Customer Reviews

Archos 20 GB USB 2.0 Mini Hard Drive (500455)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This was an absolutely wonderful device, but only for the 8-9 months when it actually worked. Once it failed, it was impossible to get any response from the manufacturer, despite 12 month warranty. Too expensive for a nine-month rental hard drive.

I bought this hard drive to use as offsite backup for my home PC. I basically take it to work and leave it there, and it saves me from having to burn a dozen CD-roms. I use Drive Image 7.0 to create automatic backups to an external usb hard drive that stays connected at home. I then quickly copy the backup file to the arcdisk (15 minutes for about 7GB) and take it to work. It's so small and portable, I really like it.

As far as the drive itself, there's not much to it. It didn't need drivers for Win2K, and was really plug and play. If you're going to use it for large backup files, like I do, you'll need to reformat it from FAT32 to NTSF so that it will accept large files (over ~2GB). Also, depending on whether your usb ports are powered or not, you may need to use the included power cord. I thought my usb ports at home were powered, but I was getting strange error messages from Windows, telling me that I was out of available ports. Once I plugged in the power cord, this error went away. At my office, the arcdisk needed no power. The usb power from the main motherboard port was enough. This is why I'm giving it 4 stars (doesn't work on all usb ports without adding power from its separate power cord).

Otherwise, it's very cool, very small, and quite functional. NB-- 20Gigs works out to only 18.5 GB, same as other drives (don't know why the mfrs don't just move to the same standard that consumers use.)

Its a cool and fast drive except that the usb port failed after 5-6 months, when I open it up, guess what, they secured the port with only a piece of tin... surprise if it deosn't break off after like 100 plug and unplugs. I had it fixed but after a few months it went wrong again, archos makes some nice looking toys but they are not for your work.

I was in the market for a portable drive when I found this beauty. In addition to a solid, rugged build, it's also quite simple to use, not too hard to look at (can you say techno fetish?), and fast enough. Perhaps it lacks the performance and space of a 160gb external that's the size of a dictionary, but for me, the portability means utility. I can use it more if I can lug it around effortlessly.

I also looked at creating a portable using a 2.5" laptop harddrive with a pre-made enclosure, but decided that you didn't really save that much more by making your own. And those were still about twice the size of this drive, which is based on the 1.8" Toshiba drives that are used by the Ipod.

One improvement I could see Archos offering (other than a larger size) is firewire connectivity. But if that increased the size of the drive, then I'd opt to stay with USB.

I've purchased this Archos 20 GB USB 2.0 mini hard drive a year ago. When it was new, it worked great. But as I've used it for a year, the USB connection jack on the hard drive gradually became loose. Eventually, it has become a daunting task to wiggle the USB cable just to re-establish hard drive connectivity to my computer. As I write this review, my Archos 20 GB mini hard drive is officially dead and not connecting anymore.

Archos has a one year limited warranty. Unfortunately, the hard drive no longer works just a bit after a year of operation.

It's a great product if you plan on using it for a year. Unfortunately, the construction of the connection port is less than sturdy.

This hard drive is so tiny and it's kind of rugged on the edges for protection. It runs a little hot when being used. It's really fast too. usb 2.0 is a big plus for this. Installation was easy on win98se. but the usb cable is way too short but I think it's like that because this is more suited for mobile users - not desktop users. but still I like it. I got it for about 20 bucks cheaper at some other web site. Buy this thing!!!

They messed up on my order and will not accept the blame for it! They will not do anything to rectify the situation, except refund my money after several weeeks. I was put on hold for ever! Asked to speak to manager and they do not seem to really care.
Never by from TIGER DIRECT, bad customer service!