Seagate (STEB8000100) Expansion Desktop 8TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC Laptop

UPDATE: Okay, so I waited a long while to update this review. Im switching from 1 star to 5. I know, thats drastic, but Amazon did send me a replacement and in theta time, this hard drive has worked marvelously. Im pretty sure I got a lemon, but no issues at all since I got the replacement, and I use my Xbox pretty consistently. Needless to say, Im pretty happy with it now as I have over 3TB of games on there. Im still a tad weary and backed all my saves to the MS cloud, but so far, I couldnt be happier with how this is working over the last year. Im a little furious here. I was using this for my external hard drive on my Xbox One for extra storage. It was working marvelously for about 3 weeks, then all of a sudden, it stopped. Not sure exactly what happened, but thats almost 2TB of games AND game saves gone... The hard drive was never moved or anything, just sat next to the Xbox One working as a hard drive should, and then it has completely stopped working for me. Needless to say, Im a little furious. It was working marvelously prior to, but I guess I knew it was too good to be true. Amazon is graciously sending me a second one, I will change my review should it function as intended, but so far, Id beware. I shouldnt have to back up my back up drive...

Kinda of hard to hate a usb 3.0 hard drive with 5tb of space for what I paid. It actually looks kind of sexy with the diamond plastic covering. I do not need anything pretty but it does look much better than any of my other external drives and I have a lot of them. I havent had any issues at all with Win10 Pro, Win7 Pro (laptop) or WinXP (Laptop). For the price, it is really hard to beat. If I run any comparative tests, I will edit. Edit 05/22/2017 - This drive is still going strong and I have used it as a mainstay for keeping larger data banks with me when i travel from music, game directories, backup files for work and everything else that will fit. The 5tb sizing makes sure that everything i really need on me fits. I usually keep it in my laptop backpack and have had 0 issues to date. I really do feel like hard drives in general are a mixed bag of death, especially when dealing with platter style drives. Either it is made correctly or something happens and the whole device is crap. A lot of people complaining of bad drives could have been prevented if these companies spent more time with quality control. I would still buy this drive if I needed another.

I usually proactively replace drives after 5 years. For years now Ive been running Western Digital Black drives and Ive never had a failure during that time. This Seagate drive failed faster than any drive Ive owned in 27 years of PC ownership and that has taught me a few valuable lessons. 1. Temperature is important. When this drive started performing erratically I downloaded CrystalDiskInfo and found that this drive ran hotter than any of my internal drives. Unsure if thats because of the drive itself (wouldnt think so due to the low RPM) or the external enclosure -- Im assuming the enclosure since its not actively cooled. 2. Raw uncorrectable sector count is also an important number. While I have uncorrectable errors on my oldest WD Black, it has 0 values RAW meaning theyve been mitigated. In contrast this Seagate had 600 errors when I scanned it right before it failed completely. I now have CrystalDiskInfo scheduled to run weekly on all my drives so I keep active tabs on this data before Im in this situation again. 3. External enclosures like this have regular hard drives inside, but are often cheaper than their internal counterpart. Its odd but true. Thats why I bought this one. However, when this drive started randomly disconnecting I tried removing it from the external enclosure and plugging it in directly but the drive wouldnt read properly. From researching I found that these enclosures do some translation of the data that means once its initialized externally it cant be read outside of the enclosure. So if this issue was with the usb adapter but the drive was otherwise fine, the data on disk would still be unrecoverable without some pay for data recovery tool. 4. Backblaze is a wonderful backup service and cheaper insurance than maintaining redundant disks for RAID - if / when you need it to recover your data youll be happy you have it... BUT recovering 4.5TB of data is going to take a week+ no matter how you go about it. Be advised. Ive already ordered a replacement for this bad drive, an internal Western Digital Black 6TB. I considered some of the Seagate options since theyre lesser cost, but why test that brand again when for a few bucks more I can get a brand thats never failed me? No more externals for me.

Ordered the 8TB, 5 days ago and the first drive failed to allow me access although I installed the software specified by Seagate. Disk Utility wouldn’t work nor Zero’ing out the drive via commands in console... Thank goodness I bought it via Amazon and did a RMA same day. I waited another two days to receive the replacement and it worked fine. I ran the new 8TB drive for 19 hrs straight on the fastest transfer speed via usb 2.0 transferring 2TB of film data. (Bottleneck of the transfer was the old drive max speed) The Seagate is NOT made for constant use say Mac Pro editing. But it’s a great way to backup your work and tuck it away. FYI The Mac instructions are, 1) Attach and power up your computer/Drive. 2) Go to the Seagate website for the Mac Fat32 app/driver. 3) Run Paragon 4) Make sure you can read and write to the drive. 5) Use Paragon or Diskutil to convert the Seagate drive to ONLY OSX extended Journaled. (After this first reformat you can choose EX, etc. This Drive is very slow so don’t expect speed performance at this price point. Overall great. Maybe I will update this with video and a 90 retrospective. Update June 6th 2019 The 8TB drive has been working out great. USB 3 speed is more than decent and working well as a backup device...

