External Hard Drives Review

Seagate FreeAgent Go 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive-Pink ST902503FCA2E1-RK

2009-12-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

... I am using this as a place to store all my excess photos and documents. The back up feature is weird, I don't like that it saves what you want in separate folders, so you end up having many copies of the same things. But I did not purchase this as a back up, just a storage place for all my important stuff so that I could free up space on my laptop. I love it and am not sure if I will ever fill it up. It transfers information SUPER fast and is very portable, plus it looks sleek. I would recommend this product to my friends. ...
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Western Digital My Passport Essential 400 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Real Red)

2009-12-16T14:27:00.001-08:00

... I use it every day without problems. I really like appearance and size, fits any PC and laptop. I take with me to college parties and you can watch movies with him. Recommended ...
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Western Digital WD1600BEVSRTL Scorpio 160 GB SATA 2.5-Inch Hard Drive

2009-12-15T14:43:00.001-08:00

... Really don't have much to say about the product other than Western Digital is an excellent product. I purchased the hard drive for my PS3 and it works great. A great upgrade to my previous 80GB hard drive. ...
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Western Digital My DVR Expander 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1S5000N

2009-12-14T14:31:00.001-08:00

... I bought this to expand the storage capacity on my Dish HD-DVR. It works as advertised and is easy to set up. I haven't been able to fill it up yet. I have 105 recorded HD events stored on it and still have 20% of the drive available. ...
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Clickfree Automatic Back-Up 320GB External Hard Drive - Blue

2009-12-07T14:31:00.001-08:00

... Very useful drive for backup. Automatically is detected by your computer and updates files that have been changed. However, if you have Windows VISTA and 64-bit OS, the drive DOES NOT WORK. Consistently crashes the computer when hooked up with the BSOD. Clickfree support was not helpful. Also, you cannot use this drive with Mac and Windows synchronously. You have to format and use one or the other. ...
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Seagate FreeAgent Go 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive-Spring Green ST903203FHA2E1-RK

2009-12-05T14:21:00.001-08:00

... I am using this as a place to store all my excess photos and documents. The back up feature is weird, I don't like that it saves what you want in separate folders, so you end up having many copies of the same things. But I did not purchase this as a back up, just a storage place for all my important stuff so that I could free up space on my laptop. I love it and am not sure if I will ever fill it up. It transfers information SUPER fast and is very portable, plus it looks sleek. I would recommend this product to my friends. ...
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Cirago CST1120 120 GB USB 2.0 Portable Storage

2009-12-04T14:52:00.001-08:00

... Similar to what other reviewers have said, I decided that I would try this external HD out even though the reviews were either hot or cold.

The first time I plugged the device in, it worked perfectly. I had no problems with mounting or ejecting it, and its transfer speed was fine. However, the second time I used it, an error message came up saying that either my USB device or USB drive was having issues and I could not access the device. I tried to troubleshoot as best I could, but nothing worked. My computer has never had any trouble with the USB drive before; and it hasn't since. The only reasonable conclusion was that it was the device.

I returned it for a its 30-day full refund, so it was no loss to me. ...
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Western Digital My Book Home Edition 750 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive WDH1CS7500N

2009-11-28T14:21:00.001-08:00

... I bought this to work with my Dish DVR, it is silent, there is a light on the front that says it is working, it looks right, has worked flawlessly so far, and is not hot. If I need one I will by another. ron ...
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AcomData PureDrive 750 GB USB 2.0/eSATA External Hard Drive PHD750USE-72

2009-11-27T14:53:00.001-08:00

... I use this to backup my wii games and they load faster from this than from disk. ...
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Acomdata Tango 2.5-Inch USB 2.0 eSATA Portable Enclosure for SATA Hard Drive TNGXXXUSE-RED (Red)

2009-11-26T15:07:00.001-08:00

... My HP dv9500 laptop just stopped working, no warning...no chance to recover any files....I had backed up lots of stuff on cd's...but not iTunes library and my CD collection and lots of jpgs...empty feeling in the stomach.....fast forward 2 weeks....Blue Tango Portable Enclosure Kit to the rescue. It was expensive to recover data from HDD ......so I just removed them from the broken laptop.

I read the Amazon reviews, and was skeptical of the cheap USB enclosures, but this enclosure got a good review and was only $20 with the bonus eSATA interface......so I ordered it Friday from Amazon prime....and it was delivered Monday 1:00pm.....Amazon rules.
First off, the manual does not describe how to install the drive...it has diagrams, which could be clearer, but just follow them best you can and fill in the blanks. The enclosure was well made, all aluminum, metal end caps, the screws fitted well, and it looks kind of stylish in blue. Installing the hdd was a breeze, place hdd on backplane and push into connector, and secure to the (pcb) with 4 screws.....push the backplane back into housing (making sure to locate backplane in slides), replace end cap and tighten 2 screws. The housing holds the hdd securely...the connectors fit well....so I guess you could carry this around with a laptop.....but remember it doesn't have any shock protection.

