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Technical Details
Capacity: 500 GB | Color: Black
- USB 2.0 plug-and-play drive
- Easy-to-use preloaded backup and encryption software
- Upgradable to USB 3.0, FireWire 800 or eSATA or access content over the network and on TV
Product Details
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Product Description
Capacity: 500 GB | Color: Black
From the Manufacturer
The GoFlex ultra-portable drive makes it easy to store, back up and encrypt all your files with its plug-and-play USB 2.0 connectivity. This drive is great for taking with you on business trips, vacations and on the go allowing you to save or access your videos, photos, music or files. The GoFlex ultra-portable USB 2.0 drive interface returns fast transfer speeds and the GoFlex system allows you to upgrade to USB 3.0, FireWire 800 or eSATA by pairing the drive with the appropriate GoFlex upgrade cable. Extend your content beyond your PC and enjoy it on your TV, over your network, or on-the-go by using it in combination with our GoFlex family of products.
Store over 16,000 hours of music on the 1TB GoFlex Drive
Available in a variety of colors to suit your style. View larger
Store, back up and encrypt all your files with plug-and-play USB 2.0 connectivity
Protect your files with GoFlex's built-in back-up software
Plug-and-Play with Automatic Backup Software
The Seagate GoFlex's built-in backup software ensures automatic continuous backup of your data. It secures your backed up files and protects your privacy with powerful encryption software. The Seagate Dashboard management tool software provides easy management of backup schedules, file encryption, and at-a-glance drive statistics, including available capacity.
Access Files with the Interface of Your Choice
Use the standard USB 2.0 interface for maximum compatibility with standard desktops and laptops. Or upgrade to USB 3.0, FireWire 800 or powered eSATA by pairing the drive with the appropriate GoFlex upgrade cable.
Free your Files
With the included NTFS driver for Mac, you can now interchangeably store and access files from PC and Mac computers without reformatting. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on your Mac computer, allowing it to access and store files in a PC compatible format. (Reformatting to HFS+ required to use backup software for Mac or Time Machine software.)
Extend Your Content Beyond the PC
The GoFlex ultra-portable drive is the heart of the GoFlex Storage System, and by combining it with other GoFlex Storage System products you can enjoy your content on your TV, access files from any PC or Mac computer on your network, from a mobile device, or via the internet while on-the-go.
Enhanced Versatility Is a Snap
Plug-and-play connectivity options let you protect, store, and do more. The GoFlex Storage System allows you to upgrade the way you access your digital content without having to replace your drive. Upgrade cables and kits make it easy to move up from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire 800 for up to 10x faster transfer speeds for your large files and HD movies. Extend your digital life so you can access and share your files from anywhere.
What's in the Box
The Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable drive, backup with encryption software pre-loaded on drive, NTFS driver for Mac pre-loaded on drive, GoFlex USB 2.0 interface adapter, 18-inch USB 2.0 cable, quick start guide, 2-year limited warranty.
Get the Most from Your Drive with GoFlex Upgrade Cables
GoFlex USB 3.0 Upgrade Cable
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GoFlex USB 3.0 Upgrade Kit
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GoFlex eSATA Upgrade Cable
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GoFlex FireWire 800 Upgrade Cable
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Seagate GoFlex Ultra-Portable Drive Specifications
| 320GB1 | 500GB1 | 750GB1 | 1TB1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Number | STAA320100 | STAA500100 | STAA750100 | STAA1000100 |
| Interface | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
| Available Colors | Black | Silver | Black | Silver | Blue | Red | Black | Black |
| How Much Will it Store? | ||||
 Digital Music (Hours) | 5,331 | 8,330 | 12,495 | 16,660 |
 Digital Photos (Files)Average file size using cameras highest resolution JPEG mode | 102,400 | 160,000 | 240,000 | 320,000 |
 Digital Videos (Hours) | 320 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 |
 DVD Quality (Movies)Based on standard 2 hour movie | 80 | 125 | 188 | 250 |
 HD Video (Hours)Based on H.264 compression at a 6.75Mbs bitrate | 80 | 125 | 188 | 250 |
| 1One gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes and one terabyte, or TB, equals one trillion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. | ||||
The Seagate GoFlex Family Hard Drives
GoFlex
Ultra-Portable Drive
Ultra-Portable Drive
GoFlex Pro
Ultra-Portable Drive
Ultra-Portable Drive
GoFlex Desk
External Drive
External Drive
GoFlex Home
Network Storage System
Network Storage System
Product Description
The Seagate STAA500100 external portable drives are compact and perfect for on-the-go. Instantly add more storage space to your computer and take large files with you when you travel. Set-up is straightforward, simply connect a single USB cable and you are ready to go. The drive is powered from the USB cable, so there is no need for an external power supply. Plus, it is automatically recognized by Windows operating system, so there is no software to install and nothing to configure. Saving files is easy too, just drag-and-drop. It’s not just easy to use, but it’s fast and energy efficient too. And with the optional accessory, you can get extra function such as USB3.0 port, FireWire port, net media sharing and more. Enjoy fast data transfer speed with USB 2.0 connectivity and 5400 RPM drive performance.
