Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: Toshiba Part number: HDDR320E03X
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- 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.
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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 11/07/2009 |
 | | In stock | as of 11/07/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive price range: $109.72 - $117.00
- Reviewed by: Joseph Kaminski
- Edited by: Rich Brown
- Reviewed on: 07/07/2008
- Updated on:01/27/2009
- Released on: 01/07/2008
The good: Large capacity for a travel drive; very compact and light; USB 2.0 powered; ships with backup software; cool and quiet.
The bad: No FireWire; very slow write speeds.
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.
Editors' note: The final rating of this review has been updated to reflect a discrepancy in calculation. None of the individual scores have changed.
The $180 320GB Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive (HDDR320E03X) is the second drive from Toshiba we've reviewed bearing the Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive name. The design has been updated in this new version, but unfortunately, the performance remains just as uninspiring as the original's. Its 320GB capacity offers plenty of room for photos, music, and videos, and its convenient size lets you stow it in a jacket pocket. However, unless you really like its design, we can't recommend this drive because you can find faster models with similar capacities for less.
The small, sleek, lightweight device is not much larger or heavier than an iPod Touch at 0.65 inch high, 3.2 inches wide, 5 inches deep, and weighing just under half a pound. All of the accessories you need come in the packaging, including a USB cable, backup software, warranty information, and a quick install guide. The only thing we wish it had is a FireWire port. Color options include Gecko Green, Hot Rod Red, and Carbon Grey, and Toshiba also offers 160GB and 250GB models, in addition to the 320GB version.
| Drive type | External hard drive |
| Connector options | USB 2.0 |
| Available capacities | 120GB, 250GB, 320GB |
| Capacity of test unit | 320GB |
| Drive size | 2.5-inch |
| Drive speed | 5,400rpm |
| Cache | 8MB |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 0.65x3.2x5 inches |
| OS's supported | Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later |
| Software included | NTI Shadow Backup Software |
As is common with other portable hard drives, this model has an internal shock sensor to help protect your data from low impact drops. Toshiba doesn't specify a height from which the drive could be dropped, so we dropped it from 4 feet onto a hard surface, plugged the drive back in and it worked fine. NTI Shadow backup software also comes preloaded on the drive. Once installed you can schedule automatic backups that run in the background on systems using Windows 2000, XP, or, Vista and on Macs with OS X 10.3.9 or later.
At its list price of $80 for the 320GB HDDR320E03X model, Toshiba ends up charging you about $0.56 per GB. That's actually a tie for first with the SimpleTech Signature Mini and the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini. You can find all of those drives for less than their listed prices, so in real world terms the cost per gigabyte is actually even a bit better than that.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Read | |
Write |
On the CNET Labs' test bench, the Toshiba had very good read speeds, but horrendous write speeds, as you can see from our test results. Compared with the well-balanced SimpleTech drive, which offers the same amount of storage for the dollar, that performance gap makes it impossible to recommend the Toshiba.
The Toshiba USB External hard drive comes with a limited three-year warranty available within the United States, United States Territories, and Puerto Rico. Toshiba has a technical support line for storage available weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). You can also find FAQs and other help on Toshiba's Web site.
User reviews
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Portable and very useful
by reedjast on May 26, 2008
Pros: Very portable, USB powered (only one cable), Looks good!
Cons: None that I can tell
Summary: Good overall external storage. Portability is good. Stylish exterior. Fairly reasonably priced. Write speed is better than I expected (transfer approx 1.5GB in under one minute. Very quiet.
Summary: Good overall external storage. Portability is good. Stylish exterior. Fairly reasonably priced. Write speed is better than I expected (transfer approx 1.5GB in under one minute. Very quiet.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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need easy to use external drive, then this is for you.
by acendana on September 7, 2008
Pros: It's small and stylish. Easy to handle and only one cord to plug to your computer and you're ready to go. It comes with NTI Shadow software that is easy to manage after a few tries.
Cons: It's a bit pricey for the size.
Summary: It's as easy as plug and play. It connects easily to the computer and has it's own easy to use software to manage your downloads. If you are ...
Summary: It's as easy as plug and play. It connects easily to the computer and has it's own easy to use software to manage your downloads. If you are a little better than a novice techy person but not quite a pro, you can handle this with no problem. You have to try it a couple of times to get the idea but as soon as it starts working, you get the idea. It's quiet and can run in the background while you work.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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DON'T BUY this drive...OMG
by cutecaroletx on September 17, 2009
Pros: Small and compact
Cons: After SEVEN hours of watching this drive write my files, I GAVE UP. OMG....slow slow slow. Cannot figure out how to password protect though they said we could protect our info that way. Half the speed of others. Deserves O stars...
Summary: DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY....terrible terrible terrible.
Summary: DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY....terrible terrible terrible.
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Do not buy this drive
by snoopys_thoughts on September 1, 2009
Pros: 1.) its cute. (2.) its small.
Cons: 1.) I was unable to copy large files (4+ GB) to the drive. (2.) I am surprised at how slow it is. (3.) I had to repair the drive with admin software on a vista system. (4) I can't use it for a bootable drive.
