged line of little backup disks is my favorite for a number of reasons:
- Small, light, easy to carry around
- Simple to hook up, no separate power supply needed, only one cable
- Not delicate, a friend throws his into his backpack and carries it to and from university
We have a number of these little ruggeds (in various conformations) in the family and have had no reliability problems.

Note that the USB2 is not compatible with USB1 (no power), so if your laptop has only that, you'll want to make sure you have some other port such as firewire that will work with this unit.
3484163
Great drive, the only reason I'm giving it 4 rather than 5 stars is due to the incompatibility between it and the FRESCO 1100 chipset used on many USB 3.0 cards.  I originally purchased the Inateck KTU3FR-4P USB 3.0 card for my Win 7 64 Bit system.  When plugged in, nothing happened for about 45-60 seconds, which at that point, the device registered with the system, but produced dismal 2.0 speeds.  I went on to purchase the Rosewill RC-508 USB 3.0 card with the Renesas chipset, and all is well now.  All of my devices work (WD portable HDD's, WD powered HDD's, Sandisk Extreme 64GB flash drive, PNY 64GB flash drive, etc.)

The speed of the Voyager GT aren't anywhere near as good (see attached pic) as the Sandisk Extreme flash drives, but better than most and I've always had good luck and reliability from my Corsair USB 2.0 drives, so I expect the same here.
952295
I have had 2 other portable drives that died and could not be recovered after a power failure.
I have switched to the Canvio drives because they have lasted much better
Of course winter is coming and we all know about brownouts during storms.
The Canvios by the way are backward compatible with USB two.
2794679
This excellent and beautiful drive also performs well with recent versions of Linux (specifically Ubuntu); looks like a giant flash drive. Of course the OS must support the drive's ntfs file system.  I thought some of you might like to know because in Amazon's etc. blurbs the usual CYA remarks about 'only' recent Windows & Mac unfortunately appear. On a larger computer one USB connection suffices but on my EEE notebook I need to use both USB connections to get enough power.  This is then a very useful feature not available for other external drives.  -- D. McLeod
3889303
The 2-bay USB 3.1 External Drive unit arrived in good condition and I installed 2 Seagate 4TB SSHD drives in RAID I configuration. I did not realize that in my RAID I configuration (the "answered questions" did not clarify this) that I could NOT take advantage of the USB 3.1 extra speed. This speed increase ONLY works in RAID 0. I did connect it to both USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 ports and did benchmarks and found it performed slightly faster on USB 3.0 port. The unit has been very reliable on copying large video and drive image files at a fast pace. Overall I am very pleased. I am however, looking forward to getting a 5-bay USB 3.1 unit when it becomes available.
1306024
I am using XP with USB 2.0 . only thing that make me sad is it take some time to pop up as external hard disk in my computer folder my be its because of my OS... but still after it get pop up great compatibility with this kind of OS and i like it .. it's really a portable hard drive "cool passport size" and amazing inbuilt feature " password protected " " back up features " " though i am using 2.0 but still good transfer rate " over all worth it to buy WD and last but not least  "Great Shipping Guys" got it within 8 days.
3543248
I purchased the Western Digital External 160 GB Hard Drive about 9 months ago. At first, I was skeptical about the viability of an external hard drive, however, by now the WD 160 has happily changed my mind.

This WD external unit is compatible with PCs and Macs (and stands vertically or lays horizontally). It arrives with 160 gigabytes of memory, 7200 RPMs speed, 6 feet of cable, and an AC adapter with chord. Three face-illuminated buttons provide "dual-option" backup (automatic and manual) and front mounted power switch. The 160's USB wiring easily and adroitly connects to the CPU.

This unit is brilliant for storing digital photos! I've stored on it and retrieved from it 1000s of pictures without any problem. I have also filed 100s of documents on it. The WD 160 is an accessing breeze. Its compact size makes it nice, also, for transport (via brief case or backpack) to other computers. It is a pleasure, and sometimes a relief, to use its mighty storage capacity.