Available Warranties for This Item
Capacity: 500 GB | Color: Black
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
163 of 164 people found the following review helpful
Color Name:Black| Size Name:500 GB|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was expecting this drive to be like a spare drive to back up files and store data on and allow me to edit some files as I wanted. I really was expecting it to work just like a jump drive does, but have a lot more storage space. I didn't want to have to plug it into a wall, you know, portable. I wanted to be able to take it to several computers I have at home and at work. What I found out after I placed my order was that these drives by Seagate have pre-installed software on them that once connected to your computer will ask you to load, after a two minute wait. If you install this software "Dashboard" and whatever else is there, you may have some of the issues like all of the other negative ones I read. YOU DON'T NEED THIS SOFTWARE, SO DO NOT INSTALL IT!!! Seagate must think that the only purpose to buy this drive is to do a back-up on one computer and to have it auto run every so often, hence their software. I personnaly am not interested in their software, especially everything I have read to date on it.
So I started by removing the software from the drive, then just using the drive as a back up and to copy some work files to. All seemed fine, then took to work and tried to update a file and found out the the whole drive is read only format, no update capabilities allowed from another machine. Did some more reading and discovered that if I Format the drive completly, (don't do the quick format) do a full format which will take about 1 hour per 100 Gig, so make sure you have plenty of time to do this. When your done the drive will be free of Seagate's software and read only formats for file updates. The drive will work just like a jump drive allowing you to take it from one computer to another, update files as you see fit, back up files and so on...you get the picture.
I think if Seagate wants to keep their good name, they need to offer better instructions on their products and they should not pre-load this software on their drives. All of the issue, at least most of them, appear to be with this software and not really the drive itself. At least this is my finding after I performed this format, the drive is now what I expected to use it for.
So for a rating, out of the box, I give it a 1 STAR, because I had to figure this out, and spend 5+ hours to format the drive.
Rating after the format, I give it 5 STARS!
I hope others find this review helpful, as I am a little tech savy, but no comparison to most of you smart people out there.
So I started by removing the software from the drive, then just using the drive as a back up and to copy some work files to. All seemed fine, then took to work and tried to update a file and found out the the whole drive is read only format, no update capabilities allowed from another machine. Did some more reading and discovered that if I Format the drive completly, (don't do the quick format) do a full format which will take about 1 hour per 100 Gig, so make sure you have plenty of time to do this. When your done the drive will be free of Seagate's software and read only formats for file updates. The drive will work just like a jump drive allowing you to take it from one computer to another, update files as you see fit, back up files and so on...you get the picture.
I think if Seagate wants to keep their good name, they need to offer better instructions on their products and they should not pre-load this software on their drives. All of the issue, at least most of them, appear to be with this software and not really the drive itself. At least this is my finding after I performed this format, the drive is now what I expected to use it for.
So for a rating, out of the box, I give it a 1 STAR, because I had to figure this out, and spend 5+ hours to format the drive.
