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Jan 14, 2008

chief007 (Ferguson, MO)

This unit is easy to use, it is very reliable. It is compact which makes it easy to transport.

I've had the drive for more than half a year now and no complaints at all.
Stores data well and the metal finish adds a feeling of ruggedness.
A quiet drive which makes barely any noise.
Has an ok download speed.
Heard alot of complaints about the software, but I didnt buy the drive for that purpose and have never used the software.
Have used it on many Windows 9X and Vista PC's and it works beautifully, only once did I have to plug in the second USB connection.
As of present I wouldnt reccomend this product as its kind of outdated and drives of larger capacity are available for nearly the same price.
I would reccomend the other drives in this seres and do plan to buy more of them in the future.
Do not buy the Case Logic Compact Portable Hard Drive Case (Black) which is sometimes recommended by Amazon, as the drive does not fit in it properly ( too loose and cannot attach the USB cable when drive is in the case). Case logic also has a neoprene case which I think works much better but isnt hard. A friend of mine actually used a Nintendo DS case for the drive and it works well.

Fails in 6 months and Warranty send me a defective replacement. Called them again to get a second replacement. They have worst customer support who dont understand at all the value of time that they waste me.
If you have enough time and money to waste, go ahead and buy this unreliable product.

I have 2 of these drives. They are very quiet, sturdy and fast.

Pros:
1. 5400 RPM and 8MB Buffer
2. Compact, Looks sturdy as supposed to delicate on few compact drives
3. Good Backup Software
4. Five year Seagate/Maxtor warranty

Cons:
1. Cable uses 2 USB ports - one for data, one for power. You have to switch to a single cable which supplies power and data in one cable

I was so disgusted with the difficulty of using and setting up the software on this supposedly simple "one touch" device that I returned it after only a few days. For example:

- you can only back up the folders it thinks should have data. Data belonging to programs like Juno that keep data under "Program Files" (admittedly a bad thing to do) can't be backed up at all using the regular scheduled backup software
- many mysterious error messages about inability to back up files within files.
- software behaves weirdly (disappears and must be restarted) unless screen is set to 96 DPI.
- no option to erase personal data from drive when done with it or returning it
- technical support by email cryptic, minimal, unhelpful, and sometimes just plain wrong.

I have 20 year's experience as a programmer and consider myself an expert computer user; I could not make this software work well enough to be useful.

The first thing that really creased me about this drive is the fact that it requires two USB ports to function - one for "Power" and one for "Power and Data." Since this was my first portable purchase, I'm not sure how common these cords are, but i have yet to see one in use with other drives.

The instructions explain that there is a proper sequence to follow in inserting the cords into the computer and drive, which took a while to figure out in order to get the thing fired up. There's an annoying click from the drive if it's not plugged in correctly.

Once I got the thing formatted for my Mac, it was pretty quick, as far as file transfers go, though when I started a couple simultaneous transfers I came back about half an hour later to check. There was only half the data on the drive. I second-guessed myself, thinking perhaps I forgot a file, but I kind of doubt it. I started a second transfer and it worked just fine.

This thing sat on a shelf for a couple of weeks, until I brought it to work to use. I tried three different computers and thousands of combinations of sequences to connect the blasted cord, but no dice. It would not mount.

I went on the company's site and got on a help chat with the company (surprisingly quick, thankfully) and asked for help.

The tech support guy was pretty lackadaisical about the whole thing. "Is the drive connected?" "Does it appear on disk utility?" Then offered NO TROUBLE SHOOTING suggestions at all and simply instructed me, as if this thing is a common response, to go on the company's website for return instructions so that I can get a replacement drive.

Great. As far as where the 80 or so gigs of back up data... I have no idea where it went or how to access it. I get to send back this crappy drive I've had for less than a month for another crappy two-pronged USB drive I have no confidence in. Unfortunately, I lost the receipt, so returning it to the store is not an option...

There isn't a worse sinking feeling, electronically speaking, than to have a product tank so soon after purchase and be out, $80-90 in the process. The matter-of-fact 'return it' approach from the tech support guy gives me even less faith in this product.

Buy a filing cabinet instead.