WD 500GB Scorpio Blue - buy in a enclosure e.g. Passport?

[RealEvil]

Hi,

Id like to buy one of these drives but ideally id like to buy a Passport with this drive in (as the prices are similar and it gives me a enclosure for my current 320GB drive).

But is a Passport Essential the same drive? What about a Passport Elite etc?

Any ideas?


Thanks,


Neil

 

[pdxflint]

I'm not sure how hard or easy it is to remove drives from the Passport enclosures... but I got that particular WD laptop drive here with a very usable usb enclosure thrown in for free as part of a combo deal. Sometimes you can find discounts off their current price of $99.

Another thing to think about: If you remove the actual hard drive from one sold as an external, does it void the warranty or not. You might want to know this for sure before cracking the case on a Passport.

 

[RealEvil]

Thanks for the reply - unfortunately I live in the UK. Part of the reason for wanting to buy the 'Passport' version (if it exists) is that I could then buy it this weekend rather than order online and wait.

 

[aaronearles]

Not sure about the 2.5" version, but I did this for a 3.5" version and got the green series drive. Not sure if they even have a green 2.5", just saying.

 

[aaronearles]

The elite is probably the same drive inside, it just adds hardware level encryption and I think a disk usage guage.

 

[compuguy1088]

I'm not sure how hard or easy it is to remove drives from the Passport enclosures... but I got that particular WD laptop drive here with a very usable usb enclosure thrown in for free as part of a combo deal. Sometimes you can find discounts off their current price of $99.

Another thing to think about: If you remove the actual hard drive from one sold as an external, does it void the warranty or not. You might want to know this for sure before cracking the case on a Passport.

I've read that several of these passport drives are designed with a USB port built into the drive, preventing its use in a laptop.

 

[Knolly]

I've read that several of these passport drives are designed with a USB port built into the drive, preventing its use in a laptop.

False. There is a small circuit board that is very firmly connected into the SATA port, that's it though.

@OP:
This is very possible and yes, the drive will be a WD Scorpio Blue. I've done the exact same thing with both the older style Passport case and the newer ones.

 

[noah82]

I buy the Western Digital drives in the enclosures all the time when I need a 2.5'' drive right away. They are not hard to remove with a flathead screwdriver and the drives work like a charm! I have a 500GB Western Digital in my Mac Mini right now.

 

[edblor]

I buy the Western Digital drives in the enclosures all the time when I need a 2.5'' drive right away. They are not hard to remove with a flathead screwdriver and the drives work like a charm! I have a 500GB Western Digital in my Mac Mini right now.

Good idea to get sometihng fast, and have an enclosure to boot, however, what about warranty?

I had a Buffalo NAS and the HD inside (a WD JB drive with 5-year warranty) failed, it was not honoured as WD sees it as being sold to Buffalo first. Of course the Buffalo device was out of warranty so I was SOL

 

[taphil]

False. There is a small circuit board that is very firmly connected into the SATA port, that's it though.

No. You need to look it up. Some newer passport drives do have the USB interface and port built in to the drive and cannot be used in a notebook.

 

[pdxflint]

I have no doubt that the external drive enclosures can be cracked/opened and the drives removed for other uses - but still the question of warranty then comes up. It seems like the warranty is on the assembly... intact. Once you start taking things apart, that item doesn't exist anymore, as far as warranty and product registration. That would be my concern. I'd rather have a Scorpio Blue 500gig hd (OEM) which has the three year warranty on it's own, regardless of application or hardware it's installed in.

 

[JCastro]

I would order a separate HDD. You will know exactly what you are getting; size, speed ect. If you buy it in an enclosure you may get a speed or something that you weren't expecting. You also won't have to worry about warranties or anything. Just wait and do it right the first time and know you will be happy with what you have in the end.

 

[alphaod]

I have no doubt that the external drive enclosures can be cracked/opened and the drives removed for other uses - but still the question of warranty then comes up. It seems like the warranty is on the assembly... intact. Once you start taking things apart, that item doesn't exist anymore, as far as warranty and product registration. That would be my concern. I'd rather have a Scorpio Blue 500gig hd (OEM) which has the three year warranty on it's own, regardless of application or hardware it's installed in.

It voids the warranty; I had 2 drives die on me that came from a Passport and a MyBook; both claims where denied since I removed it from their enclosures.

 

[edblor]

It voids the warranty; I had 2 drives die on me that came from a Passport and a MyBook; both claims where denied since I removed it from their enclosures.

That sux. My issue with my Buffalo NAS was that the warranty had expired on the NAS, but the HDD was not 5-years old. WD would not honour the warranty as it had sold the HDD to Buffalo. Buffalo would not honour the warranty of the HDD, as it was part of the NAS, and it had expired.

To put it simply, buy the HDD separately!