Rating after the format, I give it 5 STARS!
I hope others find this review helpful, as I am a little tech savy, but no comparison to most of you smart people out there.
466 of 493 people found the following review helpful
This drive has a large capacity (by today's standards) and is very portable. It is convenient and highly compatible, not fast, but no slower than others in its class.
I seriously doubt the claim that buying a USB 3.0 adapter for the drive will speed it up noticeably, and certainly not 10x. I discuss this point below. [Update 8/10/10] See below. A discussion in the comments has convinced me that the optional adapters may indeed make a difference for transferring very large files, such as video, but not a 10x difference.
PROS:
large capacity for portable drive by today's standards
small and not too heavy, similar to competitive products
USB 2.0 offers terrific compatibility (Win, Mac, Linux when drivers are available)
alternative interfaces available (eSATA, USB3, Firewire)
USB provides power, so no power supply needed
very standard USB connectors on both ends of cable
compatible with Windows and Mac, and probably Linux (not tested)
[Update] ability to connect directly to TV for playing audio and video without computer via new dock [see below.]
CONS:
misleading claims of value of changing cables [Update: maybe not, see Updates below]
slightly larger and heavier than WD Passport
glossy top attracts fingertips (like Passport)
black case is hard to find in my black computer backpack, but probably other colors will be available in the near future
NEUTRAL:
not fast, not slow, about the same as competitive products, slower than desktop drive or many 3.5" external drives, but far more portable
SPEED
The drive spins at 5400 rpm. This is not as fast as most desktop drives (which are 7200 rpm), but 5400 rpm saves power and runs cooler. It could be that 7200 RPM drives could not be used for an application like this without a power supply. Big drives make great archives, and archive drives don't need to be as fast as the drives that contain your system, programs, and files you are working on.
I copied my audio collection - over 50,000 files totaling 383 GB - to this drive, starting empty, and (separately) to an empty 500 GB WD Passport drive that had been freshly formatted. Both drives took about the same amount of time: a bit under 7 hours, with Windows 7 reporting 16-18 MB/second. The Passport was a little faster, but not enough to make a difference.
CHANGEABLE INTERFACES: QUESTIONABLE VALUE, MISLEADING CLAIMS [see UPDATE in this section]
The included "Personality Cable" allows this drive to be used with USB 2.0. You can get others for USB 3.0 and eSATA, and they CLAIM that this will speed performance by up to 10x. I haven't tried to be certain, but I sincerely doubt that this is true.
You see, USB 2.0 is capable of 57 MB/sec, yet my drive runs at 16-17 MB/sec, so it is performing at only 29% of the maximum USB 2.0 speed. I think the disk itself is the limiting factor. Although eSATA and USB 3.0 are faster interfaces, they can't make a 5400 RPM drive go 10x faster. By comparison, copying files from my internal 7200 rpm drive to an internal 10,000 rpm drive with direct SATA interface maxes out at 66-70 MB/sec, which is about 4x the speed.
By analogy, your car may be capable of 100 mph, but on a lot of roads you're only going to be able to go 25 mph. Putting a faster engine in the car won't help. In this analogy, the disk is the road, and the interface is the car.
Many manufacturers have been very misleading about disk speeds. They often rate the performance as that of the interface, when the device itself is significantly slower. The ONLY time any drive reaches the interface speed is when the data you wanted is already in the cache - that is, you just read it or wrote it, and now you're reading it again. Because the cache is tiny compared to the disk capacity, this is an uncommon situation.
In summary, I doubt the optional interfaces are worth buying.
UPDATE 8/10/10: This section triggered considerable and interesting debate in the comments, and I stand corrected. The upshot is that when transferring "smaller" files (jpg's, mp3's), the transfer rate may be limited by drive performance, but for "large" files (video files, say ~200 MB and larger), sustained reads may indeed mean that the drive is pumping out data faster than the interface, and using a faster interface such as firewire or USB3 could improve performance for transferring large files.
Also, I ordered an eSATA interface kit. For a system with SATA drives, I suspect this interface will be faster than Firewire or USB3, but I'm guessing. I will run some new tests and probably rewrite this review with the results.
