Toshiba HDDR120E01X 120 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
See it at Amazon.com for $109.99Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First (5 out of 5)A complement to the Puritan work ethic (a reliable performer that never goes out of style)
While Western Digital, Omega, and other portable external hard drives have been emphasizing style as much as function--bright colors, "thin-is-in" cute miniature UFO's with odd shapes and shiny lean plastic edges--this Toshiba is "relatively" large and weighty (but only comparatively speaking) and rather prosaic if not pedestrian in appearance: plain metalic black with protective rubber bumpers (it does have a blue "on" light but not shaped like an irus or adorable design guaranteed to impress your friends). Foxy-looking it may not be, but it mounts instantly on my iMac and iBook desk-tops, and it copies a thousand MP-3 files (several GBs) in about 90 seconds.
I ordered it after dropping and losing confidence in a WD Passport. Western Digital supplied a 6-inch shorty cord which, when combined with the ubiquitous tiny 1394 4-pin connector (these should be restricted to transferring pictures from mini digital cameras), loosened from my notebook computer every time I moved the machine. Before long I was having difficulty making the micro-sized plug connect to the recessed receptacle inside the drive. Fortunately this Toshiba arrived just in time to save me from a potential disaster.
Rather than a 6-inch cord, Toshiba thoughtfully supplies a 3-foot USB 2.0 cable (2 feet would be plenty, but better to error on the side of generosity). And even though one end of the cable employs the unavoidable tiny 1394 4-pin connector, it fits far more snuggly than did the shorty cord and connector supplied with the Passport. You can move your computer without moving, dragging and dropping the external drive with it. In addition, Toshiba supplies a power cable (and 5V DC input in the drive itself) just in case the USB power from your computer fails to supply sufficient "oomph" to run the drive. One might take that as an admission of potential problems on Toshiba's part, but given what I've seen their drive do on its own, drawing whatever power is being put out by my little iMac and iBook, I'd be inclined to view it as Toshiba's leaving nothing to chance.
The drive mounts instantly, and is indeed plug and play. The included disc with automatic back-up software--"Shadow"--was easy to install and understand. Moreover, it copied my entire hard drive in a manner of several minutes. But first impressions are that the software back-up program's primary market is Windows users and that it's just enough of a time-delayer in its requirements (choose the folders and files you wish to have backed up, select a frequency of auto back-up ranging from one second to one week, create a name and folder, decide on how many drafts you wish to have saved with every project) to be something I'm likely bother with except for the most critical documents. Still, if Apple's Leopard or Western Digital's auto back-up programs prove not to be the no-brainer, fool-proof solutions they're cracked up to be, it's nice to have the option of Toshiba's program. (Who knows? Maybe the Shadow knows.)
Finally, the price certainly looks right. Currently the Toshiba is priced very close to a comparably sized Passport. If the machine proves to be the rugged and dependable winner that it promises to be, and if the consumer becomes less mesmerized by bright colors, gadgets that resemble a pet, and miniaturization taken to the extreme, that price gap could easily widen.
(5 out of 5)Good & reliable
I have good experience with Toshiba products. Now, I am more convinced than ever about Toshiba quality with this Portable hardisk. THis product started from the very begining in the Vista system, it works like pluging a usb-memory, instantly. It turns off with my laptop (I have a Sony rigth now just to try a new brand) and I can plug or unplug when ever I want with out making a conflict in the system. It does not heat at all, and it is fast as hell with the USB2 cord and quiet. I did not use the accompaning software because I do not need it. I bought it because I read plenty reviews of portable HD drives that overheat, do not turn off with the system, and conflict with Vista or need to download added software online, and I decided to try Toshiba since it stated that it is vista compatible. It did not disappointed me. It is small and ligth enough that I can even carry it in my pocket. I recommned it.
(4 out of 5)Light weight, portable, and durable
Does a great job at what its suppose to. There is no internal fan, but it stays cool, and basically makes no noise. Its plug and play, no software needed to use and power is pulled directly from your computer/laptop. It includes the second one necessary for power if you have the 1.0 USB ports.
It took me about 2 1/2 minutes to transfer about 2.4 GB of data from my laptop to this external HD. So try to gauge the speeds on that.
Couldnt be more happy with my purchase.
(5 out of 5)Superb
This one works great! I plugged it on my USB and it was ready to go. Reading time is quite fast. Very quiet and even when its been plugged for a long time, the unit doesn't get hot. I'll definitely buy another one when I need more space! Design looks great, very handy and compact.
(5 out of 5)Toshiba 120 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
External Hard Drive arrived in excellent condition and quality. External Hard Drive arrived in a very timely fashion.