Connected the USB....it recognized the drive immediately loaded drivers and explorer opened my old hdd....with all my files accessible......great..... I connected using a single USB connector (2nd USB not required).....I didn't measure the time but it found all the files (110GB) in several minutes. I will connect with the eSATA interface when I get around to purchasing a connector cable (eSATA cable not included in box..pity).
This housing and USB/eSATA enclosure is recommended, it works perfectly for recovering my data, and I will format the hdd as a spare backup. ...
Check Amazon Price and Read More Reviews on Acomdata Tango 2.5-Inch USB 2.0 eSATA Portable Enclosure for SATA Hard Drive TNGXXXUSE-RED (Red)

Verbatim 160 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 96533

2009-11-25T14:27:00.001-08:00

...
Don't waste your money on this. Same experience as the other one star reviews. Wish I had read them before buying it. On the rare occasion it does work, it's extremely slow. ...
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Western Digital My Book Pro Edition 320 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/FireWire 800 Desktop External Hard Drive WDG1T3200N

2009-11-24T14:43:00.001-08:00

... I chose the WD My Book Pro 500 GB - identical to the 320 GB but larger capacity - because of its compatibility Mac OS X. I partitioned the drive 3 ways: one to use as an emergency Boot drive on Mac OS X 10.4.11 (I was having issues with OS X 10.5.5 stability on y root internal drive). I was NEVER able to use the WD as a Boot Drive. Strike 1.

Almost immediately, my Mac would only detect the external drive app. one in ten times. I was told to juggle the interface cords by WD - and that worked, intermittently, until it didn't work any longer. Strike 2.

Western Digital was extremely uninterested. Recover the data using an outside vendor - at a cost, I am appalled to say, of upwards of $1700.00. Then WD would be happy to replace my erased defective out-of-the-box drive with a comparable one.

I brought the drive to a local data recovery shop, hoping to save some money. The problem they told me was a systemic design flaw. $1700.00. Strike 3.

I am totally and permanent;y disabled with a prognosis of 5 years. That is in addition to the 5 years of digital and multimedia footage I had stored on the My Book Pro.

Western Digital further informed me that their external hard drives, when used as directed, are susceptible to data recovery failures for which they are not liable. Strike 4.

I did extensive research when choosing this WD external drive. No where did WD point out data loss was an expectable outcome of proper usage of their defective devices. Strike 5.

I am looking into litigation.

DO NOT BUY A DRIVE FROM WESTERN DIGITAL!!!.

PLEASE CALL WESTERN DIGITAL AND LET THEM KNOW YOU THINK THEY SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS!!! ...
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Seagate ST310005FDA1E1-RK Freeagent Desktop 1 TB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 External Hard Drive

2009-11-23T14:31:00.001-08:00

... "backed" up all my info, was leary and burned multiple discs, just in case, and thank god I did, within 2 months, the drive was no longer accessible. Called warranty dept, apparently , loss of power source is a big problem, I could at my own expense, mail the drive back and they would try to access it, no guarantees, or access it myself and void the warranty all together. I don't want others filing through my personal info, so here ut sits, dead and full of my life's files.... big waste of money, wish i had listened to the bad revues and not bought it at all... ...
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Western Digital WDG1C5000N My Book Premium Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/Firewire External Hard Drive

2009-11-22T13:16:00.001-08:00

... I have had a terrible experience with this Western Digital My Book. The original failed approximately 3 months after I got it. I called Western Digital and had them RMA me a new one. I really had to push hard to get them to cover the shipping on it. They wanted me to pay to send the faulty one back. I asked to speak with a supervisor and he quickly arranged a UPS preprinted label to be emailed to me.

The replacement model has now failed in a similar manner approximately 1 year after I got it. I'm not going to bother trying a third.
...
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LaCie 301838U 2TB Hard Disk MAX by Neil Poulton Dual Drive RAID External Hard Drive

2009-11-21T14:21:00.001-08:00

... I am a professional video editor and purchased this drive to give me a back up for certain show elements as well as some media that I do not use on a regular basis. It has handled all I ask of it. I wish it had an e-sata interface and would have gladly paid more for one but other then that for what it is it works just fine and matches one of my systems perfectly. I would recommend it for it's clean lines and quality. ...
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Buffalo Technology HD-CE500U2 500GB DriveStation External USB 2.0 SATA Hard Drive with TurboUSB (Black)

2009-11-20T14:52:00.001-08:00

... Just purchased and did a full back up of my iTunes and took about 30 minutes. Reformatted for MAC prior to back up. Installed the turbo USB program but not sure it really makes much difference.

