Seagate FreeAgent Go 160 GB USB External Hard Drive ST901603FGA1E1-RK

When I first thought of buying an external hdd I was worried to buy one without external powersupply. But this one is cool. It works like magic. 5400 rpm hdd but it will take up two of your USB slots. I think it uses two to gather power. The included software is good it will make a My computer like view also. It is named CEEDO. The data transfer rate is quite fast. This is very small and lightweight. When I got the box I thought it might be empty (it is so light). The manual is not that great but enough to get you going.

The rating I have given is based on the fact that this drive is extremely
flimsy. I have two of the older-style aluminum Seagate portable drives.
Those are great drives. I bought this one to upgrade to a 160GB model, but
I'll be returning it. You barely need to touch the top of it before the plastic
case bends inward significantly. I can't imagine this thing working for a week
if it was toted around on a regular basis. Seagate has appeared to sacrifice
its characteristic product reliability for flashiness. Also, I really wish that
portable drive manufacturers wouldn't install software like Ceedo and U3
without asking the customer first. These programs are just a nuisance.

I just received this drive today so I can't really comment on the long term durability and stability of the drive but the drive does carry a 5-year warranty so hopefully it will work for a long time.

The drive is basically plug and play on my two XP machines. The only thing to install is the FreeAgent Tools from Seagate and that's about it. This includes power management options on the drive, file encryption and some diagnostics tools. The software installed on the drive itself is called "CEEDO" and it provides a platform to install and launch applications such as Firefox, Bittorrent, Winamp etc. - all within the CEEDO environment so that when you are browsing or downloading stuff on someone else's computer (say your company's), you won't be leaving behind a trail when the drive is unplugged. It is really a good idea and would be great if Daemon Tools can work with CEEDO!

Final thoughts: Hey Seagate, Black (okay, brownish black) is not uber cool...white is also cool. Mac users especially would welcome a White edition to color coordinate with their ipods and Macs.

i bought this to replace an 80gb portable firewire drive. wanted more capacity and the same convenient portability. there's nothing convenient about its need for 2 USB slots and the data moves slower than the firewire drive it is replacing. nice little glitch on the small type of the packaging... if you're reading the requirements for Mac OS X you miss the bullet point in the Win XP section calling out the need for 2 free ports. Amazon's description of the product is similarily misleading as completely negelcts the mention of needing TWO USB ports...

boooo seagate. i'm offended that you're offering such clumsy connectivity.

First of all I thought I was paying for 160G portable hard drive. Actually, its 148G due to the fact that a bunch of junk was put in like Ceedo. An older version of the Seagate portable hard drive doesn't have any of that stuff and I haven't had any problems with it or putting programs on it and using them. So I can't figure out why we need Ceedo? I just bought this today and plan to store all my pictures on it. My other portable HDD has all my graphics programs so that I may take them everywhere I go. Even with the crap, I must say that seagate is one of the best I have had. It is truly plug and play. Others I have bought had to be formated and partitioned first even tho were stated to be plug and play. I like Seagate HDD and will stay with them.

I am not sure you need to use two usb ports. I have been running the drive using only one usb port for power and data. I have another Seagate portable drive that uses the same cable and it only requires the second usb port if the first usb port is not able to power the drive. I tried using a single port assuming that the requirement for the second port on this Seagate drive is due to Seagate not wanting users of this product having to decide if there is enough power to the drive. A single usb port works fine with my IBM laptop for powering the drive and moving data.

I travel in excess of 150 days a year and do more than 100 presentations a year. I've been stranded, bumped and booted on just about every continent. I've not had PC access for a number of reasons or been forced to use a promoter's PC.

This drive takes care of all those problems. Well, all except the airline issues, but it does make them more bearable.

This drive is slightly larger than a BlackBerry, thinner than a deck of cards and a massive 160 gigs. It is lightening fast and the software that comes with it is phenomenal. At first I was unsure about the software, but the first time I plugged it into a presenters computer and had my desktop available to me along with all my programs, all my data, everything I needed, I was hooked. When I plugged it into a hotel PC I was converted.

If you travel or even if you just want a powerful backup between home and office, this drive is the best external portable I've owned and I've owned them all in the past few years.

The only thing that I found a little odd was a separate USB power connector that was for power only. You really don't need it, it seems redundant.

I can't recommend this drive enough. I just bought one for a collegue who is a much a road warrior as I am as a gift and he is thrilled with it as well.