CONNECT THIS DRIVE TO YOUR TV!
UPDATE 8/10/10: This is a cool innovation. A dock for this hard drive, which you connect to your TV to allow playback of photos, audio (including SPDIF digital audio), and video (including HD), is now available. See: Seagate FreeAgent Theater+1080P HD Media Player STCEA201-RK. That dock would be handy for people who don't have a computer connected to their home entertainment system but want to play back their media library there.
RELIABILITY
This is the most important feature, and only time will tell. New drives rarely have any problems, and I saw none. The drive has a 3-year warranty, less than some. *Many* years ago I had a Seagate drive fail and I lost data, and I have always held a grudge. With massive changes in technology and manufacturing, this grudge amounts to superstition, but I still normally prefer WD, because they have never failed me.
UPDATE 11 Feb 2011: I started experiencing some serious problems with the drive, amounting to USB failures. At times it would not be recognized; sometimes Windows said it needed to be reformatted; sometimes it did not appear at all; in all cases there were times that I could not access files, and later I could. Then I noticed that I was using a cable that was not the one that shipped with it, but was plug compatible. Now I'm using the original cable. So far, none of these errors. I'll update again if that changes. Lesson: not all USB cables are created equal, even when they are plug compatible.
THE CASE AND WEIGHT
Early drives are always boring black, and they are hard to find in a black computer bag. The comparison drive I used was a red Passport, which is easy to find, and I like the color.
The case is slightly longer than the Passport 1TB, and the drive is a little heavier 9.9 oz vs 7 oz for Passport 1TB, or 41% heavier) , according to the manufacturer's specs.
PRICE
1 TB is currently the largest size for this kind of disk. Starting with the 250 GB drive, these drives have started at the same price when new, and then decrease as larger ones come out, which is a good thing for consumers. Now we get 4x the capacity of the original 250GB drive for the same price.
BOTTOM LINE
Drives like this are now commodity items, with little to differentiate them aside from their size, so you can choose based on color/style or price. Seagate is a name brand and the drive should last. The WD Passport is somewhat lighter, slightly smaller, very slightly faster, and a little more expensive. The product is very good but does not excel, hence 4 stars.
UPDATE: My claim that the drive works for Mac is based on what Seagate says; I did not test that. I have read in other reviews people who have said that it did not work for their Mac. In one case, the review said he was running OS X 10.3.x. Someone suggested that this drive is said to require a later version of OS X, like 10.4.6(?). Please note: I am not a Mac user and my memory of OS X version numbers is not exact. The point is, Mac users might have more luck when the latest OS is installed.
DISCLOSURE: This product was provided to me by Amazon free of charge in return for a review. All of my reviews are written honestly - exactly as I see them.
I seriously doubt the claim that buying a USB 3.0 adapter for the drive will speed it up noticeably, and certainly not 10x. I discuss this point below. [Update 8/10/10] See below. A discussion in the comments has convinced me that the optional adapters may indeed make a difference for transferring very large files, such as video, but not a 10x difference.
PROS:
large capacity for portable drive by today's standards
small and not too heavy, similar to competitive products
USB 2.0 offers terrific compatibility (Win, Mac, Linux when drivers are available)
alternative interfaces available (eSATA, USB3, Firewire)
USB provides power, so no power supply needed
very standard USB connectors on both ends of cable
compatible with Windows and Mac, and probably Linux (not tested)
[Update] ability to connect directly to TV for playing audio and video without computer via new dock [see below.]
CONS:
misleading claims of value of changing cables [Update: maybe not, see Updates below]
slightly larger and heavier than WD Passport
glossy top attracts fingertips (like Passport)
black case is hard to find in my black computer backpack, but probably other colors will be available in the near future
NEUTRAL:
not fast, not slow, about the same as competitive products, slower than desktop drive or many 3.5" external drives, but far more portable
SPEED
The drive spins at 5400 rpm. This is not as fast as most desktop drives (which are 7200 rpm), but 5400 rpm saves power and runs cooler. It could be that 7200 RPM drives could not be used for an application like this without a power supply. Big drives make great archives, and archive drives don't need to be as fast as the drives that contain your system, programs, and files you are working on.
