ioSafe Solo 1.5 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive with 1 Year Data Recovery Service SL1500GBUSB20 (Silver)

by ioSafe

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.2 x 8.2 inches ; 17 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 17.3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001VKKZHQ
• Item model number: SL1500GBUSB20
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 13, 2009

Product Description

Capacity: 1.5 TB

From the Manufacturer

The rugged desktop ioSafe Solo external hard drive brings disaster protection to a price range that everyone can afford. With capacities from 500GB to 1.5TB, the ioSafe Solo can safely protect precious family photo albums, music libraries and days of video memories. For business, the ioSafe Solo is a great way to protect customer databases or to secure regulated information including patient records (HIPAA, Sox, etc) or credit card information. Businesses use the Solo hard drive as a backup and storage device, no longer worrying about data loss from moving computer tapes and files offsite. Like other ioSafe products, the ioSafe Solo uses ioSafe patented technology including FloSafe air flow cooling, HydroSafe waterproof barriers and the DataCast fireproof insulation.

ioSafe Fire normal operation ioSafe Fire Safe Mode

Fireproof Data Storage Design
The Achilles heel for electronic devices is cooling. As electronics get faster and hard drive disks spin faster, the heat generated increases. To protect electronics from a disaster such as fire, however, you need insulation. Once insulation is placed around an electronic component, even with a very small amount of energy, the inside temperature can get incredibly hot. To solve this problem, ioSafe developed and patented several technologies.
All ioSafe products are fireproof and can keep your data safe through the use of ioSafe's patented FloSafe vent technology, proprietary DataCast insulation or patent-pending MirrorGuard technology. Key to these technologies is the ability to protect your data automatically and without electrical power. Some or all of these technologies are included in ioSafe products.

• FloSafe - The patented FloSafe cooling vent technology provides cooling air flow through the enclosure and across the disk drives during normal operating conditions. If destructive heat levels are sensed, such as in a fire, the FloSafe vents automatically close and protect the data from the extreme heat.
• DataCast - The proprietary DataCast endothermic insulation technology protects data from extreme heat. . The DataCast formulation forms a chemical bond with water molecules that, at temperature above 160°F, releases water vapor to limit the internal temperature of the unit. This enables the ioSafe data storage product to protect your data from heat damage while the unit is engulfed in fire.
• MirrorGuard - The patent-pending MirrorGuard technology used in our ioSafe 3.5 internal hard drive line provides a reflective heat shield to deflect over 98 percent of the radiant heat from a fire, thus preventing destruction of the data stored within the device.

Waterproof Data Storage Design

Water protection for the ioSafe disaster-proof products consists of 2 different levels of protection:

• Flood Protection - Full immersion in water or saltwater
• Spray/Splash Protection- Water hose spray from sprinklers or the fire department

ioSafe uses a patented water barrier technology call HydroSafe to protect your data. HydroSafe technology is designed to protect data loss from fresh or salt water damage, including full immersion. Simultaneously, HydroSafe technology still allows the heat dissipation required by all computer hardware during normal operation.
All ioSafe products are inherently flood resistant and designed to prevent water from damaging the data. The FloSafe vents can be closed or open - it doesn't matter.

Server Failure & Virus Protection

Server hardware failure is an unfortunate reality that needs to be accounted for. With hard drives, it's not a question of "If" so much as "When" a hard drive will fail. Reliability continues to be improved by the major hard drive manufacturers but the reality is: a hard drive is a mechanism, all mechanisms fail eventually. ioSafe provides a simple and efficient way of backing up primary server data against server failure with the added benefit of disaster protection.
The ioSafe product line helps protect against malicious viruses by providing a redundant storage location for your primary hard drive. ioSafe highly recommends that you install any major brand of virus protection software (Norton, McAfee, etc.) as your first line of virus protection. If a virus does compromise your primary data, the ioSafe provides an onsite disk based copy for simple and fast restore. This means no digging through tapes or trickling data back from an online storage location.
If your primary server fails, simply restore the backup from an ioSafe unit per the software manufacturer's recommendations. This technique can reduce downtime to minutes rather than days or weeks.
There are many different choices of backup software that are compatible with ioSafe products. Virtually any software that supports disk based backup will work. Contact ioSafe directly to learn more how our unique product line can help protect your data.

