WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive HDD, USB 3.0, Compatible with PC, Mac, PS4 & Xbox - WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN

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.

**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.

I have used WD external drives for years. My oldest one of 7 years fell off the desk and stopped working. I had a back up and another back up with WD external drives. Thank goodness they were still working as the one that dropped I used to store my photos since they are too large for an SSD (600GB). I was in a panic making sure everything was working as my old Dell XPS laptop got a power surge despite being on a Belkin power strip as I transferred photos. I was using an external USB 3.0 hub so I was backing up additional data with a third WD passport connected to the USB hub. A surge went through the hub and fried it and as well as the 3rd WD back up drive.Now I am buying another WD external drive and a new USB external hub. I am so glad I am religious about backing everything up but this whole sequence was a nightmare. Six years of photos almost all gone. Dropping a 1.5 TB external drive onto a carpet can kill it. Only had one other WD external drive die on me about 6 years ago. These are well made products but they do draw power. I am also replacing my 6 year old laptop. Technology is advancing so fast older computers cannot always handle the newer and faster products. Read all the instructions and cautions before randomly hooking things up.Computer user for 25 years. Never had anything like this happen before. I put a lot of trust in Western Digital and it was mostly due to oversight on my part and some really bad luck that I had to go through this. My new computer has Thunderbolt 3 which will be an another adventure in this rapidly changing world of computer, peripherals, and whatever comes next.