Ximeta NetDisk 80GB Review

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John L • September 15, 2003
Rating: 4.5/5
Bought the 120G for $189 at Fry’s today. Took only 3 minutes to get it connected and working. VERY quiet and considerably smaller than the other externals out there. I wish the power supply had a switch but still a great product. Sharing video,audio, and work around the house without a problem.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Phil • September 18, 2003
Rating: 4.5/5
I have 2 120GB Netdisks in RAID 0. Installation was a breeze, and now each client PC “sees” 240GB of storage on its own desktop – strongly recommended. Though quiet, the drives run continuously on the network, so make sure they’re not cramped. BTW, I’ve heard that the HD is a fluid-bearing Samsung SP1203N with a 500000 POH rating.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Bupkus • September 27, 2003
Rating: 5/5
I put a 120 on our network and it’s fantastic. Boss loves it since it was dirt cheap.

Went to Fry’s on Friday and they had the sign mismarked with a $90 in store rebate on the 80 gig. Was supposed to be a mail in. They had to give me the drive for $99 and give me the mail in rebate. Gotta love Fry’s……and a 80 gig Ximeta for $18 after rebate :-)
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Devon J • October 7, 2003
Rating: 2.5/5
The concept is great and the price is right, but all the reviews fail to mention one flaw. That is that only one user on the network is allowed to have write access at any one time. If you need to write to the NetDisk and another user has write access you have to click on the manager icon and “steal” the write access from that user. Ximeta tech support informs me that a beta version of a new driver that will allow true multiuser write access will be out near the end of October. When that happens I will raise the score to a 10. In my opinion the current situation is a huge weakness. Why has it not been metioned before?
Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
TreeFrog • October 14, 2003
Rating: 4/5
Only an 8 as I agree with other reviewer’s opinions of limitations. The use of a client app needs to be replaced by native mount capabilities (NFS, etc.) The ability to assign an IP would help as well. I can’t tell but not only is a power switch needed but also power mgmt (APM/ spin down/ timeout/ low-power mode) would be a good selectable option for the home user. Could help to keep it cooler and extend its life overall.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Mike W • October 15, 2003
Rating: 3/5
I purchased a NetDisk 160 though TigerDirect for a new non-profit office installation. It works great however, as I began to exercise the unit, I was quite surprised to find that I could only have write access from one machine at a time. In addition, that access had to be arbitrated though the installed Ximeta software. This limitation fundamentally altered the way I wound up using the drive. Don’t misunderstand me, I think it is a great idea and probably would have purchased the drive anyway, but this shortcoming came as a really big surprise. Documentation that comes with the unit is very careful not to directly point out this shortcoming which left me feeling just a bit mislead. I really hope that Ximeta gets some of this feedback and are willing to update their software. If that happens, this little drive will be pretty damn impressive. Oh yea, it would also benefit from a shutdown capability, both remote and local; something that can respond to an operating system shutdown command.
Rating: 6 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Don Pham • October 30, 2003
Rating: 4/5
I bought a 80GB drive. I upgraded to 200GB. Ximeta gave fast and exellent technical support how to remove the case. I copied a movie folder, 4.35GB, and it took 16 – 20 min.

Maxtor sucks! They do not tell you how to remove the case to upgrade hard drive. I have to figure out myself how to do it. Just snap-out two side bars.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Cedric • December 5, 2003
Rating: 3.5/5
I bought this one in yesterday.

as mentioned, its good to store mass data.

but only one defect is write one person only

I don’t know what my computer is wrong,

sometimes make error like “delayed writing fail”

and Don Farm said that can upgrade more capacity HDD is good information to me

“Thanks Don Farm” and is there any problem change HDD? eg. detecting problems…

however, it is good product to store data.
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Michael Elbaz • December 5, 2003
Rating: 4.5/5
Got the 160GB at CompUSA for $229. Setup was fast and easy, and the drive works great. However, it is incompatible with my DLink 802.11b Wireless Router, DI-713P.

Tech support (email) was helpful and the workaround for me is to connect my laptop to the router using a network cord. USB works well. According to Ximeta this doesn’t happen with 802.11g products.

Overall, this is a great product.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Mckitrick • December 27, 2003
Rating: 4.5/5
I’m not sure how Don Pharm did it but the sides most definitely do not just “Snap Off” as he indicated.

