Might be able to find this in-store (aka B&M).

[www.bestbuy.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2007 07:36AM by AAA.

Not available for instore pickup.

It gets pretty weak reviews at BB's site.

It's also USB-only.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2007 07:41AM by Sam3.

Why does it seem like so many external drive manufacturers are giving up on FireWire? Isn't USB (1.1 or 2.0) processor-dependent?

The few that I have used put such a drain on my Mac's processors while files are copying over... so much so that it's almost not worth trying to do anything else at the same time.

Aren't these Deathstars on the inside?

That's a lot of data to gamble on...

[en.wikipedia.org]

I picked one up yesterday at our local BB. I am not using it as an external drive, but rather pulled it out of the case and installed in a PC we use for video storage.

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Gilbert
I picked one up yesterday at our local BB. I am not using it as an external drive, but rather pulled it out of the case and installed in a PC we use for video storage.

Did you note what drive model it is?

They seem to be getting pretty lousy reviews on the BB page for this drive. Here's the most recent one...

Quote

Customer Rating: 1 out of 5
BUYER BEWARE 11/13/2007
By john3141 from Stedman, NC

Pros: Large capacity
Cons: Inherent defects

"First - DO NOT BUY THIS DRIVE! It is defective in that is spins down and shuts off about every 30 minutes. I could not get the drive to reconnect to my computer unless a full reboot was performed. Even while in use the drive would shut off. I consider myself "very experienced" with PCs and did all of troublshooting most people would do - switched USB ports, used external USB, shut the drive off, then restart, went to Hitachi website and looked for information on the drive (nothing). Also not that this drive gets extremely hot and that may be a contributor to the problem. After a couple of hours trying to get this drive to work, I took it out of the external enclosure (inside is a standard Hitachi 1TB internal HDD with SATA connectors) and installed in my my PC. I haven't had a problem since. Of course now I have an internal HHD and not external, but in my case I'm indifferent. Good luck to those of you who purchased this drive - maybe your experience will be different.DLS"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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macbeergeek
Why does it seem like so many external drive manufacturers are giving up on FireWire? Isn't USB (1.1 or 2.0) processor-dependent?

Yes, USB is CPU bound.
But since a whole bunch of folks don't do actual research, they rely on saving a couple of pennies instead.
Also, for years MS Windows has crippled FireWire on purpose.
From the FireWire Wiki.:
"Operating system support
Full support for IEEE 1394a and 1394b is available for FreeBSD, Linux, Apple Mac OS 8.6 through to Mac OS 9, and Mac OS X as well as NetBSD, OpenBSD and Haiku. Microsoft Windows XP supports both, but as of Service Pack 2, each FireWire device will run at S100 (100 Mbit/second) speed. A download is available from Microsoft which enables devices rated at S400 or S800 speeds to operate at their rated speed. Some FireWire hardware manufacturers also provide custom device drivers which replace the Microsoft OHCI host adapter driver stack, enabling S800-capable devices to run at full 800 Mbit/s transfer rates. Microsoft Windows Vista currently supports only 1394a, with 1394b support coming later in a service pack."

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

I'm going to see if our local BB has one at lunch today. The first thing I'll do is take it out of its case and install it internally, in place of one of my 500GB drives. If all goes well, I'll buy another one tonight for backup.

I'm assuming that the drive on the inside of this thing is SATA, right? Does anyone know?

scored middle of the road in tests

[www.barefeats.com]

---

Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

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volcs0

Quote
Gilbert
I picked one up yesterday at our local BB. I am not using it as an external drive, but rather pulled it out of the case and installed in a PC we use for video storage.

Did you note what drive model it is?

It is a Hitachi 7K1000 - warranty through Feb 2009 with a manufactured date of July 2007. Warranty appears to be independent of case even though there is a 'Warranty Voided if removed' sticker on the case that must be removed to take the drive out.

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Gilbert

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volcs0

Quote
Gilbert
I picked one up yesterday at our local BB. I am not using it as an external drive, but rather pulled it out of the case and installed in a PC we use for video storage.

Did you note what drive model it is?

It is a Hitachi 7K1000 - warranty through Feb 2009 with a manufactured date of July 2007. Warranty appears to be independent of case even though there is a 'Warranty Voided if removed' sticker on the case that must be removed to take the drive out.

Thanks for the info. Yup - one of the Deskstars.
[en.wikipedia.org]

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dwayne_bradley
I'm assuming that the drive on the inside of this thing is SATA, right? Does anyone know?

Yes, it is a SATA drive.

Have had one since an earlier posting for about $300.

Has been a reliable drive - did not see any of the problems noted by the reviewers.

It IS a USB external case that does not power down when attached to a sleeping mac.

I currently use it as a backup drive for my main media center work.

I think others purchased these this summer to use as internal drives because it was cheaper than buying the naked drive.

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volcs0
Aren't these Deathstars on the inside?

That's a lot of data to gamble on...

[en.wikipedia.org]

The "Deathstar" problem drives haven't even been manufactured for at least five years. Think it's time to move on?