Features 500GB Storage Capacity, USB 3.0 Interface, Up to 5 Gb/s Data Transfer Speed, Formatted for Windows 8, 7, Vista & XP, Use with Mac Requires Reformatting. The 500GB Elements Portable Hard Drive from WD quickly and efficiently transfers even the largest files with USB 3.0 connectivity. The integrated USB 3.0 connection provides data speeds up to 5 Gb/s while remaining backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports. This plug-and-play drive comes NTFS formatted for a seamless connection to PCs running Windows 8 Windows 7 Windows Vista and Windows XP; and requires reformatting to work with Mac computers.
Features 500GB Storage Capacity, USB 3.0 Interface, Up to 5 Gb/s Data Transfer Speed, Formatted for Windows 8, 7, Vista & XP, Use with Mac Requires Reformatting. The 500GB Elements Portable Hard Drive from WD quickly and efficiently transfers even the largest files with USB 3.0 connectivity. The integrated USB 3.0 connection provides data speeds up to 5 Gb/s while remaining backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports. This plug-and-play drive comes NTFS formatted for a seamless connection to PCs running Windows 8 Windows 7 Windows Vista and Windows XP; and requires reformatting to work with Mac computers.
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The lowest price for WD 500GB Elements Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBUZG5000A right now is $392.39 at Woolworths.
The all-time low was $208.04 on 11 Mar 2026 — today's price is 89% above the lowest ever. It has been notably cheaper before — worth setting a price alert.
Prices last updated 13 Aug 2026.
WD 500GB Elements Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBUZG5000A
Features 500GB Storage Capacity, USB 3.0 Interface, Up to 5 Gb/s Data Transfer Speed, Formatted for Windows 8, 7, Vista & XP, Use with Mac Requires Reformatting. The 500GB Elements Portable Hard Drive from WD quickly and efficiently transfers even the largest files with USB 3.0 connectivity. The integrated USB 3.0 connection provides data speeds up to 5 Gb/s while remaining backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports. This plug-and-play drive comes NTFS formatted for a seamless connection to PCs running Windows 8 Windows 7 Windows Vista and Windows XP; and requires reformatting to work with Mac computers.
Features 500GB Storage Capacity, USB 3.0 Interface, Up to 5 Gb/s Data Transfer Speed, Formatted for Windows 8, 7, Vista & XP, Use with Mac Requires Reformatting. The 500GB Elements Portable Hard Drive from WD quickly and efficiently transfers even the largest files with USB 3.0 connectivity. The integrated USB 3.0 connection provides data speeds up to 5 Gb/s while remaining backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports. This plug-and-play drive comes NTFS formatted for a seamless connection to PCs running Windows 8 Windows 7 Windows Vista and Windows XP; and requires reformatting to work with Mac computers.
Last updated at 13/08/2026 00:32:58
WESTERN DIGITAL Digital WD Elements Portable 5TB USB 3.0 2.5' External Hard Drive - Slim Light Durable Shock Proof Black Plug & Play NTFS for Windows
Delivery between 15–23 Aug $10
originally posted on westerndigital.com
I bought the 5TB Elements a year and a half ago, and this week it started giving me problems before becoming completely useless after 3 days. At first, some of the files on it weren't able to open, and it said the files were corrupt. So I disconnected, reconnected, and ran a Dskchk, and it seemed to successfully "repair" the corrupt files. After that, I could access some of the files again, but File Explorer took forever just to open folders and list the files, let alone open them. A few files later, and any attempt to access the files would freeze File Explorer. Disconnected, reconnected, and now Windows just asks me to format the drive, so pretty much all my files are lost. I can't recommend anyone to buy this product, unless you like having your files disappear ... MoreI bought the 5TB Elements a year and a half ago, and this week it started giving me problems before becoming completely useless after 3 days. At first, some of the files on it weren't able to open, and it said the files were corrupt. So I disconnected, reconnected, and ran a Dskchk, and it seemed to successfully "repair" the corrupt files. After that, I could access some of the files again, but File Explorer took forever just to open folders and list the files, let alone open them. A few files later, and any attempt to access the files would freeze File Explorer. Disconnected, reconnected, and now Windows just asks me to format the drive, so pretty much all my files are lost. I can't recommend anyone to buy this product, unless you like having your files disappear forever.
originally posted on westerndigital.com
Garbage. I've been using my WD Elements external hard drive for roughly a year. I can't even move files onto the drive at all. Spent close to 2 hours on the phone with Apple for them to them me I need to erase the drive and reformat. Well how can I do that without buying another external to move all my files onto? Total waste of money and complete garbage for this to stop working out of nowhere. Was working fine at the end of May during my last mass transfer.
originally posted on westerndigital.com
I received the disk drive and started using it as normal. I attached it to the notebook as before and the notebook did not recognize it. I contacted support because the tools were useless. The helpdesk wasn't much better, they did say I had to reformat it. I did using a complete format, not the quick. The drive found bad locations and fixed them. I put files on it and did a checkdisk with fix option and it's been great after finding half a dozen bad spots over several days.