Summary: So when this drive completely fails, do you send it back to Toshiba with all your private data on it and home they send you an equally bad drive?
Summary: So when this drive completely fails, do you send it back to Toshiba with all your private data on it and home they send you an equally bad drive?
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Toshiba makes nothing but trash!!!!!!
by Jfriedman_21 on June 13, 2009
Pros: small, quiet and thats it!
Cons: slow, poorly made and such a waste of money.....
Summary: So it's 1:30am right now and my 320GB Toshiba drive just completley died. I knew I should have backed up my data as soon as it started making ...
Summary: So it's 1:30am right now and my 320GB Toshiba drive just completley died. I knew I should have backed up my data as soon as it started making this weird squealing noise, almost like 56k modem type of noise. Then out of no where it just went crazy and made any application I had open crash. This is the second hard drive that I have had from Toshiba that has made this same noise. The first one I bought made this noise when I bought it and wouldn't even mount to my CPU right out of the box. This one worked great though and I just thought I had a lemon but now I realize that they are indeed garbage. DO NOT BUY ONE! Even if they sell it to you for a dollar it's not worth it. Like I said it's 1:30am and the only thing I want to do is screem at someone so i'm venting. 290GB of data GONE! Thanks Toshiba!
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used for MAYBE 6hrs and it crashed! Thanks Toshiba!
by citanul22 on May 7, 2009
Pros: ..........
Cons: ..........
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Failed after 2 months
by ben484 on February 22, 2009
Pros: It makes your wallet lighter.
Cons: Toshiba wants $350 to exchange it with no guarantee they won't create excuse to file it under abuse and not credit back. It was $99 new.They want you to pay shipping to sent there failed product back to them. Not worth the hassle.
Summary: buy at a supercenter chain store so you can return it.
Summary: buy at a supercenter chain store so you can return it.
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A poor solution choice from Toshiba
by pcxprt58 on January 1, 2009
Pros: Relaively inexpensive, small footprint, lightweight, large amount of space
Cons: Drive mechanics and electronics can't keep up with USB 2.0 requests.
Fails to work as a portable storage solution between different technologies.
Serious trouble with switching back and forth between MAC's and Windows.Summary: Have had the device for 45 days and have had nothing but trouble with reads, writes and movement between technologies. Have contacted Toshiba for warranty issues and they don't ...
Summary: Have had the device for 45 days and have had nothing but trouble with reads, writes and movement between technologies. Have contacted Toshiba for warranty issues and they don't support using it as a mobile / transferable device.
I use a Mac at home and Vista and XP systems in the office. To work in both arenas with reads and writes it must be formatted as FAT. Even with a two headed USB cable power consumption is a problem. Apparently Tosh doesn't understand the low power model like Seagate,WD or Maxtor. The drive software and mechanics itself are the problem. I've got and use Maxtor, WD, Seagate drives in variable sizes from 160 to 500GB in a mobile portable manner and all smoke this piece of junk.
In simply trying to organize 10 GB of pictures and 20 GB of music on the drive it fails time and time again on file Reads. Don't waste your money even if it is ON SALE. The pain and headache isn't worth the trouble and Toshiba won't support it, they assume you're going to set it down 1 time and leave it connected forever as a stationary device. -
Died in one year
by fresguy on October 15, 2008
Pros: Quiet operation.
Cons: Love drive until died after one year. Warranty doesn't mean anything because I don't feel safe sending my old drive in with all my data to someone else. Easier and safer to buy another drive on sale.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Toshiba
- Part number: HDDR320E03X
- Description: Toshiba's External Hard Drives are a hassle free, simple and easy solution to all your backup needs. It takes the mystery out of backing up your most precious digital memories by combining Toshiba's most reliable hard drive technology with easy to use backup software - NTI Shadow. The software enables even digital novices to easily conduct computer backup and enjoy peace of mind knowing critical data and cherished digital files are protected. The 2.5-inch external hard drives feature a sleek, glossy finish and contemporary design with click-free, switch-free and button-free backup for easy operation. They are USB powered and include an internal shock sensor and ramp loading technology to keep your drive safe and your data mobile.
General
- Device Type Hard drive - External hard drive
- Width 3.2 in
- Depth 5 in
- Height 0.7 in
- Weight 7 oz
- Enclosure Color Black
Hard Drive
- Form Factor 2.5"
- Capacity 320 GB
- Interface Type Hi-Speed USB
- Features Ramp Load, Shock sensor
Expansion / Connectivity
- Interfaces 1 x Hi-Speed USB
- Compatible Bays None
- Compatible Slots x None
Power
- Power device type None
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included 1 x USB cable - External
- Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7
- Compliant Standards Plug and Play
Software / System Requirements
- Software type NTI Shadow
- Min Operating system Apple MacOS X 10.3.9 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista / 2000 / XP
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & support type 3 years warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 3 years
Manufacturer info
- Toshiba
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Toshiba products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.toshiba.com
- Address:
9740 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, CA 92618 - Phone: 1-800-316-0920
