07-03-2014, 11:44 AM

Just added a Seagate GoFlex Desk WireFire800 3TB drive to the menagerie

Comes with its own app - Seagate GoFlex Software.

Anyone has any experience with this? I normally never install stuff that comes with hardware bits and pieces, as most of the time it is at best - unnecessary, and at worse ...

However, this one claims to have some diagnostic component, that might be useful.

What I don't want to end up with is an intrusive low-level utility that will try to interfere with OS and Disk Utility in particular, so any feedback is greatly appreciated.

07-03-2014, 01:04 PM

Don't bother with that software, and expect a short life span for that drive. I had an older model and it went belly up right after the warranty expired. Biggest problem I think these have is no active cooling. I'm convinced that any 3.5" drive running at 7200 rpm won't withstand extended activity unless there's a fan to keep its temperature down. It doesn't help that it's a Seagate, and Seagate's drives are pretty unreliable these days vs WD and Hitachi.

What you might want to do is use a SMART monitoring tool. These normally only work with internal drives, but there's an open source driver that enables SMART monitoring on some externals.

07-03-2014, 01:52 PM

Thanks, just what I suspected re: software, bit disappointing to learn about Seagate quality - I have to stop thinking in mid-90s reliability matrix ...

With regards to heat dissipation - I was rather surprised, by the minuscule clearance at the bottom of the box, and you've just confirm it - that can't be good for a [fast] spinning HD.

Anyway it's just a cheap interim drive, needed purely for logistical reasons, and unlikely to be in use beyond six to nine month time, so should be alright, hopefully. In fact, this is probably the last HD I bought - time to move, gradually, to no-moving-parts storage.

I'll get the SMART monitoring, as you suggested, thanks.

07-03-2014, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by MBP17•David

Thanks, just what I suspected re: software, bit disappointing to learn about Seagate quality - I have to stop thinking in mid-90s reliability matrix ...

With regards to heat dissipation - I was rather surprised, by the minuscule clearance at the bottom of the box, and you've just confirm it - that can't be good for a [fast] spinning HD.

Anyway it's just a cheap interim drive, needed purely for logistical reasons, and unlikely to be in use beyond six to nine month time, so should be alright, hopefully. In fact, this is probably the last HD I bought - time to move, gradually, to no-moving-parts storage.

I'll get the SMART monitoring, as you suggested, thanks.

No prob. If you don't have a SMART monitoring tool, my personal preference today is DriveDx. SMARTReporter is a lot cheaper and very popular also.

07-15-2014, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by Lifeisabeach

my personal preference today is DriveDx. SMARTReporter is a lot cheaper and very popular also.

Thanks again. Tried both and you're absolutely right - DriveDx is by far a superior choice, so went with it. With four drives connected directly to this machine, plus two inside it, paying under £2 per drive to monitor, is a bargain! And the way DriveDx dealt with enabling SMART for the three USB and one FireWIre drives is brilliant, very impressed.

So far the GoFlex is reported as 100% healthy, although it gets hotter, than 40ºC. The Seagate warranty is till 2017, which is more than I need - I can certainly leave with that.
Therefore, I decided to keep it