I haven’t been able to find detailed instructions on opening this up but one article mentioned the top part slides off so I’m not sure who to believe.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Nicolas • December 27, 2003
Rating: 3.5/5
I could not get my unit to work on a network, the add button was always greyed out. The last part of the ID had only 3 digits, where the program expects 5 so I think there was an error somewhere. I will exchange it asap and hopefully the new one will work. The usb2 interface works well and does what i need.

Anyone have any information on the upgrading of the HD ? how the case is opened and such?
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Mckitrick • December 27, 2003
Rating: 4.5/5
Hey there! *IGNORE WHAT DOH PHARM SAID* because the sides do NOT pop off!! You will break the top cover if you try.
The top half slides forward when you push something into the holes in the sides. Do NOT force the black sides off or you will break the unit!
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Don Carnevale • December 28, 2003
Rating: 4.5/5
DO NOT REMOVE THE GLUED ON FEET!

The top piece is held on by four plastic (4) clips. Two are just inside the holes on the sides. Push these in a little, and use some force to slide the top and sides to the back of the case, away from the plug panel. I gently used some screw drivers as wedges.

My replacement drive worked perfectly, but it was only 80GB; I’ve yet to check any drives over 127GB on the 80GB netdisk.
Oh, great product, but a 9 and almost and 8, because they’ve been claiming for months they would release a multiuser write version of the driver in 12/2003, even in their FAQ. It does get warm but it doesn’t seem to get too hot. The drive is mounted to plastic, no heat sink, no vent. I think I’ll drill vent holes next month. Last gripe; the power cord does not firmly attach.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Jake W. • January 8, 2004
Rating: 2/5
Gave it a try but the software leaves a lot to be desired. First they need to mention that you do not want to install on a SERVER. I know the box does not mention server software but this is for a network, right. Now when I disconnected and than reconnected the drive to a workstation the workstation would lock up at log-in. Since it crashed my server and locked up my workstation this is one that is going back to the store. In the real world it either works or does not.
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Chris • January 8, 2004
Rating: 4.5/5
I bought a 160gig the other day but was disapointed in the lack of a mulit user function however if you dont mind having evryone or just the admin acess the drive you can use a windows share or map the drive and that can be mounted in linux and mac. Not sure if the linux driver works for linux os besides redhat and mandrake.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Carl • January 11, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
It’s fast, cheap, quiet, easy to set up – but as a networked drive the concept is fundamentally flawed. It absolutely does not do what it implies, i.e. shared storage. Writing to the disk requires hokey manual exchange of a “write lock” via the Administrator UI. That makes it useless for casual editing of files, unattended backups, etc. Ximeta knows this – they are very careful *not* to call it NAS – but its not obvious to the buyer until you install everything and read the manual. For most practical purposes, a network share of a conventional drive attached to one of the PCs on your network will be much more useful. If Ximeta can fix the software so that shared writing is as transparent as a network share this will be a great little device. Until then, useful only in very limited circumstances.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
John Best • January 20, 2004
Rating: 1.5/5
I don’t know how these other folks found it easy to use. I like the networked storage concept, but this Ximeta thing was a nightmare to work with. They forgot that its consumers usage (even being a techy, it took me a few hours just trying to make the damn thing work, complicated number schemes to input, sometimes the network does not even recognize, and my wireless network gave it a full failure)..
I am hoping someone will innovate on the network storage idea and build a better product. Nice try though!
Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Chris • January 23, 2004
Rating: 2.5/5
My NetDisk is en route as I write this (which explains my rating of 5, I haven’t even seen one yet). While I was passing the time until it’s arrival, I read the reviews and comments here and this was the first that I had heard of the multiwrite issue, so I fired off an email to the support folks at Ximeta to find out what was up. After a brief exchange of a few emails, they informed me that late this evening Ximeta decided to release a BETA driver update (use at your own risk, for now). Good luck everyone! http://www.ximeta.com/support/downloads.html
Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Walt Mills • January 31, 2004
Rating: 4/5
Just got the 120G. Followed the directions above to remove case. Read carefully, Just pus gently into holes and slide Top from logo to plugs. Removed the 120 (Samsung) and added a Maxtor 250. Device recognized new HD and it’s formatting now. Ximeta could easily sell the controller and housing alone. What was that palstic “do not remove” thingy? An invitation to see what is inside. Next, I’ll try a dual drive cable and power Y cable. May be pushing the PS.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
SID • February 5, 2004
Rating: 4.5/5
this thing rocks, now with Multi-write access.
It works great, easy to install, but i did have to restart my pc’s three times to get it to work.
NO MORE ASKING FOR TOKEN.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Brian • February 12, 2004
Rating: 4/5
I bought this product because on the box they state that it supports linux. Little did I know that the drivers were only in beta, and I can not get any of my Linux machines to see this device at all!! I was told by tech support that new linux drivers will be out in a couple of weeks, but I was pretty upset that they specifically advirtise that it supports linux, when clearly it does not. If anyone has figured out how to get linux to see this device over the network please email me…
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Joseph S. • February 18, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
I’ve purchased two of the 120GB units in the last 48 hours for a client. They liked the fact that it was supposed to offer them networked storage at their remote site and that it supported their legacy OS that they cannot upgrade due to issues with some software they run that has not been ported to a Win32 OS with HAL. The first one was DOA and had to be returned to the store it was purchased from. The second disk installed immediately and was working with one computer fine. But when we tried to get it attached to a second machine we found that it could not even see the drive. Digging around on Ximeta’s website informed us that in our implementation there was no way for two machines to even read from the drive at the same time. With newer Win32 systems you can read from multiple machines, but only one can have write access at a time. That is unless you want to use beta drivers which caused our machines to crash. Apparently none of the people who’ve given this thing glowing reviews have actually seen real network storage in action. I was in awe of how bad this thing is.
The box mentioned none of these caveats, nor the fact that the drivers that shipped with the NetDisk didn’t support our OS and had to be downloaded from the Internet. That normally wouldn’t have been a problem except that the site it was installed at didn’t have an Internet connection. The box certainly said our OS was supported, and it certainly failed to mention that only one machine could write at a time.
If you want external storage than this thing is passable, but there are better single user external drives on the market. If you’re looking to actually use this among multiple machines, spend the extra money and get a Linksys network drive or a Snap drive.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
John • February 23, 2004
Rating: 4.5/5
I believe that too many people purchase products without really understanding what they can and cannot do. The concept is great, and it does work.