If you are looking for an inexpensive fail-safe storage platform consider the WD 160 GB USB Hard Drive 2.0
1015436
great capacity for backups etc but a bit bulky for carry around - I guess I am too spoiled by the Seagate Slim and Ultra Slim line
4617123
This harddrive is a great harddrive and don't get me wrong, but there are a few things that I found a bit annoying about the drive itself. The first thing is that (at least the drive that I got) only has 1.81 TB of usable storage and not the advertised 2TB. On the computer that I built I have a boot ssd and then I have this hdd to store all of my files. In order to get this working as a second drive I had to make a partition, and format the drive, a process which took 5 hours to complete. After all of that hassle the drive is fast and is working like a charm. The only thing that I wish is that it had that extra 190gb of storage and that there was an option for it to come preformated and partitioned in the NTFS format.
4709546
I switched from a physically larger external drive with external power supply, to this one.  I am very pleased with the difference.  It functions great as a drive and looks about as cool as a drive could look.  It is far more portable than my other one due to its small size and no external power supply needed.

The backup software was also a breeze to use and worked quickly.

Due to the size, design, and backup software I have found I use it much more than my other drives.  A backup drive isn't much good if you don't use it so this one is very good for me.

I kinda wish I had gotten the 500gb version of this drive although I like the black cherry color better than expresso color.
4027969
This drive was my first portable external hard drive.  I needed something I could easily take with me to work, or wherever, for backups.  For that purpose, it's great!  I'm still amazed that they can fit 1 TB (or more) into such a small box.  I have not tried the software--I've never liked any of the manufacturer-produced backup utilities.  Robocopy works every time.  Now all I need is a USB 3 port to go with the USB 3 drive!
1948900
I have had 4 of these Western Digital 500 GB USB 2.0 drives(and one also had the eSATA option).  I also have 3 of their 1 TB USB drives, and I've used 3 of their older 80 GB USB drives too.  As you can see, I've been pretty much a fan of this brand, but see below for some cautions.  I've found these to be very easy to use.  My experience has been that set up is 100% plug and play with Windows (XP).

One issue, be SURE if you are using this with a Windows based PC to reformat the drive to NTFS.  A FAT32 drive of this size in these days is just asking for problems (and I've seen problems on systems that were not re-formated to NTFS, such as issues with long file names, and files that are very large, ex: video files!).  You need to reformat the drive BEFORE putting any of your data on it.  You can use the quick-format option under Windows Explorer - and it will do this pretty quickly (minutes, not hours).

The second issue is that these have not lasted very long for me.  I don't know if the actual drive fails or if the enclosure fails, but I've had 3 of them go bad over a 3 or 4 year period of time.  Twice this happened while it was still under warranty and Western Digital's RMA process worked fine for me; they sent a new or refurb'ed one to me, and I send them theirs back (no charge to me).  This failure rate is odd to me, as I don't move these around - they are sitting on a desk top and never move (it's not like I bang them around in a back pack).

Bottom line, as one of the other reviews also said - use this as a backup drive, not as your ONLY primary drive!!

In my case, I have my primary data (and pictures and video's etc) on some internal and on some external drives.  I then have a separate 1 TB external USB drive that I use each night to back my primaries up to.  And then once a month, or more frequently if I'm adding lots of files, I back that 1 TB external drive up to a second 1 TB external drive that I keep in a fire-box.  This way, if the primary or backup gets fried, I still have the fire-box copy of all my stuff.  I use a product called, SyncBackSE, to handle the actual backup processes (it finds the changes and just copies those to the target).  It works pretty well for me.
3113658
well, I am a computer geek, yet I am also clumsy, hence needed something *reliable*. I have been using sandisk 128Mb USB drive for more than a year now and it is the most reliable piece of storage I have EVER seen. I even forgot it in my pants in the washer and then DRYER. It still works like a charm (but a bit cleaner :)).
3414124
The Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive has been my main data storage space since I bought mine in southern Mexico in May, 2011. It worked fine on my old USB 2 computer, and even faster on my new laptop with a USB 3 connection. My travel needs are extraordinary, and this hard drive definitely works. My set up is as follows:

HP folio 13 ultra thin notebook. Light weight, gets the job done admirably.

Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 1TB, Ruby Red. Object of the current review. My main storage drive for over one year, but it is nearly full. For that reason, I will switch it from primary to backup.

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1.5 TB USB 3.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive. Bought a larger drive recently, but haven't fully implemented it. My plan is to make this my main storage drive, because it has greater capacity than the eGo, and switch eGo to backup drive. Non-essential elements will not be backed up, due to storage limitations on the eGo.

