Hitachi XL2000 Desk 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive 0S02485 (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a large cheap functional disk (2Tb). Yes, like many Hitachi disks it will disconnect from a Mac when the Mac powers down so as to save power but when the Mac comes out of sleep you get a little message on the screen to say that a hard disk disconnected, you click 'ok' and the disk reappears, just like with this drive's predecessor. Not a big problem in exchange for cheap bulk storage that works (I have several of these drives). Hopefully Hitachi will correct this behavior in a future firmware but it is not a show-stopper when using a Mac by any means. Perfect for bulk storage of very large files like home video etc.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hitachi XL2000 Desk 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive 0S02485 (Black)

Product Description:
Solid. Ready whenever you are. With the dependable speed of USB 2.0. When you need pure storage muscle, choose a drive that makes backing up your life a little easier. Because nothing should ever get in the way your memories, movies, music and entertainment.

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Western Digital 2TB SATA Green Power eco-friendly Hard Drive WD20000CSRTL Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)(See below for an update!)

Original review: This product (WD20000CSRTL) is a regular WD20EADS drive in retail packaging.I was worried it'd be a different drive, but it's not.

Unlike the "OEM" version (WD20EADS) it comes in a big-ish box and with an "install guide" (good if you haven't tried installing a new drive, I guess), an SATA cable and 4 mounting screws.The packaging is obviously more wasteful, but considering the bad packaging reviews the OEM drives get here, maybe its a good thing. If it's the same price as the WD20EADS then I think it's a good deal, even if just for the better packaging.

*Update July 2010* As others have pointed out; they are now selling WD20EARS drives under this ASIN.I use OS X, Linux and FreeBSD so it makes no difference to me; but if you use certain really old versions of Windows (Windows XP) you won't be able to use the full capacity (easily?) or something like that. The recent drives we ordered like this came individually packaged in WD packaging, but with no cables or anything.

*Update September 2010* Depending on the weather, phase of the moon etc you could now get any 2TB Western Digital "green" drive when you order this item.There are other Amazon product IDs that'll give you the same but for lower cost, too - so no longer recommended!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital 2TB SATA Green Power eco-friendly Hard Drive WD20000CSRTL

Product Description:
Available in capacities up to 2 TB, WD Caviar® Green™ SATA hard drives reduce power consumption by up to 40% and offer best-in-class acoustics and operating temperature. Based on WD's exclusive GreenPower™ technology, these drives are designed to deliver power savings as the primary attribute. As hard drive capacities increase, the power required to run those drives increases as well. WD Caviar Green drives make it possible for energy-conscious customers to build systems with higher capacities and the right balance of system performance, ensured reliability, and energy conservation. They are ideal for PCs, external storage and other devices that require lower power consumption and cool, quiet operation.

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LaCie Hard Disk 2 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive designed by Neil Poulton 301871U Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I attached this 1-TB USB external drive to my 2.8 ghtz IMac.The setup was a snap, but the included utilities wanted to take the whole drive as a single partition.I used the Mac's disk utilities, and created two partitions.This way, one partition can now be used for Time Machine (which by the way, will keep backing up until the disk is full, then begins deleting the oldest files), and another partition that is used to back up my Linux server.

The rest of the setup was fast. The Mac found the drive quickly, and so did Time Machine.The Time Machine software asked me which partition I wanted to use, and once that was decided on, Time Machine took off, and has been backing up ever since.How simple is that?

Also, most of the specs I read on this drive show a cache of 16 mb, but the drive as delivered, much to my pleasant surprise, has a cache of 32 mb.Even with the USB connection (I think firewire, which is available on some other La Cie drives, is about 15% faster), I found the file transfer time more than acceptable.I have run video from the drive with no issues.Also, I often transfer rather large photo files, and graphic images to and from the drive, and again no issues.

All that being said, for the money, the drive is hard to beat.