I strongly recommend this drive.
Dave Lakhani
Author
Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want and
Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week

I got one of the first units, and use it every day now for 1 month (around 2 connect/disconnect per day). It DOES NOT require 2 USB ports, the second USB connector is provided for use only if you plug it into a data only USB port (for example non powered USB hub, some ports in some laptops). When using standard port, use thicker cable (data + power), leave another not connected, this is how I use it. This is common solution, not unique to this model or this brand. Yes, it is NOT housed in an aluminum case, and the top of the housing would flex when you press it hard with your finger. This is perfectly valid engineering solution. Next time you are on a plane observe the wings -- are they flexing? Is it any indication how solid the plane is? I carry a leather wallet and plastic cased Seagate Free Agent Go, both flex a bit, none breaks. If additional pre-loaded software is not what you need, delete it. Easy. Try free PortableApps.com, other portable solutions, or none.

The drive is practically noiseless, goes to sleep mode (disk stops spinning) after preset time (many external drives spin continuously which shortens their life), read/write is very fast. Side orange light very nice and functional. The drive is using new perpendicular magnetic recording to provide higher capacity in physically smaller drive (strangely I could not confirm this as I failed to find Seagate technical data for FreeAgent series). 5 years warranty is great. I would prefer to see a short USB cable integrated with a case and an additional cable extension, but this is small detail. Overall this is excellent product.

I love this external hard drive along with the Ceedo program. It works great at works and else where you can bring your application with you. Many workplace does not allow unauthorized application but with this Ceedo application you can install any software you like (have to buy Argo or try it for 45 days) on this drive and run the application virtually off the drive. When done, just eject the drive and all trace of this application is removed.

Not enough USB for the 2nd power for your ext. hd? Use a PS/2 to USB adapter that came with your mouse purchase. Most mouse comes with this adapter for old pc that doesn't have a USB port.

There is no case for this ext. hd. The one that CaseLogic sell it a little too small for it. It is off like a 2CM and it might work but I have not purchase this case to test it [EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE CASE BLACK FITS SMALL PORTABLE HARD DRIVES (PHDC-1)]. My other solution was just to use a regular CD wallet case from CaseLogic (the nylon one that holds 12-CDS). This case fits perfectly for this hard drive.


I own both the Western Digital and Seagate external hard drives, both 160GB's in size. Really no difference between the two, other than the nice orange light that glows from the side of the Seagate. The Seagate comes with a cable that allows two usb ports to be used when underpowered, and the freeagent software. I have bumped the drive around when picking up my laptop and forgetting the drive was plugged in, (twice). The Seagate took good hits and kept working with no problems.
Great product.

Fantastic little device for all kinds of missions - data backup, working out of two or more locations, working at client's or even the local Kinkos. Its small size fits well in the laptop bag or even a pocket.

Data transfer is fast and the size provides room for most everything.

Second USB connection does not seem to be a problem on most newer devices. Available far below list at multiple sources.


Highly recommended.

As small hard disks go this one is pretty much top of the line. I also considered getting the Western Digital passport 160 gb but just fell for the looks on this one and nothing else. The glowing orange drive was like a beacon and this one did pretty much the same things that the western digital did and more. I am presently not using Ceedo too actively so really cannot highlight the benefits of that but in the world of big and small this drive delivers the two contrasts equally well. Firstly the small form factor really makes it convenient to carry this with you wherever you wanna go. I have an ultra portable (Dell D410) and a Maxtor 500 GB external hard drive that I used both for my laptop as well as desktop but it was a pain to carry. The hard drive weighed twice as much as my laptop so really a needed a fix for this. I started looking around and both the WD Passport and the Maxtor 160 GB caught my eye. As I was researching these this one was announced and I decided to wait for it, I was a little surprised when on a trip to Singapore right after I saw these drives being sold there (A little more expensive than what Amazon sells these for) and after seeing a demo by the store representative I had to have it. I bought this on the spot even when the WD was a little cheaper as it was really classy to look at. My usual clutter and weight was immediately cut by 90%. The drive is not as fast as some of the reviewers pointed it to be but does fairly well when the amount of data to be copied is not a lot. If ur going to use this for business needs like I do I am pretty sure ur not going to be doing data transfers in access of 10GB at a time and for smaller data transfers this is perfect. Another thing that I like about this is the encryption, you can password protect the entire drive and keep almost anything on it that you don't like to be seen. I noticed that Ceedo works really well with some programs and with some others it's completely useless. After a few tries figuring the program out I let it be and realized that all I needed was a portable hard drive with a lot of space and I have got just that. The documentation around Ceedo and along with the drive could be much better like someone reported below. This is also a quite drive leaving out a very low hum you cannot hear the drive. If ur in the market for a large hard drive in terms of space but still a portable drive then this or the WD passport would be it.

