Review: Seagate 160GB USB 2.0 FreeAgent Go Portable Hard Drive – ST9001603FGA1E1-RK

I will from time to time review gadgets and programs that I play with.

This Seagate external hard drive was picked up to mostly back up our pictures and to use to access my personal files while on the road. The size makes it perfect to carry with you on the go.

About Seagate: They make some of the most popular used hard drives around. They are well known for making good products that last.

Warranty: The warranty policy is 5-years on this product so no need to worry if it will last. The packing instructions from Seagate is a little bit of a pain though. If shipped back to be fixed or replaced be prepared to use 2 inches of foam rubber. Bubble wrap or peanuts will not be accepted.

Hard Drive: You can get this Hard Drive in 80GB, 160GB, 160GB and 250GB. It has a 8MB buffer, speed of 5400RPM and encryption of 256 bit AES. The dimensions are 0.7″tall x 4.8″wide x 3.9″ deep. Weight is 6.4 oz. It plugs in to your computer using 2 USB connectors. If you are running low on USB ports you can use just one if your computer gives off enough power to run it. My desktop has no issue with this. You might have to use both but it is still better than an AC plug.

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Programs: This hard drive comes with a program called Ceedo. Ceedo is like a small operating system for your portable HD. This keeps all your files neatly stored away and makes it easy to access them when needed. It comes with IE, outlook already installed. You can add many other programs free of charge like office applications (excel, word, etc.), password vaults and many others. you can also purchase a program that will back up your home computer with a one touch set up. When you’ve finished working, Ceedo saves your work and application settings on the HD, ready for use at your next destination. Once you remove your HD, no trace of your work is left behind on the host PC. This is nice if you are working on a public PC. The end result – your personal desktop, with your programs, your data, and your settings, goes wherever you go! Ceedo Enterprise is a complete application virtualization solution designed to meet the needs of the enterprise. Ceedo’s unique approach to application virtualization enables multiple applications to be virtualized together to create a virtual work environment. Ceedo’s environment allows the separation of applications, application settings and data from the operating system, yet allows the applications to interact with one another. This ability reduces the complexity of managing the lifecycle of desktop workspaces by an order of magnitude. The separation allows easy deployments of applications, quick restoration of user environments during disasters, improved business continuity during PC failures, better control over application licensing, and more.

Using IE or Firefox on Ceedo covers your tracks which is nice if you are on a public computer.

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Overall: This is a easy to carry, easy to use HD with a nice little program installed. It makes backing up your data effortless. It gives you your desktop while on the go. The hard drive is quiet and dependable. If it breaks you have a 5-year warranty. What I do not like about it is the packing inscructions for service. They do not come packed that well so why should we have to send it back overpacked. This can make it a pain to send back. The warranty does not cover lost data, Seagate will not recover you data for you. You will have to have this done before you send it in to be replaced. Since these are backed up files you should have another copy on your home computer. I would think Seagate would at least try to recover your data but this is not covered by the warranty.