Toshiba 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Dive PH3100U-1EXB

by Toshiba

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches ; 2.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B002HWRK66
• Item model number: PH3100U-1EXB
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 2, 2009

Product Description

Capacity: 1 TB

Toshiba’s Desktop External Hard Drive offers you both extra storage space, and a comprehensive yet easy-to-use data backup and sync solution. The Toshiba 1.0 TB Drive can handle even the largest digital libraries - it can store up to 200,000 photos, or 250,000 music files, or 380 hours of video. With just a few clicks you can create a digital safety net to help protect files on your computer or other storage devices. Our dual connectivity design lets you choose between the USB interface or the faster eSATA interface for your data transfer needs. A built-in On/Off switch allows you to power down your drive when not in use to save energy. The slim design and small footprint help save your desktop space both at work and at home. The Backup software lets you back up your entire system (including attached storage devices) or specific file types (e.g. music files) on any internal or external drive attached to your system. The powerful Restore feature allows you to quickly restore files from any point in the backup history. You can even restore files based on selected criteria, such as name, date, and file extension. Bi-directional synchronization helps keep files on two sync targets up-to-date, no matter which target has been modified. For added convenience, you can schedule your backup and sync tasks to automatically run at your desired day and time. The Drive Monitor will monitor your Toshiba drive and let you know when it is getting full. These software features are preloaded in your Toshiba drive and run directly from the drive without requiring installation on your computer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore complaints about shutting down, FAT32 and eSata, February 10, 2010

By 

J. Romero - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Dive PH3100U-1EXB (Personal Computers)

Good news for those that have been frustrated by this drive and for those that hoped this drive would live up to expectations. Here are the simple and easy solutions.

1) "I get an error when I try to save large files." You can convert this drive to NTFS in a matter of minutes. Good news for those of you that may have already loaded data onto this external HDD because the conversion to NTFS leaves existing data intact. Complete step by step instructions in a moment but first, when you come to the step that reads:"Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt"; make sure you right-click and open the command prompt as administrator. OK, here's the link: [...] (By the way, I assume Toshiba set the file system to FAT32 for backward compatibility to older OS and Macs. FAT32 has a file size limitation of 4Gb, and because video files can exceed 4Gb, then this is one reason to convert to NTFS.)

2) "The drive shuts itself down after 5 or 30 minutes." This is not bug or a feature of the Toshiba external HDD. This is a symptom of Windows power settings. The remedy lies with configuring Windows Advanced Power settings, which is a piece of cake. You can set your drives to spin for hours on end, just follow the instructions found here: [...].

3) "Windows does not recognize the Toshiba HDD when connected using an eSATA cable." (If you don't know, SATA is blazing fast compared to a USB connection and the 'e' in eSATA stands for 'External'.) Update Windows for the latest drivers and the drive will be plug and play except for ...

4) If you want to be able to unplug the drive without headaches then you can turn off write caching. Write speed is degraded but you can dismount the drive without shutting down your machine.

My only worry is that this drive is air-cooled without a fan which implies that it can overheat and fry the chipset, so the black color is cool but maybe silver would have been a better choice.

89 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Toshiba Desktop External Hard Drive, October 7, 2009

By 

Michael Halbert - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Toshiba 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Dive PH3100U-1EXB (Personal Computers)

Over all the device is great, but there are a few things to point out about the device.

The hard drive is formatted in FAT32 instead of NTFS which limits the size of files to a mere 4 GB. So I advise reformatting the device to NTFS as soon as you finish the installation process. This will allow you to have files larger than 4 GB on the hard drive.

One complaint against Amazon is that they fail to mention that the hard drive has only a 5400 RPM and 8 MB of cache. They need to update the product description to include this information. Other external hard drives have 7200 RPM and up to 32 MB of cache. This is important information to know when purchasing an external hard drive.

The device is pleasantly quiet and only make a brief noise when turned on. As a plus, rather than an annoying blinking bright light, the device has a soft dimming in and out light telling you it is doing something.

This device does not have a fan, so it is advisable to keep it in a cool environment.

I have not tested the eSATA conection yet as it does not come with a cord and the one I ordered hasn't arrived yet.

55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expect out of an external hard drive, November 11, 2009

By 

C. Deaubl (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Dive PH3100U-1EXB (Personal Computers)

I liked the sleek look of this drive but after moving part of my video files to it, I found out it shuts down after 30 minutes of not being accessed. This is not acceptable. I agree to what others have said -- it is a backup drive ONLY. Don't expect to use it as an accessible hard drive at any given point. Unfortunately, a readily accessible hard drive is what I need so this is going back today.

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