See here a graphic of the eSATA cable and the port. Seagate products that have this connection are: FreeAgent XTreme, FreeAgent Pro (classic), and the Seagate eSATA drive. See here a close-up graphic of a typical FireWire 400 port.ĮSATA (external Serial ATA) is a high-performance interface most commonly found in Windows PCs, but is fairly rare. See here a graphic of the two different kinds of FireWire cables and ports.

FireWire 800 (1394b) is significantly faster, giving performance similar to an internal Serial ATA drive, and is almost exclusively available in Mac computers. FireWire 400 (also known as 1394a) usually gives performance similar to USB 2.0. FireWire is much more common in Mac computers than in Windows computers.įireWire comes in two speeds - FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. Simply connect your device to the computer and it will usually be ready to be used within 30 seconds. The USB symbol is usually found near the ports on the computer.įireWire is a similar connection to USB, in that it is plug-and-play. Usually it is OK to connect the drive either to the front or to the rear, though if trouble occurs, it is best to connect it to the port on the rear. Sometimes these ports are found both on the front and the rear of your computer. The connection into the drive is not the same as USB 2.0, but the connector into the computer is compatible with USB 2.0, while retaining its own special attributes. The USB 3.0 cable has two ends - one to connect into the drive, and one to connect into the computer. Whether the computer is powered on or powered off, simply connect the cable to your device and it should be ready to be used less than 30 seconds later (depending on your computer's speed). It is also backwards-compatible with USB 2.0, so a USB 3.0 device and cable is compatible with a computer that only has USB 2.0 ports. In computers where all the devices and drivers are compatible with USB 3.0 peak performance, it provides significantly better performance than USB 2.0. Maxtor OneTouch 4 mini and OneTouch III mini

These drives are named and linked here, with a picture of their cables. They usually draw enough power from one USB connection, though sometimes plugging both of the cables in will be necessary, or plugging the one cable into a powered USB hub. Most USB cables that come with Seagate and Maxtor-brand drives look like this. Note that the connection size for the connector on the drive is smaller than, for example, a USB port on a printer, but many digital cameras use the same size connection.Ĭertain Seagate and Maxtor-brand drives are powered only by USB, so they do not have a separate power cord. The USB symbol is usually found near the ports on the computer.

Usually it is OK to connect the drive either to the front or to the rear, though if trouble occurs, it is best to connect it to the port on the rear. See in this image the 'A' connector, which will fit into a corresponding rectangular port on your computer. The USB cable has two ends - one to connect into the drive, and one to connect into the computer. It is extremely easy to use. Whether the computer is powered on or powered off, simply connect the cable to your device and it should be ready to be used less than 30 seconds later (depending on your computer's speed). USB is the most common connection type for external devices, whether external hard drive, thumb drives, flash drives, printers, cameras, all kinds of other devices. See Document ID: 214431 for cabling information about FreeAgent GoFlex drives. Click on a category below to be taken to the relevant section and illustrative graphics.

Seagate external hard drive cord