When I was choosing my first external drive, no need for external power supply seemed like a must have feature and since I’ve always had only the best experience with WD desktop drives, My Passport Elite was an obvious choice.
Right from the start it behaved erratically and I’ve quickly discovered that the problem is caused by insufficient power supply. Luckily Logitech USB Hub with external power adapter saved the day, but the problem is that I have to use it almost everywhere - neither my desktop PC, my notebook nor the PC I use at work can provide the drive with enough power for reliable operation.
After searching WD knowledge base for a while I’ve found following solution:
‘You computer or laptop may not be putting out enough power through the USB port to spin the drive up fully. If you need additional power, you can purchase a supplemental Power Booster Cable (Not currently available for My Passports using the USB Micro connection) from the WD Online Store. Otherwise, please use the USB cable that was supplied with the WD My Passport.’
If I understand it, my options are either to purchase a cable that doesn’t exist for my drive or to use a cable that can’t ensure sufficient power supply.
Well honestly if 'Powered directly from the USB port on your PC’ in reality translates into ‘Powered directly from the USB hub powered from external adapter’, which means I have to carry one extra device and three cables whenever I need to be sure that the drive will work, it no longer seems like a very good idea to me.
And just by the way, since WD terms are obviously a bit confusing for people with no experience with their portable drives, I would like to suggest adding more detailed information on WD website regarding the USB dock. Currently there is only a vague description, which looks like ‘Grab-and-go USB dock - Convenient USB dock makes it easy to connect your drive to your computer.’.
I’m no marketing guru, but I think there should be some more information about other amazing feature of the USB dock. Something like Patented DataCorruption™ technology - The USB dock was designed in a way that makes it impossible to securely connect the drive to the ELW (Elusive Little Wobbler) connector, which ensures that you don’t have to worry about accidentally transferring your files to or from the drive uncorrupted. Even when the indicator LED diodes indicate correct connection, the DataCorruption™ technology works silently in the background, so you can rest assured that not a single file will pass a hash-check after you’ve copied it.
