Customer Reviews

Toshiba Canvio 1.0 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - HDTC610XK3B1 (Black)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

We got this drive for backing up AVCHD movies from our new camcorder (1080HD takes up a lot more room than 720SD). The drive works like a charm and does everything it's supposed to - it's fast, quiet, and has plenty of space. Works fine with USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports.

Some things to consider:

* This is a USB 3.0 device. You can use it on USB 2.0 ports, but USB 3.0 devices are less tolerant of out-of-spec components. Some older USB ports cannot handle the signal and power requirements of a USB 3.0 device. For example, I can plug this drive directly into my HP laptop docking station (USB 2.0) and it works like gold. I plug it into the USB ports on the front of one of my desktop PCs (USB 2.0, connected to the USB header on the motherboard) and all the drive will do is come on, make a clicking sound, and report an error in Windows (not enough power going to the drive). I plug it into a rear USB port on the same desktop with an extension cable and it works like gold again. I suspect this low tolerance for older, out-of-spec USB components is causing the problems other reviewers seem to be having with the drive.

* As others have mentioned, the USB 3.0 cable included with the drive is rather short (~18in). I suspect the short length may have something to do with Toshiba's attempt at mitigating potential problems with older/out-of-spec USB components. I had luck using a USB extension cable, but that was on a USB 2.0 port. Your mileage may vary.

So, two caveats: (1) If you use it with older and/or out-of-spec components you may have some troubleshooting to do; and, (2) the included cable is shorter than others. Neither of those things is worth taking off a whole star.

The primary use for tiny (cell phone size) backup drives is to get "peace of mind"...to have a place to keep backups of important documents, photographs, etc.

Last year, I bought a Canvio 2.0 that is now almost full. The Canvio 500GB is identical to my old drive, but packs in 50% more storage capacity and is 300% faster, when used with a computer that supports USB 3.0 data transfers.

I am using the Canvio 3.0 with a 64 bit Windows 7 computer. The Canvio is designed for high speed USB 3.0 ports, but works fine (but more slowly) with the USB 2.0 ports on my computer. Because it uses the USB cord for both data transfer and for power, it does not have a power cord or a power pack. (One of my older backup drives came witha power "brick" that actually weighed as much as a REAL brick).

The Canvio works quickly and quietly. It is light, but it is made with high quality materials and workmanship, and looks like a $300 cell phone (it is a tad larger and a tad heavier than the Android phones with 4.5 inch screens). It has no cooling fan or cooling vents. My older Canvio got very warm to the touch when I did an hour long data transfer in a 75 degree room.

In a 70 degree room, the new Canvio feels cool to the touch. Because the Canvio does not have any cooling mechanism, I plan to make sure any data transfers that will last more than ten minutes or so are done in a 70 degree room. (Here in Texas, 70 degrees qualifies as Winter).

The Canvio came with NTI Backup software. I do NOT trust any third party software to do a backup of the operating system or software. My computer came with a "factory restore" feature that I will use if my hard drive ever completely crashes. But, a factory restore will delete the contents of the "My Documents" folder, which is where NTI becomes useful.

The NTI Backup can be setup for daily "auto" backups of the "My Documents" folder. The first 3gb backup took about five minutes, but the daily backups take less than a minute, as the NTI software only backs up files that have been added or altered.

NTI does the auto backup each morning when I start the computer. To be extra safe, I also use the Windows 7 "Drag and Drop" feature to create a second backup of "My Documents" each week.

The most important thing to know about hard drives is that ALL of them will fail eventually. Your most valuable documents and photos should be backed up to a Canvio, and also placed on DVD's that can be stored in a cool, dry location.

I am setting up a system of backing up my most important files to Canvio "Number One" every week, and to Canvio "Number Two" once each month. That way, I have a copy of essential files on my computer, and on both of my Canvio drives. I am sure one of my hard drives will fail in the next year or two...but all three drives fail the same month? Not likely.

Bought this for $90 and it works right out of the box. I had owned another red Canvio 1 TB Toshiba portable hard drive and wanted another one. This is not as stylish as the red one and has no pattern just plain black but who cares about that. You get 937GB of storage, USB 2.0 backwards compatible, that's how I am using it with a Win7 netbook. Software is great, I would recommend this for $90 as all other 1TB portable hard drives are over $120 at least. Transfer speed with USB 2.0 is much slower than 3.0.

I want to give this drive a glowing review. I simply cannot. It is great in all respects except for one critical one: the USB cable that connects the drive to your computer only works intermittently at best. At first, I thought this was just a defective unit but after some online research and a peek at other Amazon reviews of Toshiba external hard drives, I learned that it is just typical for the product line. If the cable is not laying exactly the right way, is moved in the slightest, or is just in a bad mood, your connection will fail -- subjecting your data to corruption. Unfortunately, this critical flaw required me to buy another product and to soundly reject Toshiba external drives.

Toshiba 3 Tb Canvio 3.0 Plus portable external hard disc drive: A positive review written immediately after receiving an item is of little value. A review after using an item for some period of time has greater value. Purchased two in early Dec 2011 at Best Buy. One failed after about three weeks of normal function in early January 2012 and one failed after eight weeks in mid February 2012. Not worth the risk to replace with the same item. Highly recommend avoiding this product. Although they have a three warranty, the cost of the item is nothing compared to the time lost and inconvenience. Why take the risk? I have had no problems with two WD 1Tb Passports in 18 months of use.

Would not recommended. dies after 1st weeks of use. Download music and movies, now lost them all. Good thing I had them on my Pc already and this was just backup

Many have reported problems with these drives. The problem is with the USB connection to the drive. I think this is designed poorly -- the connection is unstable, sort of scary if you want to rely on the drive as a back-up device. Just jiggle the connection if it doesn't work, then don't touch anything. It works great for me so far when it is connected.

Do not purchase this if you have a MacBook Air. It will fail to mount and is not visible with Disc Utility for formatting. See this article for explanation.

http://www.phonenews.com/toshiba-acknowledges-macbook-woes-canvio-usb-3-0-hard-drives-18699/

Also, Toshiba customer support is HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

very good for PC, but for Mac you must be format it and than no problem with it. I have Mac and it's working very good.

I bought this Toshiba HD for backup. I am amazed by its compact size and slick appearance. The backup software that comes with the product is less impressive. It is adequate, offering three levels of backup options. But I got a suspicion that it is not very intelligent in figuring out incremental backup. Even when there were very few changes between backs, it still takes a long time to crunch through.