I'm looking at buying an Iomega external USB harddrive but I'd like to know if it'll work with my system. I ask this because I've read about problems with external HDs but mainly in posts a few years old and because according to the specs on the Iomega site, it works with Windows and OS X only. There's driver software included with the device.

The product:
1.0 TB HI–SPEED USB 2.0 VALUE SERIES DESKTOP HARD DRIVE
It consists of a case with 2 * 500GB SATA drives in JBOD, formatted with FAT32. Connection via USB 2.0 or 1.1

My OS is FC6, kernel 2.6.20, no other OS. Using a cardreader with CompactFlash is no problem. I want to use the device as a backup for rarily used files, so it's going to get occasionally a file (50 - 500 MB) read or written. I don't intend to boot from the device. Hot(un)plugging would be nice but isn't mandatory.

- Can I expect this device to work with my system? It seems to me to be a USB mass storage device but I don't know why Iomega ships drivers with it or why they don't mention Linux in the specs. Does anyone have experience with this product or others from the 'value' series?
- Should I keep the FAT32 format or is it better to reformat to EXT3? The rest of my system is EXT3 (and EXT2) but I don't know if the OS 'sees' it as a different device if the filesystem is changed, I read something like that in a sidenote without understanding it.
- Are there better solutions? 1 TB gives me room to avoid cleaning out my pr0.. errr.. mp3 collection. Perhaps in your opinion I shouldn't buy Iomega or a completely different product/solution, I'd really like to hear it.

For all I know, the drive may be perfectly compatible but I've learned the hard way to avoid Iomega altogether. I still have one of their external cd writers that I've never been able to get to work with Linux. They are really one of those exclusively MS/OS X oriented companies. As I said, my doubts may be inappropriate but I think that a warning is in order.

It seems a bit harsh to condemn a company for a single incompatible product. In fact Iomega network storage devices run embedded linux:

http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/StorCenter/HomePage

Still, its always a good idea to get a definite report of success before dropping a couple of hundred dollars/euros on a piece of hardware. Problem may be that USB storage devices mainly 'just work' so nobody bothers reporting them any more.

One issue with external HD and linux is power management - do you want the drive to spin down after some period of activity? If you just plug it in occasionally for backup this may not be an issue, but if it is on 24/7 and only accessed once in a while it is nice to have it go into standby.

Seems to be no easy answer to this. There is some discussion here:

http://www.nslu2-linux.org/wiki/FAQ/...wnUSBHarddisks

Contacting their customer service may be more instructive if you need to know for sure.

Thank you for your answers.
I'm not fundamentalistic about it but that could be an indication they rather not have my money but prefer I spend it on a competitor's product.
I didn't consider powermanagement at all, simply didn't think of it but it's an important aspect that I'd rather know of before I buy. I can do without the sound of 2 extra HDs on my desk.
I was thinking USB storage devices 'just work' and there was an easy answer to this. Glad I asked therefore; I'm too n00b to fix things that aren't meant to be working in the first place. However, my experience in almost a year with Linux is that most hardware did work without tweaking.
Seems the way to go, although I fear I'll get a rep on the line who doesn't know much more than what's already on the site.

So, do anyone know if this device actually works under Linux?

Well, I went ahead and bought the drive anyway.

I plugged the drive in - and powered in on.
About 15sec. later i was able to access the drive at /dev/hdb1

From dmesg:
scsi 6:0:0:0: Direct-Access Iomega External HD PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] 1953546336 512-byte hardware sectors (1000216 MB)
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 00 38 00 00
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] 1953546336 512-byte hardware sectors (1000216 MB)
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 00 38 00 00
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sdb: sdb1
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
sd 6:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete

So - it looks like this drive works fine under Linux.
Though - I don't know about the powermanagment of the drive? But since there's an on/off button it's not a big issue to me anyway

Good. Now don't forget to add it to the Hardware Compatability List (HCL) here on linuxquestions.org so that others can learn from your experience.

I got the 500GB drive in stead; it was a discount. Works indeed and doesn't come with software (the drivers that got me worried in the first place). My first impression is very positive.
It's a great looking drive with a solid feel (I have the aluminium case). There's indeed a powerbutton at the back, haven't noticed other powermanagement yet. On my desk it sounds with a low hum and it vibrates a little, the sound changes if I place my hand on it. It's alright with me, I don't intend to have it powered on often/for long periods.
The power supply feels a bit lightweight, I hope it's not a sign Iomega offers it separately as accessory. The USB cable is a meter/ 1.1 yard in length, some people may need a longer cable.

I bought an IOmega 1TB but it don't work in my Ubuntu 7.10.
dmesg shows a lot of errors:

[ 1916.531215] usb 3-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1916.605012] usb 3-8: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[ 1916.605995] scsi5 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[ 1916.606063] usb-storage: device found at 7
[ 1916.606065] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[ 1919.380042] usb-storage: device scan complete
[ 1922.492989] usb 3-8: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1925.111259] usb 3-8: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1928.020210] usb 3-8: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1928.082326] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1928.202136] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1928.321942] usb 3-8: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1928.384061] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1928.503870] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1928.623679] usb 3-8: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1928.849970] usb 3-8: device not accepting address 7, error -71
[ 1928.912103] usb 3-8: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
[ 1929.138392] usb 3-8: device not accepting address 7, error -71
[ 1929.138411] scsi 5:0:0:0: scsi: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[ 1929.138428] usb 3-8: USB disconnect, address 7
[ 1929.204961] usb 3-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 8
[ 1929.267078] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1929.386885] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1929.506690] usb 3-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
[ 1929.568812] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1929.688623] usb 3-8: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[ 1929.808424] usb 3-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 10
[ 1930.034717] usb 3-8: device not accepting address 10, error -71
[ 1930.096841] usb 3-8: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 11
[ 1930.323139] usb 3-8: device not accepting address 11, error -71


I don't know what I have to do. Any ideas?