FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 1 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive STAC1000100 (Black)

Just as an introduction I am a college student so I was looking for a relatively cheap high capacity drive that ran on a MAC and this drive is perfect. Bought with the Firewire 800 adapter "kit" Pros: -Whisper quiet -Relatively long included cords -Not much, if any heat -Good looking -Changeable Bases Cons: -It takes a while for the indicator lights to light up (~5-20 seconds) which not being too important I would prefer an instantaneous on light, just so I know that the drive is on/ off or simply working. -While I appreciate the "intelligent on" feature where all you have to do is plug in the drive, I really want a PHYSICAL power button. Overall thoughts: A good solid drive, I have had it for a good 2 Months and have not had any problems with it, its easy integration with Mac's make me love it. I would (and have) recommend to a friend because of the success I have had as well as the variety of "upgrade" options that are available now and in the future, for example, current: UBS 3.0, Firewire 800, and hopefully soon, Thunderbolt. It is a good quiet device that's low footprint and good design make it sleek more than a worthwhile investment. OK that was the short version, the the full review read on. Hardware: I really like the detachable base because that gives me the option of upgrading to Thunderbolt in the future, at least I heard that Seagate was working on the base for that. I really like the design overall it is the black model with the "dotted" sides and rounded corners, the drive capacity is 2TB which is more than enough for my needs. I should note that I got an additional base that has Two firewire ports, which allows for daisy chaining and faster transfer speeds, the base also has a USB 2.0 port. The firewire cord that comes with the adapter is actually a good length(~5ft ish), I know a real shocker, instead of the stupid tiny cords that usually come with these things. It also came with international power adapters, a power cord, and a USB 2.0 cord. Software: Extremely easy to set up on a Mac, when the drive is first recognized it prompts the user for two options Mac only or PC&Mac (with Pc being the main system). After that I just had to sit back and relax. Also on a mac it was really easy to partition, for example I use 500GB for Time machine, and the other 1.5TB for random stuff like movies and music. Overall thoughts: A good solid drive, I have had it for a good 2 Months and have not had any problems with it, its easy integration with Mac's make me love it, granted I believe that if Mac's are your main computers then drivers that are used for compatibility on PCs are not supposed to work with this drive, instead look at the GoFlex series for mac's. Personally I went with this because I wanted the black, Unless the enclosure is aluminum, I don't like the silver design. I would recommend to a friend because of the success I have had as well as the variety of "upgrade" options that are available now and in the future, for example, current: UBS 3.0, Firewire 800, and hopefully soon, Thunderbolt. It is a good quiet device that's low footprint and good design make it sleek more than a worthwhile investment, especially for ~ 120$(~90 for Drive and 20 ish for the adapter)

The price for both the GoFlex and its optional Firewire 800 base were a lot less than the Seagate Firewire models I bought last year. Yet somehow, the build quality and performance seem better. The plastic case is compact and well designed. It runs warm but not hot. The input for daisy chaining another device is on the side of the base. I consider that a nice touch. There's a low, pleasing chuffle sound that comes from my drive when it's busy. The "activity" light is also less obtrusive than earlier Seagate Models. The GoFlex responds just about perfectly to my Mac's energy-saver settings. At the end of the computing day, what I want is performance, capacity and reliability at a good price. The Seagate delivers on all these counts, and throws in some very thoughtful and useful features. After a half year, it performs flawlessly no matter what I throw at it. The only reason I don't give full five stars is because I need at least a year of uninterrupted service from a drive before giving it an A+. So stay tuned, I plan to update this review in another six months! UPDATE 3/2014: Not only going as strong, fast and quiet as ever. I've purchased the USB 3.0 adapter and it works perfectly with my Macbook Air. Now this model gets 5 stars.

I decided to try the seagate drive as it has the ability to replace the base with a different or faster base if that is what I would need. Installing the drive is a snap. Plug it in turn it on. You need to look at the drive folders or wait some time for the auto install of the backup software to start. The part that irritates me is the backup software. I don't believe the software is created by seagate but is subbed out to a 3rd party. I have not tried the default, keep a backup of the complete computer software that is free. I wanted to back up specific folders for my application of a paperless house using snapscan and rack2 filer. That is the $30 extra cost option. In addtion there are 3 other packages the software creator tries to sell you with popups. Another thing that is bothersome is while the software is backing up it pops up a little black box over in the bottom right of the screen. I have not found a way to permenently disable that popover. The software also creates conflicts with the other software i am using and will not allow me to save. So the workaround is to suspend backup either until the computer is idle or permenently. I find this software to be intrusive rather than complimentary. I also have a WD essential external and i find the software that comes with it to be superior and included in the price. Oh and prior to obtaining the drive I was using my windows backup solution. Now that does not work. In conclusion the drive has excellent versatility. The backup software leaves a lot to be desired expecially since you have to pay extra to select what you wish to backup. Would I purchase again? Probably not unless Seagate resolves the backup solution.

Fantastic.