Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 34169

I'm no expert and I'm not the best when it comes to backing up my MacBook but when I do, I feel a heck of a lot better. I'm a Mac user and always will be. I love it's plug and play features. I bought the iOmega Prestige 320 because I wanted a backup drive that fits my specific needs: well priced, sleek and compact, compatible with Time Machine and, of course, ample storage for ME. I don't need a 1T or even a 500GB drive no matter what the salespeople say. I'm a pretty average user and my computer will expire well before I ever fill up a 320GB drive. So far, this little guy has done it's job pretty well and, in this economy where every penny counts, I'm so glad it didn't cost me my first born.

I ordered the Iomega Prestige 320 GB USB external Hard drive because I needed a source to carry my photographs for class plus pdfs, and movies. I am a student and I was looking for something bigger than a thumb drive that did not break the bank and was not large. This hard drive is light, slim, quiet, well made and durable (metal casing). Also, it is surprisingly quick at uploading material. Also there is no difference in quality between this product and a Western Digital or Seagate hard-drive. Also the Iomega Prestige comes with some fairly useful software, all of which you can obtain simply with your serial number on their website.

External drives are a dime a dozen these days, so manufacturers are frequently relying upon the 'value adds' such as innovative casing and software to make their products stand out.This Iomega drive is an excellent and affordable choice that is well constructed for on-the-go computing. The brushed aluminum case is attractive but also strong enough to prevent getting crushed or cracked in a bag. Speeds are reasonable although USB 2.0 is beginning to feel slightly limited now that that 3.0 interfaces and devices are making their way to market.I do have two minor gripes: The first is there is no love for Mac users included on the drive. It's formatted for NTFS and there's no Mac software to install. It's easy enough to get working by loading disk utility and formatting it for the Mac, but it will look a little bare until you do go through the Mac formatting process.The second is the confusing cable configuration. The drive comes with a dual USB interface, which will prompt many unsuspecting users to give up two USB ports. In my limited testing on two Macs the second USB connection is not needed and the drive will work fine occupying just one port. I suppose Iomega included this functionality for those with extremely old or underpowered hardware, but it will nevertheless prompt many to occupy the additional port unnecessarily.Still, these issues are definitely not dealbreakers. The cost and build quality of this product makes it my new choice for an inexpensive external hard drive.

Seems to be a few reviews commenting about problems with the cable not being secure. Not sure if Iomega have upgraded or its because people are reviewing the 320GB model under the 500GB description but this is not an issue with the 500GB drive I received. I even picked it up and turned the drive round 360 degrees whilst doing a test backup. Sure the cable got in a tangle but the drive carried on copying with no sign of the cable being loose what-so-ever.I must admit it was slightly bigger than I expected, the photo against a paper clip just got me thinking it was going to be really tiny and I didnt worry about reading the dimensions.Dont get me wrong though this thing is very small for something that packs in 500GB. Prob about 50% bigger than an I-phone's dimensions. So it looks VERY stylish, packs 500GB into a small package and doesnt need any external power, works for me.

This product is a waste of time. I plugged it in and it immediately received power. We're off to a great start. Except my computer could find no item attached to the USB port. I removed my external DVD Writer from a different port and plugged this HDD in, again receiving the power on light. But still no acknowledgment that there was even a device attached from my PC. I went to Iomega's website, hoping to find customer support or at least troubleshooting tips. All they would tell me was how to "reformat" the drive.All well and good, except the drive didn't exist to be reformatted! Thankfully I purchased it from Amazon.com and not direct from Iomega and the return process went smoothly. If I had to deal with Iomega I would be out the money as I doubt they would be able to find their own backsides while they are sitting on them.

This review is based on the 500 gb model. The iomenga prestige is a great usb powered external hd with attractive aluminum(?) case. Double check the dimensions--this is a very compact unit, Reasonable speed, No noise; it is essentially silent. No software conflicts--pure plug and play. There is a double head usb cable, but it works fine for me with one connection. No connector issues per some of the other reviews. Excellent amazon delivery and sensible packaging. I think the price is excellent as well. highly recomended

This is about my fifth or sixth USB hard drive I've owned and it is by far the most unreliable (I switch when I run out of disk space). It loses its connection intermittently. Sometimes there is no indication of the lost connection (I find out when using my indexer), but other times it begins beeping.I like to keep all of my digital photos and all of my music on a portable drive, but this one makes me so nervous that I have started synching with old drives and other PCs. Now I have data everywhere.The good news is that it has reinforced the need for a RAID / NAS box for my home.