Click Here to see more reviews about: LaCie Hard Disk 2 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive designed by Neil Poulton 301871U

Product Description:
The user-friendly LaCie Hard Disk, Design by Neil Poulton adds sophisticated style to your desktop, yet its presence is quiet and unobtrusive. It has a unique distinguishing feature a blue LED strip on its underside that creates an ambient glow. Its subtle, all-black design blends perfectly into dark home entertainment setups and workstations. Very small for its vast capacity, this lightweight, compact drive has a fashionable, mirror-polished finish. The smartly engineered design allows for heat dissipation and near-silent, fanless operation. With Hi-Speed USB 2.0, this efficient external hard drive makes a great companion to your PC or Mac. Setup is nearly effortless; it's plug & play, offers customizable formatting, and comes with LaCie Backup Assistant and USB Boost. Box Content : LaCie Hard Disk, Design by Neil Poulton, USB 2.0 cable, External power supply, Quick Install Guide, LaCie Utilities (preloaded on the drive): User Manual, LaCie Backup Assistant (Windows and Mac), LaCie Setup Assistant.

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AcomData PureDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/Firewire 400/800 Portable External Hard Drive PDHD2000UFABSE-72 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Previously bought many (several dozen) of the 1Tb predecessor to this 2Tb firewireA,B,ESATA drive. Despite the bad reviews on this site, I have only ever had 1 drive fail and that was because it was dropped onto concrete and even then I replaced the hard disk in the enclosure which continues to run 24/7. So my experience is that these drives in all sizes and interfaces are fast, silent, space efficient and reliable. Firewire B (800) compatibility is hard to find and often very expensive, in this case if you watch the price of these and buy when it dips you will get a good generic solution at an affordable price that works fast on Macs (Firewire B/800) and has flexibility for other interfaces. Thoroughly recommend this, certainly my experience of this brand is extensive and uniformly positive.

Click Here to see more reviews about: AcomData PureDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/Firewire 400/800 Portable External Hard Drive PDHD2000UFABSE-72

Product Description:
AcomData PureDrive 2 TB Quad Interface USB 2.0, eSATA, Firewire 400/800 3.5-Inch External Hard Drive PDHD2000UFABSE-72

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Hitachi SimpleDrivell 2TB Turbo USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I own 2 Simple Drives. One is a very old 160GB usb drive and the other is a new 1TB usb drive. They both work great! I had 2 problems for which I needed tech support. I called the 800 number and got right through both times without any wait time.

The first problem was caused by me when I did a sector by sector backup of my hard drive, and the dell emergency backup partition became visible on my 1 TB usb drive. That partition is difficult to delete, but the support person was very helpful in getting it deleted. Unlike most, it was a very pleasant and pretty quick tech support call!

The second problem was a little more difficult. When attaching both usb drives at the same time, the 1TB drive showed up in "My Computer", but I could not transfer files to it. The support person had me try several different usb connections, checking of drive letters, and a few other things, but nothing worked. We both agreed that the problem was not the usb drive, but most likely an issue with my computer. He suggested I try attaching both to a different computer to confirm this, and call back if it still didn't work. I hung up, and attached both to a newer computer and they both worked perfectly. Issue resolved as far as I was concerned.

An hour later I get a call from tech support. HE has discussed my issue with an engineer, and they believe the problem is being caused because both drives have external power supplies and it could be overloading the usb controller. He suggested I unplug the power supply on one drive and see if that works. Then he asked if he could send me an email so I could respond to tell him if that worked.

I have been through many tech support nightmares. I have never before had such a pleasant tech support experience as this, and I wanted to share it with those that are considering this product.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hitachi SimpleDrivell 2TB Turbo USB 2.0 External Hard Drive

Product Description:
Hitachi HSD2000 SimpleDrive External Hard Drive - 2TB, USB 2.0

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Hitachi LifeStudio Desk 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive 0S02666 (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Maybe for some people this would be a great external.I could see some people liking it, but not me.
First, the hard drive is more like a second computer.It will do pretty much everything, from storing your pictures and video to surfing the web.That's right the external will surf the web for you.I get that it is a cool feature, but it's not what I want when I buy an extra hard drive to store information.

