- Mac Os X Seagate Goflex 92h9pg-raa Hard Drive Manual .pdf Drive
- Mac Os X Seagate Goflex 92h9pg-raa Hard Drive Manual .pdf Instructions
- Mac Os X Seagate Goflex 92h9pg-raa Hard Drive Manual .pdf Work
- Mac Os X Seagate Goflex 92h9pg-raa Hard Drive Manual .pdf Free
- Pros
Speedy performance performing file transfers via mapped drives to it. Solid backup, streaming and sharing capabilities. Supports Mac OS X and Windows.
- Cons
No option to schedule jobs. You must uninstall and re-install software to remove 'trail software' status and activate full license. Remote access capabilities not made apparent to end-user in documentation or within interface.
- Bottom Line
Seagate's GoFlex Home consumer HDD-based NAS is feature-rich and a fine performer, but the management interface could be better and the included trial backup software is very basic.
Seagate GoFlex Desk for Mac External Drive - Quick Start Guide, Installation, Troubleshooting Tips & Downloads. Hard Drives SSD Rescue. Original software for MacOS that was loaded on the GoFlex for Mac, GoFlex Desk for Mac, or GoFlex Pro for Mac drive, including the driver for the capacity lights (for GoFlex Desk for Mac only).
Seagate's Free Agent GoFlex Home Network Storage System is a solid HDD-based choice for consumers who want a NAS that's speedier than USB NAS devices such as Iomega's Wireless iConnect Wireless Data Station ($99.99 direct, ), and Pogoplug ($129 direct, ). Feature-wise, the GoFlex Home is on par with its USB NAS competitors, though it's a little pricier that its USB counterparts. The GoFlex Home 1TB model lists at $159.99 and 2TBs is $229.99, while iConnect and Pogoplug retail for $99 and $129, respectively. If you're willing to pay the higher price, you'll get better performance and the same ease-of-use that less expensive home NAS devices deliver.
- $499.00
- $129.00
- $99.99
- $279.99
Design and Setup
The storage system consists of a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk drive that sits in a dock. The entire unit weighs just under three pounds, runs quietly, and remains cool to the touch even after running overnight. The dock has a USB port for adding external devices like extra storage or a printer, as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting the GoFlex Home to a router. Two small—annoyingly tiny, actually—lights on the front of the dock indicates the drive and network connectivity states.
Mac Os X Seagate Goflex 92h9pg-raa Hard Drive Manual .pdf Drive
Setup is fast and easy thanks to the bundled GoFlex Home Installer, which immediately finds the NAS drive and automatically establishes a connection to it. Naming the device is the final step; I like that Home Installer verifies that the name you select isn't already in use on your home network. The software also automatically detects and enters the product key for you before activating the device online. Most consumer NAS devices are easy to set up, but this is the first I've seen that auto-populates the product key and confirms a network scan for a duplicate name.
The Installer also sets up a shortcut to the Memeo-powered Seagate Dashboard management interface. From it, users can add content, other users and computers, tinker with Preference settings, or launch the various services on the device like Memeo's Instant Backup and Seagate Share.
Management and Sharing
Most home users will find the Seagate Dashboard's interface quite navigable, but there are some awkward spots. For instance, to access the GoFlex from multiple computers on a network, it's necessary to run the client software on each machine. I didn't see a ready way to add additional machines by IP address, until Seagate representatives told me where to do so in the interface. If I didn't see this feature right away, it's plausible that a home user looking for an easier way to give other machines on a home network access to this NAS, may miss it as well.
Adding other computers via the Seagate Dashboard makes the GoFlex accessible from any computer within your home network, but you'll need to use Seagate's Share to share files with users outside the network. This feature is accessed through the Dashboard, which loads it as a browser-based console. Share lets users share folders with remote users by sending them e-mail invites. I found it simple to create a folder, set it up as a share, and then add the e-mail accounts of anyone I wanted to share files with. Seagate Share stores recipient info in a contact list, so once you add a friend's name and address you can quickly share with that person again. The recipient simply has to click on the e-mail invitation to reach Seagate Share's Guest Login screen. You can choose to send files as viewable only through the browser, or you can allow recipients to download them. You can also share files to DLNA-compliant media devices for streaming.