I own both the Western Digital and Seagate external hard drives, both 160GB's in size. Really no difference between the two, other than the nice orange light that glows from the side of the Seagate. The Seagate comes with a cable that allows two usb ports to be used when underpowered, and the freeagent software. I have bumped the drive around when picking up my laptop and forgetting the drive was plugged in, (twice). The Seagate took good hits and kept working with no problems.
Great product.

Fantastic little device for all kinds of missions - data backup, working out of two or more locations, working at client's or even the local Kinkos. Its small size fits well in the laptop bag or even a pocket.

Data transfer is fast and the size provides room for most everything.

Second USB connection does not seem to be a problem on most newer devices. Available far below list at multiple sources.


Highly recommended.

As small hard disks go this one is pretty much top of the line. I also considered getting the Western Digital passport 160 gb but just fell for the looks on this one and nothing else. The glowing orange drive was like a beacon and this one did pretty much the same things that the western digital did and more. I am presently not using Ceedo too actively so really cannot highlight the benefits of that but in the world of big and small this drive delivers the two contrasts equally well. Firstly the small form factor really makes it convenient to carry this with you wherever you wanna go. I have an ultra portable (Dell D410) and a Maxtor 500 GB external hard drive that I used both for my laptop as well as desktop but it was a pain to carry. The hard drive weighed twice as much as my laptop so really a needed a fix for this. I started looking around and both the WD Passport and the Maxtor 160 GB caught my eye. As I was researching these this one was announced and I decided to wait for it, I was a little surprised when on a trip to Singapore right after I saw these drives being sold there (A little more expensive than what Amazon sells these for) and after seeing a demo by the store representative I had to have it. I bought this on the spot even when the WD was a little cheaper as it was really classy to look at. My usual clutter and weight was immediately cut by 90%. The drive is not as fast as some of the reviewers pointed it to be but does fairly well when the amount of data to be copied is not a lot. If ur going to use this for business needs like I do I am pretty sure ur not going to be doing data transfers in access of 10GB at a time and for smaller data transfers this is perfect. Another thing that I like about this is the encryption, you can password protect the entire drive and keep almost anything on it that you don't like to be seen. I noticed that Ceedo works really well with some programs and with some others it's completely useless. After a few tries figuring the program out I let it be and realized that all I needed was a portable hard drive with a lot of space and I have got just that. The documentation around Ceedo and along with the drive could be much better like someone reported below. This is also a quite drive leaving out a very low hum you cannot hear the drive. If ur in the market for a large hard drive in terms of space but still a portable drive then this or the WD passport would be it.

I love this external hard drive along with the Ceedo program. It works great at works and else where you can bring your application with you. Many workplace does not allow unauthorized application but with this Ceedo application you can install any software you like (have to buy Argo or try it for 45 days) on this drive and run the application virtually off the drive. When done, just eject the drive and all trace of this application is removed.

Not enough USB for the 2nd power for your ext. hd? Use a PS/2 to USB adapter that came with your mouse purchase. Most mouse comes with this adapter for old pc that doesn't have a USB port.

There is no case for this ext. hd. The one that CaseLogic sell it a little too small for it. It is off like a 2CM and it might work but I have not purchase this case to test it [EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE CASE BLACK FITS SMALL PORTABLE HARD DRIVES (PHDC-1)]. My other solution was just to use a regular CD wallet case from CaseLogic (the nylon one that holds 12-CDS). This case fits perfectly for this hard drive.


I got one of the first units, and use it every day now for 1 month (around 2 connect/disconnect per day). It DOES NOT require 2 USB ports, the second USB connector is provided for use only if you plug it into a data only USB port (for example non powered USB hub, some ports in some laptops). When using standard port, use thicker cable (data + power), leave another not connected, this is how I use it. This is common solution, not unique to this model or this brand. Yes, it is NOT housed in an aluminum case, and the top of the housing would flex when you press it hard with your finger. This is perfectly valid engineering solution. Next time you are on a plane observe the wings -- are they flexing? Is it any indication how solid the plane is? I carry a leather wallet and plastic cased Seagate Free Agent Go, both flex a bit, none breaks. If additional pre-loaded software is not what you need, delete it. Easy. Try free PortableApps.com, other portable solutions, or none.

The drive is practically noiseless, goes to sleep mode (disk stops spinning) after preset time (many external drives spin continuously which shortens their life), read/write is very fast. Side orange light very nice and functional. The drive is using new perpendicular magnetic recording to provide higher capacity in physically smaller drive (strangely I could not confirm this as I failed to find Seagate technical data for FreeAgent series). 5 years warranty is great. I would prefer to see a short USB cable integrated with a case and an additional cable extension, but this is small detail. Overall this is excellent product.

