Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive ST305004FDA1E1-RK
by SEAGATE
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive ST305004FDA1E1-RK
Customer Review: Very happy with Pro and Go
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the 500 gig USB FreeAgent PRO and the 120 gig FreeAgent GO. The Pro and Go worked right out of the box on XP home. I would prefer an overview of capabilities that was not written by a Marketing person, perhaps a video. I was looking for a backup device that required no input on my part, both do this. The menu walks you through the set up, but I would have preferred an overview that told me what to expect, but this is not a show stopper. There is no instruction on how to properly disable the device. You will find your hard drive unexpectedly spinning for long, long intervals. Is this a virus wiping my hard drive? No, it is Free Agent doing something. Open the Memeo backup and restore software (supplied) tray icon and it gives you an idea what it is doing. But is it safe to turn off my computer?
While the drive is spinning, other apps may appear to hang. Don't do anything, leave it alone. Don't frantically push keys or buttons. The back up software is turning over processing power to the new app or whatever you are trying to execute. The software monitors your drive and does automatic backups, even saving several changed versions of the same file for restoration choices. There is a tiny pop up window that tells you when files are being backed up.
My issue happened recently. I use a UPS but the battery is apparently failing and I had several power dips. This disconnected the PRO drive momentarily. After several disconnects, the backup indexing file(?) was corrupted and the backup folder is no longer recognized for backup or global restore purposes. The data is not corrupted and is accessible as would happen with a straight external drive but new data will not back up to that folder. The backup utilities will not recognize the backup plan and the instructions on where to find the plan are cryptic at best. "look for a folder named Memeo" Where? On the E drive, the C drive, in Program Files? I plan to be more careful in the future, always use a UPS (back up power supply) and determine the most gentle way of turning the thing off without corrupting the back up index, or whatever is wrong. Note, the initial backup may take two solid days. I am not sure what the effect computer hibernation may have on the process.
Enter FreeAgent Go, much, much smaller in size, 120 gigs. Importantly, runs off USB port for power so no crashes or outside power or UPS. Same software, FreeAgent and Memeo, plus Creedo. It is marketed as a device that holds your files and portable applications. Plug it in to any computer and you have your apps and data. Comes with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook Express, IE, and will accept apps written for Creedo. (Google it). There are plenty of apps that don't need to be installed by Windows and will run by clicking on the .exe file. Look for portable USB flash drive apps like KeePass, OpenOffice, AVG, SpyBot, Firefox, and Thunderbird. The Creedo software imports the software and creates it's own tiny "desktop" with app. icons. Cute. Non Creedo apps can be placed in a separate directory on the GO drive or better yet, include them in your backup files so the data/passwords/browser favorites are always in sync.
I am not sure if you can back up to GO and PRO on the same machine since they share the same software. GO and PRO have slightly different purposes. Does it make sense to carry primary backup files with you instead of locking them up in a secure area? Not sure, but it makes sense that Memeo software will sync new files to your hard drive if GO was used on a different computer and new files created.
Customer Review: Know what you're buying
Summary: 5 Stars
This is essentially a Seagate 500 Gig, 7200 rpm, SATA drive in a cheap USB 2.0 compatible case. It comes with some sort of software to "help" you backup data. I right click and select open and use it as another hard drive. Depending on your intended use and degree of sophistication this could be a great product.
PROS: I've had great luck with Seagate drives. I have never lost data on one (fingers crossed). The 7200 spin would be great for video capture and the SATA connection is perfect to make sure this drive will directly plug into your computer if the USB case dies. You could also buy another external drive case if the one supplied fails. I do not use the included software, preferring to just back up data. The included software takes up about 250 megs which I could erase at any point if I need the space. Even without running the software this device goes into power saving mode (the drive spins down) in about 15 minutes. The included USB cord is A to mini-B. This is a great standard connection. I have them sitting around for digital cameras and MP3 players. It's nice not to have worry about finding a proprietary cable.
CONS: Slow interface. But what do you expect? I set it up with 100 gigs of video to back up and go to bed. The next morning it's done. It is a rather flimsy housing and I would see it tipping over easily. The active drive light flashes too slowly for my liking as you must observe it for 10 or 15 seconds to see if it's really active. The housing doesn't have any vents so I could see heat being a problem but haven't experienced that.
CONCLUSION: I looked around and decided that for my purposes (just backing up huge video and data files) this was a perfect drive. I haven't had any problems with heat as the drive spins down, but I also disconnect it and move it to a safe place after I dump data to it. As I said, if the case dies I don't care, this was the same price as an internal SATA Seagate. If it dies I'll crack it open and lock it in my safe. Then if I need to restore something I'll spring for a SATA to eSATA connector (circa $15) or just plug the drive directly into the computer.
This is just a good hard drive with a free external case. And I haven't had any problems with the case so I may end up being happy as a clam with this drive for years.
