HP MV2010 Media Vault 300 GB External Hard Drive

Awesome home media server. I use it with xbox media center (sidenote: if you don't have xbmc, or know what it is, [....] - check it out, definitely worth it). The UpNP media streaming works perfectly with that. I have the one with 500gb included (mv2020). The only problem I have had is that there is no way 2 turn the machine off without unplugging it. It goes into standby/hibernation automatically so you do not have 2 worry about huge power consumption. One time when the power cut out, the unit stopped working; I found out that you have 2 do a hard reset 2 reboot the device. Other than that, the thing is a dream. I recommend getting the one with 500gb if you think you will eventually fill it up because the standard drive is not upgradeable. Also, check out [....]overclock 2 see about improving the speed & overall performance of the device (requires a little computer knowledge, so if you have trouble finding the power button on a pc that is probably not 4 you).

The first drive could not be read with a password over the internet as designed. Hp's "fix" was 2 make the drives public. The replace drive had same issue, decided 2 keep & add the 2nd drive. Adding the 2nd drive crashed the 1 st. Media Vault can "see" the 2nd drive, but unable 2 access. Way too many problems, not worth the hassle at all.

Because this device is marketed as a backup drive, you would think it would be secure. Stable. Partitioned normally so that if the hard drives are working but the interface goes down you can just swap the drives 2 another media vault or an external enclosure - not so. The media vault partitions the files in an unusual way, which makes it impossible 2 continue 2 use any of your data if you need 2 switch vaults due 2 a faulty box.

This is what happened 2 me after about a year & a half of use. Everything was working fine & I decided this would be the best place 2 store my rarely used but oh-so-important financial data. I didn't see the need 2 store it 2 other computers, because it was stored on both drives of my HP media vault. When it crashed last week my first thought was "not a big deal, I'll just replace it with an external enclosure & consider a different backup solution in the future". Popped the drives in the external enclosure, & guess what, windows won't recognize the data because it is unallocated. The only way 2 get my data is 2 spend $500+ on a data recovery service.

I'm an HP employee myself & while HP makes a number of good products, I've learned you must always back up your back up & never put too much faith in anything. If you buy this product 4 its neat functionality, makes sure 2 buy a normal external hard drive of the same size & back up the media vault 2 this drive every day. Hopefully, if you're lucky, neither will go down, but DO NOT rely on this drive as it will fail eventually & then your data will be gone.

I have had no problems with the HP Media Vault. Opening up 149GB library takes less than a minute. No issues what so ever. This even connecting by Mac OS x using SMB 2 the vault. SMB is slow on any system.
I did delete all the default shares. Could this be the reason 4 the good performace. Very happy.

I bought this item thinking it was a computer, but I still use it. It works great 4 all my storage.

Tired of having your photos, videos, music & data media scattered here, there, & everywhere? Now you can centrally manage & share it all on your home computer network. How? The HP Media Vault mv2010?expandable home network storage?holds up 2 139,000 photos, 69,000 songs, or 90 hours of video in best mode. Use with wired- & wireless-networked computers in your home by connecting the Media Vault 2 your router via Ethernet cable Create automatic backups that can be set up 2 run weekly, daily, or continuously with the included software Protect your data with the RAID 1 capability Restore your PC in one step in the event of a hard drive failure, virus, or spyware infection Watch movies, including the preloaded, feature-length Bourne Identity, plus two free from CinemaNow Watch TV shows recorded with your Media Center PC on other PCs in your home Increase capacity up 2 1.2 terabytes with the empty expansion bay (enough 2 hold up 2 500,000 photos, 16,000 hours of music, or 340 hours of DVD-quality video Compatibility - Windows, Mac-, & Linux-based computers HP Warranty - hardware, one-year limited; software, 90 days