I travel in excess of 150 days a year and do more than 100 presentations a year. I've been stranded, bumped and booted on just about every continent. I've not had PC access for a number of reasons or been forced to use a promoter's PC.

This drive takes care of all those problems. Well, all except the airline issues, but it does make them more bearable.

This drive is slightly larger than a BlackBerry, thinner than a deck of cards and a massive 160 gigs. It is lightening fast and the software that comes with it is phenomenal. At first I was unsure about the software, but the first time I plugged it into a presenters computer and had my desktop available to me along with all my programs, all my data, everything I needed, I was hooked. When I plugged it into a hotel PC I was converted.

If you travel or even if you just want a powerful backup between home and office, this drive is the best external portable I've owned and I've owned them all in the past few years.

The only thing that I found a little odd was a separate USB power connector that was for power only. You really don't need it, it seems redundant.

I can't recommend this drive enough. I just bought one for a collegue who is a much a road warrior as I am as a gift and he is thrilled with it as well.

I strongly recommend this drive.
Dave Lakhani
Author
Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want and
Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week

I am not sure you need to use two usb ports. I have been running the drive using only one usb port for power and data. I have another Seagate portable drive that uses the same cable and it only requires the second usb port if the first usb port is not able to power the drive. I tried using a single port assuming that the requirement for the second port on this Seagate drive is due to Seagate not wanting users of this product having to decide if there is enough power to the drive. A single usb port works fine with my IBM laptop for powering the drive and moving data.

i bought this to replace an 80gb portable firewire drive. wanted more capacity and the same convenient portability. there's nothing convenient about its need for 2 USB slots and the data moves slower than the firewire drive it is replacing. nice little glitch on the small type of the packaging... if you're reading the requirements for Mac OS X you miss the bullet point in the Win XP section calling out the need for 2 free ports. Amazon's description of the product is similarily misleading as completely negelcts the mention of needing TWO USB ports...

boooo seagate. i'm offended that you're offering such clumsy connectivity.

First of all I thought I was paying for 160G portable hard drive. Actually, its 148G due to the fact that a bunch of junk was put in like Ceedo. An older version of the Seagate portable hard drive doesn't have any of that stuff and I haven't had any problems with it or putting programs on it and using them. So I can't figure out why we need Ceedo? I just bought this today and plan to store all my pictures on it. My other portable HDD has all my graphics programs so that I may take them everywhere I go. Even with the crap, I must say that seagate is one of the best I have had. It is truly plug and play. Others I have bought had to be formated and partitioned first even tho were stated to be plug and play. I like Seagate HDD and will stay with them.

The rating I have given is based on the fact that this drive is extremely
flimsy. I have two of the older-style aluminum Seagate portable drives.
Those are great drives. I bought this one to upgrade to a 160GB model, but
I'll be returning it. You barely need to touch the top of it before the plastic
case bends inward significantly. I can't imagine this thing working for a week
if it was toted around on a regular basis. Seagate has appeared to sacrifice
its characteristic product reliability for flashiness. Also, I really wish that
portable drive manufacturers wouldn't install software like Ceedo and U3
without asking the customer first. These programs are just a nuisance.

I just received this drive today so I can't really comment on the long term durability and stability of the drive but the drive does carry a 5-year warranty so hopefully it will work for a long time.

The drive is basically plug and play on my two XP machines. The only thing to install is the FreeAgent Tools from Seagate and that's about it. This includes power management options on the drive, file encryption and some diagnostics tools. The software installed on the drive itself is called "CEEDO" and it provides a platform to install and launch applications such as Firefox, Bittorrent, Winamp etc. - all within the CEEDO environment so that when you are browsing or downloading stuff on someone else's computer (say your company's), you won't be leaving behind a trail when the drive is unplugged. It is really a good idea and would be great if Daemon Tools can work with CEEDO!

Final thoughts: Hey Seagate, Black (okay, brownish black) is not uber cool...white is also cool. Mac users especially would welcome a White edition to color coordinate with their ipods and Macs.

When I first thought of buying an external hdd I was worried to buy one without external powersupply. But this one is cool. It works like magic. 5400 rpm hdd but it will take up two of your USB slots. I think it uses two to gather power. The included software is good it will make a My computer like view also. It is named CEEDO. The data transfer rate is quite fast. This is very small and lightweight. When I got the box I thought it might be empty (it is so light). The manual is not that great but enough to get you going.