I was in desperate need of backing up my entire PC after a hardware failure. This was on my laptop which caused me to temporarily find religion as one does when you feel you are going to lose 500 gb worth of irreplaceable data (in the form of art files, portfolio assets, and general work data!) also wanted ot have enough room to spare so I went for this bad boy at 2 times the size of my back up to allow for expansion. It installs quickly, comes with eSATA cable making it appear as just another hard drive in your system and transfer data very quickly to and from your hard drive. It comes with back up software which allows you to setup back ups as needed and is foolproof. I waited for this drive to become in stock once again and it was well worth it! Iomega 1 TB eSATA 3 GB/USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34280
I probably use this a little differently than most people. I have several computers and a network NAS (Synology DS109) that is used for central storage, so instead of backing up an individual computer, I am backing up my NAS. I had previously been backing up to a USB 2.0 drive that finally died. I didn't want to spend too much but needed 1TB, wanted the eSATA speed, but the option of using USB if eSATA didn't workout (the Synology runs on a Linux kernel and I wasn't sure of compatibility). So this one popped up on Amazon as being the proper capacity, option of eSATA or USB, waranty, really good reviews, and a great price for all that.
So far so good, backed up 250 GB (200,000+ files) from the NAS in about 6 hours. Not as fast as I thought, but I don't use any of the included software and the bottleneck could be on my NAS. It is important to note that backing up a few large several GB files only takes seconds, it is when the system has to enumerate tens of thousands of files that it takes longer so I can back up 12 GB of 3 ISO files in seconds, but 1GB of thousands pdfs or pictures may take 10+ minutes. Like some other reviews, no real heat issues, and actually runs very cool now that the single initial large backup is done. I've had it for almost a month, the NAS backs up to it every 4 hours, never fails, and everything is there.
It came very fast through Amazon (about 2 days on Super Saver shipping) and came with all the needed things. It was supplied with both the USB and the eSATA cable. 5 stars for this one from me.
I've had this drive for about 3 weeks now, on day one I transferred about 500gigs to it via the esata and it was incredibly fast and didn't over heat. I've been transferring smaller files to it since and there's still no problems, a great drive
The drive works great, fast SATA connection instead of USB is a big plus. But I bought the drive in part for the "Never Down" software which is supposed to back up your system drive. It's "included" by which they mean it's not actually in the box, you have to download it. It wouldn't install and then Iomega told me it's not compatible with Windows 7 (which has been out for a long time now). I told them the box lists Windows 7 as being compatible, they said what that really means is it's compatible with the drive, not necessarily the software. Apparently the box means whatever they want it to mean.
Bottom line, don't buy this for the software.
After reading all the positives I first purchased the Lacie 1 TB eSata drive however my experience was not at all positive as I had problems with backing up my computer ( Win 7 64 Bit). I had an existing Iomega Drive attached to my computer and tried backing the same image to it and it worked with the Iomega drive. So I decided to return the Lacie immediately. Since I wanted a larger drive as the existing Iomega drive I had was loaded with other stuff in it,I Ordered the Iomega eSata 1 Tb and connected it to the built in eSata port of my PC, the drive was recognized immediately. Used Win 7 backup utility and it worked. I backed up few times to see if it works and so far I have had no problems. Like others have mentioned it is not a plug and play device, does not bother me.
I wish the cable was longer so that I could place the drive on my desk, anyway ordered the 6' eSata cable to remedy the problem. After reading the instructions for the "Never Down Software" which is downloadable from Iomega I had some concerns and did not install it as the Windows backup utility worked fine. My main reason to buy this drive was to use it as a backup drive with plenty of space.
Received this item in the mail today.
Following instructions; shut down PC, connected power and eSATA cable, powered on, turned PC on.
Drive displayed and moved file to it and deleted file off it.
Booted up Casper and did a system back-up.
2.5 hours later, I shut the PC down, disconnect the internal HDD, and reboot the PC.
The PC detects the IOMEGA with system mirror and I am on the OS via the IOMEGA in no time.
Pros:
- Form Factor is small
- Win7 detection was immediate
- Acts as bootable drive
Cons:
- 'Active' light is on the side as opposed to front.
This is ok for me since it is a once a month back-up, but if using every day would be annoying.
I like to 'see' my equipment running via easily referenced indicator lights.
- Back-Up software is D/L only. People on dial-up are screwed.
I do know local people who are still on dial-up. It still matters.
Unknowns:
- Drive includes a license to back-up software reported to be bootable.
As I already had a license to Casper and like and trust it I have not installed the IOMEGA software.
The paperwork seemed to indicate that the IOMEGA software would come packaged with freebies like McCrapee and other stuff I did not want. Another factor in not bothering to get the IOMEGA goods.
This drive will be used as a once a month back up of my 'archive server/pc' in the basement. If usual IOMEGA quality rates, and it sits quiet and disconnected 28 days a month, it should last me a long long time. - 1 Tb External Hard Drive - External Hard Drive - Easy To Use - Esata'
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