Seagate STAM2000100 2TB GoFlex Home Network Storage System

Pros: Nice Built
Cool Look

Cons: DOESNT WORK!!

Other Thoughts: I am a DJ and I bought this harddrive as my ultimate backup HD. First off, it took forever to get it working and Ive had several Hard Drives before and never had this issue. As others mention, you cannot find the device on the network I'd say about 60 percent of the time. It gave me two heart attack when the data was not showing up but then appeared the other day. Im very frusturated with this product from seagate. Ive had a few other HD that work wonderfully from Seagate but this one is straight garbage. Dont waste your time, your money and your patience with this one.

I am now in the market shopping for another External HD, hopefully one that actally works.

Pros: - Visible to all the devices on the network, including PCs, Android media apps, and Samsung SmartTV
- Allows streaming of media without much any setup really. It just discovers the drive on the network as a DLNA server and you're good to go.
- Don't need a HTPC if you have a TV with DLNA client/decoder.
- Mapping this as a network drive for PCs is a workable solution for centralized backup.
- Web-page based interface lets you keep tabs on the device and update firmware.

Cons: - Indexing during startup can be slow. Devices on the network wont see files or media until the device has a chance to run the indexing
- Drive spins up from time-to-time even when there are devices on the network accessing it, reducing total drive lifetime.
- No way to look at the SMART properties of the drive to check on drive health. There used to be a way to do this in the embedded web-server page but I think they got rid of it :(

Other Thoughts: It seems like there are a LOT of negative reviews of this product, but I am not sure why. This is a really simple NAS solution and you get what you pay for. The media streaming is usually very easy to use.

I recommend that people backup their goFlex device. I know this sounds strange (to have a backup of your backup) but lifetime of this drive will be reduced if you are streaming media from it as well as using it as a backup.

There are some other tricks you can get the device to play, based on the fact that it is running an embedded Linux. You can find these on the web but I don't recommend them...

Pros: Good concept. Software is decent. Lots of networking options

Cons: It doesn't work as a backup disk!! You can't transfer large files because it times out and, as others have reported, disappears as a network drive. The only way to even attempt to re-copy your files is to reboot the device. Others have said that they had better luck after using the software that comes with the device but, as I'm running Linux, that's not an option for me. I've read through some of their support sites but no one seems to be getting any response on this issue.

Other Thoughts: This may be ok for people who are willing to run the included software but if you're planning on just running it as an attached network drive, be wary!

Pros: None

Cons: Lost all data after third backup. Accompanying software is unstable an ill designed.

Other Thoughts: Drive is corrupt and unreadable, Seagate offers replacement (why would I want to trust this device with my valuable data again), or want me to pay them an additional 100$ to get my data back.
Avoid this company as they will hold your data hostage.
I will not consider another Seagate product, I suggest you do the same

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Robert,

This reply is from Seagate Support. We noticed your review and wanted to apologize for the problems experienced with your GoFlex Home Network drive. Certainly it is not typical or expected for these drives to behave this way. We would like to talk with you, by phone preferably, to determine the root cause and available resolution to the problem. We have created case #03381520 to use when contacting us that will show your review and our response. If from the US or Canada our contact number for technical support is 800-732-4283. If outside of the US or Canada please try us here under Technical Support (choose your region):

http://www.seagate.com/support/contact-support/

Best Regards,
Seagate Support

Pros: The only way I know this device is installed and working is the periodic popup window that tells me it is updating the backup of pending files, and when I access the device away from home over the internet to copy a needed file. It is otherwise transparent, seamless and totally effective. The best bang I ever got for my electronics buck! Thank you Seagate, and thank you Newegg!

Cons: None - as I said before, it is transparent and seamless.

Pros: Installed easily following the provided instructions. Additional software and apps downloaded quickly and with no issues encountered with remote laptop or smartphone access. Setup was a snap except for shared folders (see cons). Operation is seamless and quick, even for remote access and the use of shared folders by others.

Cons: Instructions for setting up shared folders could be improved. Not so much misleading as incomplete. Discovered that shared folders work great, but the shared folder cannot contain subfolders which is awkward because of the way my pictures are organized (by category, date or event).

Other Thoughts: This is a great innovation for extended families who want to share pictures and other data without posting on social networks.

Pros: This is a 2nd review after 3 months ownership

Cons: Please view Other thoughts

Other Thoughts: 1, Network Switch got powered off and came back, but GoFlex_Home disappeared. I had to power down and power back GoFlex_Home to see it. I dropped an egg because this inflexibility. This probably is the only one I know that would need reboot to get back to network. All other devices came back after the net switch powered back.
2, When getting use to its operation, it is great to have this toy. I almost did not know its existence until I had to get backup from it.
3, I will try media flow soon.

Pros: None. Honestly, none.

Cons: The device is annoying to configure, I'm not a fan of the included apps, required constant power cycling, and finally failed after less than a year of use.

The thought would be to return it, but they offered a replacement. Even at free, I'd rather not have the replacement.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Chase,

This reply is from Seagate Support. We noticed your review and wanted to apologize for the problems experienced with your GoFlex Home Network drive. It is not typical or expected for these drives to behave this way. We would like to talk with you in greater detail to determine the root cause and available resolution to the drive behaviors listed in your review. We have created case #03265174 to use when contacting us that will show your review and our response. Here is a web address with contact information to speak with a support representative directly:

http://seagate.com/support/contact-support/

Best Regards,
Seagate Support

Pros: Nice Price, Pretty Box and nice looking enclosure.

Cons: Dead out of the box. Working wit hNEWEGG to get it returned and then with customer to find a better unit. They have one at their office (The same unit) that continually disappears. This one, a replacement for a dead unit that had to be sent off for data recovery because it failed hard, does not even spin up. It will sit and tone at you. Tried plugging in directly to the PC nd the same thing happens. bad option!

Other Thoughts: Spend a little more money and get a working unit. I would think by even seagates standards, the unit should at least spin up the first time.....

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Lancectx,

This reply is from Seagate Support. We noticed your review and wanted to apologize for the problems experienced with your GoFlex Home. It is not typical or expected for these drives to behave this way. We would like to talk with you to gather additional details to determine the root cause and available resolution to the problem. We have created a case based on your NewEgg name that shows your review and our response. Here is a web address with contact information to speak with a support representative directly:

http://seagate.com/support/contact-support/

Best Regards,
Seagate Support

Pros: Decent transfer rates.

Cons: First drive starting having clicking sound about a week after purchase, then it died within the month. Now second drive has died within the year of ownership. All I receive from the drive is a humming sound. Unfortunately for myself and my family I was using the drive for media storage which means over 400Gb of music and videos that were purchased are now history. I will never buy another Seagate drive again. This has been the worst experience.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear WorldOfLife,

This reply is from Seagate Support. We noticed your review and wanted to apologize for the problems experienced with your GoFlex Home. Certainly it is not typical or expected for these drives to behave this way. We would like to talk with you in greater detail to determine the root cause and available resolution to the problem. We have created a case based on your NewEgg name that shows your review and our response. Here is a web address with contact information to speak with a support representative directly:

http://seagate.com/support/contact-support/

Best Regards,
Seagate Support