Where’s the On Switch?
You might also notice that the Seagate FreeAgent Pro lacks any sort of physical buttons whatsoever. This isn’t to say that you can’t turn it on and off! Instead, you’ll notice that there is a touch-sensitive power “button” in the base. There is one other thing that I should note: based on the appearance of the drive, you would think that it would detach from the base, but they are permanently attached. Don’t try to rip them apart! The button isn’t illuminated like the rest of the case, so it is somewhat hard to see. It’s almost like someone forgot to make it light up as it would go perfectly with the rest of the motif and allow you to find it in the dark.
Pick Your Connectivity Option
If you like versatility, you’ve got it. Many other external hard drives will only offer you one option for connecting to your computer — typically USB 2.0 — but the FreeAgent Pro comes with three connectivity options: USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and eSATA. The only caveat is that you have to swap out a little plastic piece in order to access alternative connection options.
The one that comes pre-installed on the drive gives you power, USB 2.0, and eSATA. This small unit can be removed using a flathead screwdriver or a quarter. Even when the screw is completely out, it still feels attached. All you need is a little yank and it’ll come out, letting you swap in the extra piece that provides a couple of FireWire ports. This is clearly aimed at the Mac folks as daisy chaining Firewire peripherals togther is fun. It’s too bad USB doesn’t do that.
These pieces can be found in the base. It’s a bit of a hassle not having all three options available to you at all times. I guess the rationale is that the base isn’t quite wide enough to accommodate three ports in addition to the port for the DC power adapter. Back to the Mac thing, they use Firewire, PC users like you and me use USB 2.0 or eSata.
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