Summary: I currently own five of these. If that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is
I currently own five of these.
If that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is.
One of the problems with recommending a specific disk drive is that drives change, capacities increase and what I might tell you about today may not even be available next year. The external drive I recommended some years ago is no longer even being made.
With that having been said, today the FreeAgent Go is an incredibly handy and valuable device.
The version I use has a capacity of 500 Gigabytes, all in a package that's smaller than a paperback book.
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One of its most appealing features is that it does not need an additional external power supply; this model is powered completely via its USB connection. As a result, it's perfectly portable. One of my five drives sits in my backpack for backup as I travel, for both data and photographs I take when on the road.
I use the other four for data storage at home.
Even though these drives are small and rugged, I take no chances. Since they're relatively inexpensive I actually have them set up as two pairs: one drive of each pair as the "primary", or drive that I actually use on one machine, and the other as "backup" on another machine, mirroring the primary via a script run automatically each night.
Now, while the drives are small and portable and convenient and relatively inexpensive, they're not particularly fast. They're perfect for backing up, for portability, and for redundant data storage, though, and that's exactly how I recommend using them.
If you're wondering what kind of external drive to get for your backups, it's hard to go wrong with the Seagate FreeAgent Go 500GB external drive.
I recommend it.
Article C3834 - August 8, 2009
I tried the Seagate external drive, but my computer would not recognize the drive after the first use and would not back up my files because of "hidden files" in my system. I returned the drive and can't get the software off my computer. I uninstalled it, but the Seagate icon is still in the navigation. The program does not show up in my remove programs area. How can I get this junk off my computer?
Posted by: June Holt at November 24, 2009 7:10 AMI use a Seagate Freeagent Go for my backup. Should I leave the Seagate drive plugged into the computer?I also use Win7 and it seems to work fine. I have not tried a restore.
27-Nov-2009
Posted by: Carl Jackson at November 26, 2009 9:42 AM
I have three of these drives which I move between my 64 bit, 32bit and my laptop. They are wonderful - never any problems in swapping between systems, or your problem, June.
Posted by: Richard at March 2, 2010 8:49 AMWill this work on windows 7 64 bit as is? Or do I have to erase the sofrware first? If I erase then will it work on win 7 64 bit?
03-Mar-2010
Posted by: Dave Bressette at March 2, 2010 8:59 AM
Recently purchased one of these Seagate 500gb drives for backup purposes and find it absolutely wonderful and easy to use, especially not having to use an external power source.
Posted by: Maurie at March 2, 2010 2:45 PM