Seagate FreeAgent Desk 500GB USB 2.0 Silver External Hard Drive ST305004FDA2E1-RK

Pros: Fast, works exactly as an external harddrive is suppose to work.

Cons: Programs that come with it... then again all you have to do is format the harddrive when you get it.

Other Thoughts: Great product, I would recommend buying this.

Pros: Bought the 1 TB version, which supposedly has the same high failure rate as this one, but no problems after a little over a month. Recognized by the BIOS as a bootable drive, so is compatible with Linux and can be used to load an OS, in addition to backups.

Cons: Whatever the failure rate of Seagate external drives or any other Seagate products, buyers have to beware that -- much like M$ -- Seagate expects consumers to pay for any software beyond what is pre-installed that might e required to repair and/or reformat the drive.

Other Thoughts: Really too bad that an RMA is the only support option for any problems the pre-installed software won't fix, since a company that is not up front about the fact that they expect customers to pay for software most other manufacturers still offer for free is not likely to honor its warranty.

Pros: Awesome drive: pretty quiet, not that hot, stable (it's a gamble really, I guess I pulled a winner's ticket)

Cons: None, not big enough maybe? :)

Other Thoughts: I rather have 4 X 500Gb that work like this one then 1 Tb that fails me in a year and now I need space to backup all my stuff - luckily it didn't lock and started to click infinitely...

Pros: was very easy to hook up installed on its own with no problems

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: would of been nice if you could use it to be able to boot from if your on board hard drive went out

Pros: Quick and easy set up and it works with Acronis, I don't know that it needs all the Seagate programs on it. No big as I'm not planning on using it. Good price and fast delivery, Newegg rocks again!!!

Cons: None so far....

Pros: Fast, reliable, and well worth the money. Software is useless, but that's what reformatting is for.

Cons: Attention! Just like your computer, this hard drive will not make toast either. No complaining:)

Other Thoughts: I bought this drive to keep a bootable backup of my main hard drive. This product works just as well as the older 320GB Free Agent.

Pros: Well it is large, and easy to use. What else can I say? If you use the stand, won't heat up very fast. Not too bulky, just right size. If your not looking for a really portable drive, this is a good one to get.

Cons: Only that it is advertised at 500 GB but is 460ish GB

Pros: It worked when I first bought it. Guess it can be a cool looking paperweight.

Cons: The drive is a backup drive and all the information on it was erased by the "failure to initialize" error that apparently was a firmware issue. Drive is suppose to turn on and off with the computer, but fails to do so 90% of the time. I've run SeaFools tools and it fixes it for a day or so. We will see how Seagate is when I RMAit.

Other Thoughts: I've got Western Digital drives that get more use and abuse than my backup drive has and WD has never steered me wrong. I believe I've still got a drawer filled with 1.5GB/s Sata WD drives that I no longer use that would be more than happy to spin up if needed. Can't say the same for the 3 Seagate drives I have. Buy something better like WD and you won't have to worry about losing your data.

Pros: This is the best external drive I have used. It is pretty much a universal drive and works easily with every computer I have setup.

Cons: Wish I had the choice of Black or Silver as opposed to Silver only

Pros: Good price for the capacity.

Cons: The new unit I bought in a local store was broken inside the plastic casing! The connector holes on the enclosure did not line up with the connectors. This made it impossible to use the drive. Perhaps it was dropped during assembly at the factory, but such POOR quality should not reach the customer like this!

Other Thoughts: Generally I like Seagate drives fine, but this is a stereotypical example of low quality "Made in China" products. Yes, it says so right on the box.