USB ports on Penryn MBP

I have a 250GB WD Passport HD that connects to a single USB port both for data and power.
It does NOT work on my 2.4GHz Penryn MBP. I tested the drive on other notebooks and it works flawlessly.
My question is: are the USB ports in current-generation MBPs "underpowered"?
mac.cardi

Hi Mac Cardi:
I just had a different experience. I just replaced my 2.16 Core 2 Duo 15" MacBook Pro with the latest. I have a little 80 gig Lacie (Porsche Design) external drive that needed both USB Ports on my old laptop to spin up.
The current Penryn MBPro I just got does the job with just the regular single USB cord; it doesn't need the extra one to provide power. By the way, this works with both the right and the reputedly-weak left USB Port.
It was one of the first things I checked out on this new machine, because I'm an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician and the diagnostics for the newest Macs must be run from a USB drive. They're too big to burn to a DVD.
So these ports don't seem "underpowered" to me. But maybe your Western Digital Passport needs more current than my little Lacie. YMMV
Allen

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