Second, and this is what really did it for me and made me return it.When you search for items on the drive (pictures, music, video...) instead of searching like you might when you open the C: drive, it searches by tabs along a wall.So you scroll along the wall until you find what you want.Which in itself isn't horrible, but there is no fast way to search, if you are looking for one item, say the Beatles, if you scroll there is no way to tell you have gone to far or not far enough without continually stopping and looking.In order to be able to see the whole wall close up you can not have more than three rows.Which, once again is fine if you don't have a lot of music.As soon as you have lots of music imagine trying to scroll through a wall, while still being able to see what your doing, when you have thousands of tabs to pick through.It would take forever and defeats the point.

Finally, the only good thing, and in my opinion is also a bad thing, is that the drive is essentially a back-up of your computer.Meaning whenever it is hooked up it is backing up your computer.I found no easy way to load my music onto the hard drive without also having to load it onto my computer. Which is exactly what i didn't want to do.I don't want two exact copies of my computer hard drive, I want to keep as much free space on my computer so it runs fast and move all my music onto the hard drive.Maybe there is a way to do this, but I never figured it out, as such am returning it and am extremely disappointed.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hitachi LifeStudio Desk 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive 0S02666 (Black)

Product Description:
The LifeStudio Desk external drive gives you plenty of capacity to easily find, automatically organize, share, and protect all your digital content.

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Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD2000EUS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a Samsung Eco drive in the enclosure.The 2TB model does not come with eSata cable.This is a 5400 RPM drive and is slow.

On my system (Win 7) I had to make this drive discoverable by doing a Search in the Device Manager then assigning it in Disk Management...it did not install immediately nor automatically.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD2000EUS

Product Description:
The GreenDrive line of external USB and eSATA disk drives is a great storage solution for protecting all your photos, music, videos, and documents in one safe, convenient place. The GreenDrive features the latest advances in power saving technology and ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) compliant materials and process. The GreenDrive gives the consumer the ability to minimize his or her carbon footprint without sacrificing performance. Fantom Drives GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drives are a power conscious step forward to provide maximum capacity and performance while reducing power consumption by up to 40%. The GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drive family feature sturdy aluminum casing to provide maximum durability, fan-free design for silent operation, and could be placed horizontally or stand vertically to allow maximum deskspace. Fantom Drives GreenDrives yield average drive power savings of 4-5 watts over competitors' drives while maintaining solid performance. That power savings equates to reducing CO2 emission by up to 60 kilograms per drive per year - the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 14 days each year. NTI Shadow 4 with Ninja provides automatic backup and sharing of files to most any computer or attached storage device on your network. You may choose to schedule backups in various intervals and even select a specific file type with file filtering. Additionally, NTI Shadow 4 features include Ninja encryption software so you can protect your valuable data through loss or theft.

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Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD2000EUS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a Samsung Eco drive in the enclosure.The 2TB model does not come with eSata cable.This is a 5400 RPM drive and is slow.

On my system (Win 7) I had to make this drive discoverable by doing a Search in the Device Manager then assigning it in Disk Management...it did not install immediately nor automatically.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD2000EUS

Product Description:
The GreenDrive line of external USB and eSATA disk drives is a great storage solution for protecting all your photos, music, videos, and documents in one safe, convenient place. The GreenDrive features the latest advances in power saving technology and ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) compliant materials and process. The GreenDrive gives the consumer the ability to minimize his or her carbon footprint without sacrificing performance. Fantom Drives GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drives are a power conscious step forward to provide maximum capacity and performance while reducing power consumption by up to 40%. The GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drive family feature sturdy aluminum casing to provide maximum durability, fan-free design for silent operation, and could be placed horizontally or stand vertically to allow maximum deskspace. Fantom Drives GreenDrives yield average drive power savings of 4-5 watts over competitors' drives while maintaining solid performance. That power savings equates to reducing CO2 emission by up to 60 kilograms per drive per year - the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 14 days each year. NTI Shadow 4 with Ninja provides automatic backup and sharing of files to most any computer or attached storage device on your network. You may choose to schedule backups in various intervals and even select a specific file type with file filtering. Additionally, NTI Shadow 4 features include Ninja encryption software so you can protect your valuable data through loss or theft.

