Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA external hard drive (500GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology Part number: ST305004FPA1E2-RK
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- 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.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA external hard drive (500GB) price range: $95.00
- Reviewed by: Felisa Yang
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 04/26/2007
- Released on: 03/19/2007
The good: AutoBackup and FreeAgent Tools software are easy to use and highly configurable; drive offers good gigabyte-per-dollar value; smooth interface with Internet Drive and Shutterfly; eSATA connectivity offers fast transfer speeds; elegant design; generous warranty.
The bad: Mac users can't take advantage of the bundled software; software installation is a bit slow; accessing your data "anywhere" requires you to have the foresight to upload it to the Internet Drive and potentially purchase more online storage capacity from Seagate; Shutterfly is the only online photo service it works with.
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.
Design
The FreeAgent Pro family includes six members in three capacities: 320GB, 500GB, and 750GB. Each capacity comes in two versions: USB 2.0/eSATA or USB 2.0/eSATA/FireWire 400 (we reviewed the 750GB USB 2.0/eSATA/FireWire version). eSATA will give you the fastest performance, but you'll need the appropriate hardware to use that option. All capacities offer a 7,200rpm drive.
Seagate gave the FreeAgent Pro an unusually slick design. It's wrapped in a smooth, black case, and the narrow sides of the drive are trimmed in orange, which glows when the drive is powered on. Though the literature that comes with the drive talks about its "portability," the drive is a bit too heavy and unwieldy to be easily portable. It measures 7.5 inches tall, 1.4 inches wide, and 6.3 inches deep, while the base measures 1 inch tall, 3 inches wide, and 5.2 inches deep. The whole unit weighs about 2 pounds.
The drive sits vertically on the base, which houses the connector ports and power port. The base can't be detached, but in the models that include FireWire 400 connectivity, you can remove the USB/eSATA module from the bottom of the base and replace it with the dual-connector FireWire module. The drive's power button is mounted on and is touch sensitive; we noticed that you need to hold the power button for a few moments before the drive reacts.
Features
Despite all the descriptions Seagate provides about accessing your content from anywhere, the FreeAgent Pro is not a network-attached drive. It's simply a hard drive bundled with software that allows you to easily copy your data to multiple locations, including Seagate's servers. When you first connect the drive to your Windows PC, the drive will begin the process of installing the preloaded software onto your PC. (Note: Mac users can reformat the drive and use it as normal desktop hard drive but won't be able to use the FreeAgent Pro software.) The process takes a surprisingly long time, so be patient. Upon completion, you should see shortcuts for both the Memeo Backup and the FreeAgent software on your desktop.
The Memeo AutoBackup software lets you create multiple backup tasks using a click-through guide. You start by choosing your backup location: a hard drive (presumably the Seagate drive in this case, but potentially any other connected hard drive); Seagate Internet Drive (on Seagate's servers; more on this below); a network location; a flash drive; or an iPod. You can decide how many versions you want of each file and whether you want the files encrypted; if you choose to encrypt files, you'll need to use the AutoBackup software to restore them. Then select what files and folders you want backed up. The SmartPicks window lets you choose by broad categories: My Documents, My Pictures, browser bookmarks, photos and music, and so on. Alternately, you can manually choose specific folders or designate items by file extension and you can exclude particular file types as well. Because AutoBackup is a real-time backup program, it runs only when files in the designated folders have changed or when you add a file. For detachable targets such as a flash drive or an iPod, a backup will occur the next time you plug that device into your PC.
One of the backup target options is Seagate's Memeo Internet Drive--basically online storage space on Seagate's servers. With each FreeAgent Pro, you get a free six-month trial of 500MB. Otherwise, it costs $5.95 monthly or $49.95 annually for 1GB of space and $11.95 monthly or $119.95 annually for 5GB of space. You can access the Internet Drive from either AutoBackup or the FreeAgent tools window. Both open a page in your default browser. To upload files, you can browse for them individually or use drag-and-drop; you'll need to have Java installed to do the latter. You can create subfolders within the drive, set certain folders to be shared and user permissions (read-only; read/write; read/write/delete; write-only), and e-mail files from the Internet drive. Recipients of the file receive a link that expires after 14 days or five attempts. You can also view a history: who you've sent files to and whether they've downloaded said files.
Similarly, you can use AutoBackup to share photos online via Shutterfly. The first time you set up the photo backup, designate which folders/photos you want uploaded to your Shutterfly account. Each time you alter a photo or add one to one of the chosen folders, the AutoBackup program will update your Shutterfly account.