I spent $300 to upgrade my Wi-Fi network to 802.11g in order to have wireless access, and it works great.

Tech support is fantastic. I got one response at 1 am, and the other responded within 12 hours. They tell me that they are working on both the multi-user write issue and the power down issue. I hope it can be done with software or a firmware upgrade, but even if it is a hardware solution, I’d still give this product a 9.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
• March 31, 2004
Rating: 3.5/5
i been having the netdisk for about 2 months already as many people who are interested may already know

the main issue was only one computer was able to write at time. the other issues i have is that i will send a file to it and if the other computers and are already runner the netdisk software. i would need to disable

the software to have the computer see that file(thats my main problem} next I am having difficulty with and linux {RH9} software works fine if you can get linux to reconize the drive so you can then mount
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Gavin • May 1, 2004
Rating: 2/5
Great idea, good price – not very flexible. Firstly, it doesn’t work with all hubs – I have a Netopia acting as my aDSL router, it has a built in hub which doesn’t support the Netdisk. Also, the netdisk does not support IP – so you can only access it on your local LAN. I’ve yet to get it to work wireless using a LinkSys Brige. And remember that you need to install software (which requires a reboot) on devices that need access unless you pair it with a single machine and share it out. Tech support take their time responding. Good luck.
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Sparky • May 8, 2004
Rating: 4/5
I bought one just yesterday .I have to say that I wasa bit worried after reading these reviews.I downloaded the latets drivers (3.03) from there site and these make me read and write with several pc’s at the same time.I still have to figure out why I can’t access it tru my wireless laptop .It does get hot after a while .I pumped 50Gb on it yesterday but it wasn’t boiling hot so I guess it should be fine.I might dismantle the cover once the warranty is over and mount it in a case with a fan and if possibel hook up a 200Gb drive onto it…
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Steve T • June 29, 2004
Rating: 4.5/5
I had no problems what so ever installing this on my home network (which is a combination of wired and wireless) and found it to be fantastic. If you need a device where you can just switch on any pc on the network and access shared files it is a real boon. I can now keep my photos avail to all users.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Ashoro • July 16, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
While it did work great at first, over the last 6 months have had nothing but problems on small home network running XP Pro.
Final straw when updating to NetDisk Administrator v 3.0, and now all PCs on network identify NetDisk as “unformated” (maybe this is why it is ‘reommended’ to reformt the NetDisk after installing the 3.07 update… or perhaps this was an example of poor translation, meaning you *have* to reformat after upgrading driver software.)
Now attempting to do data recovery on 160 GB drive… not pretty. And, Ximeta website/tech support is non-existent.
Product as marketed as a secure back-up device. Can’t say I can recommend it based on my experience.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Zinkin • August 3, 2004
Rating: 1/5
My drive failed about a month after I got it. Since there was a lot of data already on it, I asked Ximeta how it would be decomissioned. They replied that SOP is to send it to Korea. They further advised that if I had it degaussed, or opened the case the warranty would not be honored. So I either risk my back-up files to a Korean technician, or I’m out $350.
I know they could do better.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Lukas • August 14, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
I bought this product with high expectations. These were not met.

