Review Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue)

Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue)
Product Description
Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue) make computer backup simple. Our drives take the complexity out of backing up your computer data by providing easy-to-use backup software for both Windows and Mac users. Powered by USB 2.0, you can take your files just about anywhere. Just one click and you’re on your way to creating a digital safety net to help protect your files. With Toshiba’s Portable External Hard Drives, you’ll enjoy mobile storage space for even the largest digital libraries. Our 500GB1 Drive is capable of storing up to 142,000 digital photos, or 131,000 digital music files, or 410 downloaded digital movies. Toshiba’s Portable External Hard Drives work with both Mac and PC computers and include software that makes backing up your computer simple. Note: The part number (P/N) that appears on the packaging is used to identify all the items in the box, including the hard drive (which has its own distinct model number), color, software, cable, user guide, etc. This number is used for ordering purposes. The model number that appears on the bottom of the hard drive is used to register the device with regulatory agencies (UL, FCC, etc) and identifies a specific mechanical and electrical design.

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Review Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue)
Today is Sunday.I bought this unit for backing up data and not just to store data.Please leave a message.Some comments: >I don't know what's up with this unit.Because they're concerned first and foremost with profit and do not want to spend the money on it.
Call backs were okay back in 1964, before cell phones came out and everyone had a land line hooked up to their living room.Or maybe you're at your local park playing in a softball game rounding third base and heading towards home plate when the Toshiba technician gets around to calling you back.I've been backing up data as best as I know how but when I go into MY COMPUTER my data isn't there on the F:drive.Now when a tech calls back you could be in the water paddling a kayak miles away from your external hard drive that's waiting to be repaired back at your residence.There's a sharp conflict of opinion there.There is no troubleshooting guide.Even worse, they don't have remote access.I've owned the HDDR500 for about a day now and a half now.The uninstallers deem Toshiba's software worthless.And that's the only reason.I'm using the stock Toshiba software and at this point the software is 100% dysfunctional.But the fact is many people reviewing this product here at Amazon and at Newegg state that the stock software is, for whatever reason, totally useless.Believe it.Nothing gets fixed, time is wasted.It's ridiculous for a manufacturer not to have a section dedicated to troubleshooting.I can't figure out why.Customers who have experience using it rave about it.Heck, even a little outfit like iYogi.Toshiba, Apple, Acer, Western Digital, Lenovo, Hitachi, have all decided that they would not provide their techs and customer base with remote access.Remote access will cut a 30 or 40 minute troubleshooting session on the phone down to 10 or 15 minutes.Those of us who have a ton of experience dealing with customer support teams know darn well that they don't always call back when they say they will.Remote access is a fantastic tool for troubleshooting problems.All techs love remote access.Direct contact like you get with other companies is the only way to go when you're trying to resolve a technical problem.Talk about time goin' down the drain.Sounds great.So the 3-year warranty is very, very nice and Toshiba should be applauded for that.Not so with their EHD department.Wouldn't the process of copying and pasting modified documents into an external hard drive 365 days a year be a great time waster?They contract their external hard drive support work out to a separate company in Northern California.And not helpful.If on Monday I can't get the software on this thing to run right I'm gonna take it back to the store and get my money back (I'll add that the idea of troubleshooting an issue of this magnitude with a Toshiba technician on the phone without the aid of remote access gives me a major headache.RA is to a technician what a stethoscope or an x-ray machine is to a doctor.Like HP and Dell, Toshiba's tech support division for their laptops are open around the clock 365 days a year.

Call backs are no good, period.Sometimes they don't call back and then you're screwed as an issue that's very important to you and your back up strategy plan runs the chance of being unresolved until god knows when.The Toshiba F:drive is there, but the data isn't.In addition to being a fast 5,400RPM drive, this Toshiba includes some valuable features: Backup software that backs up system files in addition to regular files and folders (great for system recovery!Why-oh-why is anyones guess.Some of the reviewers at Amazon and Newegg are uninstalling what others call a perfectly fine backup software program.I make changes to documents and files on a daily basis 365 days a year.And that's when it's "it sucks to be you" time.And I can't figure out how to make them go away.Not sure if that's because the software is junk like others have stated, or because I'm a n00b, or a little of both.For the last day and a half I keep getting redundant error messages that say things like BACKUPS DID NOT RUN or COMPLETED WITH ERRORS or ONE OR MORE JOBS DID NOT RUN over and over again.The dynamic has changed thanks to cell phones.A tech support team who subjects the customer to a call back situation is a worthless tech support team and that's exactly what Toshiba's EHD department sometimes forces their customer into doing.Password-protect your data through encryption.

The manual that comes with the unit has no usable information and I'm not exaggerating about that.The 3-year warranty is a huge plus and Toshiba gets 10 big points for that because all EHD's (external hard drives) in general are notorious for failing/crashing/dying in the first year of use.One last thing: sometimes while on hold waiting to speak to a Toshiba EHD technician you'll hear a message that says something like "There are no technicians available at this time.But the customer support on this unit is extremely weak to the point of being irresponsible.Or maybe you're pushing a shopping cart through a grocery store.Dell, HP, and Seagate have remote access.And they're not open on weekends.I will never buy a computer from a manufacturer who doesn't include remote access in their service plan.A good automatic virtual 'one-touch button' backup software program saves time and would be wonderful if you could rely on it