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Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 5900RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Desktop Hard Drive ST320005N4A1AS-RK-Retail Kit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)These two "Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 5900RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Desktop Hard Drive ST320005N4A1AS-RK-Retail Kit[s]" purchased on 6/9/2010 are truly great drives, holding an amazing amount of data. Further, there are two things I like about them being Seagate: 1-Seagate has a software which is built on Acronis True Home drive-cloning software -- but for free with Seagate drive use, and 2-Seagate has a program for drives in warranty -- and here is my experience: A past 1 TB Seagate Barracuda drive failed mechanically. Instead of going through the entire "I-send-it-there-you-evaluate-the-warranty-maybe-you-send-me-a-new-drive-maybe-you-don't-etc", Seagate has a program where I paid $19.99 (after running some tests online on my drive). No questions asked now--or later: They send you a new box, foam packing, anti-static bag, and pre-paid UPS shipping label -- with a brand new drive in it! You put your old drive in it, ship it back, and forget it! You pop the drive in they sent you! Voila! That's it! No hassles, no problems! This is why I have stuck with Seagate, have 3 1TB and 2 2TB Seagate Barracuda drives (having replace two 0.5 TB other-brand drives). I have had zero problem with any of my other Seagate drives -- and the one I did -- replacement was cheap, up-front, and totally hassle-free.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 5900RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Desktop Hard Drive ST320005N4A1AS-RK-Retail Kit

Product Description:
2TB Barracuda 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Perfect for every day PCs, and low-power systems.Replace or expand your desktop drive capacity.Get optimum performance with minimal noise.

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Fantom GreenDrive Pro 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GDP2000EU Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, the bad (so you know right away): As several other reviews have mentioned in various locations, don't count on the eSATA connection working for long. It worked fine for the first few months (I used it just once a week at most to backup my desktop drives). Then, it started working only inconsistently and I had to use the MUCH slower USB 2 connection. Now, the eSATA connection has not worked for a long time. On the good side, it worked very speedily when the eSATA connection on the drive was functional and I haven't had any complaints about the drive itself. It's just I would have bought a different and even pricier setup so that I could have used the eSATA interface. I wouldn't recommend this drive if you want to use the eSATA connection on the drive.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fantom GreenDrive Pro 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GDP2000EU

Product Description:
The GreenDrive line of external USB and eSATA disk drives is a great storage solution for protecting all your photos, music, videos, and documents in one safe, convenient place.feature the latest advances in power saving technology and ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) compliant materials and process. The GreenDrive gives the consumer the ability to minimize his or her carbon footprint without sacrificing performance. Fantom Drives GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drives are a power conscious step forward to provide maximum capacity and performance while reducing power consumption by up to 40%. The GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drive family feature sturdy aluminum casing to provide maximum durability, fan-free design for silent operation, and could be placed horizontally or stand vertically to allow maximum deskspace. Fantom Drives GreenDrives yield average drive power savings of 4-5 watts over competitors' drives while maintaining solid performance. That power savings equates to reducing CO2 emission by up to 60 kilograms per drive per year - the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 14 days each year.

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Verbatim 2 TB USB 1.1 or 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 96865 (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I recently purchased this drive for use as photographic image back-up storage, as well as a data back-up for my start-up drive.I removed the supplied "BounceBack Express" backup software since I already have the excellent "SuperDuper" application running on my Mac.The Verbatim 1 TB drive I received (Jan. 2009) actually contains a WDC WD-10EA 7200 rpm drive.I was able to easily partition it into 700GB and 232 GB partitions.