Purchased on the Germany economy for 62 USD (equivalent)I had been looking for 1TB but the price of this one pulled me in. 500g will do for now. ...
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Cavalry Storage CAUM Series 1 TB USB External Hard Drive CAUM3701T0

2009-11-19T15:07:00.001-08:00

... This drive just screams. It is very fast, super quiet and if it didn't have the light on it you'd never know it was on. The only thing (a quibble) that I wish it had was an automatic spindown mode as I use it for backups only. My other USB drives (WD mostly) will spin down when not accessed for a period of time, conserving power.

The good point is that this drive is available immediately after a length of time but it's still drawing power and putting revolutions on the spindle.

But either way, for the money, you can't beat it!

...
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SATA/PATA/IDE Drive to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable for 2.5 / 3.5 / 5.25 Inch Hard Drive / Optical Drive with External AC Power Adapter

2009-11-18T14:27:00.001-08:00

... This is a great kit, but you might want to consider investing in a sturdier solution, such as an enclosure with a dedicated supply. The adapter I got with this is dead as a nail - it was 104 days out of the box and it's already burned out. ...
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Case Logic Neoprene LHDC-1 Portable Hard Drive Case (Dark Gray)

2009-11-05T15:07:00.001-08:00

... I originally bought the WD 500GB passport drive and the Case Logic Compact Portable (hard) Case. That case was too big for the HDD, so I purchased this soft case to use as padding. The neoprene sleeve with the HDD inside fits nicely within the larger hard case, and provides a great deal of protection. My HDD now feels secure.

If you plan on traveling with your HDD, I would strongly suggest that you purchase both this product AND the hard case. I would not trust this soft case to protect my HDD if I were to drop it onto a hard surface. The price for both cases combined is around $25, and that's worth it to protect your data. ...
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ClickFree HD701 120gb Automatic Backup USB External Hard Drive - Deluxe Edition

2009-11-04T14:27:00.001-08:00

... Worked just as advertised; plugged it in and it backed-up all my files in about ten minutes. Can't ask for anything more than what it's supposed to do. ...
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Caselogic VHS-101 Portable Hard Drive Case (Black)

2009-11-03T14:43:00.001-08:00

... This is a pretty nice case, which fits perfectly a Seagate FreeAgent Go USB external drive, with a nice external pocket for the cable. This is a standard caselogic high quality product. Go for it. ...
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Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 500 GB 3.5" USB 2.0/FireWire 400 External Hard Drive

2009-11-02T14:31:00.001-08:00

... Bought one & boy, do I regret it. I backed up lots of data - then bought a new computer. But Maxtor doesn't support 64 bit machines.

SAY WHAT??!!

Now how the blazes did they decide NOT to support 64 bit? Was it because they didn't realize that I might want to get data off the drive once I put it on there? Perhaps it's because they've already got my money they see no reason to support me? Or is it that they want me to buy a new drive?

Okay, I'll buy a new drive . . .

. . . but it won't be a Maxtor.

...
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Iomega ScreenPlay Pro 1 TB USB 2.0/AV/Ethernet HD Multimedia Hard Drive 34151

2009-11-01T13:16:00.001-08:00

... Where do I start? First of all the ability to record with this product would be a plus if the input was at least a s-video connection. You can only connect an outside source using a composite hookup. Compsite is the worst quality selection available on any recording device. The video I recorded using a high-def movie had lost all the detail and looks like a bad vhs recording.

Next, This unit does not play any files I have that are encoded using H.264, which is now a standard used in HD and mp4 videos. Forget about using MKV files. Divx movies play well and look good with no major issues that I can tell.

The only reason I kept this unit is because it can play DVD videos with all the menus, chapters etc.

All-in-all the $95 WDTV beats this $249 Screenplay by a mile. The WDTV played everything I threw at it and the Screenplay only played my divx files. The only area I felt the Screenplay excelled in was the ability to play DVD videos as is. This product is not ready for prime time. ...
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Seagate 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive ST305004EXA101-RK (Black)

2009-10-27T15:43:00.001-07:00

... I am using this hard drive to back-up my computer and so far it works great. ...
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Case Logic Neoprene LHDC-1 Portable Hard Drive Case (Blue)

2009-10-26T15:32:00.001-07:00