I'd identified a dependable external hard drive as a need. I already have 3 simpletech 250G hard drives for backups, now out of warranty. I wanted a repository for 3 electronic copies of my 3 commerical recordings as well as demo recordings and important financial records.

A trusted friend (user Vemartin) turned me on the Seagate as a dependable vendor. I was looking for the maximum storage for the money and was drawn to this unit, the Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme 1.5 TB. I was impressed with the 5 year warranty and the value for the money, 1.5 TBytes for $180 DELIVERED, from B&H audio/video  in New York.

I also bought a 1 gig Calvary unit from BestBuy.com for my secondary unit.

I have a 4 year old Dell Dimension, with USB2 connection. This unit has Firewire and E-Sata connection capabilities as well. Maximum file transfer speed is 480 kbps for USB2, 400 kbps for Firewire and 3gbps for E-sata. USB2 and Firewire cables are provided. The rotational speed is 7200 RPM and the unit weights 3 pounds. It's actually slightly thinner than my Simpletech 250g units,  but taller. This unit can sit upright or flat.  

Operating system compatibility is Windows Vista and XP. There is a different unit available with MAC compatibility.

The unit is plug and play. I have XP (patched) and it recognized the unit right away. I went through a short install sequence, which installed the Seagate backup software (Seagate Manager) on my PC.

Another great feature of this unit is the included backup software, Seagate Manager. It was installed on the hard drive as part of the initial install. It is very easy to use. I have configured it for automatic backup of particular directories. The software handles new or incremental backups and provides a diagnostic tool. 

The unit has worked well. The length of time to complete backups is quite short, There have been no issues with access to files or with copying them.

The unit came packaged in a form-fitting case that screamed quality. There were install instructions that worked well, as well as the drive , the USB2 and Firewire cables, stand and power supply.

This unit has worked great so far and gives me peace of mind that my important electronic files are safe.

5 stars

Thanks for reading. God bless!


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Recommended: Yes