Buffalo DriveStation 1.0TB USB 2.0 External Hard Disk Drive

The Buffalo DriveStation 1TB is about as simple and straightforward as external storage could be - it's about the size of a thick paperback with a smallish external mains adaptor built into the plug. There's a single USB-B port on the back and a socket to fix a security tether to stop the whole thing going walkies. There's no ON/OFF switch as the drive just switches on and off with your computer or device - if you want to switch it off manually you just un-mount the drive or disconnect the USB cable. Speaking of USB cables, ignore Amazon's 'Related items' above which have been suggesting mini-B cables - it needs a full-sized version like the AmazonBasics USB A-Male to B-Male Cable and there's a short one (about 1m long) in the box so you don't need to buy anything extra, unless you need the extra length.

The drive arrives formatted as a FAT32 volume, so it will work straight away with both Windows and Mac computers, but you can easily reformat to more flexible formats if you plan to use it with only one platform. There's a Windows-only drive management package on the drive which lets you customise settings and add features, but this is optional. The manual also says there's a Mac app included but there isn't (just an empty folder called 'Mac') but everything you're likely to need is already built into OSX.

I was looking for as quiet a drive as possible and I think I found it. With no onboard fan the only sound you hear is the drive spinning and this is mostly a quiet whirring. The heads are also relatively quiet - they do make a low-pitched tapping sound while busy but compared to many drives it's quite unobtrusive. The drive case only has soft feet on the front edges so you can make it even quieter by sticking a set of small rubber pads underneath (if you have such a thing) but that's probably unnecessary for most people - it's already the quietest external drive I've owned.

The quietness and the shiny 'Piano Black' plastic case might also make it ideal for use with TV's that need an external drive for PVR functionality - although I haven't been able to test this out myself. There's a small LED on the front but it's quite subtle and not too bright - unlike many drives it doesn't flicker as data is being transferred, it just blinks slowly (every 2 seconds or so) while the drive is in use. The drive unit (and mains adaptor) also stays relatively cool, mine barely gets warm even running all day. There's nothing fancy or expensive-looking about the DriveStation but for the price it seems a great-value way to store and/or backup your data.

UPDATE: I've now had my DriveStation for 8 months, using it almost every day and can honestly say I've had no problems whatsoever with it. I formatted the drive into two partitions and use one to store iTunes content and the other as a backup store (for Time Machine), so the drive is running for most of the day on most days (I work from home) and has been absolutely fine. I saw some people had problems with the bundled software, I had a look at this on my PC when I first got the drive but just deleted it - you don't actually need any of this extra software to use the drive, everything you need for basic use is already built into Windows, OSX or Linux. So, for me, it's been a great value buy and I continue to be very happy with it.

Bought this a couple of months ago now [about three actually] and have found the device so easy to use and reliable. It looks good, stores away easy and backs-up the files i want to keep safe. I do not use it as an every day device but as a back-up storage system and so far it works for me. Whenever i have had to retrieve data it has been there and the easy connection to the computer is extremely helpful, especially for someone with bad hands like myself. All together i would say this is a reliable piece of kit at a very reasonable price. If i need another 1TB then i will purchase another of these.

I purchased this to store all my photos, a whole scheme of work for school along with a lot of important documents. I plugged in, it worked straight away , was VERY quick to save huge documents and I have still got about 75% of capacity left! An excellent price compared to others available from computer stores and it came the next day. Brilliant.