Customer Reviews

Verbatim 160GB USB Portable Hard Drive (USBFLB160)

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

 

 

I have bought several FireLite drives over the years, and all except one is still working. I have been very pleased with the speed and durability.

I've purchased three Smartdisk FireLites and two out of the three have failed on me. Both had tons of data. When I contacted FireLight support for help, they didn't even bother to email me back. I'll never purchase another product from Smartdisk!

I purchased this drive to store/move a large amount of images between my Windows and multiple Linux systems. It seems to work fine when its attached to my XP system, but it does not always work with my Linux systems, and I have to do some creative stuff to finally get it to mount properly.. Actually, on some Linux distros, it does not work at all...

I like this drive, but do your homework and research before you buy it... make sure it will do what you want it dot....

I purchased this product, not via amazon, but locally. It lasted three months before the hard drive died, making a loud clicking sound. I called verbatim support, refused to help me without my original receipt. Didn't matter if I supplied a serial number on the product. It was summed up to me as no receipt, no support. Stay away from them as they will not warranty there products.

I had to return one of these because of a glaring problem with the drive, and am debating whether to return the second one:

1) There seems to be a problem when the drive spins down if you don't use it for a while. I had it hooked up to a MacBook and a MacBook Pro. They were running 10.4 and 10.5, respectively. When the drives are mounted and you don't use them for 10 minutes or so and the "set hard disks to sleep when possible" option is enabled in Energy Saver, a problem occurs. When you try to copy a file to the device after this time, the drive spins up, disappears from the system, and reappears in two seconds. The system complains that the drive was improperly disconnected and that data could be lost. I've had several firewire hard drives over the years and also recently bought a WD Passport 160GB USB, and that device came out of sleep properly.

The problem seems to be with the enclosure and not the drive that's inside. Either way, Smartdisk/verbatim should really come out with a firmware update to address the issue.

I purchased a SmartDisk Firelite 160GB from Amazon after reading the positive reviews.

Unfortunately I've had a very negative experience with this drive.

When I first received the drive, it seemed as advertised. I was able to mount it just by plugging it into either the USB or Firewire port. Windows XP recognized it immediately. The drive came with BounceBack backup software, which I used to backup the C: drives from my desktop and laptop computers. BounceBack was easy to understand and setup.

After the backup, I ejected the drive and turned it off. A few weeks later, when I connected it again, it didn't mount on the desktop, though it did mount on the laptop.

Now, on my third try, I find that it will not mount on any machine. I've tried it on 5 different Windows PC's, most running Windows XP but also one with Windows Vista. The frustrating thing is that it does show up on Device manager (either connected via USB or Firewire). It's just "invisible".

I've Googled for information on how to fix this problem. I found that others have had this problem too, though all the reported cases were on Mac's.

This is my second Firelite Drive and I am very pleased with them. They are small and durable. They plug into a computer. As a serious amateur photographer, I take them on my trips and they travel well. I carefully wrap them and always carry them ( with my laptop) on the airplane, never checking them. They are quiet, and not hot. They sit on my desk at home and easily plug in and are recognized easily.
I am buying a third one to use for backup on the road. I shot my son's wedding in California, and did not have time for DVD backup. Everything went fine, but I really want a backup drive when "on assignment", for those irreplaceable shots. I find hard drives are the fastest back up for me.
I have an earlier 80 gig Firelite and needed the AC adapter. So I bought an adapter for the newer Firelite 160, but have not needed it. I would recommend not immediately buying (the extra $$) AC adapter to after you see if you need it on your system. You can always get it later.

I love their small size. They are super. Hope this helps.

Bought the FlashTrax Media Player. After a power outage the hard drive was fine, but the main computer would not recognize the drive. We were only three months over the one year warranty, and even though we would pay for the repair they said they wouldn't touch it after it was out of warranty. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. Poor attention was given to detailed emails, had to keep repeating the same thing over and over.
Their final response...."But it is the way that we have everything set up. We can not change things because you want us to. It would not be fair to every other customer who fellows the rules and saves their paper work. Good luck." Hello? I had the paperwork.

As others have written, the entire SmartDisk USB line doesn't work properly with Mac laptops. I got one and it works fine with my wife's PC laptops, but won't even boot on my PowerBook G4. SmartDisk's tech support told me that the silver PowerBook line can't push enough juice through the USB cable to power the unit. So basically I have a silver paperweight -- nice. Avoid this product line at all costs.