Disaster Proof Hardware

• ioSafe Solo: The world's first affordable high capacity disaster proof hard drive
• ioSafe® FloSafe air cooled technology
• Protects precious digital memories from fires & floods
• Back up your PC or laptop hard drives
• Fire: 1550 F, 1/2 hr per ASTM E119 DataCast Technology
• Flood: Full immersion, 10 ft. 3 days HydroSafe Technology
• Store and protect from fire and flood, your precious photos music and video libraries
• Active cooling for reliable operation
• Operates at up to 35°C (95°F)
• Up to 1.5 TB storage capacity
• USB 2.0 interface
• Compatible with Windows,Linux and Macintosh
• Weight: 15 lbs

Inside the Box
ioSafe Solo USB External Hard Drive, USB Cable, Power Supply, Owners Manual and Warranty

Product Description

Like an aircraft black box for your digital data, the ioSafe Solo is the world's first, high capacity, fireproof & waterproof external hard drive. Using a simple USB 2.0 interface, the ioSafe Solo works with your PC or Mac just like any other USB external hard drive. Compatible with almost all backup programs that work with external hard drives. A combination of patented and patent pending ioSafe technologies work to allow for airflow cooling during normal operation yet protect the data from fire and floods. FloSafe vents are open during normal operation. Active cooling is provided by a near silent fan that drives air through the FloSafe vents. During a fire event, the patented FloSafe vents automatically close to prevent extreme outside heat from damaging the hard disk inside the enclosure. DataCast is our proprietary endothermic insulation that vaporizes embedded water molecules during a fire and works hard to protect the inner hard drive from damage even though the outside temperatures spike to over 1500°F. HydroSafe is our patent water protection. It consists of a heat conductive water barrier membrane that surrounds the drive. HydroSafe allows the heat created by the drive during normal operation to dissipate yet protects the drive from damage even when completely submerged in fresh water, salt water, and/or muddy water! Included with the ioSafe Solo is an unprecedented $1000 Disaster Recovery Service. This is a "no questions asked", one time use policy. Certain limitations apply.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Digital Safe, October 14, 2009

By 

Cyber-z (Boston, Ma) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: IoSafe Solo 1 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive + 1 Year Data Recovery Service SL1000GBUSB20 (Silver) (Personal Computers)

I bought the 1 TB IoSafe because I wanted a good detachable hard drive that would last. I think it is worth the cost for what you get. The fact that they advertise it to be able to withstand fires, floods and theft seemed like a bit much to me at first, but now it feels more like my personal safe rather than just another computer component: I have downloaded and scanned all of my music and photos; albums, cassettes & CD's along with my important legal documents, tax statements, bank records etc. I placed these items into various partitions that I created. I like it so much I am thinking about purchasing another IoSafe for my DVD collection! My only real complaint would be that it is kind of noisy when it is working. Also, the blue lights in front are pleasing but, the on/off switch is in the back and would be a pain in the neck to turn off and on if you placed it on the floor; which is exactly where something this heavy normally usually goes: However, I placed mine on a glass shelf that's a part of my computer table. I then put a small carpet/rug remnant underneath so it doesn't scratch the glass and it also helps with the noise. The only compromise I am making is that I cannot bolt the safe to the floor. There is a nice hole in the rear frame to insert a bolt through if you want to do this but then you have to think about reaching down and turning it off and on all the time. Leaving it on all the time doesn't seem to great of an idea as the blue lights are bright and when it is saving things it does make some noise. In any case I didn't need to bolt it down so my solution works really great for me. The IoSafe makes you feel really secure. I am sure there are ways to add additional passwords/encryption codes etc. to further secure your data and valuables within the safe, but nothing I have is really all that valuable to anyone else but me, the peace of mine I get and the obvious thought that was put into this build makes this product quality in my book. It truly is My Digital Safe.