The drive is enclosed in a nice aluminum box with a polished black plastic front panel.The case does have a small fan that is inaudible in operation. There is only the one green LED pilot lamp and no "disk activity indicator".I like to know when my drives are working so I deducted (1) star for the lack of any kind of a activity indicator.There is one USB 2.0 port and the drive comes with a short (24 inch) USB cable.There is a rear panel on-off push-button switch which is flush with the back panel so is hard to spot if it's dark. A small "wall-wart" power supply is provided.

The drive is very quiet with only a little disk "head-seek" rattle when transferring large files.

The drive is rated at "up-to" 480 Mb/sec. transfer rates.I was able to achieve a write transfer rate of about 91 to 97 Mb/sec reading from my iMac's internal 230GB drive which was probably the limiting factor. As a fast, basic USB 1TB external drive, this seems to be a pretty good deal.It comes with everything you need, but nothing you don't need and has a 3-year warrantee.

Works for me!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Verbatim 2 TB USB 1.1 or 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 96865 (Black)

Product Description:
The Verbatim external desktop hard drive delivers outstanding quality, performance, and reliability for both professional and home users. Available with USB 2.0 connectivity, the drive can store your music, photos, video, and data files on your PC or MAC. Blazing through the most demanding audio/video applications allowing you to work more and wait less. The external hard drive includes Nero BackItUp Essentials software that allows you to automatically back up your personal content. Nero BackItUp incorporates scheduling, backup sets and encryption of your files with password control.

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Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD2000EU Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've now had the Fantom Green Drive for about 3 months.Wanted to use it a while and try a few different things before writing the review.Also my G5 Mac tower did not at first have an eSATA card...If you try transferring a couple hundred GB over USB 2.0, you can pretty much start it and go to work, it may be done when you return.With the MAC, the set up was seamless and with the new Tempo Sonnet eSATA card (see my other review), the transfers were lightning fast.The fanless operation had me concerned for over-heating, but I have to say after leaving it on for over 60 days now and using it daily for automatic file backup and frequent storage & retrieveal of files - esp movie files sized 50GB+, I am astonished at the performance of this drive.No perceptible heat emanating either.Read- and write-times over eSATA are still leaving me with that stupid look you get when technology is ahead of your comprehension... you don't have to like being left behind, you just have to accept it. Plus it's 'green' - apparently hard drives can consume dumploads of juice, and this one saves a few greenback saving on power consumption, which is a huge plus.I'd spent countless hours trying to find the drive with the best combination of speed, reliability and value, and I have to say I'm gloating a bit right now with the Fantom Green Drive!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD2000EU

Product Description:
G-Force GreenDrive line of external USB and eSATA disk drives feature the latest advances in power saving technology and ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) compliant materials and process. The G-Force Green Drive gives the consumer the ability to minimize his or her carbon footprint without sacrificing performance. Fantom Drives GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drives are a power conscious step forward to provide maximum capacity and performance while reducing power consumption by up to 40%. The G-Force GreenDrive USB 2.0 Hard Drive family feature sturdy aluminum casing to provide maximum durability, fanless design for silent operation, and could be placed horizontally or stand vertically to allow maximum deskspace. Fantom Drives GreenDrives yield average drive power savings of 4-5 watts over competitors' drives while maintaining solid performance. That power savings equates to reducing CO2 emission by up to 60 kilograms per drive per year - the equivalent of taking your car off the road for 14 days each year, and saving up to $14 per year in electricity costs depending on the power-on-hours.

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Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD2001FASS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Caviar Black model of drives differ in three ways from Blue in three major ways:

1) 32MB buffer vs 16MB.This means the drive is overall faster because it can store more data in memory local to the drive.So if you access the same data frequently there is little or no drive access to get at the data.

