WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive HDD, USB 3.0, Compatible with PC, Mac, PS4 & Xbox - WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN | Compatible With PC | Mac | PS4 & Xbox | Plug-And-Play Setup | Fast File Transfers | Compact Portable Design

I purchased the 2 TB model, and it's working perfectly in both Windows and Linux. The drive came preformated for NTFS but can easily be reformatted for specialized Mac or Linux file systems using standard operating system utilities. It didn't come with much in the way of a user guide, but it doesn't really need one, it just plugs in and pops right up as a standard storage device like a thumb drive. Physically, this drive is a bit heavier and just a little thicker than some of the lower capacity USB powered drives I have used, but is still incredibly compact at only a little over 3 by 4 inches by just over a half inch thick (about the size of a pack of those larger sized bicycle playing cards). The plastic drive case isn't fancy, and probably won't fend off an attack from an angry bear, but it's adequate given the fact that, like any portable drive, you will want to be careful about severe shocks and drops anyway. Despite the compact size, and lightweight plastic case, the drive weighs in at close to half a pound and feels pretty hefty and substantial. Power consumption, even for the largest 2 TB model, is still low enough to work on a single 500ma USB port (no 2 port Y-Cable or external power needed). Not only that, but even after extended operation, transferring hundreds of gigabytes of data for example, the drives case barely even starts to get warm. Mechanically, my drive is so quite and smooth in operation that you have to really feel carefully to even tell if it is spinning. You can feel very slight jogs internally when the drive is seeking, but it's barely noticeable, and if anything, smoother and quieter than most of my other portable hard drives. I wasn't able to read the RPM with my hard drive utils, but if it is 5400 as some have reported, that doesn't concern me too much, because data transfer rates are still quite reasonable. For example, I can stream 1080 or even 4K HD video direct from the drive to my PC with no hiccups or buffering issues. These days, with the super high data density platers on these compact drives you can get reasonably fast data transfers without spinning at 7200, and if you don't absolutely need the faster RPM, then it's actually better to design the drive to run at a lower RPM, because it allows the drive to run cooler, use less power, and reduces wear, giving higher reliability and longer life. I read a comment here about some kind of pouch being included, but my drive did not come with any accessories other than the required USB cable (but luckily I already had a small neoprene zippered pouch on hand to transport the drive when on-the-road). Because the drive is powered by the USB, I'm extra careful to properly 'remove' the drive in the operating system before pulling the plug, because hard drives don't like to loose DC power while they are still writing, which could happen if you pull the USB plug out before properly removing the device in your O.S. This isn't too difficult, but could be a little confusing given the way the indicator LED works on this drive. The 'Elements' drive has a simple single color white LED which does double duty to indicate both read/write access AND spindown/standby with a potentially confusing flashy-flashy code. Rapid flashing indicates the drive is busy reading or writing, where SLOWER flashing indicates that the drive has spun down and gone into a standby state. So you NEVER want to remove the drive while it's QUICKLY FLASHING (and could be writing), but it's generally OK to remove the drive after it has spun-down and is SLOWLY FLASHING. Expecting the user to be able to make this distinction based only on the flashing rate seems like a dumb idea. It would be better if the LED would change color in spin-down standby, and go out completely after you remove the drive in your O.S. like some other drives, but this is a pretty minor issue once you figure it out, so overall I still rate this drive a solid 5.

Recently purchased this along with a 2-tuner Tablo unit (see my separate review) to help us in our cord cutting project. It has performed flawlessly since installation in June. Considered this as the unit to buy as it was listed as a reliable and compatible HDD companion to the Tablo. This truly was a "plug and play" experience, so why mess with success? Because we delete programs right after we watch them, there should be no problem of gradually filling up the drive's capacity. It continues to give us a way to "preserve" the ability to record and time shift some of our TV watching...at least for all our OTA channels. This unit and the Tablo are networked to the Roku devices around our home, so we still can watch programs wherever we wish. Now, if we could find a way to record/time shift some of our favorite programs on TNT (now viewed on the SlingTV app on our Roku's), then all our bases would be covered. With cord cutting, you can't have everything, but one can wish just the same. With our developing alternative TV system, we will be able to watch just about everything we have been viewing on our satellite-based TV service, but at much less than half the monthly cost. This is combined with changes made to our cable internet and telephone package too (we now have an Ooma telo unit [also reviewed separately] and have returned the rented cable modem). Now we're talking about even more money that stays at home each month. The WD Elements 2TB Portable Hard Drive definitely is a valued part of our complete new system.