Up to this point Ive owned Western Digital MyBooks. Many of them ranging in capacities from 500GB to 8TB. However they changed the design of the new 8TB and it sucks. Their new enclosure is cheaply made, top heavy (tips over easily) and lacks any indicator light whatsoever. I also realized that in the years Ive owned the MyBooks Ive had to warranty replace three of them. So upon recently buying the most recent 8TB MyBook, being very disappointed and returning it, I decided to try this. Id been hesitant because of the negative reviews Ive read. Honestly, I love it. The enclosure feels more substantial, is smaller, the drive is oriented on its side, not end, so it isnt top heavy, has an LED status indicator, is less expensive, and is fast. Here is the unexpected best part... The MyBooks have a very buggy power management/sleep function. Maybe Im missing something but they dont wake up until you try to access them. They go to sleep per the power management scheme you choose on your Mac or PC but when you try to access them for the first time, you have to wait for seconds while the drive wakes and spins up. Very frustrating. With this unit, all that is gone. When I open the drive within Windows file explorer/My Computer its there ready, accessing as fast as any internal drive. As for long term durability well see but so far so good.

It seems like all USB 3 drives eventually fail. However, there isnt much choice for backups except for RAIDs or tape backup, which are both pretty expensive. My advice: back up your data to more than one drive, and then move to new drives each year or two. Drives are more likely to fail if in a hot place or in constant use/connection, but Ive found they can fail even if theyve only been connected to save to backup. If you have critical data files that will financially impact you, definitely get a RAID!

Attention all digital hoarders and data enthusiasts! Are you tired of running out of storage space on your computer? Look no further than the Seagate Expansion 8TB Desktop External Hard Drive. This behemoth of a storage solution will not only satisfy your craving for space but also bring a touch of quirky charm to your digital storage setup. Get ready to expand your horizons and create a virtual vault for all your precious files, memories, and peculiar collections! The Seagate Expansion 8TB Desktop External Hard Drive is a true storage powerhouse. With a whopping 8 terabytes of capacity, it offers an almost infinite abyss to store your ever-growing collection of movies, music, photos, and documents. Say goodbye to the frustrating moments of having to delete files or transfer them to other devices just to free up space. With this external hard drive, you can keep all your digital treasures in one place, organized and readily accessible whenever you need them. The setup process is a breeze. Simply connect the hard drive to your computer using the USB 3.0 cable provided, and youre ready to go. The drive is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems, making it a versatile option for users across different platforms. Once connected, the drive is recognized instantly, and you can start transferring and backing up your files without any hassle. In terms of performance, the Seagate Expansion 8TB delivers. With USB 3.0 technology, youll experience fast data transfer speeds, ensuring that your files are swiftly moved between your computer and the hard drive. Whether youre transferring large multimedia files or performing regular backups, the speed and reliability of this external hard drive wont disappoint. Plus, the drives sleek and sturdy design adds a touch of quirkiness to your desk setup, making it both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The Seagate Expansion 8TB External Hard Drive is also a great companion for gamers and creative professionals. With its ample storage capacity, you can store and install a vast library of games, ensuring that you never have to worry about running out of space for your virtual adventures. For photographers, videographers, and graphic designers, this external hard drive offers a secure and spacious repository for your high-resolution files, allowing you to focus on your creative pursuits without the fear of losing valuable data. Another notable feature of the Seagate Expansion 8TB is its reliability. Seagate, a trusted name in the storage industry, has a reputation for producing durable and long-lasting devices. With this external hard drive, you can have peace of mind knowing that your data is stored securely. Plus, the drive is powered by a built-in power management system, ensuring energy efficiency and minimizing power consumption. In conclusion, the Seagate Expansion 8TB Desktop External Hard Drive is the ultimate solution for those seeking vast storage space, reliability, and a touch of quirkiness. Its massive capacity, simple setup process, and fast data transfer speeds make it a must-have accessory for anyone in need of extra storage for their digital life. So, embrace the quirky and dive into the infinite vault of digital treasures that awaits you with the Seagate Expansion 8TB!

My Apple Time Capsule failed a few weeks ago. I went to the Apple Store to get another...only to find out that Time Capsule is a discontinued product. This did not leave me pleased, since we have a number of computers in this home that use the time capsule to access the internet and backup data. So, I bought a new router and this 6TB hard drive from Amazon to recreate the Time Capsule function. After a few minutes of reading, I was able to configure the router to recognize the hard drive. A few clicks in the Time Capsule applications, and computers started backing up to the new drive. I think I am all set...and I have enough capacity that I will not worry about local storage for many years. Yes, I also back up in the cloud, but I have become accustomed to relying on the Time Capsules ability to go back in time to recover files that may have been changed incorrectly or corrupted. BTW: For computer historians, I bought a 20 MB hard drive in 1986 for $1,295. So this drive cuts the cost per bit by over 3 million times!

First of all, i dont understand why microsoft doesnt have an external hard drive out if they make it so the built in one fills up so fast. Mine was filled in less then a year, and i was constantly deleting games everytime i got a new game, which sucks because it takes hours to download a game (especially since i buy mostly digital copies). I was weary about buying a hard drive that wasnt made for the xbox one, but It had to be done so i went with this one, and im happy i did. You just format it to the xbox one (it asks you if you want to when you plug it in) and set it so all new downloaded games will go to the external harddrive. I have about 25 games and I am only using about 10 percent of the hard drive, it will be a long time before i fill this up and i buy a ton of games. and even if i ever do fill it up, theres room on the xbox to plug in a second one at the same time! the only somewhat downside (doesnt bother me what so ever) is that you do have to plug it into a power outlet, its not powered by the xbox, and sometimes when the xbox is off you can here the hard drive working, i think its only when there is a game downloading or updating though. besides that, no complaints!

Great capacity, no tech support needed; worked first time out of the box.