Customer Review: I love this drive!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was having all sorts of problems with my system (Windows XP Pro) when I tried to use an external SATA drive cabled into my motherboard, so I had to abandon that route for external backup storage. I had thought I needed the SATA speed to make it practical to back up large files, but finally had to try another way to meet my backup needs. I read through all of the products and reviews and finally settled on this one after reading about the overheating on the Iomega drive (which, ironically, uses a Seagate disk inside). Well, I am so happy with the Seagate FreeAgent USB 2.0 that I would heartily recommend it to anyone else. It is quiet, runs warm but not hot and I can leave it on and plugged in to my system, so it's always ready for me to use. The files transfer just as fast as they did with the SATA interface, and the 5-year warranty is a meaningful bonus.
I do make the following recommendations, though, for problem-free operation and getting around some of the "undocumented features" that come with the package. 1) Plug it into a power source that only is on when your computer is on. It doesn't have a power switch, but I have a power strip that is plugged into my backup power UPS and is only on when my whole system is on. That way you don't have to unplug it or lose data, as some users have reported. 2) Instead of drag and drop for copying files (which produced some very weird results and caused some files to go off into the ozone), COPY the file and then PASTE it into the location you want it to go into on the FreeAgent disk. This works flawlessly every time. 3) Don't bother with their backup software. It doesn't "see" any of the files in the Documents and Settings folders, such as Outlook .pst files, Favorites, or Bookmarks. It also doesn't apparently have the "intelligence" to know which files have been modified since the last backup was taken, so I just copy everything manually, using copy and paste, and it works great. I just make a habit of backing up my work either right away or at the end of the day. 4) burn a CD of the setup files that come pre-installed on the drive, in case you have to reinstall your system at some point in time, and then delete them from the drive if you want to.
Customer Review: Seagate 500GB External Storage HDD
Summary: 5 Stars
This device was purchased as a replacement for my maxtor which broke. Maxtor was made by seagate, so I wasn't to sure about buying this Seagate drive.
The drive comes neatly packaged (which I bought mine new from Amazon) and it comes with a manual, the drive, a power cable and the USB cable. The drive should be plug and play compatible. Just plug it in and you can access it from your my computer as a second HDD. should be next to your C: drive. You can then drag and drop any files you may want to store on the HDD.
I have owned this drive for about a month now. I have ran the drive 24/7 for about 2 weeks now and it is still running A ok. that shows a lot of integrity for durability and reliability.
In order to turn off the drive you have to safely remove the hardrive and wait for the drive to power itself down. you can then remove the cables. REMEMBER, make sure you use the dock and stand for this drive. it has to be upright and ventilated properly or you risk overheating the device.
There are TB drives however, that are only 50-100 dollars more. I feel that if anyone wants to go that route they may be better off. An internal drive would be an even more reliable route also, as an internal drive are less likely to fail.
keep in mind that my seagate drive has made me happy, it worked right out of the box and it is what I needed to store the music I have been buying from itunes. I have a lot now, so my 500 GB drive is nearly full.
it makes me wish I would have went for the 1TB drive.
if you are not planning on downloading and storing, or more for backup or for office storage or for storing maybe schoolwork or to back up documents and such, this drive is great! it has saved me on several system crashes, as I store important drivers and documents that I need on the drive. But then again, I beleive that is the idea of any drive.
It depends on the use of the Drive, but I say this drive is reliable and fast and easy and very pnp reliable. I would recommend it to anyone.
Bryan. 10-1-08
Customer Review: FreeAgent Desktop 500 USB External Hard Drive
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this drive when I started to unexpectedly run out of hard drive space on my Macintosh Powerbook laptop computer.
My laptop has served my needs very well, but when I purchased a 180 GB iPod, is started running out of hard drive space on my Mac. I therefore purchased this hard drive for the sole purpose of giving me the storage space that I needed to allow me to continue to convert and to store my CD collection for syncing to my iPod.
This drive was the first USB external hard drive that I have ever purchased. (As a Mac user, I have always preferred FireWire external components.) I find myself very pleased and very much liking this component for a number of reasons.
First, it was cost effective.
Second, there is more storage capacity than I require to store all of my CD collection conversions.
Third, it's sleek and doesn't require a lot of "real estate."
Fourth, because of the software that comes with the drive and the abundance of storage space, I will be backing up the entire contents of my laptop's built-in hard drive.
Fifth, I like Seagate hard drives because of their reliability and relatively long warranties.
When I first set this device up, I was surprised to find that there was NO external power switch of any kind. Instead, the device is powered up when it is plugged in the USB port of a computer. If you keep it plugged into a computer, it will power down when the computer is turned off and vice versa.
The only negative is that file access is a little slow, but I have nothing with which to compare it, except the hard drive that is built into my laptop.
All in all, this is an excellent product and a good choice for solving my particular problem....