The FreeAgent Tools replicates a couple of the offerings in AutoBackup. For example, clicking the Backup and Restore tab simply launches the AutoBackup software. And clicking on Internet Drive launches a browser window to the Internet Drive. But FreeAgent Tools also lets you create system rollback points, much as Windows XP does. In this case, you can manually create a restore point or set up automatic restore points in intervals of 4 hours (ranging from 4 to 24 hours). If you need to restore files, you can also use the FreeAgent Tools. Finally, the FreeAgent Tools software lets you monitor attached FreeAgent drives and offers utilities that let you adjust the drive's lights, alter the drive's sleep intervals, and run diagnostics.
Ultimately, a NAS drive that you can access remotely is a more elegant solution for true "anywhere" access to your data. The Seagate FreeAgent Pro requires you to manually connect drives for backup or have the foresight to upload the files you'll need to the Internet Drive (and you may have to purchase more Internet Drive capacity to have all your data accessible anywhere). That said, once you do set up the backup plans, it's a simple task to plug in your designated device and the backup runs automatically (the Internet Drive will be continually updated as long as your PC is connected to the Internet). For users who are daunted by the thought of opening ports or messing with DDNS, the FreeAgent Pro is a well-designed manual workaround.
Performance
For this review, CNET Labs tested a 750GB USB 2.0/eSATA/FireWire drive in USB mode. When writing a 10GB folder of mixed file types, it took the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 9 minutes, 46 seconds for a rate of 17.48MBps. Reading back the same file took 8 minutes, 21 seconds for a rate of 20.45MBps. This puts the FreeAgent Pro behind the LaCie d2 Quadra drive, which wrote the folder in 6 minutes, 7 seconds and read it back in 6 minutes, 41 seconds, but in front of the Western Digital MyBook Premium Edition. We were happy with its performance--most users will be, as well.
Though we didn't test the eSATA transfer speed (we're not yet equipped to do so), you can expect much faster speeds than what we clocked over USB 2.0. Where USB 2.0's maximum speed is accepted to be 480Mbps and FireWire 400's to be 400Mbps, eSATA's max speed is around 2,400Mbps. Unfortunately, few PC's come with the hardware necessary to use the eSATA connector on the FreeAgent Pro. If you'd like to take advantage of the fast transfer speeds, you'll need to update your system with an eSATA host bus adapter.
Service and support
Seagate backs the FreeAgent Pro with a very generous five-year warranty. Toll-free phone service is available weekdays, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. MT, or you can e-mail technical support via a Web form (though the included manual also provides a designated e-mail address) or fax. Seagate's support site offers installation and troubleshooting assistance, a download library, a knowledgebase, and a drive troubleshooter.
User reviews
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Great for a day or two
by RLao on November 21, 2007
Pros: Soothing orange glow from the drive lights
Cons: Lack of ability to function; horrid technical support !
Summary: It's hard to find a bad review of this drive; when I found it at Best Buy for 139.99, I thought I really lucked out.
I should have ...Summary: It's hard to find a bad review of this drive; when I found it at Best Buy for 139.99, I thought I really lucked out.
I should have realized there would be problems from the start, when the drive did not immediately boot up; I needed to unplug and re-plug the power cord and the USB cable several times for the drive to work. Once it got going, the drive really did perform very well. The setup was painless, and the transfers were pretty rapid. I am primarily using the drive for offloading of photos and video.
All was sunshine and roses for two days, until the drive decided that it didn't want to work anymore. No amount of cable juggling would work. I went to the Seagate support site and went through the troubleshooter - no luck.
I ended up calling customer service, and that's where my patience found it's end.
Thickly accented staffers were very friendly, but were (typically) afraid to deviate from their scripts. I was shuffled from tech support (15 minutes) to data retrieval (15 minutes - $1200!!), and finally to warranties (20 minutes). At each turn, I had to provide all of the information again, starting from the beginning. At the last, the operator could barely hear me, forcing us to shout at each other (There was no way I was going to start the whole process all over again). After a grueling ordeal, she finally set me up to get a replacement drive, for only $21 (tax incl.). At least return shipping is included. The "free" option is to mail my drive back at my cost and have them tinker with it for 2-5 weeks before sending me a refurbished unit.
If everything goes smoothly from here, I'll up my rating, but for now, tech support is weighing it down.
I need a drink.11 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Much Better Than Western Digital
by AZEnergizer on June 8, 2007
Pros: 5 Yr Warranty, compact size, simple installation, speed, quiet.
Cons: none that I can see
Summary: I couldn't believe how easy it was to set up this drive. Simply plug it in and start using it! I was backing up files in less than 5 ...
