Comments on: Iomega eGo Mac Edition 320 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800 Portable External Hard Drive 34649

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:26:29 +0000

I have had this drive for a week. It is attached to my 2 year old Imac 24". It worked immediately out of the box. I used the firewire 800 connection to do a Carbon Copy Cloner backup of the existing drive before setting up my Snow Leopard Time Machine. The firewire connection worked well and was fast. A backup of the drive using cloning software can not take advantage of the speed of firewire. I immediately noticed that the bottom of the drive gets quite hot. I wouldn't want it to stay this way for very long. The drive rotation shuts down after an idle period but the power to the firewire circuitry does not and keeps the drive almost as hot.

When I shut down the Imac for the night the drive does not go down completely. The blue, very bright action LED and power stays on even when the Imac is turned off. I thought maybe something was wrong with the Imac and tried it on a less than one month old Mac Mini with the same results. In the morning the drive power (not platter rotation) was still on and fairly hot. I decided to try the USB connection.

The USB worked very differently than firewire. The speed for Time Machine is more than adequate. Doing a complete new 32gb Time Machine backup using USB was very little difference than firewire. The drive barely got warm. During sleep time the drive stops rotating but the light stays on and it stays just slightly warm. It wakes up in about 1 second and does the Time Machine backup without a hitch when called upon. My old USB would take sometimes a minute to acquire before saving the backup. This one is immediate.

In conclusion, the drive is very well constructed and solid. The firewire is fast and accurate. I would recommend that firewire be used to download big files on occasion and not left connected for a long time due to generating a lot of heat that can't be good for longevity. The USB is excellent, runs cool, and works as it should. Highly recommended. Rating: 4 / 5

By: dualdoc

dualdoc — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:16:19 +0000

500 gigs, the product is beautiful and has all the bells and whistles! More than USB2, both firewire(s) 400 and 800, no external power needed, I did have to format it to FAT-32 but that’s ok I can now use it for all products with a PC and a Mac. 3 year warranty from Iomega, It’s really going to get a workout!
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Keith Ross

Keith Ross — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:12:35 +0000

This drive is working out great! I really like the slim form factor, the color, and of course that 500GB and Fire 800 connection. It does get hot after some extended usage, but no problems at all. I use to buy zip disks by Iomega back in the day and they we’re really reliable, so I’m hoping it’s the same with this hard drive. I would highly recommend this hard drive.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Christopher Draus

Christopher Draus — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:18:14 +0000

The unit fell on the floor from waist level and popped apart. It no longer works.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: J. Barber

J. Barber — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:55:11 +0000

I fully realize I may be the only person who cares about what I'm about to say... but I feel I should mention it anyway just in case.

First of all, this drive works just fine from Windows. Since 99.99% of buyers will purchase it for use in Windows, it's important I say that first.

However, this 3rd generation drive does NOT work from DOS. The previous two generations, the little rectangle (1st) and the flask (2nd), DO work perfectly from DOS (both USB and Firewire)... so they somehow broke DOS compatibility with this 3rd generation drive.

In case you're curious, I use these Iomega external hard drives to backup all of my PCs. The only way to REALLY get a snapshot backup of Windows is to do it from DOS so Windows isn't running. I do this using the DOS version of Ghost (I use the 2003 version).

Just wanted to mention it in case anyone else wants to use this drive in such a manner.
Rating: 3 / 5