I thought it would be helpful to add that I never ended up getting a second IoSafe. I'm still really happy with my IoSafe but I found 1 TB to be inadequate to hold all my DVD's: I have too many of them. I'm going with a 4 TB NAS with a RAID option. The IoSafe comes in a 2 TB model, but I need even more space. I read online recently that many people who have not yet purchased an external hard drive have cited the deciding factor as their lack of speed and that in the past, many externals have been, clunky, expensive, loud and slow: The Iosafe revels in all of these qualities; it's heavy, clunky, a real pain to carry around which is why even if you don't bolt it down it's really unlikely to ever get stolen. It's been slow for me when I transfer massive amounts of video, but no slower than would be expected from USB; eSATA would have been a better option. I find it a little noisy but not unreasonable: I positioned it convenient enough to turn off & on, but not near earshot. All things said, as I look back now, I stand by my start rating. I really like this clunky, sort of loud, kinda expensive and a little slow, bombproof 1 TB external solution to backing up your computer to place that is probably safer than anyone really needs!

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Working perfectly, super quiet operation, top-notch customer service, November 19, 2009

By 

Suzie Mcleod (Rancho San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ioSafe Solo 1.5 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive with 1 Year Data Recovery Service SL1500GBUSB20 (Silver) (Personal Computers)

I'll try not to just repeat what all the other reviewers have said. I do recall reading several reviews prior to purchasing which mentioned noisy operation, so I wanted to add my two cents' worth in that regard. I've had mine for about 2 weeks now, running constantly. I'm using Mac 10.5.8 (Leopard). It connected immediately, went through very quick and easy steps to format correctly for Mac/Time Machine and it was up and running in less than 2 minutes. My drive sits on a granite surface and it is absolutely silent.

After installation and during the online warranty registration, I called ioSafe to ask a question about upping the disaster recovery and warranty to five years, and I've never had a company rep who was more easily accessible or more courteous. He thanked me several times for purchasing the drive, asked what operating system I was using, just general chit-chat for a couple minutes regarding the drive. I mentioned that the WSJ video was impressive, and he said the guy who did that was sitting right next to him. That started another line of conversation for a couple minutes. It was quite a refreshing change of pace to be able to speak with a live person by inputting just an extension number which was given in information that came with the drive than the norm these days of press this to do this, then that do do that, and so on, ad nauseum.

One additional thing I'd point out is that the drive is not nearly as big as I thought it was going to be, although it does weigh quite a bit so the weight listed is probably in the neighborhood. The Amazon.com product dimensions are incorrect. Their dimensions led me to believe it would be almost the size of a PC CPU, so I was pleasantly surprised. I've found that at least half the time I can't trust the dimensions and/or weight of products that Amazon gives.

This is a great hard drive, and I would highly recommend it. I don't have any negative comments whatsoever to impart thus far. The test will be in how it holds up over time, but I believe it to be a very well-made drive that I can feel comfortable in putting my family's photographs and videos on for archival storage. Of course, common sense dictates redundancy in archiving important data, but this drive is working wonderfully with Time Machine.

UPDATE 04/04/2011 - Still extremely satisfied with this purchase. I upgraded my Mac to a new 27" version on 01/01/2011 and this HD restored everything beautifully and perfectly from Time Machine. I subsequently had problems with my new Mac and had to have the HD replaced; thereafter, the IOSafe restored my backup perfectly a second and third time. I continue to highly recommend this drive without reservation. IN MY CASE, IT MAKES NO NOISE WHATSOEVER. This must vary, though, as there are other reviewers who mention a noise.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As great as everyone says -- but noisy, December 13, 2009

By 

Daniel A. Richman "danrichman" (Langley, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: IoSafe Solo 1 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive + 1 Year Data Recovery Service SL1000GBUSB20 (Silver) (Personal Computers)

I don't think anyone has mentioned has extraordinarily noisy this thing is. I can't keep it running all the time, it's so loud. I just turn it on to do back-ups.

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