Bought this drive as a gift. Prompt delivery. Works very well, and Western Digital is very reliable. Tip: For a free backup program, I downloaded Karen's Replicator 3.6.9 from MajorGeeks.com. I like this backup program for a few reasons. (1) It does not encrypt or compress backups, so if your system blows up, you don't have to try to find the same backup program to install on your new or repaired computer in order to restore - you can just copy your files back from the backup drive with Windows File Explorer. (2) The software's author has sadly passed away, but this means you won't be annoyed with offers to update the software. This program does not make disk images, however - it only backs up selected folders, and only to an attached drive. But it works well and is totally free. Anyway, this is a very good USB 3.0 drive (which is backward-compatible with USB 2.0 ports). Fast, reliable, and plenty of space.

**XBOX ONE OWNERS** This is a nice, compact drive that is lightweight, and can safely be "stacked" on top of a console or PC with no threat of crushing or leaving indents after long periods of sitting. It can easily become inconspicuous, and even in view it is not much of an eye sore. As a matter of fact, it's black coloring goes just fine - sitting on top of my XBox One(top left - DO NOT PLACE THE DRIVE ON THE TOP RIGHT OF THE CONSOLE WHERE THE VENTILATION IS). XBox One owners who have reached their storage limits would appreciate this. It IS practically "PLUG & PLAY". Practically, because you must not plug the drive usb into the console until you have FIRST powered up your console. I plugged - then powered up the first attempt, and the XBox didn't even sense it. Power up the console(give it time to load your home screen), plug in the HD's usb(I plugged it in the "rear" of the console), go to "Settings", then "Storage". **NOTE: It slipped my memory, but either right after plug in, or immediately after choosing the WD drive for future memory(next step), it will ask if the drive's primary use is for "photos and media", whether you have current photos on the drive, and/or is it for your "game saves and downloads". Know that it is about to format the drive, so if you have photos saved prior to moving it to the XBox - keep this in mind...you could lose them.** I provided pictures, but you will notice your consoles built in memory option at first, and the WD Hard Drive option should be showing to it's right. You may immediately notice something seemingly off... "1.8 TB???" You haven't been ripped off. Think of that unprovided(to you) ".2 TB" as the HDrive's functioning brain. The drive needs memory space of its own to be the think tank for services provided to you. A brainless drive is a dead drive. Just click or choose to switch your memory(and future downloads) to the WD drive. Somewhere either right before or right after, it will ask your preferences on what kind of content you want saved. After formatting, IT'S SET. It showed "27.1%" memory used(for me), leaving that 1.8 TB. My explanation will take much longer to read than setting this up yourself. It's quite easy. I have since successfully re-downloaded games that I had to delete to make room for others, and I have also successfully downloaded new ones. We even had a recent power outage flicker - no harm to the drive. So far, so good, and at one of the most reasonable prices on Amazon in it's class.

