Customer Reviews

SimpleTech 160 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive ( STI-USB235/160 )

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The drive is the better than I could imagine. It is quick, quiet, and well priced. The drive doesn't make a sound and isn't huge and bulky. It is much quieter than Western Digital drives that I have used and recommend it to anyone looking for an external drive. The drive didn't require me loading any driver software, it was just plug and play. I haven't even messed with the software that came with the drive, so I don't know how great that is. The 160 GB drive gave me 150 GB of usable space, not too bad. Overall, this is an excellent drive!

I received the drive a couple days ago. I am very impressed with the ease of use, quality of the construction, and its speed. Here is my full review of the product. Hope this helps =)

Just feeling the drive makes one believe that it is durable. The outside of the drive is aluminum, very sturdy. Included with the drive is a power adapter, feet, instructions (although pretty simple, basically plug it in), a USB 2.0 cable, a software backup CD, and a driver CD. The feet can be mounted in all sorts of ways. They slide over the drive and latch into the divots. Mounting both ways are very secure and the drive will not fall over.

Installation was a snap. Plug the USB cable in and you have a 160GB hard drive at your disposal. Windows 98 users will have to use the driver CD to install this drive. The drive does not turn on once power is applied. A power switch in the back must be flipped on. This gives the user control of whether the drive is in use or not.

StorageSync is a useful backup utility that is included with the SimpleDrive. This utility makes backing up and syncing a remote drive with a computer easy.

The backup menu is like many other backup programs. Select the drives or folders you wish to backup. Select full or incremental backup. Then backup the drive. The target media drive is the drive you choose to backup to. And the great thing about it is it is included with the drive.

Listed on the retail box are the external hard drive's features. They can also be accessed on SimpleTech's web site at www.simpletech.com.

USB 2.0 and 1.1 compliant
One external "B" 4-pin USB (High Speed USB) receptacle
Serial bus data transfer rates of up to 480 Mb/sec
SimpleTech 7200 RPM HDD Technology
USB 2.0 Provides up to 480 Mb/sec Data Transfer Rate
Connect Up to 127 USB 2.0 Devices with USB Hubs
Plug n' Play, One-Step Installation
Stores All File Types, Data, and Software
Automatic Backups with StorageSync
Hot Swappable
Compact design: 5.51" (H) x 8.86" (L) x 1.35" (D)
Stands vertically or sits horizontally
Unlimited Toll Free Technical Support
1 Year Warranty

I've had this drive for a little over a month. The price was good, and I like all the space. Normally, it runs great. However, I've had some sporadic difficulties with connecting the drive to my computer. Sometimes, the computer won't recognize the drive properly, or won't disconnect properly. SimpleTech tech support says they have observed these problems only with Dell computers (I have a Dell Dimension); following their suggestions reduced but did not eliminate the problem. Also, on a couple of occasions when I've had the drive running for over a couple of hours, it has on two occasions quit responding; shutting it off for a while and then turning it back on returned to normal functioning. I'm using the drive for disaster recovery backup, so the occasional USB weirdness makes me nervous, but I'm going to stick with it for now.

I have had this drive for 7 months now, and it has handled all kinds of punishment in terms of use: I have transferred movie and music collections repeatedly; I've defragmented it a dozen times, and I stream music and movies from it on a regular basis. It has performed all of these functions without the slightest fuss and with no noise. For the gripers out there who want pimped-out LED lights and software that will wipe your butt for you: don't forget the brand name is SIMPLE Tech. SIMPLE. If all you want is a SIMPLE usb hard drive that will get the job done, then this is a good buy.

Note: this really applies to any external drive, but leaving the drive on 24/7 will decrease the life-span regardless of brand (especially in cramped areas with no ventilation). Just shut it off when you're done using it.

The drive works well, and with Windows XP, set-ups are a breeze. The drive was plugged in and worked right the first time. I backed up my entire hard drive in about 35 minutes without using compression. I have not tried the restore feature yet, so I cannot comment on it.
But...
The idiot light (LED) which is supposed to show activity did not work on the first drive. I exchanged it, and guess what - the second drive idiot light did not work either. The Simple Tech teckies tell me the LED is so dim it is hard to see, and that this is a common problem for all of their 160GB drives. Well, even in the dark, the LED is "hard" to see. This is a real drawback since I have to use a file manager to check on whether or not the files were actually copied. Otherwise, this is one of the cheapest drives around. I paid $130CDN at Sam's Club, who also made the exchange without any questions.

The drive I first received early in 2005 was making a high pitched noise. I finally got annoyed enough to call customer support. They replaced the drive with no questions asked and I received a new one in no time. The new drive has been working fine and is very quiet. Customer service and responsiveness was excellent.

The backup software is not great. It does not backup to network drives. I have been using the software the comes with the WD drives to accomplish this.

I have also gotten the "device not recognized" error multiple times. After spending time on the phone with Simpletech, the solution seems to be to turn on the hard drive and get the drive fully spinning BEFORE connecting it to your computer. This is the opposite order from my instruction booklet, but it seemed to do the trick.

I really like the simplicity of this external hard drive. I have not installed the software due to other reviews warning against it but this is doing exactly what I want it to do. I bought it for additional storage of data as opposed to back up. I do save lots of files to this drive and it works like a charm. I'm not that technologically savvy but this is easy to install and use.

I have had this drive for about a week. I wanted it for backup in case Windows crashes and I have to reformat my hard drive. I used the included "storagesynch" software once to back up my whole hard drive, which it seemed to do just fine. I also use it to back up my Quicken files each and every time I make a transaction. I keep the drive turned off when not in use, just in case there are overheating issues as mentioned in other reviews.
It's an economical product which seems to do just what it's supposed to.

This hard drive performs better than expected. The simpletech 160gb hard drive has no fan, making it very quiet. Copying my hard drive was pretty easy, but I couldn't have done it without installing the storage sync software. I think that part of the problem was that the hard drive was trying to copy the hibernation file from my computer, which didn't copy and and didn't need to be copied anyways. The storage sync software makes transferring files really easy...I recommend installing it. As others have mentioned, The "green" led light is actually white, and it can barely be seen when the lights in the room are off. This isn't a big deal to me because I usually look on the computer to see if files are being transfered anyways. Although there are a few minor features that could be improved on this hard drive, I would definitely buy one again.