2) Dual processors vs single.This will alleviate the load on your CPU as the drive itself has more processing power locally.

3) Five year warranty vs three.Five years is a lifetime in hardware.Basically, you're covered for longer than you will most likely use the drive.

The Caviar Black line comes in three four sizes; 1TB, 750GB, 640GB, and 500GB.The 1TB and 640GB are the fastest because they use a denser platter technology which allows the drive head to get at the data quicker.The 750GB and 500GB are no slouches though and the differences in speed will not be noticeable to most people under most real-world usage scenarios.

Caviar Black drives are the fastest affordable consumer drives available today.If you want faster you have to look that the VelociRaptor 10000RPM line of drives but expect to pay a lot more for a lot less storage.

I measured the speed of the 750GB model using the HD Tune utility and access time was a fast 12.5ms with less than 1% CPU usage on my 3.2Ghz Intel Quad Core setup.The drive runs cool at 32

Western Digital My Book for Mac 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAG0020HCH-NESN (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have two other WD (500GB) drives for my Imac that I use for external storage, but I kept having problems running my Time Machine backups.(not enough space on External to backup). I ordered my 2TB WD from Amazon and hoped for the best. Well I received it and opened the box and plugged it in. I went to my System Preferences and clicked on Time Machine chose my new HD and set it for my backup. That was it, of course it is going to take a bit of time for the initial backup, but that was it. No problems and it runs like a champ. I have already reccomended it to my niece for her mac.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book for Mac 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAG0020HCH-NESN (Black)

Product Description:
They're your photos, your music, your videos, your important files. Make extra room for them and keep them safe on a My Book Mac Edition USB 2.0 external hard drive from WD. This drive is all about simplicity. Plug it into your computer's USB 2.0 port and start saving. It's so simple and integrated that the drive even turns on and off with your computer. With just the essential features for add-on storage it's perfect for all your precious digital assets.

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Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This drive is embedded with Western Digital's SmartWare virtual CD that will ALWAYS and FOREVER boot to your Mac computer. This Virtual CD cannot be disabled, unmounted, removed, eradicated, or partitioned away - EVERY!!!!! It says so right on WD's website buried in the tech support area, not on the box where this kind of "don't-buy-our-product" warning belongs. Western Digital has decided to embed their Virtual CD Smartware into this drive so that you cannot, under any circumstances, disable or remove the VCD. It will forever mount this unwanted intrusion to your Mac (Windows is no better apparently) and their website essentially tells you that you can do nothing about it.

Can you tell that I am upset?!? I own seven other Western Digital hard drives and I will not own this one. Nor will I buy another in the future out of fear of getting the same results.

Like many people, I have no need for their backup or security software as I just want external drivers for pure storage. If I were to buy more of these like I had planned, My desktop would be cluttered with a bunch of meaningless virtual CDs. This intrusion may not annoy Windows users as the Virtual CDs will just clutter up your "My Computer" window; but, on a Mac this type of unalterable intrusion is beyond unacceptable. I cannot believe that Western Digital could not see the alienation of every Mac user on the planet from ten miles away on this one.

Western Digital and other drive makers have, for a while now, put their software install packages onto the external hard drives that they sell; but, it has always been just stored on the drive where it can be deleted or is removed when the drive is reformatted - at worst it was on a separate partition that could be removed. But, not with this new version (version 3?) of the My Book Essential Drives where it is embedded into the drive's hardware and cannot be deactivated. Until Western Digital rethinks their strategy and changes this practice, their hard drives should be avoided and boycotted.

(For more information, see all of the review on the 1TB version of this drive.)