It's early days, but so far my 2 TB Western Digital Elements drive is serving well in my chosen capacity. I've got it hooked up to a Raspberry Pi 2 and am using it as a backup target for rsync. If you were wondering if a RP2 can power this drive, the answer is yes, but you do have to increase the power output of the USB ports, and you'll need a power supply with enough juice (minimum 2A 5V) to run both the Pi and the drive. The former is achieved via a few simple commands, and there are numerous guides for this online if you're interested. As for the Elements drive itself, this is a pretty bare bones package. In the box you'll find the drive, a rather short USB 3.0 Micro cable, and some simple documentation. On the disk is a trial version of some WD backup software, which can be safely ignored if you've got your own plans for the drive. As I understand it, the higher end Passport range contains the same base disks as the Elements range but in prettier cases and with non-trial software included. The case on my Elements drive is unabashedly plastic, though it feels solid enough and is certainly functional. One nice touch is that the status light is a white LED rather than the overused and often overly bright blue; this not only adds a touch of class to an understated design but also means the activity light doesn't shine up the entire room at night. Performance-wise, I saw a steady 105 MB when copying files from a 2 TB WD Red drive in a USB 3.0 enclosure to the Elements, which is plenty quick enough for a backup drive. I would say this drive's performance characteristics are in line with similar 2.5-inch 5,400 RPM designs, which is to say you probably shouldn't be doing anything performance-sensitive with one of these (get an SSD or at least a fast internal HDD), but as a massive data repository it should be perfectly acceptable. Incidentally, the case seems to do a good job of dissipating heat, as during a sustained period of heavy write activity the enclosure was barely warm to the touch. At this point, the only remaining question is reliability. My Elements drive won't be on a particularly strenuous duty cycle--my rsync script runs once per day and most days there won't be any changes to sync--but that's not necessarily a recipe for longevity. HDDs can fail at any time, without warning, hence why I have a backup server in the first place. I'm not overly worried about the only one-year warranty on the Elements range (the Passport drives get three years) since I feel like this was more a product differentiation decision on WD's part than a statement about expected reliability. I've had good luck with WD drives over the years, and I'm optimistic that the Elements drive will continue that trend. I'll be sure to update this review if anything catastrophic occurs. Overall, the Elements is a solid portable drive for those looking for good, no-frills value. If all you need is a bucket to dump data into, or if you're planning on rolling your own backup software, this drive should work well. If you're looking for a one-stop backup solution straight out of the box, however, or if you need more than 2 TB, you might want to look at WD's Passport range or some of the similar competition from Toshiba and Seagate. For my purposes, the WD Elements 2 TB portable drive performs admirably and has exactly met my expectations, so it gets a solid four stars.

I've had this for just a few weeks and it is meeting my needs perfectly. I have had no problems, although I did buy the 2-year rescue plan - just in case. It was really simple to hook up and to reconfigure for my Mac and is working perfectly. The connection is a simple USB cable and that's it. I am using it as secondary drive storage. My Mac was filling up so I moved several hundred gigabytes of photos from my Mac to the external drive. (For the record I also have a backup drive that backs up regularly - I do not trust any of these secondary drives to last forever and it would kill me to lose all my photos.) One of the things that concerned me initially was how to get my backup system to backup the Elements drive, but that was a non-issue. The Time Machine backup system I'm using backs up all drives connected with my system, including the Elements drive, so it too is being backed up regularly. Overall I am very happy with this purchase.

Runs super smooth. So small, it makes me laugh to think back to the days of these bigger, chunky, heavier drives that would hold...a whopping 500MB. And that was MASSIVE back in the day! Here comes this little tiny thing, hey, stash 2 TB on here, less than 100 bucks, no problem. I used mine with my Tablo TV, and thus far they have been a perfect fit for each other. If you're a Tablo owner, this is one of the most highly recommended drives for use with your system. If you're thinking of getting a Tablo, I did a lot of research and I can safely say, the 2TB model of this is what you should probably go with (unless you're reading this in 2017, they've upped the max drive to 10TB, and that model is less than $100. Then, well, go with that. Hmm...2017. We're not getting our self-tying shoes, hoverboards, and flying cars this year...maybe 2017 will be different. MAYBE.)

I got the hard drive for extra storage and it is working perfectly. I'm thinking about getting another one for even more storage I now have approximately 12 TB of hard drive space online. I have a 500 GB solid-state drive you in a 2 TB drive and a one terabyte drive in a 4 TB drive for an external one terabyte drive the solid-state drive I recommend is extremely quick for booting up I store windows on your 500 GB solid-state drive get married out one terabyte drive it that's in your system as primary and do a data transfer to the 500 GB drives which runs extremely fast I have a solid-state drive for my primary and do that. My system and no less than eight seconds, Sir. If you wondering about the elements drive I highly recommend it for external backup drive I might be getting one more to answer your question this hard drive will power by the USB port on the computer system and must be USB 3.0 I'm running a 2.0 for USB connection, but it seems to to be extremely fast for running USB 2.0 but I strongly recommend USB 3.0 for faster connection and transfer speed. Sincerely Gregory a very satisfied customer of the Western Digital elements that the only drive I will purchase