1) It is not a server, so it has to be run with special software on any computer that access it (assuming using ethernet)

2) The one I got, and the one a friend of mine got (at the same time) have never worked.

3) I sent mine back for warranty replacement. I bought the unit end of april, and have still not received a replacement. It is now middle of August. I am giving up on getting my money back.

My advice, do not buy products from this company.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Dave107 • August 28, 2004
Rating: 5/5
Direct to NIC – great

Direct to USB2.0 – great

Through both wired and wireless router – great
Sure, there’s still write access sharing quirks… but do just the slightest amount of research and you’ll have found that information.
What did you do? Just look at the pretty box and buy it without asking any questions? Come on!
BTW – thanks for the instructions on how to open the case, came in handy. The Maxtor 120gig that it came with has worked flawlessly. My only gripe is the heat.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
anthony • August 31, 2004
Rating: 2.5/5
I Must say to note that i buy the 80gb model and works fine but can fry a egg on it if left on long time like 7 hours but never fails being hot as for internal drives are the same heat i notice so might be a normal thing so i close mine down every night when not needed
Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Namjoong • October 19, 2004
Rating: 1/5
I have used 60 GB version of this product for 1 year. It mostly works but not much practical in a wireless network. The problem is that its driver doesn’t allow your PC to go to Standby or Hibernation. It’s unacceptable especially when your PC is a laptop. Even most desktop PCs today utilize WinXP’s power control function. They say that their 2.41 driver allows a PC go to hibernation, but the problem is worse: it makes your laptop crash without warnining. Beware
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Rajiv P • November 10, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
I bought this drive yesterday from OM for $99 after rebate thinking it was a great deal…. oh how wrong I was. I downloaded the latest drivers from Ximeta’s website and installed them (which went without a hitch). However, that’s when the problems (or problem I should say) started. My wireless laptop hangs when accessing the drive. I have a DLink DI-614+ wireless router (not listed as one of the incompatible routers on the website) so I figured it won’t be a problem – but I guess it is consistent with the rest of the reviews here – Ximeta seems to be hiding problems with their drive. Anyway, I’m returning this thing and getting a real NAS which I can access from anywhere without installing any drivers.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
squid729 • November 12, 2004
Rating: 5/5
got in on the OM $99 deal myself also. i am very pleased with this drive at this price. i initially had some problems with freezes in win2k using the 3.08 drivers so i e-mailed ximeta tech support. they e-mailed back promptly and provided completely new and stable drivers 3.10 that are working great in a win2k desktop and 2 winxp laptops. very responsive tech support by e-mail gets an A+ from me. also the new 3.10 drivers support hibernation/sleep so you no longer have to mount/unmount the drivers every time with your laptop. way to go ximeta!
new drivers
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
al do • November 18, 2004
Rating: 2.5/5
netdisk connected to netgear fm114p v 1.5, at first it works, but after reboot computer it’s not there anymore, though, the status shows connected.
Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Mark Jones • November 21, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
I got this product after my computer got a virus and years of data was lost. After about 3 months of working just fine, it crashed and has not worked since. I cannot get any help to fix my problems, and it just sits on my desk now. All I can say is don’t use this product.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Yoav • December 16, 2004
Rating: 0.5/5
NDAS mode only works with wired ethernet with my Linksys WAP54 ADSL/Router. When I tried to connect wirelessly (Linksys WPC54g), the software did not recognise the disk any more. Tech support is overseas call to Germany (from UK). Was told to use latest Linksys drivers which I did – made no difference. As the sole reason for buying this is to have wireless network storage, I am returning this for a refund. If I want a wired external disk, I will buy a cheap USB one.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Al • February 14, 2005
Rating: 4.5/5
I’m surprised by the comments above. I’ve been using my NetDisk for two months now, from two PC’s, reading and writing files. Granted, both are running Windows XP and have the NetDisk software installed. Assuming you are running XP and are willing to install some software (which was easy to do, btw), you should have no problems. I vaguely recall reading something about Ximeta updating some drivers in 2004 to allow better write concurrency. Whatever happened, everything works fine now.
I’m about to buy my second NetDisk. Reviews on other sites of the Ximeta Netdisk have been positive.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
webkruzer • February 17, 2005
Rating: 4/5
How can they sell this drive and say ; “plug-n-play’ ?