Patriot Memory Supersonic Magnum 128 GB Flash Drive. Ultra small, light, mobile, and no moving parts. For maximum mobility.

StarTech 6-Feet SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Extension Cable. For use with the Patriot flash drive.

Uspeed USB 3.0 7 Port Hub with 3ft USB 3.0 Cable and Power Adapter. Connects my external devices. I do not need 7 ports, but chose this drive over a 4 port because the ports are too close together. I use ports 1, 3, 5, and 7. The 7 port hub is very light weight.

Anker Astro3 10000mAh Multi-voltage 5V / 9V / 12V 2A External Battery Pack. I travel to many places with occasional power outages. Whenever I use the USB 3 hub, I plug it into the Anker Astro3, and plug the Anker into the wall. IMPORTANT: The 7 port hub has a 12 Volt input, which works with this Anker. Most hubs are 5 Volts, and the connections to the spare battery pack do NOT work. Use this recommended combination for maximum reliability and functionality!

Instapark MP3450E 13,500 mAh External Battery Pack. I use this battery pack as backup for my laptop. The laptop battery lasts about 4 hours; the Instapark adds about another three to four hours of power. For even more juice, you can add a second battery to the Instapark pack, doubling the capacity to 27,000 mAh. I have not done this, simply because I don't need so much back up power and do not want to double the battery weight.

C. Crane US3 Super USB Wifi Antenna 3. Long range, high power USB wifi antenna. When I stay in hotels, I normally choose the room farthest from the reception, and therefore farthest from the wifi router. This antenna makes fast wifi connection possible.

Tripp Lite U026-016 USB2.0 16-Feet Certified Active Extension Cable. This cable has a built-in signal amplifier, for best results with USB modems & wifi antennas.

Otherwise, I use a fast Microsoft mouse, with wired USB connection, and a portable Philips speaker.

I have been living in different places around the world for 17 years, and the above is what my mobile office suite has evolved into. My current abode is in a boat-only access area, with power outages more frequent than I'd like during the rainy season. I have reliable backups on all my data, in case of loss or damage. I have a 4G USB modem from the local phone company, which is powered from my notebook. I have about seven hours of power supply; so far, the most I've needed has been five... and everything worked like a charm.
4464751
Great little drive on USB 2.0 but I use it to back up movies etc. and like the USB 3 connectivity.  Unfortunately, this particular drive doesn't seem to like USB 3 sometimes and will just hang, have to be disconnected, and restarted again.  I've tried different cables and it's not the cable.
463347
I love the compact size of this drive, so it is very handy. I wish it were a little faster, but I knew what I was getting when I chose to get the USB2.0 version rather than the USB3.0 one. Nice big capacity in a tiny form factor; it just will take a little while to actually copy 32GB worth of data onto it as compared to a faster USB3.0 drive.
1799775
I recently purchased this drive for use as photographic image back-up storage, as well as a data back-up for my start-up drive.  I removed the supplied "BounceBack Express" backup software since I already have the excellent "SuperDuper" application running on my Mac.  The Verbatim 1 TB drive I received (Jan. 2009) actually contains a WDC WD-10EA 7200 rpm drive.  I was able to easily partition it into 700GB and 232 GB partitions.

The drive is enclosed in a nice aluminum box with a polished black plastic front panel.  The case does have a small fan that is inaudible in operation. There is only the one green LED pilot lamp and no "disk activity indicator".  I like to know when my drives are working so I deducted (1) star for the lack of any kind of a activity indicator.  There is one USB 2.0 port and the drive comes with a short (24 inch) USB cable.  There is a rear panel on-off push-button switch which is flush with the back panel so is hard to spot if it's dark. A small "wall-wart" power supply is provided.

The drive is very quiet with only a little disk "head-seek" rattle when transferring large files.

The drive is rated at "up-to" 480 Mb/sec. transfer rates.  I was able to achieve a write transfer rate of about 91 to 97 Mb/sec reading from my iMac's internal 230GB drive which was probably the limiting factor. As a fast, basic USB 1TB external drive, this seems to be a pretty good deal.  It comes with everything you need, but nothing you don't need and has a 3-year warrantee.

Works for me!