Seagate ST3160024A-RK 160 GB External USB 2.0/FireWire Hard Drive
Seagate ST3160024A-RK 160 GB External USB 2.0/FireWire Hard Drive
Manufacturer: SEAGATE
Product Type: CE
Editorial Review:
Product Description
Enclosed in a stylish casing, this external hard drive from Seagate has 160 GB of storage capacity and runs at 7200 RPM with 8MB cache. Setting up this external; hard drive is breeze. In fact, just plug it in and it's ready for use. The only buttons you get to fiddle with is the power button which is located at the back and the one touch backup button at the front. Noise is certainly not an issue with this external hard drive as it runs so quietly that you did wonder if it's working sometimes. Backing up data with one touch button located at the front of the hard drive necessitates the installation of the bundled software, BounceBack Express. With BounceBack Express, you can even set such that certain directories of folders are backed up automatically on a regular basis. Weighing at about 1.18 Kg enables it to be easily carried around and its enclosed silver casing makes it look at home on almost any desktop. Furthermore, it hot swappable; you can connect and disconnect this Seagate external hard disk without switching it or the PC off first.
Amazon.com Hands-On Review
As data moves faster and gigabytes get cheaper, bigger storage options seem ever more important. We think you'll be hard pressed to find a device better able to live up to the demands of storage, convenience, and real-world space efficiency than Seagate's 160 GB external hard drive (model ST3160024ARK). The PC- and Mac-friendly drive offers ample connectivity (USB 2.0/1.1, IEEE 1394a), operational simplicity (just two controls: a rear-panel power switch and a front-panel backup button), and a powered-on state that ran, in our experience, both cool and quiet--especially impressive in a fast, 7,200 RPM drive.
"Front-panel backup button"? That's right: the unit comes with BounceBack Express backup software from CMS, which works seamlessly with the drive to safeguard every byte of your computer's hard-disk data, performing backups at frequencies, days, and times of your choosing. The first time you insert the Seagate it will automatically create a bootable backup drive with all of your valuable data, protecting you in the event of a complete disk crash.
The Seagate manages to be simultaneously stylish and unassuming. We found it remarkably innocuous when positioned directly before us. We had to reach over and touch it to sense its heat, and the only sound it utters is a light whirring punctuated by occasional clucks of the drive components during activity. Stash it five feet away and you'll probably never hear it, though you'll lose ready access to the backup button. If you're only using the drive for periodic backups, you can even turn it off and stash it somewhere, secure in the knowledge that you're just a hot-pluggable USB or FireWire connection away from your next backup (just make sure you "stop" it from your computer before disconnecting it).
So how much will 160 GB actually hold? First off, the drive's capacity as seen by our computer (a PC running Windows XP) was "only" 149.0 GB. While no drive gives you access to all bytes, 10 GB seems like a lot to go missing. Luckily, the remaining space is still nothing short of cavernous, storing upwards of 150 hours of VHS-quality audio and video, around 30,000 songs in MP3 or WMA format (128 kbps), or 40,000 high-resolution digital photos, or more than 200 of your favorite video games.
Set-up couldn't be easier, especially if you're running Windows XP or Mac OS X. Hook it up with one of the supplied cables, load the backup software, and start ferrying all your data to roomy safety. Took us all of 10 minutes, not including backup time. If you're connecting via FireWire, expect backups to take about 1.4 GB per minute (at 400 Mbps). For USB 2.0, expect 1.8 GB per minute (480 Mbps), and for USB 1.1, about 45 MB per minute (at 12 Mbps).
With 150 gigs to fill, you probably won't be looking for additional backups soon. But if you are--or think you might be--you'll be comforted to know that the unit is designed for stackability. A 600 (usable) GB array of four nestled drives would stand less than 10 inches tall in a space with a 7 x 7-inch footprint.
The accompanying software is pretty straightforward. If you leave the default settings, it will backup all data from your computer's hard disk every time you run the software. Alternately, after the initial setup you can select and group specific folders and files to backup, scheduling the times for backups as well as preferences for powering down the computer when the work is done. You may exclude locations for which you don't require backups, and a "compare" feature searches the drive for files no longer on your main system hard disk and gives you the opportunity to delete them from the Seagate. --Michael Mikesell
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