USB 2.0 - 5400 rpm - 8 MB Buffer - 2.5" - MPN: ST9100801U2RK
Strengths: Portable external drive for laptop. 100GB capacity, lightweight and made to take the abuse a laptop takes
Weakness: 100GB is the highest capacity, would like larger (Seagate has a larger 120GB comming out end of '05, begining of '06, but unsure what the cost will be).
Reason I went with Seagate was because they are known for their reliability and quality for computer hard drives. This was a primary concern for me because I travel alot with my laptop; I wanted a portable drive that can take the same beating my laptop takes.
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TopStrengths: Known vendor Seagate. Easy to carry around. No need for an adaptor. USB 2.0 compatible.
Weakness: Pricey. Backup software is terrible. No fan.
First let me say I trust Seagate. They've been making hard drives for a while now. Second the unit is small (fits in your palm) and light. It's a breeze to carry around. Being USB 2.0 and 1.0 compatible means it will take advantage of higher speeds when transfering files. Very quiet and doesn't seem to heat up at all. The unit is not cheap and included backup software is really basic and not that useful. Overall I am happy with it so far.
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TopStrengths: Solid Enclosure, Speedy Drive, High Capicity, quiet
Weakness: Cooling Vents on sides could let in dust and lint after a while, Requires 2 USB ports on some machines
Suprisingly, it was cheaper for me to buy this Drive Kit and swap out my exisiting Drive in my laptop than to buy the drive alone. The warranty is knocked down to only a year though versus the five year warranty on the OEM drive.
The hard drive has a slight buzzing sound while idling which my stock Drive did not. But, the read / write sound is barely audible. My stock drive (an IBM Travelstar) was super loud when reading and writing. The drive boots up a little faster than my stock drive did.
Overall the drive feels solid and does it's job without any issues.
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TopStrengths: Relatively small; good speed at 5400rpm (rotations per minute); looks sturdy; no adapter needed for USB 2.0; free BounceBack Express back up software; good capacity; good brand.
Weakness: Expensive; shows only 93.1GB; big ventilation holes; a bit heavy; takes two USB 1.1 ports for older computers; no case supplied; only 1-year warranty; no FireWire jack.
- COPY SPEED: I’ve downloaded 16.4GB from this Seagate portable drive to my laptop (Toshiba Satellite M35-S359: 768MB of RAM; 4200rpm of the 60GB hard drive; Windows XP Home Edition) via USB 2.0 port in about 18 and half minutes. Just one USB 2.0 port was used for powering the drive and data transfer (green USB connector of the supplied Y-like cable). At the same time I was downloading from the internet Yahoo Messenger Beta. I’m not sure if this affected the USB 2.0 transfer speed. During this data transfer CPU usage (Intel Centrino Processor at 1,4 GHz) was ranging from 10% to 29% and an average operating memory usage during these two processes was up to about 320MB out of 768MB of RAM.
- WRITE SPEED: I sent the same 16.4GB data folder now from my laptop back to the Seagate portable hard drive. It took less, about 14 and half minutes perhaps because it was the only process running on my computer. CAPACITY: Your computer will show only 93.1GB (or 99,994,927,104 bytes) as capacity of the drive. Seagate explains it as they, like any other memory and hard drive manufacturers, view 1GB as 1 billion of bytes not like a 1024MB as it suppose to be. I know that none of the hard drives show precisely their advertised capacity. I just don’t understand then why this portable hard drive can’t be advertised as 93.1GB, as it shows on all computers? Or why can’t the manufacturer add some extra bytes, so that the drive can show exactly 100GB and thus please all customers.
- SIZE: Portable but not pocket, imagine two pack of Marlboro cigarettes put together.
- WEIGHT: My digital jewelry scale showed 307.1 grams or 10.83 ounces.
- COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: You may receive the drive made either in Singapore or China. The drive that made in Singapore appears to be like it was made with a better Quality Control than those, which were assembled in China. But the drive which was made in Singapore had a sharper and strong toxic scent coming from the inside of the drive. In fact both have such a scent. It smells like a burned out power cord or melted rubber. Perhaps it’s just a smell of brand new plastic and other components inside the drive but I found it as a turn off. Because the scent was like it’s really toxic. Also while the drive assembled in Singapore was almost absolutely quiet, the one that is made in China is a little bit louder than the first one. Perhaps you may think that it’s just my prejudice against Chinese workmanship but I’m just sharing my first impressions, which you may opt to disregard. The black rubber-like Seagate sticker was not correctly attached on the front of China assembled drive! This fact made me to assume that perhaps inside of the China assembled drive not everything is perfectly put together unlike in those drives, which were made in Singapore. I assume first series have been made in Singapore because I saw them (40gb version)in Wal-Mart, where they’ve been on the shelf for a long time. I’ve ended up with having the drive made in China but so far it works ok. However the first drive, which was also made in China, didn’t shut its blue light off after I stop it though Safely Remove Hardware Option. Perhaps it’s not a big deal but raises concerns about quality of Chinese assembly factories. Thus, if you have options, I’d suggest you purchasing the drive that was made in Singapore!
- MINOR ISSUES: Sometimes the drive can’t be stopped from the first attempt and takes two attempts to stop via Safely Remove Hardware. It says, “The device ‘Generic Volume’ can't be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again later.” But not always, sometimes it stops right even from the first attempt. Even if you stop the drive the blue led light will remain powered on until you disconnect the USB cable. As I mentioned above the drive has some kind of toxic scent like a burned power cord or melted plastic. The scent comes from inside the drive.
