OK this is a great deal (the four stars are for the price not the convenience) but beware ...
First, if you don't format to NTFS (and why would you if you are an average user, as there is nothing in the "manual" that is only a multi-lingual generic page of non-information that probably covers all their external drives) your transfer of data will be SLOW -- slower than my smaller drive (150gig) purchase (called simpletech) 4 years ago -- very noticeably slower.
Then, you will try and transfer a video file over 4 gigs and be very disappointed, especially if you have already spent an hour and a half transferring smaller files over. Over 4 gigs will not copy with FAT32. That's not very fat to me, heh-heh.
These files now all have to be recopied back to other drives, to re-format to NTFS ... as far as I know anyway. If not, it is risky, I am told.
If you go to iomega.com to find the REAL manual, you will have a heck of a time finding it, as the good old days of naming products in a clear and simple manner are long gone.
Last is that blue light -- it is retina-piercingly bright. It sounds superficial unless you sleep in the same room and forget to turn it off.
Furthermore, the manual online says the light is supposed to turn green or yellow according to what it is doing -- I never saw it change color -- it is supposed to turn green when transferring data.
OK, one last complaint. The USB wire provided plugs into the ETHERNET port on the iomega device, which was very confusing. The online manual was useless in explaining that one, it was only until I went back to the Amazon parts list which said you only get one wire (I thought maybe I lost one) so then I just figured, I guess that's the way this thing works, the ethernet port plugs into your computer's usb port, but it was unexpected, at least to me, when the usb port on the iomega is left open and available.
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The drive was recognized immediately by all of the computers that I use. The transfer rate is very fast and I have heard nothing from the drive when it is operating. There was an earlier complaint about it being noisy, but my drive is very quite.
Features that I wish it had ---
1 - It has to be manually shut off when turning off the computer.
2 - There is no backup software provided.
Outside of these issues, it works perfect.
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I was skeptical because of the review that reported noise, but since I had intended it for backup and not active use, I figured the price was good for the purpose. It turned out better than expected.
Out of the box, the drive is aesthetically pleasant, with a sleek stainless steel finish, and a cool blue light when it's operating. Setup was super easy, true plug-and-work with no need for reading instructions if you know how to use your own computer. The drive was found right away and worked easily complementary to my system and other drives. It fit right in with my work area, even improving the general look of the desk because of its nice vertical holder.
As for the "noise" reported by another commenter, there is none on the device I received. In fact it is quieter than my 250GB WD MyBook, takes up less space, looks better, and provides faster movement of data. One neat feature is an on-off switch (the WD does not have this), so I can turn it off while leaving it USB connected to the computer (instead of plugging it out whenever I'm done).
I am very happy with this purchase! I have backed up 400GB of movies on it, and plan to buy another one (my only regret is that I should have bought more storage space). I picture my DVD player replaced with a my two Iomega 500GB hard drives and a sleek laptop to send everything to my TV on command. It's a beautiful piece of equipment, and I have no complaints. I highly recommend this purchase. At under $100 and free shipping, it's a good bargain!
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