Iomega 80 GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive

Rating:
Summary: Best Bang for the Buck
Review: 80 gig's of space for alittle over a 100 dollars. I've had this for 4 months now and it works perfectly. It's quite, fast and everything I wanted and more. I don't know what these others are talking about. I use it just for storing Music ,videos and games. No problems.

Rating:
Summary: I tried the rest, settled on the best
Review: Easy to use, plug and play. Use it to move data or programs or music from one compute to another. It's been dropped, bumped, and knocked off the desk (several times) and still works like new. Smaller than a lap top and easier to carry. Working on something secret, move it to the Omaga and take it with you or lock it in a drawer and delete it on the computer.

Rating:
Summary: Affordable, reliable disaster recovery and backup...
Review: Have owned this drive for about 6 weeks. Simple install in Windows XP. Iomega backup software works well. Ghost 2003 was a real bonus and works perfectly including allowing you to write to the USB Iomega in DOS as well as restore in case of disaster, first drive I've seen do that this perfectly. Backed up Ghost images of my two hard drives (about 50GB) in compressed form to the Iomega with no problems whatsoever, all while in DOS environment. If you want simple, efficient backup and off line storage, this is your solution hands down. Paid an incredible $90 for it after a rebate, you can't go wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet!
Review: I got mine. Ignored the fact that the other guy had a bad experience with the fan. He must have got a lemon because mine doesn't make a sound at all. Iomega will replace such things, just in case you didn't know. That's what warranties are for.
I don't care much for the Iomega software though. Mine seems to hang up...might need some tweeking. But the Norton Ghost 2003 is perfect for my needs. Easy to use. It backed up my entire system in no time flat using the Windows interface.

Rating:
Summary: Sudden and Quick Death
Review: I plugged in my Iomega USB 2.0 Hard Drive and it worked about 45 seconds before squealing and dying.

Rating:
Summary: Problem with Automatic Backup Software on Mac OS X 10.3.x
Review: I purchased this Iomega 80 GB External Hard Drive to be used solely for backing up the hard drive in my Mac OS X 10.3.x computer. The reason I chose this particular Iomega drive over all the other possible choices was because it came bundled with the Iomega Automatic Backup software. Just what I was looking for: an external hard drive, plus the software to do the automatic backup.

I should mention that the technical specs for the Iomega Automatic Backup software (version 1.0.2) states that it is supported on Mac OS 8.6 - Mac OS 10.2.1, but I am running Mac OS X 10.3.x. I was a little apprehensive about that, but I assumed that if it runs on Mac OS 10.2.1, it should also run on Mac OS X 10.3.x. Well, that assumption proved to be wrong.

The Iomega Automatic Backup software documentation states that it can be configured to save up to 99 revisions of each file that it backs up. I chose the default during the software installation, which is to save the last five revisions of each file. After letting the Iomega Automatic Backup software run for approximately three weeks, I discovered that some of my files were not getting backed up properly. As it turned out, the files that were giving the Iomega Automatic Backup software a problem were files with long filenames. Now, the Mac OS X operating system supports filenames up to 255 characters in length, but the files that were giving the Iomega Automatic Backup software a problem had filenames that were only 30 characters in length. Further testing on my part revealed that this problem only exists when the software is configured to save more than one revision of each file that it backs up.

I reported the problem to Iomega Tech Support. And, after exchanging many e-mails with them, and waiting several months for a software patch or new version of the Iomega Automatic Backup software that would fix the problem, I was finally informed that Iomega Automatic Backup software is not supported on versions of the Mac OS beyond Mac OS X 10.2.1.

So far, the Iomega 80 GB External Hard Drive has worked flawlessly on my Mac. I have no complaints about it. But, if you are running Mac OS X 10.3.x, be wary of running the Iomega Automatic Backup software with revisions set to more than one, otherwise you might be surprised to find out that some of your files were not getting backed up properly.


Rating:
Summary: Avoid this one!
Review: I used this model to store my digital photos for about a year. It made a little death scream yesterday, and is now no longer working. I hadn't created any archive CD's since January, so I've just lost thousands of digital images.

Beware...

Rating:
Summary: I have to agree with the other reviewers
Review: I've had nothing but problems with this product soon after taking it out of the box. It worked fine at first for about 5 minutes, aside from the constant gear grinding, whirring noise.

Well, wouldn't you know it in the middle of moving files to this hard drive two error messages pop up. The first was one of those yellow ballons down by the task bar stating "Windows - Delayed Write Failed; Windows was unable to save all the data for the file E: The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection please try to save this file elsewhere" and the other was an IE mini like pop-up with an x in a red circle to the left of the message stating "Error Copying File or Folder; Cannot create or replace... (the file which I was moving):Cannot find the specified file make sure you specify the correct path and file name."

I contacted Iomega support via 1-1 instant message chat option. I told them the error messages I was getting bombarded with and sure enough I was told that the drive was going bad. They arranged to replace the within-warranty defective drive by shipping me a new one and then I would have to send the defective one back to them in the same packaging that the new drive came in.

Now, after reading all these other reviews and reading that others experience problems with this product as I, I'm scared to store any of my precious files on it fearing the replaced drive will lose my files as the drive it replaced did.

Rating:
Summary: Want to repel rodents? Buy this drive!
Review: Just bought one of these. Seems to work okay, but the high pitch, whirring noise of the fan may be of some concern for some users. It produces 50-55 decibels (equivalent to noise emanating from a 30-year old refrigerator). I'll be using it for backup only, so I'll be able to turn it off when not in use. Which, BTW, must be performed by unplugging it since there is no power switch. If you're in need of disk capacity, spend the extra $100 to get yourself into a firewire compatible drive--the transfer rate of USB 2.0 isn't adequate for quick access.

Rating:
Summary: overall bad design
Review: The HD unit is compact, and works well. If you have a Mac, reformat it for Mac files, and its speed will greatly improve. Pretty blue LED light. Price was reasonable.

Problems:
1) There is no On/Off switch - you have to unplug it.
2) The power supply cord attaches to the unit with a difficult to align pin plug, rather than a standard power plug.
3) The power supply unit is big and bulky, so even though the HD is compact, the entire system (HD + powersupply + cords) is not all that portable.

There are better HDs out there.