seagate freeagent backup software for mac

Seagate freeagent backup software for mac for mac#
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Seagate freeagent backup software for mac portable#
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Seagate freeagent backup software for mac portable#

After a few trial runs, the device posted an overall result of four minutes and eighteen seconds, which is disappointing, but unsuprising for a portable USB-only drive. Unfortunately, external hard drives that excel in one area often falter in another, and judging by our Photoshop test, the GoFlex is no exception to the rule. This test is a set of four tasks performed on a 300MB file, with Photoshop’s memory set to 25 percent.-Macworld Lab testing by McKinley Noble We also used the drive as a scratch disk when running our low-memory Adobe Photoshop CS3 Suite test. We then duplicated that file on the external drive to test both read and write speeds.

We copied a folder containing 1GB of data from our Mac’s hard drive to the external hard drive to test the drive’s write speed. We tested the drive with each available port.

Seagate freeagent backup software for mac mac os x#

We ran all tests with the drive connected to a Mac Pro dual quad 3GHz Xeon with Mac OS X 10.6 installed and 2GB of RAM. As a more fair comparison, the equally portable LaCie Rikiki ( ) posted 42 seconds. Even the RAID and SSD drives we’ve reviewed so far haven’t hit that mark: the monstrous EZQuest Thunder RAID ( ) peaked at 40 seconds and the smaller iStoragePro iT1 Dock ( ) clocks in at 41 seconds. Using the Macworld Lab’s standard Mac Pro set-up with Snow Leopard, we’ve recorded the GoFlex performing an average copy speed of 37 seconds for 1GB of data, which handily beats out the closet competition. In fact, the GoFlex is one of the fastest external drives we’ve tested (portable or not) in two separate categories: copy speed and data duplication. Minor gripes aside, the device nonetheless looks downright sleek, and our lab tests show that, as a USB 2.0 device, it’s fairly fast. Annoyingly, the GoFlex also joins several other devices carrying the popular plastic glossy finish that picks up every single fingerprint and nearby dust particle. At 4.39 inches long and a slim 3.19 inches in width, it’s pretty small, and with only 0.57 inches in girth, it’s barely any thicker than an iPhone 4. With the rear adapter attached, the entire thing weighs about 5.5 ounces and easily fits in a pants or jacket pocket. Thankfully, the GoFlex is also as “ultra-portable” as its advertising purports.

Seagate freeagent backup software for mac Pc#

That seems a little unfair, especially since the PC versions of the GoFlex’s software package can be directly downloaded from Seagate’s Website. Recovering the Mac versions of the software requires contacting Seagate’s customer service department. One note of caution: don’t delete these applications (or the hard drive’s installation kit) unless you’re absolutely sure you don’t need them. Even if you don’t need the software, it’s a good value nonetheless. Seagate’s software suite includes Seagate Diagnostics, the aforementioned Paragon NTFS for Mac, and Memeo for Mac, a backup application that basically acts like a miniature version of Time Machine.

Seagate freeagent backup software for mac for mac#

If you do format the GoFlex as an NTFS drive for some reason (such as needing to constantly share data between a PC and a MacBook Pro), the built-in Paragon NTFS for Mac tool gives you a way to provide a two-way data exchange between both computers, despite their separate file systems not being directly compatible. This is a real important asset, since the GoFlex is preloaded with a Macintosh-compatible NTFS driver-so Apple users will be able to read and write to an NTFS-formatted GoFlex. When you’re running through the drive’s automated set-up, the software will prompt you to select how want the drive to work: Mac only, PC only, or Mac & PC. Feasibly, you could also have a drive that’s ahead of the curve when (and if) Apple ever starts supporting USB 3.0 ($30).Īnother welcome feature of the GoFlex is its ability to work between Mac and Windows computers efficiently. If you have a MacBook Pro or any of the newer Macs, you can just buy the FireWire 800 adapter ($40) and be done with it.

Seagate freeagent backup software for mac upgrade#

If you have a Mac Pro with an available add-on eSATA card, all you need to buy on top of the GoFlex is the eSATA upgrade cable ($20). In a way, this is actually pretty smart, since the interface of the drive is essentially a blank slate aside from the USB 2.0 adapter, you’re only adding on what you want to pay for. Seagate accomplishes this by way of the GoFlex’s rear dock, a detachable adapter that comes included with the connection cable of your choice.