WESTERN DIGITAL Digital WD Elements Portable 5TB USB 3.0 2.5' External Hard Drive - Slim Light Durable Shock Proof Black Plug & Play NTFS for Windows
Delivery between 15–23 Aug $10
I bought the 5TB Elements a year and a half ago, and this week it started giving me problems before becoming completely useless after 3 days. At first, some of the files on it weren't able to open, and it said the files were corrupt. So I disconnected, reconnected, and ran a Dskchk, and it seemed to successfully "repair" the corrupt files. After that, I could access some of the files again, but File Explorer took forever just to open folders and list the files, let alone open them. A few files later, and any attempt to access the files would freeze File Explorer. Disconnected, reconnected, and now Windows just asks me to format the drive, so pretty much all my files are lost. I can't recommend anyone to buy this product, unless you like having your files disappear ... MoreI bought the 5TB Elements a year and a half ago, and this week it started giving me problems before becoming completely useless after 3 days. At first, some of the files on it weren't able to open, and it said the files were corrupt. So I disconnected, reconnected, and ran a Dskchk, and it seemed to successfully "repair" the corrupt files. After that, I could access some of the files again, but File Explorer took forever just to open folders and list the files, let alone open them. A few files later, and any attempt to access the files would freeze File Explorer. Disconnected, reconnected, and now Windows just asks me to format the drive, so pretty much all my files are lost. I can't recommend anyone to buy this product, unless you like having your files disappear forever.
Garbage. I've been using my WD Elements external hard drive for roughly a year. I can't even move files onto the drive at all. Spent close to 2 hours on the phone with Apple for them to them me I need to erase the drive and reformat. Well how can I do that without buying another external to move all my files onto? Total waste of money and complete garbage for this to stop working out of nowhere. Was working fine at the end of May during my last mass transfer.
I received the disk drive and started using it as normal. I attached it to the notebook as before and the notebook did not recognize it. I contacted support because the tools were useless. The helpdesk wasn't much better, they did say I had to reformat it. I did using a complete format, not the quick. The drive found bad locations and fixed them. I put files on it and did a checkdisk with fix option and it's been great after finding half a dozen bad spots over several days.
Owned less than a year. Took care of it; was gentle, kept it in a hard case. Then it stopped working one day for no apparent reason. Same as all the other complaints; drive is making clicking noises but not recognised by any computer. Local IT repair guy says this is a very common issue with WD, and he wouldn't even touch it as it's un fixable issue. Lost a lot of personal photos and data as I cannnot afford monstrous data recovery costs. Worst product experience I've ever had. Don't buy.
It arrived as a brick. The only things about it that work are the ridiculous licensing agreement and the LED on the case.It won't work on a Mac without reformatting and it won't allow me to reformat it. This is the second Western Digital Product I've had a problem with. No more WD for me.I just tried to submit this review and they even have a "terms and conditions" statement you have to check before you can submit a review. Western Digital must only hire lawyers. They certainly don't seem to have any engineers.
I bought this one in 2020 thinking I could use it later when my current external hard drive is full, and haven’t touched it since. Two days ago I decided use it and it has been a HORRIBLY CONFUSING HARD DRIVE. Literally spent the last 48 hours scavenging the internet for solutions. Immediately got in touch with customer service. The issue: I have a mac and windows computer, it will not initialize or reformat on either platforms. Like I have zerod the thing out, I have tried using first aid, I have tried reformatting/erasing it and on top of that, IT WILL NOT LET MY COMPUTER BOOT UP WHEN ITS PLUGGED IN?! Not a user friendly experience at all, because of it I learned how to use disk utility, terminal, windows commands and disk management so I guess that’s a plus. ... MoreI bought this one in 2020 thinking I could use it later when my current external hard drive is full, and haven’t touched it since. Two days ago I decided use it and it has been a HORRIBLY CONFUSING HARD DRIVE. Literally spent the last 48 hours scavenging the internet for solutions. Immediately got in touch with customer service. The issue: I have a mac and windows computer, it will not initialize or reformat on either platforms. Like I have zerod the thing out, I have tried using first aid, I have tried reformatting/erasing it and on top of that, IT WILL NOT LET MY COMPUTER BOOT UP WHEN ITS PLUGGED IN?! Not a user friendly experience at all, because of it I learned how to use disk utility, terminal, windows commands and disk management so I guess that’s a plus. literally if you want a device that can just plug in and keep data on it, this is not it, it’s not my choice. And customer service said that my device was out of warranty and that it’s non-functional so there’s that. $100 down the drain just like that.