UPDATE: After returning the Essentials drive, I purchased two of Western Digital's Elements External 1TB Hard Drives; Exactly what I needed in the first place... an external hard drive that is built like a tank and is only what it is supposed to be: a hard drive. No "fancy" value-added software embedded in the hardware to muck up the works on this drive. I highly recommend the Western Digital Elements external hard drives for all of your storage needs!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN

Product Description:

Our best-selling My Book external drive is an elegant, high-capacity storage solution for all the chapters of your digital life. Our latest edition now features visual, easy-to-use, automatic, continuous backup software and drive lock security protection. At last, beauty, brains, and simplicity together.


Elegant design.


This book-like shape takes up minimal space on your desk and allows two or more My Book drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.


See your life safe in one place.


WD SmartWare software - Avisual control center with a single screen view of all your data. From it youcan back up, retrieve, and secure your files.


Password protection.


An extra level of securitywith passwordprotection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.











Features at a glance

• Automatic, continous backup
• Illuminated capacity gauge
• Password protection and hardware encryption
• WD SmartWare software
• 2-years limited warranty

Smaller, sleeker, more streamlined design - We've made these award-winning drives even smaller, sleeker, and more elegant. As always, this book-like shape takes up minimal space on your desk and allows two or more My Book drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.WD SmartWare™ - A control center for your drive that gives youthe power to:-- Protect your data automatically- Relax, your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file.-- See your backup as it happens - Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content in categories and shows the progress of your backup.


-- Bring back lost files effortlessly- Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you've lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.-- Take control- Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.Find out more about WD SmartWare™Drive lock- Gain peace of mind knowing that your data is protected from unauthorized access or theft with password protection and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.Illuminated capacity gauge - See at a glance how much space is available on your drive.USB 2.0 interface- Powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed*.
* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port.


Power miser - My Book external drives are designed to save energy. WD GreenPower Technology™ lowers internal drive power consumption by up to 30%, a sleep mode reduces power during idle times, and a power-saving feature turns the drive on and off with your computer.Planet friendly- We designed a small box from recycled materials to minimize waste. We encourage you to recycle it.Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PCs- If you're a Mac user, check out our Mac version of this product.


Ideal For

• Protecting your data with automatic, continous backup
• Retrieving lost data effortlessly
• Adding extra storage space for photos, videos and music
• Securing private or sensitive data

Compatibility


Formatted NTFS
Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7
Mac OS® X Tiger®, Leopard®, Snow Leopard™ (requires reformatting)

Note: Compatibility may vary depending on user's hardware configuration and operating system.What's in the box

External hard drive, WD SmartWare software, USB cable, AC adapter, Quick Install Guide.



Backup software you'll really use � WD SmartWare


Five great reasons to love it:


1. It's easy - Data backup can be a chore, but it's your family photos, your movies, your music - your life - and it's important to protect it. So we made this software extra easy because we really want you to use it.


2. You can see your life safe in one place -
See your content displayed in easy to understand categories like movies and photos. Watch the progress of your backup as it happens with the instant-feedback color bars. Now you can truly be sure that all your stuff is backed up.

• A unique visual interface lets you see the drives connected to your computer.
• WD SmartWare will automatically scan your computer and find all of your personal files, including e-mail.
• Content category gauges show how much information you have to be backed up in each category. You can even mouse over a category to see a file count.
• Simply click Run Backup and WD SmartWare will automatically start backing up your files.
• As your backup is running the category gauges will change color showing you the backup as it happens.
• When finished, you'll see a status screen and information about your backup. You only have to do this once. After the first backup your files will be backed up automatically every time you change or add a file.

3. It's always on the job - WD SmartWare is always watching your computer, so when you change a file and save it, create new files, add new pictures, movies, or songs, WD SmartWare will instantly back them up.


4. You can bring back lost files effortlessly - If you ever accidentally delete an important file, or need to get an earlier version of a file, you can find and retrieve it in seconds with this easy-to-use interface.

• Restore files and folders by categories – photos, music, video, for example.
• Find a lost file with the search function.
• Go back in time to retrieve an older version of a file.

5. You're in control - WD SmartWare software is also a control center for your external drives. From it you can:

• Customize your backup
• Set drive security
• Run diagnostics
• Manage the power settings, and more...