=> CONCLUSION: It is smarter to buy this Seagate drive than small USB flash drives or CD-RW for data backup. But for the same price (if you select 120GB) or even cheaper (if you choose 100GB) you can purchase a small internal notebook hard drive (ATA6 or other suitable interface) and aluminum enclosure (supplied with USB cable, slim carrying case, and screwdriver set), put it together and make a perfect portable external hard drive. That will be smaller than Seagate hard drive and a more strategic investment. If you purchase the notebook hard drive, which is compatible with your laptop’s interface, one day you may just upgrade your notebook. Otherwise, I think Seagate put inside a proprietary hard drive, which is can’t be used for your computer upgrade needs. Also, internal notebook hard drives are usually provided by 3-year warranty and some even by 5-year but here Seagate provides you only with a 1-year warranty, so keep that in mind as well. Won’t you be sorry for your purchase if the drive crashes after a year of use losing all your data and invested money?
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TopStrengths: + Very Portable + Sturdy + No Need for a power adaptor
Weakness: - expensive when compared with other brands - still not really something you can slip into your pocket
This is a very good portable drive and has not given me any issues at all. I have been using this for a month and have been using as a pure storage device till now. I am planning to have one PC in the office and another at home and just carry this drive between office and home. This would really bring down the weight of the things that I am hauling at present. At about 10 ounces and the fact that you dont need a power adapter, makes this ideal for carrying.
Have dropped it a couple of times and so far no issues. Looks to be a sturdy build. Got it for about 160 bucks although currently it is going for around 215-225. So pricewise I have no complaints. There are other brands which go slightly less than this, but I guess the extra you pay is for the seagate name.
The speed is perfectly fine with 2.0 USB. It drops considerably if you are using a 1.1 USB port. Not a techie that is how much info I can give you on this aspect. Havent used the software that seagate provided with the drive. Would update the review later on this.
On the whole this is worth the money, even if the per GB cost is higher, if portability is the prime reason.
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TopStrengths: -Very Fast -Fairly Small -USB powered -Good cost to capacity ratio for a 2.5" HD -Better portability than a 3.5" HD -Excellent cooling design -1 Year Warranty -Seagate Quality
Weakness: -Still expensive compared to 3.5" HDs (but significantly smaller) -Not as small as some 2.5" enclosures -Many gaps for small particles to enter enclosure
For a 2.5" enclosure this one is quite nice. It's USB powered (either by a single powered USB port, or 2 unpowered USB ports). Optionally you can use an AC adapter (not included). It's a little on the large side, but it seems quite sturdy and has excellent cooling (although the vents would let small particles in....). If pure storage is what your looking for, get one of the 3.5" portable HDs (a 300-400gb would cost the same amount). However you can't beat the portability of the 2.5" drives. Purchased at Bestbuy for $200 -$50 Rebate = $150 + tax. Backed by a 1 year Seagate warranty.
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Reply by member: Tomoyochan
I think Seagate has a 5 year warranty.
Strengths: Small. No need for power adapter with the use of 2 USB ports instead of one. (with some exception.)
Weakness: No Power Adapter comes in the unit.
Great small unit but because it doesn't really work with all machine even with the use of 2 USB ports, the power adapter is needed. You have to pay for it though.
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TopStrengths: So small and very portable.
Weakness: Heavy. Expensive.
I used this drive to copy large files/movies between my PCs and I love it. I have a wireless home network but transferring large files is a pain(very slow). This drive is fast, small and sturdy. Just plug it into your USB port and that's it. Very easy to use.
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TopStrengths: Size, Quietness, Portability
Weakness: cost
The Seagate 100G hard drive is perfect for the mobile professional who has limited space to drag around a large external hard drive and associated power cables. It is quiet, does not generate excessive heat (or any heat) and takes up very little space. The only draw back is the high price (I paid $200).
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TopStrengths: Small, Practical, fast, look good
Weakness: Pricey, Need 2 USB ports sometime
I bought this hard drive because I wanted to use for back up my laptop and desktop. It's small enough enough to put in the pocket. The backup files is fast since it's USB 2.0. It's plug and play for windows XP. It needs more power sometime and you have to use 2 USB ports or power cord (not included). It's pricey. You can get any other brand for less money with the same capacity. I would recommend this one if you want small, practical, and fast hard drive for backup.
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TopWhat do you mean when you say it sometimes needs more power?
Over the last couple years, Seagate's drive to win the consumer market has become fierce, and the 100GB Portable is a perfect example. Stylish and well ventilated against heat buildup, Seagate tipped just over our weight limit at 10.3 ounces, measuring 5 x 3.7 x 1 inches. However, the 100GB Portable earns its girth with a blazing 5400-rpm drive with 8MB cache, making it a smart choice when...
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Seagate enters the ring with its Portable External Hard Drive. It houses a 2.5
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Portable ST9100801U2 External 100GB Hard Drive
Strengths: fast, small, portable, 100G capacity
Weakness: slightly thick ,slightly heavy and slightly expensive
The first reason I choose it is I had a lot important data need backup perioditely which should be kept in a very safety usb hard disk. Seagate enjoys the perstige in this fields. Tha big capacity fulfill the needs of my big volume data. Although it looks slightly expensive, it is still a good choice for its mainefestaince.
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