Shop for hard drives

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 5.0 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: For those bemoaning the lack of network support on last year's innovative Drobo drive, DroboShare offers Gigabit Ethernet and as simple and straightforward a setup as we found with the direct-attached Drobo. Read review

Specs: Drobo DroboShare, PC, Mac, RJ-45, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 135 reviews

The Bottom Line: More than just a networked hard drive enclosure, the SC101 provides some very useful features at a low price, making it a compelling choice for shared storage. Read review

Specs: NETGEAR SC101 Storage Central - NAS server, PC, RJ-45, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 12 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Seagate FreeAgent Pro operates as both a hard drive and a portable PC environment, but even if you're not interested in the Ceedo program, the FreeAgent Pro offers fast speeds and good value. Read review

Specs: 160 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5", 5400 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 10 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a good choice for the average home user who wants a fast and simple-to-use external hard drive for backup and storage. Mac users will want to find a different restore utility to use with it. Read review

Specs: 750 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 3.5", 16 MB, 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 0.5 stars out of 9 reviews

The Bottom Line: With the Iomega StorCenter Wireless NAS drive, you get storage, backup, and so much more, all at a reasonable price, though we don't quite see the need for wireless capability. This NAS drive should please both SOHO users and home users who want a drive that works and plays. Read review

Specs: Iomega StorCenter Wireless Network Storage 1TB - NAS server, 1 TB, PC, Mac, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, Standard, Ethernet, IEEE 802.11g, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 2 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Iomega StorCenter Network Hard Drive offers a small footprint and fast-enough performance, but the setup process was a bit frustrating. Read review

Specs: Iomega StorCenter Network Hard Drive - NAS server, 500 GB, PC, Mac, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 7 reviews

The Bottom Line: The HP Media Vault MV2120 is a two-bay NAS drive that novice networkers will find simple to set up and use. While it offers flexible expansion options with a free internal drive bay and two USB ports, the intrusive Media Vault software and lack of a print server dampen our enthusiasm a bit. Read review

Specs: HP Media Vault Mv2120 - Network drive, 500 GB, PC, 4 pin USB Type A, RJ-45, Removable, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 4 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Iomega StorCenter Pro 150d is a network-attached storage drive squarely targeted at the small- and home office user. With Gigabit Ethernet, USB port, and generous capacity for a fair price, this NAS drive should satisfy those users. Read review

Specs: Iomega StorCenter Pro NAS 150d/2TB - NAS server, 2 TB, PC, Mac, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, Hot-swap, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 33 reviews

The Bottom Line: Western Digital's Passport Portable External Hard Drive lets you take a lot of data on the road for a low price. Read review

Specs: 160 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5", 2 MB, 12 ms, 5400 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.0 stars Good
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

The Bottom Line: The LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini - Home Edition is a solid mediacentric network-attached storage drive with an easy-to-use Web interface, but don't expect glitch-free access outside your home network. Read review

Specs: LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini - Home Edition - NAS server, 500 GB, PC, Mac, 4 pin USB Type A, RJ-45, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent
• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 4 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Seagate FreeAgent Pro external hard drive is an elegant workaround for users who are intimidated by NAS drives. The bundled software is simple to use and makes copying your data to various location a cinch. We really like this external hard drive. Read review

Specs: 750 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good
• Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 7 reviews

The Bottom Line: As far as basic external hard drives go, the SimpleTech SimpleDrive is compelling for its low price and generous online storage bundle. We like it. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, Hi-Speed USB, External, 3.5", 8 MB, 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.0 stars Good
• Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 2 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Maxtor Central Axis is a simple, compact, and fast NAS device that offers 1TB of storage at a fair price. Be warned, though, that it runs hot and comes with confusing desktop software, a sluggish, unintuitive Web-based interface and a limited backup application. Read review

Specs: Maxtor Central Axis NAS server, 1 TB, PC, Mac, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

• CNET Editor rating:
  Not yet rated
• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 2 reviews

Specs: 1 TB, Hi-Speed USB, 16 MB

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.0 stars Good
• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 2 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive is an attractive, lightweight drive with a decent price point for a drive of this capacity. Its size makes it great for travel, but the write speeds aren't up to par with other drives we've seen. We can't recommend it due to its lack of performance. Read review

Specs: 320 GB, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent
• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: The Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ offers a lot in the way of features and performance, which is good, because it's expensive. Read review

Specs: NETGEAR ReadyNAS NV+ RND4250 - NAS server, 1 TB, PC, Mac, Unix, RJ-45, Hot-swap, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Flash