WD Elements SE 2TB Portable Hard Drive

WD have always been compact, robust and fast drives and this one doesn't disappoint either, hence adding yet another one to my collection. Great value for money.The only let down was the software that came with it. Most Mac and PCS now have their own disk utility software and the supplied did not really add much to it. Easy to install and pretty easy to remove. It was good that you were given the option to install or not. If you do use the software, part of it insists on running on start up (on a Mac) which cannot be turned off , but that just might be Macs.Overall would definitely buy again.

I am now onto my second one of these since Christmas (3 months ago). Using on a MacBook Pro (Catalina)... have formatted it for use with a Mac, and have subsequently reformatted it twice. Within days the ominious clicking starts, and it just keeps getting worse. Sadly I had bought this to recover nearly 5TB of digital media, which I did in the first few days.... so within about ten days I lost the entire drive worth of data again. Not that I think WD are entirely at fault when I have had much the same thing occur with Seagate Drives. I would not buy one of these cheap drives again. I don't know whether it is the fact the are powered through the USB is the problem, but it seems to be a consistent thing. I have other older WD Drives (some over ten years old) that have ... MoreI am now onto my second one of these since Christmas (3 months ago). Using on a MacBook Pro (Catalina)... have formatted it for use with a Mac, and have subsequently reformatted it twice. Within days the ominious clicking starts, and it just keeps getting worse. Sadly I had bought this to recover nearly 5TB of digital media, which I did in the first few days.... so within about ten days I lost the entire drive worth of data again. Not that I think WD are entirely at fault when I have had much the same thing occur with Seagate Drives. I would not buy one of these cheap drives again. I don't know whether it is the fact the are powered through the USB is the problem, but it seems to be a consistent thing. I have other older WD Drives (some over ten years old) that have never had an issue, but each has it's own power plug. I will be returning this again as soon as the lockdown is finished, and I will be changing it for a powered option. Do not buy these drives, USB powered drives are clearly flawed.

Absolute garbage for Mac

This product was a complete waste of money. Trying to reformat for Mac was a nightmare. It made me download drivers and applications that didn’t work and were frustrating to install. Buy something else if you use Mac.

Coinneach's review of WD Elements SE Portable Hard Drive - 2 TB, Black

Pros: Simple to use, installed automatically. Tidy bit of kit. Cons: Lack of carry case is a pain. Pennies to provide at source, pounds to buy now!

Doesn't have long legs…

We bought two of these for the business to back up critical files. We've noted the reviews are for relatively recent purchases. The first drive died with all the business back-up files on it. It was taken to a licensed tech who could not salvage any of the critical data.The second one died this week. Again with files critical to the business. THESE WERE BACK-UP hard drives purchased specifically for data storage!We really don't want to hear suggestions about backing up MORE back-up hardware. Isn't that the point? How long a daisy-chain of back-up devices is necessary to protect and archive files???

Good small capacity drive

I like the portability, storage space and easy to use features. Great value for money. The transfer rate is good for a USB-C port and transferred very large files, effortlessly. It works a treat and don’t have any hesitation in recommending it.

Great price great buy

I am a regular buyer of 1TB storage devices and have figured out that WD is the best to settle for. I have used Seagate ,samsung and many more but WD is the most durable one. Now why Good Guys because they made it possible to get me a 2TB HDD almost at the rate of 1TB ,because I one they had an offer and two they also allowed by store credit to use on top of the offer So it is like cherry on cake.

Networked backup solution

I recently upgraded to a newer Apple Extreme router, replacing an old Time Capsule router. I know - both are obsolete - but I don't need the speed and I have owned both for multiple years. However, I did need more networked storage for our 2 computers and this little 3 TB drive was just what I needed. Connecting it to the Apple Extreme was easy - USB powered meant no extra AC needed. I was able to quickly format it in Apple's Airport software. Time Machine started backing up to it almost immediately. I would buy it again.

So far so good

It ends up working fine, so far no problems. Portable, the fan is silent. I'd argue it's a pretty good choice if you're looking for an external. I almost ended up going to another company but heard WD was better, more well made and goes the extra mile. This is true to my knowledge and I hope to buy more products from the company soon, if it applies

Waste of time hard drive

Bought this for my partner to store her study work and clear up some on her Mac. Literally the worst hard drive and most frustrating hard drive to use I’ve ever used. A hard drive is meant to be easy to use and literally drop data onto it, where this hard drive requires you to install all this extra crap before you can even use it and then instead of moving files it just copies them all and you have to go through and delete everything after copying it all. Don’t waste your time and get a seagate instead