Want to read more honest consumer review about Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN now ?

LaCie Starck 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 301889KUA Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've got a macbook running OSX 10.6 and with Windows XP on a boot camp partition, so I was able to test the drive's software under both mac and Windows.

Physically this is a nice drive. The casing is solid metal and the drive is pretty heavy. I think it should work well as a "heat sink" but unfortunately there is no fan to reduce internal temperatures. The drive looks nice, but has a funky looking faceplate. The LED is a small orange light on the bottom left of the front panel. It isn't too bright, but is also easy to see.

The drive comes formatted into a small partition and is not usable without running the mac or windows setup utility on the drive itself. There is no software CD. You can bypass the built-in utility and partition/format it manually using the mac or windows utilities, but will need to download and install the software manually from the Lacie website.

I figured most users would test the drive under Windows, so I ran the setup utility under OSX. The utility allows you to setup the drive as a single mac partition or as a split mac/windows partition. Unfortunately, it only allows you to setup the windows partition as a 32 mb FAT32 partition. This is unusual in that most other external drives can be setup as a single FAt32 partition to use their full size. In fact, most drives come pre-formatted as a single FAT32 partition.

I setup the drive with the split partitions and it did a fine job of partitioning and formatting the drive with OSX and FAT32 partitions. It installs the manuals and software on the FAT32 partition, so they can be accessed from both OSX and Windows.

I ran the drive manager under OSX and, after installing all the required software, it reported that no compatible Lacie drive could be found. This means I cannot use the gimmicky "touch sensitive" front panel to start programs under OSX. So, while the drive is very functional as an external drive for a mac, it doesn't perform the gimmick function that separates it from other drives. Since the drive is more expensive than other 1TB drives, mac users would be better off going with a cheaper drive, unless they are enamored of the funky front-panel appearance.

I rebooted into Windows and ran the disk manager utility. This time it recognized the existence of the Lacie drive and allowed me to setup the programs to be run when I touch the front panel. There are two functions available, one by a short press of the front panel and the other by a long press. To run a particular program, you can simply drag the icon into the disk manager utility. I dragged Windows Explorer into the short-press functionality and it seems to work properly. However, I don't really see the value of this functionality. I usually keep my external drives out of reach, so touching the front panel is a pain. I can more quickly locate the programs I want to run on my desktop and can click the icon to run them quicker than I can reach down and touch the front panel, even with the drive located within easy reach. Also, the ability to assign only two functions limits the value of the "touch panel" capability.

So, while it works with Windows, it is still a gimmicky function that has a very limited usefulness. Since the drive is more expensive than other 1TB drives (such as the Western Digital Elements drive) most Windows users would also be better off going with a cheaper drive option. This isn't a bad drive, it just isn't anything special.

Additional notes:

1. The drive has a mini USB connector on the back so you cannot use standard USB cables.

2. I did finally get the disk manager software to work on the mac, but again, it is pretty useless for my purposes.

3. While I was able to uninstall the software on the Windows side, I cannot find out how to get rid of the parts it installed on the mac, except the main utility program in the Applications folder.

Click Here to see more reviews about: LaCie Starck 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 301889KUA

Product Description:
Encased in sturdy aluminum, the LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive offer the most robust choices for consumer hard drives on the market. The durable exterior protects the hard drives from shock and overheating, making them thoroughly dependable. The LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive features a status LED in the form of Starck's signature symbol. The symbol glows orange or green to indicate different activity. The LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive offers a built-in USB cable, uniquely placed for convenient storing and data accessibility. Complementing Starck's design philosophy is a touch-sensitive surface to open any application with the touch of a finger. The LaCie Starck Hard Drives come standard with the versatile USB 2.0 interface. In addition, the range comes with one of the most comprehensive software bundles on the market including LaCie Backup Assistant and LaCie Desktop Manager for formatting, back up and customization.

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