I bought this Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 250 GB 3.5" USB 2.0 External Hard Drive here on Amazon.com a year ago this week for my own personal use to back up my aging HP Pavilion a210n Desktop PC after having used this and other Seagate FreeAgent models as a backup solution for some clients' computers. Had read a number of reviews, both positive and negative, before using this model on my clients' and my own system, and haven't once regretted the decision to go with these units.
Opening the box and setting up this FreeAgent drive was deceptively simple... in fact I kept wondering if something had been left out of the box because it was so minimal. The carton contained the FreeAgent Desktop drive, an AC power adapter and a quick start guide, along with a USB 2.0 cable. Followed the overly simple quick start guide, plugged everything in. Went online to register the drive with Seagate and check to see if there were any software updates available or needed. Also downloaded the manual as a .pdf file, which was helpful
Used the Seagate FreeAgent Software to back up the files on my computer on an automated nightly basis for quite awhile, and the only time that it skipped a beat was during times that I had been fiddling with a number of USB devices at the same time. The software has an indicator that shows red when a good backup didn't occur, so it was simple to just right-click the indicator and perform a manual backup.
A few months ago, switched to Windows Live OneCare 2.0, which contains its own backup software, along with being a complete security solution. This has proven to be very effective and quite gentle on the system resources, working well in the background. This has automated the backup tasks on both my desktop system and my notebook computer.
Have had occasion this year to set up backup solutions for clients and friends using the Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive and the even higher capacity Seagate Freeagent Desktop 1 TB 3.5-Inch USB 2.0 External Hard Drive onto systems running Windows XP and Vista. Also hooked it up to one Mac running Mac OS X, after doing some tweaks. In each case, the installation went flawlwessly. Should also note that an installation of a well-designed Western Digital 500 GB My Book Essential 2.0 - USB 2.0 External Hard Drive went easily on another system running Windows XP, and it's done very well.
In conclusion must note that backup devices have come a long way in the last five years in terms of ease-of-installation and reliability. Any of these Seagate FreeAgent models are excellent devices that work boringly well, as any backup devices should.
Videos for similar products
Compare with similar items
This Item  Seagate ST302504FDA1E1-RK FreeAgent Desktop 250 GB 3.5" USB 2.0 External Hard Drive | Recommendations  |  |  | |
| Price | $70.00 | $80.29 | -8% $59.99 List: $64.99 | $149.00 |
| Delivery | Get it Jan 17 - 24 | Get it Jan 17 - 24 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Jan 15 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, Jan 15 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||
| Sold By | HDD Shop | Nationwide Tech Biz | Amazon.com | GeckoDeals22 |
| storage capacity | 250 GB | 1000 GB | 1 TB | 160 GB |
| hardware interface | usb | usb3.0 | usb2.0, usb3.0 | usb |
| compatible devices | Desktop | Desktop, Laptop | Desktop,Laptop,Gaming Console | Desktop |
| form factor | 3.5-inch | 2.5-inch | Portable | — |
Exellent
Anyone that is looking for an inexpensive external hard drive, this is a great choice. It is top quality. This product is very quiet compared to my dad's 300GB Lacie hard drive and is much nicer looking. It is very small, only about 7.5 inches high, and three inches wide including the base. The only thing I would complain about is the backup utility that comes on the drive. I would suggest finding a different utility online somewhere. For Mac users Apple.com has a load of choices, but PC users might have to look around. Overall this is a great drive, small, very quiet, and great looking.UPDATE: Originally bought February of '08Current date: October 2010I've had this drive almost 3 years and it still runs strong. Granted all it has done is sit on my desk, never gets moved. Plus I regularly run maintenance on it. It is still extremely quite, the only noise it makes is on first start up, otherwise it is virtually noiseless.It is only 320gb, but I still have over 200gb left, I have 10gb partitioned to some archives, but the rest is dedicated to Time Machine and backs up everything.Basically, when this one dies, or I need more space (unlikely) I will most definitely be buying another Seagate drive.AUGUST 2011:Still going strong. Use it everyday, partitioned for two different backup volumes for my mac and bootcamp machine. Been sitting on my desk now for 3 years and no problem.JUNE 2012:Still runs like the day I bought it. It has not ONCE failed.
