Iomega 320GB Network Hard Drive

bcfcjwb1

Hi,

I've been looking for a cheapish network hard drive for backing up files on my home network.

After looking online, the Iomega 320GB seemed to be good value for money with a price range of between £100 & £130.

I visited Staples on the off chance that they may stock the drive, only to find that indeed they did and that they were priced at only £79.99 - so I bought one!

The drive comes with it's own software, is Vista compatible and is very well built.

Note that this is not available online - only instore at Staples.

Hope this helps someone.

kevinyork

Hi

You can get the 360gb Iomega from Comet for £54.99 or the 500GB for £69.99. Link is HERE

Hope this helps.


Kev

iceax

kevinyork wrote: »

Hi

You can get the 360gb Iomega from Comet for £54.99 or the 500GB for £69.99. Link is HERE

Hope this helps.


Kev

Kev, that is not a Network drive (NAS Drive) but a normal USB external hard drive

The one in OP is cheap for a Newtork Attached Drive

Andy

dc

Staples also have an older 250gig SmartDisk NAS drive in the clearance for £59.91, has a usb print server option too.

I'm waiting for them to reduce it to £49.91 or halve the price of the 500g Buffalo NAS.

bcfcjwb1

Forgot to mention that this can also be used as a USB drive as well.

It has USB and Ethernet ports, that's what makes it such good value.

helloandbonjour

Hello,
Argos is doing a 500GB for £64.99 at the moment link:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6752950.htm , hope it helps,

seth

The OP is talking about a NETWORK DRIVE not a USB drive.

A Hard disk on a USB cable is quite cheap and popular.

A Network Attached drive, connects to an ethernet connection and acts as a mini file (and print server) so they have a USB port where you can connect a printer.

They are 2 very different products. One is a simple disk connected via a USB cable, with only one computer able to access the disk at a time. The network drive however allows people on a network to share files and printers without the need to have a PC / MAC / LINUX server switched on all the time. Most of the Network products run a tiny embedded Linux or Windows OS.

Now a NAS drive will not be as fast as a USB attached device as networks are slow compared to USB connections, however you can pop a NAS drive on to your wireless router (using a network cable) and now any computer can access the files on the NAS drive and access the printer connected to the NAS drive.

Clearly there are differences

USB

Pros: Fast, Cheap, Reliable, Simple to use and set up
Cons: Not shared, noise, space and power added to computer

NAS

Pros: Able to share files and printers without the need for a PC / MAC / Server. Noise, power and space not near computer

Cons: Slower file transfer than USB. Fine for most uses but not video editings, may work with hidef playback if you NAS and netowork are fast enough, more to setup, security setup needs care

Thanks to OP, let use know how you get on with the drive.
What is the power consumption of the unit?

Noticed in the USA they do not sell this size any more only a 360gig and a 500gig, but they still sell this in the UK!

Home page is here, this unit is a SATA based model not sure what the OP got.

FAQ here http://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/iomega_eu_en.cfg/php/enduser/cust_alp.php?prod_lvl1=1031&prod_lvl2=1026&p_prods=1031,1026&cat_lvl1=50&p_cats=50&p_pv=2.1026&p_cv=1.50&p_sid=LQ8sQl1j

Firmware here: (Check to see if you need this!)
http://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/iomega_eu_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=19608&p_created=1192645264&p_sid=LQ8sQl1j&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0yNywyNyZwX3Byb2RzPTEwMzEsMTAyNiZwX2NhdHM9NTAmcF9wdj0yLjEwMjYmcF9jdj0xLjUwJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1

http://www.iomega-europe.com/item?SID=cf2a65d60e9feaca2848108126a32d6e082:4735&sku=204133815


It this the unit?
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/5310354/Iomega-Home-Network-320GB-External-Hard-Drive-NAS-Network-Attached-Storage/Product.html?cm_mmc=Froogle-_-PC-_-Upgrades-_-Iomega%2BHome%2BNetwork%2B320GB%2BExternal%2BHard%2BDrive%2BNAS%2BNetwork%2BAttached%2BStorage&source=5066&engine=froogle_pc&keyword=Iomega+Home+Network+320GB+External+Hard+Drive+NAS+Network+Attached+Storage


Taken from http://www.ucla.cyberstuff.net/glossary_digital_media.htm

NAS – (Network Attached Storage) A hard disk storage device that is set up with its own network address rather than being attached directly to the computer that is serving applications or files to a network's users. By using a NAS, both applications and files can be served faster because they are not competing for the same processor resources. The NAS is attached to a local area network (typically, an Ethernet network) and assigned an IP address. File requests are mapped by the server(s) to a NAS file server. A NAS consists of hard disk storage, including multi-disk RAID systems, and software for configuring and mapping file locations to network-attached device(s). Network-attached storage can be a step toward, and be included as part of, a more sophisticated storage system known as a SAN (Storage Area Network)

cundall

I got a 1TB NAS from Play for £169 and you can install print servers / FTP / web servers ect.... (print server via USB)

bigvince76

Could I put my itunes library on one of these and then access it on my laptop over the wireless network?

mazdaspring

Seth, Can you tell me what different between USB without power supply(handy drive, or small capacity USB of 100gb, 200gb...might be more) and USB with power supply (which is much cheaper than the first one with same capacity)

I have 200gb USB. it's very small, thin and no need power supply. I am thinking to get the big one (USB with power) because it is much cheaper. However I dont know the different of them. Could you or anyone tell me please

Superking

seth wrote: »

security setup needs care

I've had one these for about a year and security set up is very easy with the supplied software. Individual shares can be setup with a unique usernames & passwords.

The only annoying thing is the fan is quite noisy when it kicks in.