Summary: I couldn't believe how easy it was to set up this drive. Simply plug it in and start using it! I was backing up files in less than 5 minutes.
Other drives were a few bucks cheaper but Seagate has five year warranty. That's very important.
My western digital (WD) external drive died right after the 1 yr warranty expired. I had lots of trouble with WD during that year and there is NO customer support!!! WD will not return emails ever!!! So if you have a problem with WD take the drive back to the retailer or junk it and buy a quality product.
The cheapest in store price for this Seagate drive was $170, but my local Circuit City store honored their online price of $150.
I love this Seagate drive. It's just as fast as my computer's hard drive, so quiet that I can't hear it, it takes up virtally no space on my desk, and it's NOT a WD!!!6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Wonderful Product
by WildBillTD on August 29, 2007
Pros: Easy to set up, small footprint, cool design
Cons: Can't find any
Summary: When I got my Dell Dimension E521 with Vista Premiun in May I was worried about losing data becuase our Dell computers at work had issues with mother boards. After ...
Summary: When I got my Dell Dimension E521 with Vista Premiun in May I was worried about losing data becuase our Dell computers at work had issues with mother boards. After searching and searching I went with the FreeAgent. It truly is just plug and play. It set up prefectly! Most importantly it gives me peace of mind. Also, consider that the computer has a 1-yr warranty and this has a 5-year warranty. Buy it! You'll feel so secure and if the computer takes a dump....no worries! PS- Buy with Dell credit and free shipping and no interest for 3 months....
5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Seagate Corp is pretty slick
by Unplugged_from_Matrix on August 7, 2008
Pros: Elegant looks.
Great product.. when it is working that isCons: Don't let the elegant look fool you, Seagate is not in the business of making External hard drives.... it is in the business of DATA RECOVERY.
Summary: My Drive gave out after a FEW MONTHS of light use( thankfully, i hadn't too much data lost). I called Seagate tech support and they were more or less ...
Summary: My Drive gave out after a FEW MONTHS of light use( thankfully, i hadn't too much data lost). I called Seagate tech support and they were more or less as helpful as your average tech support ( "try unplugging the drive and then plugging it in again")
Anyhoo, it was determined that the problem wasn't with the USB cable, the power cord, lack of getting plugged out and back in again, but that it was the drive itself (shocking!). They offered -- and this is very generous of Seagate i might add -- to replace my drive unconditionally, no questions asked. Now i'm sitting there going like "wow! this is nice for a change", when i was nonchalantly hit with the catch.
Data recovery is not covered, but was given a separate 800 number to call to get the particulars of that process. I tried to ask the nice lady how much it costs but she was like she did not know (really?) but i should call the number to ask them instead as she tried to wrap up our convo. So i call this number and the woman on the other end goes over all this info about the process and the different packages they have (economy for slow recovery etc etc).
Price? 1700 dollars. And UP!!!.
Dude, the drive doesn't even cost half that much. Not to mention that the drive gave out on its own -- as a result of a faulty product that should be the manufacturers liability. Lucky for me my data wasn't worth much and i'm sure as hell not gonna spend two grand to recover a bunch of disposable multimedia. I'm sending that brick back to Seagate, getting my new one and probably gifting it away, or better still, selling it off to some poor shmuck on ebay.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Works well on a Mac with Time Machine
by jkmindy on January 4, 2008
Pros: Quiet operation, 5 year warranty
Cons: Included software only for Windows
Summary: This is my first external HD so did a lot of feature comparison with other drives. Finally settled on Seagate for its extended warranty and long experience as HD manufacturer. ...
Summary: This is my first external HD so did a lot of feature comparison with other drives. Finally settled on Seagate for its extended warranty and long experience as HD manufacturer. Comes with nice utility and backup software but only for Windows, so these had to be deleted. Installation on an iMac running Leopard started easily then the backup became very slow and had to abort. Found out by reading forums that I should have disabled the antivirus program before installing. Would have liked to have had this advice in advance. After doing so the backup proceeded normally. Operation is very quiet. Unit does get moderately warm during prolonged operation. Overall happy with this product and the peace of mind in having frequent backups of my entire system.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great until the usb port comes loose.
by Vampirella32 on August 5, 2009
Pros: ..................
Cons: The Usb port is loose, can't access anything on the thing
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Worst Hard drive I have ever bought
by mgiltner on March 7, 2009
Pros: eSATA, USB, Metal case, 5 year warranty (maybe - waiting to see what Seagate will do for my lost data and faulty drive)
Cons: Bulky and not good for easy transport because of base. Power cable not detachable. Completely failed and does not function. Says it comes with back up software but does not alert you that it is only a trial.