I did find some quirks in Seagate Share's interface. I noticed, for example, that if the mouse pointer isn't in just the right place to click the pop-up button at just the right time, the sub-menu that lets you share folders originally created as non-sharable folders quickly disappears. This isn't a major problem, but it is indicative of the lack polish I found here and there in Seagate's software.
Users desiring more advanced sharing features can buy Seagate Shared Pro for $19.99 (there's a 30-day trial available, too). The Pro edition uses Cooliris' 3D wall interface to display images, integrates with Facebook and Flickr, offers secure remote access, and grants unlimited access to the device (the free version allows up to 5 users). Seagate Shared Pro also has integrated RSS—it will automatically download content from sites with an RSS feed. It's not cheap, but Seagate Shared Pro is a decent deal if you want to make the most of the GoFlex. I'd like the device better if Shared Pro came activated with it by default.
Backup
Like Plextor's PX-NAS2-1T1 ($279.99 direct, ), GoFlex comes equipped with Memeo Instant Backup software. (Since backup is a fundamental use of a NAS device, I don't understand why the GoFlex doesn't include a native solution.) When I launched Memeo, I got a message that it was only a 30-day backup trial. Seagate assured me that the GoFlex home does indeed come with a full license to support the backup of up to 3 PCs. To get rid of that message I would need to uninstall and reinstall the software. It's good that the NAS comes with licensed backup software, but the fact that a user would have to uninstall and reinstall software that should work properly out the box is troubling. There's not a lot of control with Memeo, nor can you schedule backups (the backups are done continuously, requiring little user intervention). If you want more flexibility, users can purchase Memeo Premium Backup from the dashboard which gives unlimited PC backups, backup job scheduling, and lets you create multiple backup plans. Premium is a one-time charge of $49.95 for unlimited backups and definitely worth the investment if you want to backup multiple storage devices.
Support
Clicking Help directs you to Seagate's GoFlex support site. There's a lot of good information including an extensive user manual. Links to help are available through the Dashboard and the Seagate Share interface. Unfortunately, the one link for help on enabling remote access—which many users will probably click—pulls up a blank page.
Live customer support is available by phone and Live Chat. When I tested Live Chat, I immediately received a 'Hello, how may I help you?' message. Assuming I was chatting live, I asked about an alternate way to share folders. After waiting about five minutes, I finally got a response. Sadly, the agent asked me to wait 'Just a minute please.' That turned into several more minutes of waiting. Seagate's Live Chat offers no timestamp and no indication the agent is typing a message back to you. You're really like in tech support limbo. On the plus side, the agent did finally give me some useful guidance.
Performance Testing
File transfers are the most direct way to measure a NAS' performance. I uploaded a 1.5 GB movie clip from a Windows 7 laptop wired to the same Gigabit Ethernet switch the GoFlex was attached to. I tested uploading first using Seagate' Share feature. After the initial upload, the system required J2SE runtime environment installation, which it downloaded and installed automatically. In addition, a message within the upload window cautioned, 'If the total number of files is larger than 2 GB, please install and use the GoFlex Home Agent.' Unfortunately, there was no link or additional information about obtaining the Agent—another indication that the software lacks polish.
The upload averaged 6.6 MBps, taking about 3 and a half minutes to complete. That's negligibly better than Plextor's PX-NAS2 which averaged 6.25 MBps uploading the same file. But here's the kicker: when I uploaded the same file using Windows Explorer and just copied and pasted from the local drive to a drive mapped to the NAS, the file transfer rate jumped to 16 MBps. That blows away another consumer-based non-USB NAS: Apple's Time Capsule ($299 direct, ), which only managed 8 MBps. That's impressive.
Mac Os X Seagate Goflex 92h9pg-raa Hard Drive Manual .pdf Instructions
Is it Right for Your Home?
The Seagate GoFlex Home suffers from a few minor interface issues, including the message about a 30 day-trial from Memeo and Live Chat support that is only fair. Still, the GoFlex Home is a leading consumer NAS. It gives a perkier performance than the USB-based NASes so popular for the home market, and also outdoes such competitors as Plextor's HDD-based consumer NAS in both performance and features. There's a slight learning curve for novices (advanced users will take to it rather quickly), but the GoFlex Home is an HDD-based NAS well worth considering.
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Seagate Free Agent GoFlex Home Network Storage System
Bottom Line: Seagate's GoFlex Home consumer HDD-based NAS is feature-rich and a fine performer, but the management interface could be better and the included trial backup software is very basic.