NetGear SC101 Storage Central (0GB)

Pros: - It works like it states; Nice small size

Cons: - Hot; some poor engineering; odd disconnecting; slow; annoying autoplay and drive letter recognition; not NTSF nor FAT32

Summary: I was looking for a device to put into my home automation structured wiring cabinet so I could all the computers in the home back up software to this unit. The device does achieve my goal, but I'm returning it because of its short comings.

Netgear needs to fix these simple but basic problems and this device will sell like hot cakes.

Good:
- All computers with Netgear's software downloaded onto it could read/write to this drive.
- It is really small (~ 4 inches wide). They made it very simple (I like simplicity).

Bad:
- Signs of shoddy engineering (particularly in the install software).
- Runs very hot. It needs to be air cooled. It would never be acceptable in a Structured wiring case.
- Having odd disconnects from it. I think the reason is that it gets too hot, that the mechanics make it run unreliable.
- Slow. Writing to it was reasonable (@ 25% the speed of a normal HD), but reading items from it takes unbearably long. This is acceptable to backup items which is what the main purpose for this drive is.
- Can't get it to keep a consistent drive letter on XP. I want it to be always 'H' on all my computers but I'm having no luck. After reading the forums, it is partly Microsoft's problem too.
- Always runs 'AutoPlay' every time the computer boots up. Again, it is annoying.
- Hard disks are formatted in a proprietary format (not FAT32 nor NTSF). They cannot be switched back into one's computer internal drive and be able to read from it.