Summary: Used as a back up when I rebuilt my system. Tested for 2 months and worked OK, rather slow via USB. After I rebuilt my computer, I tried connecting the ...
Summary: Used as a back up when I rebuilt my system. Tested for 2 months and worked OK, rather slow via USB. After I rebuilt my computer, I tried connecting the drive but it would not connect, so I tried several other computers via USB & eSATA, all had same issue. After many tries it randomly connected but gave Write Delay errors and would not transfer any data off the drive. Lost a couple hundred Gigs because of unreliable product. Getting ready to send send back to see what Seagate will do for my data trapped in this disk.
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kinda crappy
by Mikes718 on July 28, 2008
Pros: inexpensive -decent software
Cons: Failed in only 4 months
Summary: Buy this one at your own risk...
My first impression was positive then
about 4 months later it started to sound like a truck and then it failed with
300 ...Summary: Buy this one at your own risk...
My first impression was positive then
about 4 months later it started to sound like a truck and then it failed with
300 gigs of information lost
when I called seagate for data recovery I was told it would cost $1,700.00
for a drive 4months old.
and I asked about finding a service that would recover my info at a better price.
but that was a big fat no... it would void the warrenty.
Lesson avoid seagate
I know I will. -
Works great!!!! with out the software.
by dukalian on March 13, 2008
Pros: Very Fast when it's working
Cons: Their software is very buggy.
Summary: I researched for 5 days before I bought. I decided to go with the WD MyBook. It was easy and worked flawless. BUT.. very slow. I took it back after ...
Summary: I researched for 5 days before I bought. I decided to go with the WD MyBook. It was easy and worked flawless. BUT.. very slow. I took it back after 2 days and got the Seagate Free Agent. It was every thing but flawless. It hung up and would hesitate when I clicked on folders and I found my self extremely frustrated and waiting on hour glasses.
Finally after several reboots I decided to try to uninstall their software package. Now that it's gone, I still see my drive and it's extremely fast. 20 GB in about 13 minutes.
No more hesitating, I just click and it responds. I am worried about how hot it gets though. If the heat becomes an issue I'll repost later. -
Seagate=Crash, Crash, and Crash:
by 22lipstick on February 16, 2008
Pros: This is one of the worst hard drives ever!!!
Cons: Crash, Crash, and Crash:
Summary: All Seagate hard drives are designed to do one thing and one thing only and that is to crash. Seagate products ?CRASH, CRASH, AND CRASH.
The money isn?t the ...Summary: All Seagate hard drives are designed to do one thing and one thing only and that is to crash. Seagate products ?CRASH, CRASH, AND CRASH.
The money isn?t the problem. The problem is that they lose your current work along with your history of past work.
No body needs that!
I definitely will not recommend any Seagate hard drive products to back up your work.
If you want to lose your work, projects and anything that is important to you then by all means buy Seagate hard drives.
Then Seagate hits you with a $700.00 retrieval fee for any lost information they recover from your hard drives failure.
Seagate=Crash, Crash, and Crash:0 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
- Part number: ST305004FPA1E2-RK
- 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.
General
- Device Type Hard drive - External hard drive
- Width 1.4 in
- Depth 6.3 in
- Height 7.5 in
Hard Drive
- Form Factor 3.5"
- Capacity 500 GB
- Interface Type Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300
Performance
- Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
Storage Controller
- Type None
Storage Controller (2nd)
- Type None
Expansion / Connectivity
- Interfaces Hi-Speed USB, eSATA-300
- Compatible Bays None
- Compatible Slots x None
Power
- External Hard Drive Power Source Included AC adapter
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included 1 x USB cable
- Microsoft Certifications Works with Windows Vista
- Package Type Retail
Software / System Requirements
- Software type Drivers & Utilities
- Min Operating system Microsoft Windows Vista, Apple MacOS X 10.3.9 or later, Apple MacOS X 10.4.6 or later, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & support type 5 years warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 5 years
Product series
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Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA/FireWire external hard drive (320GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 320 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm
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Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA/FireWire external hard drive (500GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 500 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm
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Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA external hard drive (750GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 750 GB, Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm
-
Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA external hard drive (500GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 500 GB, Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm
-
Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA/FireWire external hard drive (750GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 750 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm
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Seagate FreeAgent Pro USB/eSATA external hard drive (320GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 320 GB, Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, 3.5", 7200 rpm
Manufacturer info
- Seagate Technology
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Seagate Technology products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.seagate.com/
- Address:
920 Disc Dr., Scotts Valley, CA 95066 - Phone: 1-405-324-4700
- Fax: 1-405-324-4702
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