USB hardware devices supported

Under “USB DEVICES SUPPORTED”, the list of compatible devices includes, for example, WD Elements, as well as some other manufacturers’ devices. However, under WD Backup, the list is far smaller and excludes even a number of WD devices, including the WD Elements. I note it does list the more expensive drives! I made the mistake of purchasing the WD Elements device, listed under “USB DEVICES SUPPORTED”, even though I did not need yet another portable external drive. WD Backup does not recognise this device. I suppose I could be chastised for not comparing the list of compatible devices under one section with the list under another. But, should I be expected to? Is it not reasonable to assume that any device listed as being supported will work across the board?

the my cloud home can import data from a USB drive but not backup to a USB drive. The list of compatible UBS drives for My Cloud home are supported USB drives for import.

WD Backup is a different solution. It does not work with the My Cloud Home and is intended to backup a PC to a USB HDD.

Thanks… I am aware that WD BACKUP requires a PC-attached external drive rather than one which is plugged into the USB port on the Cloud Home. My point is that the list of devices supported by WD Backup is different and far smaller than the list of devices supported by the Home Cloud USB. So, I should have checked the list of devices supported by WD Backup first in order to find out that my WD Elements device is not compatible, even though it is in the list of supported devices for the Home Cloud USB. I am shocked that the Home Cloud USB and WD Backup functions support a different, overlapping list of devices. I can’t imagine what is so different about the PASSPORT range that enables them to work with WD BACKUP but not the Elements drive.

There are many product families that are bundled with different software.

  • WD Smartware (legacy backup software) does not support some of the newer USB drives
  • WD Backup (newer backup software) does not support some of the legacy USB drives and only supports some of the newer USB drives.
  • My Cloud Home is not backup software, but hardware that supports USB drives for USB to MCH import/backups.

Hope this helps clear things up a bit.

Thanks… that’s exactly what I have deduced. I have been thinking wrongly of the software available with the device as a “bundle” rather than a set of discreet options which are not intended to be fully compatible or integrated with each other. Acronis WD Edition does recognise the Elements drive and, as such, will have its own list of supported devices.

People will need to be careful about their choice of external drive if they are hoping to use the same device or model for the Home Cloud USB, WD Backup and Acronis WD, each of which has its own discreet set of compatible devices. It would seem that the safest bet would be to buy a Passport but I can’t see people rushing to spend £90 plus on top of the MCH.

It has been longer than I care to remember since I had difficulty with using any external drive with any software on my computers, even with my MY CLOUD.