I copied my audio collection - over 50,000 files totaling 383 GB - to this drive, starting empty, and (separately) to an empty 500 GB WD Passport drive that had been freshly formatted. Both drives took about the same amount of time: a bit under 7 hours, with Windows 7 reporting 16-18 MB/second. The Passport was a little faster, but not enough to make a difference.
CHANGEABLE INTERFACES: QUESTIONABLE VALUE, MISLEADING CLAIMS [see UPDATE in this section]
The included "Personality Cable" allows this drive to be used with USB 2.0. You can get others for USB 3.0 and eSATA, and they CLAIM that this will speed performance by up to 10x. I haven't tried to be certain, but I sincerely doubt that this is true.
You see, USB 2.0 is capable of 57 MB/sec, yet my drive runs at 16-17 MB/sec, so it is performing at only 29% of the maximum USB 2.0 speed. I think the disk itself is the limiting factor. Although eSATA and USB 3.0 are faster interfaces, they can't make a 5400 RPM drive go 10x faster. By comparison, copying files from my internal 7200 rpm drive to an internal 10,000 rpm drive with direct SATA interface maxes out at 66-70 MB/sec, which is about 4x the speed.
By analogy, your car may be capable of 100 mph, but on a lot of roads you're only going to be able to go 25 mph. Putting a faster engine in the car won't help. In this analogy, the disk is the road, and the interface is the car.
Many manufacturers have been very misleading about disk speeds. They often rate the performance as that of the interface, when the device itself is significantly slower. The ONLY time any drive reaches the interface speed is when the data you wanted is already in the cache - that is, you just read it or wrote it, and now you're reading it again. Because the cache is tiny compared to the disk capacity, this is an uncommon situation.
In summary, I doubt the optional interfaces are worth buying.
UPDATE 8/10/10: This section triggered considerable and interesting debate in the comments, and I stand corrected. The upshot is that when transferring "smaller" files (jpg's, mp3's), the transfer rate may be limited by drive performance, but for "large" files (video files, say ~200 MB and larger), sustained reads may indeed mean that the drive is pumping out data faster than the interface, and using a faster interface such as firewire or USB3 could improve performance for transferring large files.
Also, I ordered an eSATA interface kit. For a system with SATA drives, I suspect this interface will be faster than Firewire or USB3, but I'm guessing. I will run some new tests and probably rewrite this review with the results.
CONNECT THIS DRIVE TO YOUR TV!
UPDATE 8/10/10: This is a cool innovation. A dock for this hard drive, which you connect to your TV to allow playback of photos, audio (including SPDIF digital audio), and video (including HD), is now available. See: Seagate FreeAgent Theater+1080P HD Media Player STCEA201-RK. That dock would be handy for people who don't have a computer connected to their home entertainment system but want to play back their media library there.
RELIABILITY
This is the most important feature, and only time will tell. New drives rarely have any problems, and I saw none. The drive has a 3-year warranty, less than some. *Many* years ago I had a Seagate drive fail and I lost data, and I have always held a grudge. With massive changes in technology and manufacturing, this grudge amounts to superstition, but I still normally prefer WD, because they have never failed me.
UPDATE 11 Feb 2011: I started experiencing some serious problems with the drive, amounting to USB failures. At times it would not be recognized; sometimes Windows said it needed to be reformatted; sometimes it did not appear at all; in all cases there were times that I could not access files, and later I could. Then I noticed that I was using a cable that was not the one that shipped with it, but was plug compatible. Now I'm using the original cable. So far, none of these errors. I'll update again if that changes. Lesson: not all USB cables are created equal, even when they are plug compatible.
THE CASE AND WEIGHT
Early drives are always boring black, and they are hard to find in a black computer bag. The comparison drive I used was a red Passport, which is easy to find, and I like the color.