Works great with USB but if you plug into the network… nothing happens… no drivers included nor any info where can I get one. If anyone knows how to make this work on the network please email me. thanks
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
jimbo • April 13, 2005
Rating: 1/5
It may look pretty but it won’t work on a Linksys WAG54G ADSL wireless router.

A known problem which is hidden here @ number 11:

http://www.ximeta.com/support/faq/

Very disappointing as I’ve been waiitng for one of these for ages.

Time to get an RMA number me thinks.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Jake • April 18, 2005
Rating: 4/5
as everyone stated. all you have to do is “poke” the two holes located on the side and push the top slightly forward. for one i cant find the two holes everyone is stating. anyone???
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Gregor • May 22, 2005
Rating: 3.5/5
I think since the time of the first review, there are different versions of the Ximeta Netdisk now. Older ones don’t have an on/off switch, recent ones do for example. Therefore I believe that Mckitrick and Don Carnevale were able to open their drives, but with others it may not work. I tried everthing, even gentle force, no way to open my version of the Ximeta Netdisk. There are no holes at the side, no way sliding the top forward, I tried for hours. :-(
Please, did anyone found out how to open the Ximeta Netdisk latest model or revision without breaking anything?
(PS: I know there are some completely different models like Office or Mini. I’m not talking about those.)
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
athaigeek • June 17, 2005
Rating: 4.5/5
I’m not sure which version of the netdisk I have, I bought it sometime during 2003. It had served me well all the time. By the way, I used only one PC connected to it through ethernet port. Anyway, because of the power failure, I couldn’t power it on, so I was dying to open it up and to get the data back. Thanks you all, now I tried to “poke” two holes on the side (the stereo mini jack works well), force it a little to open up, slide the top forward a bit, now I got the harddrive out.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Wizard • July 16, 2005
Rating: 5/5
In order to find the holes to open the case you have to remove the stickers covering them on both sides. They are small stickers that say NAS with a box next to it that has two dots in it and an arrow pointing at the word NAS. Use a very small screwdriver to pull the sticker off. Carefully press the releases that are within the exposed holes with two small screwdrivers at the same time (don’t push too hard), while sliding the top and sides towards you (the top and sides are one piece of plastic). It will only move slightly forward before you have to remove the screwdrivers. Then you can slide the top and sides off.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
DCarnevale • August 24, 2005
Rating: 4.5/5
Can’t post them here, but if anyone wants me to email a jpg of the inside of my case (with the hole and such), it may help them out. Or, if your north of Boston, MA; I’d be able to just show you in person.
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
G. Rabaner • December 13, 2005
Rating: 5/5
I can share my netdisk with multiple different computers through ethernet and that is great. Being able to hook the disk up through ethernet can do a lot of savvy stuff. I can save data to the hard drive wireless, man. I can infinate number of pictures and stuff. This stuff is great.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
NSkimmer • September 2, 2007
Rating: 1.5/5
I have formatted this drive in ext3 format and put it on my wireless network. It’s completely unusable. It’s slow and unreliable. Furthermore, it somehow messes with the ‘sleep’ feature on my MacBookPro and my laptop won’t restart anymore after going to sleep. I don’t know if it’s faster using Fat32 but I doubt I will be trying that out. Going to buy a real NAS instead.
Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.
Raymond Day • March 11, 2009
Rating: 3/5
I got this a long time ago. I forget when, but i remember looking on line for the best price laptop hard drive. This NetDisk looked like it had a 80GB laptop hard drive in it. I order it on the web and when I got it it was bigger then I thought. I open it and took out the hard drive. I did test it for a while before I did and it worked good. I forget where I used the 80GB drive. But still have the NetDisk case and all but the hard drive. I guess could stick a green type WD 1TB drive in it. They cost a little under a $100 today. March of 2009
-Raymond Day
Rating: 6 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.