Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive ST305004FDA1E1-RK
by SEAGATE
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List Price: Our Price: $249.99 You Save: $20.00 (7%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $79.99 (click here) Category: Personal Computer See more product details |
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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: Quick & Easy Setup - It just works.
Summary: 5 Stars
Having used Western Digital external (and internal) hard drives for years, I finally got tired of their phantom bugs (especially the external drives).
I've been running the Seagate Free Agent 500GB drive as my backup for a couple of months now and the thing just purrs along. The design is very pleasing. Makes little to no noise at all. And it's stylish as well. Absolutely no complaints.
When I purchased the drive it immediately brought a smile to me as I opened up the very clean and fun packaging. Some simple, yet inviting stickers saying "hi". And a manual sitting right on top that says "This will only take a minute". I actually enjoyed the packaging (yeah, I know, weird).
And Seagate was right - in less than a minute, my drive was recognized by Windows XP and up and running. Plug and Play. That's it.
I'm not sure what the fuss about the lack of firewire support is about. USB 2.0 transfer rates are nearly as fast (if not faster in some respects) than firewire. Over the course of several gigs of file transfer, you may notice a few seconds difference either way. Does it really matter?
Finally, it's nice to know that Seagate hasn't diminished their warranty over the years. Unlike many of the other larger manufacturers who have reduced their warranty to a year or less (Western Digital, et al), Seagate has maintained a warranty of 5 years.
Simply put: It just works.
Customer Review: As easy to use as a thumbdrive
Summary: 5 Stars
I couldn't pass up the sale price in today's Circuit City ad. I needed a backup for my other backup which is a SimpleTech 250GB hard drive I bought a couple of years ago. It sure is nice to see cost per gig drop from what used be $1/gigabyte to less than $0.30/gigabyte.
I bought this solely on impressions of other reviewers. Compared to Western Digital and Maxtor reviewers, this one seemed to be as close to hassle free as my SimpleTech.
So far so good. I made the circuit starting with my Gateway then to my Mac G5, Dell, and IBM laptop and am happy to report that all 4 units recognized the hardware promptly and permitted me to import/export files easily.
Unlike other hard disc drive users, I use mine for simple back up archival purposes. I plug in, click and drag My Docs, unplug, and put the drive away in a fire safe until the next time I feel like backing up. Sure beats the stacks of CDs and eventually DVDs I used to have to store.
There is one little hang up. After I am done, when I am trying to invoke the Eject hardware feature on any of my units, I kept getting the "unable to eject at this time message" that I sometimes get with thumbdrives. I unplugged anyway and didn't seem to affect any of my files when I checked later.
This is the way all electronic products should be. Simple and ready to use right out of the box.
Customer Review: Archive Space Solution
Summary: 5 Stars
If your sole purpose is to offload archives, then this is a great product. Most people don't think twice of backing up their existing data. Also, each version of windows comes with a backup program which originated from the Veritas Brand of Software. You can easily set the Free Agent Hardware and make it an active drive, then setup the Backup Software within MS 2000, XP, or Vista.
I've read reviews that seem to point out the burden of USB2 write speed. It makes no difference if the interface is Firewire or USB if the intent is to just backup data. If it takes a few extra seconds or minutes, no big deal. Either way the data will get to the disk and you can rest peacefully.
Update as of September 02, 2007: It appears my drive has began failing. I've heard from various sources that this series of Drives lacks cooling capacity. I've left mine plugged in for a few hours to begin noticing Windows Cache errors reading and writing from the drive. If the drive is left to cool, it is fine when plugged in. This is a major problem and I am considering having the drive replaced. Also, I've used the Seagate tools and it failed to run the tools on the detected FreeAgent Drive. Weird? I'll say.
Customer Review: Peace of mind with no disruption at an affordable price
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a fantastic product. Got one at one of the office stores today as a Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) special for under three figures, but even at the Amazon price this is a great deal. Love the simple packaging with clever phrases - very Apple-esque. I have a 20" iMac so I wanted to get a FireWire drive to save my USB ports, but this was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up. The USB 2.0 is fast and the drive required practically no setup - just plugged it in, had to reformat once with Disk Utility to get it Mac-ready and I was done. Using it with Time Machine in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is a breeze - a couple of clicks and I have an effortless backup of my system - peace of mind with absolutely no disruption. Every hour if I'm working in my office I'll hear a slight whirring of the drive spinning up and some files being backed up from Time Machine, but it hardly makes more noise than the iMac itself, and far less than any PC or laptop I've ever used. The compact size, small footprint and smooth design make it all the better buy. It even comes with a 5 year limited warranty - enough said! You won't regret your purchase.Customer Review: Quiet + 5 Year Warranty + Easy Installation = Perfect Hard Drive
Summary: 5 Stars
I like the hard drive for a few reasons:
1. It won't tip over easily.
2. Looks Great, just like how the picture shows. Also, the side lights on the hard drive look very stylish, especially when lit up at night.
3. I had mine on for over 2 days straight and it is only slightly warm if anything. The fan on the base seems to cool it well.
4. 5 year warranty, many other drives only come with a 1 year warranty.
5. Installation is 4 steps; and it was easy to do.
6. Comes with a drive manager program which is easy to use to backup files or whatever.
7. Great price for 500 GB.
8. Transfer Rate is fast.
9. Very Very Quiet.
Disadvantages:
1. Says 500 GB, but reality you only get 465 GB because the rest of the memory I believe is used for transfering.
2. Can find lighter hard drives.
Overall: The hard drive is worth it because it is a great deal for 500 GB from a good company with a 5 year warranty. I highly recommend it, although you may want to consider this same model but with FireWire for a few more dollars.