The case is slightly longer than the Passport 1TB, and the drive is a little heavier 9.9 oz vs 7 oz for Passport 1TB, or 41% heavier) , according to the manufacturer's specs.
PRICE
1 TB is currently the largest size for this kind of disk. Starting with the 250 GB drive, these drives have started at the same price when new, and then decrease as larger ones come out, which is a good thing for consumers. Now we get 4x the capacity of the original 250GB drive for the same price.
BOTTOM LINE
Drives like this are now commodity items, with little to differentiate them aside from their size, so you can choose based on color/style or price. Seagate is a name brand and the drive should last. The WD Passport is somewhat lighter, slightly smaller, very slightly faster, and a little more expensive. The product is very good but does not excel, hence 4 stars.
UPDATE: My claim that the drive works for Mac is based on what Seagate says; I did not test that. I have read in other reviews people who have said that it did not work for their Mac. In one case, the review said he was running OS X 10.3.x. Someone suggested that this drive is said to require a later version of OS X, like 10.4.6(?). Please note: I am not a Mac user and my memory of OS X version numbers is not exact. The point is, Mac users might have more luck when the latest OS is installed.
DISCLOSURE: This product was provided to me by Amazon free of charge in return for a review. All of my reviews are written honestly - exactly as I see them.
175 of 187 people found the following review helpful
Color Name:Black|Size Name:1 TB
I've had my eye open for one of these since before they existed. I work in the Multimedia industry and require a large amount of space to store my data. I purchased this drive on August 8, 2010. Yesterday, Sept. 2, 2010, it failed. I contacted Seagate and they referred me to their data recovery team who offered to recover my lost data for up to $1500. Not expecting to have the hard drive fail immediately, I was still in the process of backing up my files and lost almost all of them.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
DEAD OUT OF BOX!!!
I just bought this drive and it will not do a darn thing, no light nothing.
Maybe it will not work on windows 7
FOUND THE PROBLEM YOU CANT USE A USB EXTENDER CABLE WITH... Read more
Maybe it will not work on windows 7
FOUND THE PROBLEM YOU CANT USE A USB EXTENDER CABLE WITH... Read more
Published 4 days ago by OTTOPUPPY
TOTALLY NOT MAC COMPATABLE; THiEVES
AN ABSOLUTE PIECE OF JUNK FILLED WITH LIES AND DECEPTION!
I bought this drive because the package clearly states that it"Works with PC and Mac...without reformatting". Read more
I bought this drive because the package clearly states that it"Works with PC and Mac...without reformatting". Read more
Published 6 days ago by DR.Robb
It was nice until it died
This drive was great -- until it died on me, and all of my data was lost.
The drive now makes a clicking/beeping sound on startup, and doesn't even display in windows... Read more
The drive now makes a clicking/beeping sound on startup, and doesn't even display in windows... Read more
Published 7 days ago by MrPickles
This Product Bogs Down My Computer
Whenever the Memeo Instant Backup is running my computer functions very slowly. The mouse just about stops working..jerky response when moved. Read more
Published 15 days ago by T Lem
Been running great for 6 months now
I have been using this hard drive for my Mac time machine for the past 6 months and I have not had any issues with it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Hoppaguy
Great product
My brother who is a computer scientist kept nagging me to death about getting an external hard drive. I don't use the computer much just to email, and mess around on facebook. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marie Jones
Excelente compra
Es un disco duro de alto desempeño aun con USB 2.0 ya que con ATA o USB 3, mejora notablemente la velocidad yo tengo dos y son excelentes simplemente, fáciles de... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Héctor Vega
Great Backup
I've been using this drive for about 7 months and it's great. No problems. Instantly recognized on both my PC and Mac. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jessica S.
Good drive
I've had this for years and its been great! I use it very often and have nearly filled it, but its never failed on me.
Published 1 month ago by coolestkid92
junk, and that's an overestimate.
zero stars -- less, if amazon would allow. this is a complete waste of money, start to finish. your'e better off buying a bottle of cheap wine and imaginging your computer is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by dac
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Capacity: 500 GB | Color: Black
