Begin by turning on the Mac computer with only a single My Book Studio or My Passport Studio drive connected. Ensure that the version of Mac OSX being used is compatible with the firmware updater (Leopard, Snow Leopard). How to update the firmware of a My Book Studio or My Passport Studio drive How to Get an RMA to Replace a Defective Product, Obtain a Power Supply, or USB Cable for a WD Product Where to download software, utilities, firmware updates, and drivers for WD products.
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Western Digital My Passport Studio 1TB
Western Digital My Passport Studio 500GB
Western Digital’s latest My Passport Studio has a solid build and multiple connections, but slow transfer speeds and a preinstalled security app hamstring an otherwise decent drive.
Unlike the My Passport Essential’s () plastic exterior, the My Passport Studio is made from anodized aluminum with a black case and silver edges, giving it both a durable build and professional look. The drive weighs 0.75 pounds, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it feels sturdy when you hold it in your hand.
The drive has a USB 2.0 port and two FireWire 800 ports, and with a tiny activity light. The My Passport Studio comes preformatted for the Mac, so there’s no need to reformat it. You get the necessary cables (though no FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 cable), along with a Quick Install guide and warranty information. A full digital version of the user’s manual is included on the drive itself, or you can download it from Western Digital’s website.
We tested the 1TB version, but WD sells a 500GB version for $170 and a 750GB drive for $200.
Every time you connect the Passport Studio to your Mac, you’re greeted by Western Digital’s Unlocker software, which requires you to type in a preset password before you can begin using the drive. [Editor's note: This was our experience with the evaluation unit used for testing. A WD representative says that with brand new drives, the Unlocker software should not ask for a password. This is to allow you to delete the software if you wish.] To get around it, you have to use the provided WD Security app. Once installed, you change the password or stop Unlocker from showing up by removing any required password. I’d prefer that Western Digital let the customer decide if they want to use their security app or not, and I find it unfortunate that you’re forced to install extra software in order to deal with a preinstalled app on the My Passport Studio. But it’s possible that you may welcome the extra security the software provides.
In every test we conducted, the My Passport Studio’s USB 2.0 transfer speeds were a bit on the slow side compared to similar drives. It netted 28.6MBps in our 2GB folder write test and 31.3.MBps in our 2GB file write test over USB 2.0. In contrast, the G-Drive Mobile (), a USB 2.0/FireWire 800 portable drive released over a year ago, obtained 30.8MBps in the 2GB folder write test and 31.7MBps in the 2GBfile write test. The My Passport Studio finished our low-memory Photoshop test in 90 seconds, one of the slowest times among the portable hard drives we’ve tested.
The drive faired slightly better over FireWire 800, where it posted 55.8MBps in the 2GB folder write test and 67.1MBps in the 2GB file write test. It also completed the Photoshop test in 64 seconds. Compared to other FireWire portable drives we’ve tested, the transfer rates were more middle-of-the-road, and the Photoshop time was sluggish, unable to surpass other drives. That’s too bad, since the drive is marketed to creative professionals, who generally need as much speed for their projects as they can get.
Macworld’s buying advice
The My Passport Studio looks good and is overall a decent drive. But it lags in the speed department and has a security app that doesn’t disappear without intervention.
Editor's note: Updated 3/23/12 at 10 a.m. PT with information about the Unlocker software on brand new drives.
Western Digital My Passport Studio 1TB
Western Digital My Passport Studio 500GB
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Western Digital My Passport Studio for Mac 640GB
Some developers refresh their product lines infrequently, only changing their formula when they’re able to dramatically improve performance or offer new features. In contrast, others release new editions of their line seemingly every year, continually evolving their line as a car company would. Western Digital falls into this latter category, but that doesn’t mean their latest My Passport Studio portable hard drive isn’t a huge leap forward for the portable line. Thanks to an innovative new display and some solid connection speeds, the My Passport Studio is a solid successor to Western Digital’s tradition.
The latest My Passport Studio offers a dual interface design with FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connectivity. The drive also comes Time Machine ready and offers capacities of 640GB, 500GB, and 320GB. The unit we tested had 640GB of storage.