He usado discos de Western Digital durante años. El modelo WDBU6Y0020BBK-EESN con capacidad de 2 Terabytes e interfaz USB 3.0 es el quinto que he comprado de este fabricante. Estoy muy satisfecho con su compra por su excelente equilibrio entre capacidad y precio. Ventajas: + Excelente equilibrio entre capacidad y precio, garantizado por un fabricante con buena reputación. + Compatible con NTFS para Windows 8, Windows 7 o Windows Vista. Puedes también formatearlo para Mac OS X o Linux. + Tamaño muy reducido que favorece el transporte. + Es muy ligero (231 gramos). + Conectividad USB 3.0 (hasta 5 Gb/s) y compatible con USB 2.0 (hasta 480 Mb/s). + Garantía limitada de 3 años ofrecida por el fabricante. Desventajas: + El disco duro está soldado al conector dentro de la carcasa. + El LED permanece encendido en todo momento. Conclusión: He usado a diario el disco durante meses con excelentes resultados. Es rápido, cómodo para el transporte y no he experimentado ni un solo fallo. Lo uso para mis copias de seguridad locales. Estoy muy satisfecho por su gran calidad. Recomiendo su compra. ¡Espero que este comentario te haya resultado útil!

Elementi positivi da tenere in considerazione: capacità 2 Tb = 2000 Gb = almeno 700/800 film anche HD (calcolando una grandezza media di 2,5 Gb a film), velocità (con porta usb 3.0 di un notebook quasi 6 anni fa raggiunge i 108-110 mb/s). compattezza e design: dimensioni decisamente ridotte ed eleganza, anche se non è un top da questo punto di vista. Luce led: che fa sempre comodo per verificare il buono stato dell'HDD (non scontata). Elementi migliorabili: materiali (ho un Toshiba stor.e alu, in alluminio da 1 Tb) e devo dire che non mi ha mai dato problemi di surriscaldamento, dissipando meglio il calore. Anche il WD non scalda più di tanto dopo aver trasferito circa 60 Gb in una sola volta; ma si sa che la scocca di plastica anche se di ottima fattura non sarà mai bella esteticamente come quella in metallo. Meglio cercare una custodia rigida economica per chi avesse la necessità di trasportarlo a scuola o in ufficio ecc. (io ne ho una rimediata ma non lo porto mai in giro) Elementi inutili: programma preinstallato di back up con trenta giorni di prova (a mio parere meglio usare gli strumenti di Windows o Nero per il back up, o comunque programmi conosciuti). Il prodotto ha, inoltre, 3 anni di garanzia ed è compatibile con tutti i sistemi operativi più recenti di Windows e Mac. Installazione rapida e immediata. Consigliato per tutti i possessori di pc fissi o portatili con HDD o SSD di scarsa capacità (500-750 Gb per gli HDD classici) (120-250 per gli SSD), poi ognuno si regola in base ai propri bisogni. Se avete un pc fisso mi raccomando collegatelo sempre alla porta usb frontale ( se ce l'avete) anche perché il cavetto sarà all'incirca 25-30 cm. Non utilizzate ciabatte usb (hub) o prolunghe perché potrebbero limitare le presetazioni del vostro WD.

Still going strong !

Comprei com o intuito de usa-lo junto ao meu xbox para armazenar jogos mais pesados, funcionou perfeitamente.

2025年現在のコメントです。 2014年に2TBを購入、ディーガに接続して9年、毎日ではないがTV番組を頻繁に録画/編集/消去で使用。 トラブルもなく静かに動作しています。 当時、大容量だと異常が発生する（かも）のコメントがあったので2TＢに抑えて正解だったのかな。 10年を迎える来年にはそろそろ入替をすべきか？ （12年経過でも快調との声もある） 現在だと5TBはかなり割安なので購入を悩むなあ。突然のトラブルは困るし。 とにかく良い商品です。次回も間違いなくリピートします。