Can you just connect an extra external drive to the USB 3 port, then transfer files between them (show up in window explorer?)? What's transfer rate?
1769612
Yes. And transfer rate is fast if the other drive is also 3.0. If not then it will be limited to the transfer speed of the drive
1769613
no, its a lot more complex than that. trust me, i tried. you actually have to plug your extra ExtHDD to your laptop, and your MyCLoud to your laptop with an ethernet cable, then transfer. its about as fast as your internet will let you OR as fast as your extra ExtHDD will let you write files
1769614
Yes, I have a USB 2 drive connected to that port. It shows up om Mac as another volume (drive) as if it were plugged into the computer. I believe it will show up in Win explorer as just another drive. Don't know the transfer rate. That depends a lot on your network.
1769615
Hey you can perform copy and transfer but another computing devices is required in between like pc or laptop I feel it's better to connect to laptop or Pc and then perform the task so it will reduce your network usage and hence better speed .
1769616
Yes any usb 2.0 or 3.0 external drive will work with the MyCloud as there is a USB 3.0 port. However I have not personally done that as there was no need for that use on my end. Hope that helps.
36841
My similar drive (5TB) is also equipped for USB 3, but it works great on my 2.0 ports. I assume it could transfer faster on 3.0, but there's no incompatibility.
1132930
I've never tried to use an external USB drive but I doubt it will power it. As for folders, it will display the
1787319
I use a WD portable drive and it works well with this USB hub. (I did not try with more than one external drives.)
74182
I believe they are USB 2. Transfer rates aren't even close to USB 2 rates directly from the computer. It works once set up, but is still a slow transfer for whatever is being moved.
870955
this doesn't have it's own network adapter. Unless the USB external drive has a network adapter don't believe that will work. Sorry :(
1489460
yup...I've used it many times already to move large files back and forth between my Windows desktop and my MacBook. And with the USB 3, it's very quick even for a lot of data. It's faboo!
1789788
You have two internal hard drives? Not many computers have that. It wouldn't be possible to say which is the quickest without knowing the transfer speeds of both drives. It may not be a significant difference anyways. The edge the external drive would have is that you can easily and quickly remove it and connect it to another computer if something catastrophic happened to your computer. Another thing- as far as I can tell there was no backup software included for the Passport so you'll need to rely on your computer's backup software. That's probably not a factor. In the end it's probably apples and oranges whether you go with an internal or external drive. Personally, I prefer the portability of an external drive. Good luck with your purchase.
2031654
I've found that usb3 to usb3 transfers are around 100MB/s up to 170MB/s on 3Gb/s Sata Drives you won't see faster than that till you get faster devices. USB3 to internal sata 3Gb/s drives are about 50MB/s to 90MB/s, Depending on processorand drive speeds. USB3 to e-sata Is around 70 -90MB/s The Drivers that came with mine did work. and it did power my usb 2.5" drives. but not more than 1 at a time. with out using the included power cord.
1065025
I've been trying this with no success. A single drive through a 7-port usb hub worked fine. However, upon connecting three drives, one TB drive became corrupted and had to be reformatted! The other two TB drives were connected and able to be shared. Upon both hookups my wired connection continued to lose and regain internet; followed by not being able to access the router admin from firefox. At this point I'm ready to just connect a single tb drive and give up on multiple drives. If I have any later success I'll post again. Good luck.
960198
Roger, you can transfer the existing files to an extrnal drive via USB. I don't know if you can record directly to an external drive.
1228479
It's been a long time. I think a cable came with my drive. I don't see why you could not use any USB cable. I switch them all the time.
594130
I bought one and I use it. Windows 7 Backup doesn't work with it, so I use a 3rd party backup. It has a USB 3 interface, but I have only USB 2. The disk works fine.
124815
I used it as an external drive. Even if you can take the HD out, you still need a sata connecting cable ($8.66 for 2). It has a USB-3 cable which is faster than the conventional USB-2. I wonder why you would pay the price of an external drive and use it as an internal drive, which usually costs less for the same capacity. I bought a WD 4 TB internal drive as D:
1038972
I found that I did have trouble if i tried to plug into an external USB extension and had to go directly into the computer - but it sounds like you already did that so I'm not sure. Did you try to just bring up a Windows explorer session and see if there is new drive listed?
1584495
Theoretically, USB 3.0 should smoke Firewire. You may be running USB 2.0 and not realize due to drivers not installed or any number of reasons. In particular, are you sure the port you are using is actually a 3.0 port? Connected via a working 3.0 the transfer bottleneck is literally the drive itself, not the connection.
1273364
But how would you add more than one external drive? Would you just use a USB hub?