Desktop Computer Review: Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive ST305004FDA1E1-RK Review

I was truly astonished by the bad experience I had with this particular drive.I picked up three of them intending to use them for backing up data and was truly shocked to discover two were confirmed DOA by Seagate Technical Support right out of the box.

Symptom: Drive only spins up when power and USB cable are attached.But Windows XP never detected two of the drives, installing them only as "Unknown device," despite more than a dozen attempts to reinstall.

Problem: "These drives are bad because the chipset is not responding properly with your computer."We tried several other machines here with the same results.Apparently hit or miss efforts to get the drive recognized by XP are also a result of a bad chipset, but people are apparently living with this, and they are living dangerously.Should the drive fail during a file write, your data integrity is at risk.

Symptom: The third drive was instantly recognized by Windows XP, but within 15 minutes as so many other reviewers have discovered, "delayed write failures" begin appearing as the drive overheats.A massively poor design by Seagate is responsible for this, with the primary ventilation being located underneath the drive stand, which is for all intents and purposes a distinct piece of plastic.No direct, short access to the drive itself is provided by the ventilation holes, which also don't seem to take into account that heat rises, not falls.Shortly after the delayed write failures began, the drive began making a loud whining sound.

Problem: The drive has overheated and its useful life is shortened by the presence of the whining sound, which would indicate something is hanging up inside the drive.

Seagate wants to RMA all three drives, but all of these failured occured within 24 hours of receipt of the drives, so no thanks.All three are going back for a refund and I'll look elsewhere.

I have to say this is the worst experience I've ever had in more than 20 years of buying computer components.There is simply no excuse to stock a product so poorly designed as to guarantee the shocking number of problem reports I've encountered on many review sites, all relating to the drive's incredibly inept design for dealing with heat-related matters, an inexcusably poor chipset implementation which does not guarantee instantly recognized connections to your computer, and, frankly, encountering for the first time multiple units (one from a different manufacturing lot) suffer a 100% failure rate within hours of receipt.What in the world was Seagate thinking?

Stay far, far away from this one.Look instead for products that offer either fan cooling or a more open design to deal with the heat issues newer generation hard drives have to contend with.

A five year product warranty means absolutely nothing if the integrity of your data is at peril, and it definitely is with this product.

Update 11/10/2007 - Replaced with Western Digital My Book units (picked up four total).These are working right out of the box and make a far better alternate choice, although the warranty (extendable to three years for $25 at Western Digital website) is only one year.Note that the older My Book model and newer v2.0 (green box) both work basically the same, but Western Digital has done away with the power switch on v2.0.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB 3.5 Inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive ST305004FDA1E1-RK

Product Description:
When its time to back up and protect your digital content--photos, music, documents, and more--it doesn't get much easier than the Seagate Free Agent Desktop USB Portable Hard Drive. Simply plug it in to any power source, connect the USB cable to any computer, and you're ready to go. This hip-looking hard drive takes up less room on your desk than an ordinary stapler, giving you more space for your other desktop items.

Powerful storage device with a sleek new design.

Takes up less room on your desk than a stapler.

Keep all your digital content in a safe and secure location. Portable Performance and Security
If you're still relying on your personal computer or back-up CDs or DVDs to store your digital content or vital personal or family documents, you're running an unnecessary risk. Your computer can only hold so many files and can crash at any time, leaving you helpless to access your content. DVDs and CDs have a place in archiving, but they get easily scratched and lost. It's too risky to store everything in your computer, and too time-consuming and cumbersome to have a drawer full of CDs or DVDs.
Computers come and go, but your content should always be nearby. With up to 1000 glorious gigabytes, the Free Agent external hard drive is the best place to gather and access all of your important photos, movies, music, games and documents. Simply plug in the power and the USB cable and you're ready to go.
The Seagate Free Agent is big enough to store a huge portion of your digital content in a safe and secure environment, but small enough to let you take that content with you wherever you go. In other words, having the Seagate Free Agent is like having your entire computer with you at all times, but in a package that's a small fraction of the space and weight of your computer.
Designed to live peacefully in your home or office, the Free Agent external hard drive is extra quiet and takes up less room on your desk than a stapler. Even the cable ports are base-mounted to help keep your desk free of clutter. We even add a little bit of sophistication to your desktop with the unique espresso brown finish and molten amber illumination.
The sleek and slim design of this hard drive--only measures 7.5 x 1.6 x 6.4-inches (H x D x W)--and a weight of less than four pounds. The Seagate Free Agent lets you transfer files seamlessly from your computer via its USB 2.0 connection at a brisk transfer rate of up to 480Mb/sec. The drive delivers a spindle speed of 7,200 RPM, giving you the high-speed performance you need to back your data up quickly and safely.
The Seagate Free Agent is ready to use out of the box with a PC, but it can be made Mac-ready in a matter of minutes with Mac OS X's Disk Utility. This portable hard drive is already compatible with Windows Vista (as well as Windows XP and Windows 2000), allowing you to backup your content regardless of operating system upgrades.
At this compact size, and with this high performance, you now have the ability to take your data with you anywhere you go, so your digital content finally has room to breathe. A five-year warranty is also included, giving you complete peace of mind.

What's in the Box
FreeAgent Desktop drive, USB 2.0 cable, AC power adapter, and quick start guide.