Purchased a 10GB WD Elements from Officeworks in Australia on 17/7/2024 for A$460. Today's date is 11/9/2024. I've only used the new device TWICE in these first 8 weeks of owning it - I have just been copying over photos, files and documents. Today I went to use it - this is only the third time I've switched it on - and the new WD elements device does not appear on the WD list or in Mac disk utility so it can't be mounted. It's formatted in exFAT so I plugged it into a Windows PC and the PC says the disc has errors that can't be repaired. I am ropable. This is the first and last time I will ever be investing in a WD external hard drive - or anything else WD. I own six smaller hard drives - other brands - some are 10 years old and still working. All I wanted to do ... MorePurchased a 10GB WD Elements from Officeworks in Australia on 17/7/2024 for A$460. Today's date is 11/9/2024. I've only used the new device TWICE in these first 8 weeks of owning it - I have just been copying over photos, files and documents. Today I went to use it - this is only the third time I've switched it on - and the new WD elements device does not appear on the WD list or in Mac disk utility so it can't be mounted. It's formatted in exFAT so I plugged it into a Windows PC and the PC says the disc has errors that can't be repaired. I am ropable. This is the first and last time I will ever be investing in a WD external hard drive - or anything else WD. I own six smaller hard drives - other brands - some are 10 years old and still working. All I wanted to do was back them all up on one drive. And that one big drive has failed after only a few hours of use.
I bought four 5TB WD Elements drives in one year. One drive failed in three months. Another failed in less than a month. The pattern was identical. First, they overheat. Second, they start disconnecting and reconnecting after periods of intensive use (copying large files/many files). Third, the timespans between the disconnects get shorter and shorter. Then the drives fail altogether. The only reason I did not lose valuable data this summer was that everything was backed on at least two drives and the two drives that failed were not from the same pair. I never had this issue with 4TB and 3TB WD drives (and I own several of those). Therefore, I assume that it has something to do with design or a batch manufacturing flaw.
4TB and 5TB had unstable temperature when copying many GB for a backup (for example a transfer that takes about 30 minutes). I pause the transfer in Windows 11 to cool down.I added an entire roll of aluminum foil both on top and below the hard disk enclosures. The foil must be as flat as possible, or small pockets of air heat up too much. I have tested all this. Max temperature on 4TB version was about 39 degrees Celsius for a transfer of hundreds of GB, which is stable enough. But 5TB version still heats up too much internally to about 43 degrees Celsius max. This is a little too much heat for durability probably.Temperature can be displayed by various free programs. I implore WD to spend a little more on internal heat sink. This is really poor design if the ... More4TB and 5TB had unstable temperature when copying many GB for a backup (for example a transfer that takes about 30 minutes). I pause the transfer in Windows 11 to cool down.I added an entire roll of aluminum foil both on top and below the hard disk enclosures. The foil must be as flat as possible, or small pockets of air heat up too much. I have tested all this. Max temperature on 4TB version was about 39 degrees Celsius for a transfer of hundreds of GB, which is stable enough. But 5TB version still heats up too much internally to about 43 degrees Celsius max. This is a little too much heat for durability probably.Temperature can be displayed by various free programs. I implore WD to spend a little more on internal heat sink. This is really poor design if the temperature causes malfunction.
I have only possitive feedback regarding this model of Portable Memory/harddrive unit.I have a earlyer model Wd passport Ultra Blue (1 Tb ) and had this since 5 years back now and still works perfect,no issues what so ever..as long you do the corect way to save information and when you remove the unit from Computer or Laptop. Now soon its time to upgrade my WD unit to bigger model maybe a 4 Gb and hope it will also work as his preaccessor that I have. I use the WD unit to massstore as backup and save Music in WAV sound format and tha takes huge amount of space same when I save my Youtube music Videos in MP4. Many people might say Why save in WAV formatinstaed of MP4 or MP3 that takes less space?? that of personal reasons and about sound 100% undistorted quality,! ... MoreI have only possitive feedback regarding this model of Portable Memory/harddrive unit.I have a earlyer model Wd passport Ultra Blue (1 Tb ) and had this since 5 years back now and still works perfect,no issues what so ever..as long you do the corect way to save information and when you remove the unit from Computer or Laptop. Now soon its time to upgrade my WD unit to bigger model maybe a 4 Gb and hope it will also work as his preaccessor that I have. I use the WD unit to massstore as backup and save Music in WAV sound format and tha takes huge amount of space same when I save my Youtube music Videos in MP4. Many people might say Why save in WAV formatinstaed of MP4 or MP3 that takes less space?? that of personal reasons and about sound 100% undistorted quality,! you dont get that with MP3 or MP4..and for this You need large ammount of storage capacity.!
