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Everything USB 
External Hard Drives
While shopping for an external drive, most people don't worry fires or natural disasters could destroy the data on them. There is a group of people who want more protection than simply sticking the drive inside a case. For this group, ioSafe has many makes and models. One such model is the SoloPRO USB 3.0 hard drive, which boasts not only tank like armor chassis, but water- and fire-proof abilities. Let's see how good this tank really is.
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External Hard Drives ioSafe SoloPRO Fireproof Hard Drive Review
- Pretty Good Performance
- Darn near indestructible
- USB 3.0 interface
- Actively cooled
- Attractive in a tank kind of way
- Comes with 1 year Data Recovery Service
- Reasonable price for 3 & 5 year DRS extensions
- DRS 5 year extension also extends warranty to 5 years!
- Massive footprint
- Heavy
- Sealed unit so hard drive replacement will be difficult
One Massive USB 3.0 Drive
The ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 hard drive (1TB tested) is a giant external storage unit. The actual dimensions of 7.1" x 11" x 5" don't even do it justice. The best way to describe this single drive-based external drive is: big. How big you may ask? Think shoebox. Not only is it large, it is also heavy weighing in at an official 15 lbs. The reason the SoloPRO is so large is due to the fact that the chassis is made from thick steel with no plastic anywhere in sight. As it isn't your typical external storage, this unit is barely backpack portable and trades portability for durability. You can literally burn and / or drown this drive and it is guaranteed to keep on ticking. I will be putting these claims to the test later. The front of the SoloPRO USB 3.0 drive is pretty minimally decorated. You have some small nicely styled exhaust slits for internal airflow and some nicely painted information detailing the name and model. These slits emit a solid pale blue when the unit is powered on. It blinks when the drive is being accessed which is kind of cool in a geeky sort of way. The back of the SoloPRO has much more in the way of connectors and areas of interest than the front. At the bottom is the external power supply connector, power switch and the USB 3.0 port. Above these ports is a small fan for active cooling. There is also a Kensington lock port to make stealing it difficult. If the idea of a "mere" Kensington lock is not enough security for you, the back lip of the unit has been extended and has two large holes drilled into the metal. You can bolt it down or use a padlock to keep it where you want it.
Seagate GoFlex Desk on the left, Belkin UPS on the right. The rest of the back, both sides and top are slab sided with no distinguishing features. The ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 drive looks a lot like the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. To be fair, the front has been nicely sculpted with a curvaceous look to it. So despite its massive size, it should actually blend seamlessly into most computer environment. Place it next to your UPS and no one will be the wiser. After all the testing was over, the very first thing I did was tear down the drive. Its fireproofing comes from two large form fitting pieces of ceramic in which the hard drive is cocooned. Since the ceramic composite material can absorb copious amounts of heat before allowing it to harm its precious contents, these two pieces really are the secret to its success. The SoloPRO USB 3.0 is also waterproof, thanks to being sealed in electrostatic shock bag. There is a small central hole where the necessary cables come out of it. To ensure no water leaks in, ioSafe has used copious amounts of silicon to seal this opening. The internal hard drive ioSafe has opted for is a 3.5" 7200rpm Hitachi 71000.c 1TB model. This is the newest two-platter revision of that particular model. The SATA to USB 3.0 bridge/controller is the JMicron JMS539. I will be testing both the USB 3.0 performance of the SoloPRO as well as the SATA performance of the internal Hitachi drive alone. As for warranty, ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 hard drive offers a standard 3 year warranty with an included 1 year of free Data Recovery Service. The company also offers two extended warranty options. The first costs $50 and upgrades you to three years of Data Recovery Service (DRS), but it does not extend the typical portion of the warranty beyond the standard 3 years coverage. The second option, which goes for $100, not only gives you 5 years of DRS but also extends your normal warranty to 5 years.
The ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 hard drive (1TB tested) is a giant external storage unit. The actual dimensions of 7.1" x 11" x 5" don't even do it justice. The best way to describe this single drive-based external drive is: big. How big you may ask? Think shoebox. Not only is it large, it is also heavy weighing in at an official 15 lbs. The reason the SoloPRO is so large is due to the fact that the chassis is made from thick steel with no plastic anywhere in sight. As it isn't your typical external storage, this unit is barely backpack portable and trades portability for durability. You can literally burn and / or drown this drive and it is guaranteed to keep on ticking. I will be putting these claims to the test later. The front of the SoloPRO USB 3.0 drive is pretty minimally decorated. You have some small nicely styled exhaust slits for internal airflow and some nicely painted information detailing the name and model. These slits emit a solid pale blue when the unit is powered on. It blinks when the drive is being accessed which is kind of cool in a geeky sort of way. The back of the SoloPRO has much more in the way of connectors and areas of interest than the front. At the bottom is the external power supply connector, power switch and the USB 3.0 port. Above these ports is a small fan for active cooling. There is also a Kensington lock port to make stealing it difficult. If the idea of a "mere" Kensington lock is not enough security for you, the back lip of the unit has been extended and has two large holes drilled into the metal. You can bolt it down or use a padlock to keep it where you want it.
Seagate GoFlex Desk on the left, Belkin UPS on the right. The rest of the back, both sides and top are slab sided with no distinguishing features. The ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 drive looks a lot like the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. To be fair, the front has been nicely sculpted with a curvaceous look to it. So despite its massive size, it should actually blend seamlessly into most computer environment. Place it next to your UPS and no one will be the wiser. After all the testing was over, the very first thing I did was tear down the drive. Its fireproofing comes from two large form fitting pieces of ceramic in which the hard drive is cocooned. Since the ceramic composite material can absorb copious amounts of heat before allowing it to harm its precious contents, these two pieces really are the secret to its success. The SoloPRO USB 3.0 is also waterproof, thanks to being sealed in electrostatic shock bag. There is a small central hole where the necessary cables come out of it. To ensure no water leaks in, ioSafe has used copious amounts of silicon to seal this opening. The internal hard drive ioSafe has opted for is a 3.5" 7200rpm Hitachi 71000.c 1TB model. This is the newest two-platter revision of that particular model. The SATA to USB 3.0 bridge/controller is the JMicron JMS539. I will be testing both the USB 3.0 performance of the SoloPRO as well as the SATA performance of the internal Hitachi drive alone. As for warranty, ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 hard drive offers a standard 3 year warranty with an included 1 year of free Data Recovery Service. The company also offers two extended warranty options. The first costs $50 and upgrades you to three years of Data Recovery Service (DRS), but it does not extend the typical portion of the warranty beyond the standard 3 years coverage. The second option, which goes for $100, not only gives you 5 years of DRS but also extends your normal warranty to 5 years.
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