The unit itself is slightly shorter and more rounded than the previous version, weighing in at 0.4 pounds and with dimensions of 3.3 by 0.7 by 4.8 inches. It feels flimsy in your hands but survived several of our drop tests with no ill effects. The My Passport Studio is light enough to put in your pocket and take with you anywhere.
The My Passport Studio features a sleek silver aluminum exterior with white trim and a new smart display. Even when unplugged, you can view the white on black customizable label. The display can reveal what’s on the drive, to whom it belongs to, or indicate some other message to its owner. Meanwhile, the display also lets you know the available capacity and security status of the drive.
The My Passport Studio features a 2.5-inch drive with a 8MB cache and a 5400-rpm drive mechanism. The drive offers both USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 ports, though users can also achieve FireWire 400 connectivity with a FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 cord (not included).
With only a 5400 rpm mechanism and without eSATA connectivity, it’s not surprising that the My Passport Studio did not achieve the best times we’ve seen in our lab tests. The My Passport Studio finished our 1GB copy test in 31 seconds while using its FireWire 800 connection—6 seconds behind OWC’s Mercury Elite-AL Pro Mini (), our top product for portable hard drives.
Firmware For My Passport Studio For Macbook
The My Passport Studio fared better in our duplication tests, finishing the test in 39 seconds with its FireWire 800 connection enabled. That’s actually a second better than the Mercury Elite AL Pro Mini. Unfortunately, the low-memory Photoshop tests proved to be comparatively difficult for the My Passport Studio; its FireWire 800 score was 20 seconds slower than the Elite AL Pro Mini’s.
Why the up and down times? The AJA tests only complicate the narrative: the My Passport Studio has slower read speeds than the Mercury Pro with its FireWire 800 connection. However, My Passport Studio produced better write times than the Elite Al Pro Mini. This is impressive considering the My Passport has a 5400-rpm mechanism, compared to the Elite AL Pro Mini’s 7200-rpm mechanism, and the copy tests (usually a pure write test) are worse for the My Passport.
Timed trials
| Copy 1GB file to USB 2.0 | 0:49 |
|---|---|
| Copy 1GB file to FireWire 400 | 0:36 |
| Copy 1GB file to FireWire 800 | 0:31 |
| Duplicate 1GB file via USB 2.0 | 1:21 |
| Duplicate 1GB file via FireWire 400 | 0:58 |
| Duplicate 1GB file via FireWire 800 | 0:39 |
| Low-memory Photoshop: USB 2.0 | 4:09 |
| Low-memory Photoshop: FireWire 400 | 3:45 |
| Low-memory Photoshop: FireWire 800 | 3:13 |
How we tested. We ran all tests with the drive connected to a Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz Xeon with 2GB of RAM running OS 10.6. We tested the drive with each available port. We copied a folder containing 1GB of data from our Mac's hard drive to the external hard drive to test the drive's write speed. We then duplicated that file on the external drive to test both read and write speeds. We also used the drive as a scratch disk when running our low-memory Adobe Photoshop CS4 Suite test. This test is a set of four tasks performed on a 300MB file, with Photoshop's memory set to 25 percent.—Macworld Lab testing by Chris Holt
AJA tests
| Write | Read | |
|---|---|---|
| USB | 20.5MBps | 39.7MBps |
| FireWire 400 | 34.2MBps | 38.6MBps |
| FireWire 800 | 69.1MBps | 81.9MBps |
The 640GB My Passport Studio will set you back $200, giving it a price per gigabyte of $.31. That’s pricey, even for a portable drive. LaCie’s Rikiki (), for example, is a measly $.22 per gigabyte. The My Passport Studio comes with a three-year warranty.
My Passport For Mac Cable
Macworld’s buying advice
Western Digital’s My Passport Studio provides satisfactory (though not exceptional) speed, a strong warranty, and a convenient digital label. If you’re a fan of Western Digital’s line of drives, you’ll appreciate the company constantly seeks to improve their storage solutions and the digital label is just that—an upgrade. If you’re not a fan, however, you’ll likely wonder why you’re paying so much for such unexceptional performance.
[Chris Holt is a Macworld associate editor.]
Western Digital My Passport Studio
Western Digital My Passport Studio for Mac 640GB
Cons
- Mixed speed results