Yep, the Seagate 8TB Expansion Desktop Drive does need external power to work. The manufacturer's description mentions that it’s a 3.5-inch desktop model, which usually means you’ll need to plug it into a power source. They typically include a power adapter in the box.

Now, there's a bit of a side issue that some people bump into with storage capacity. Some folks notice that the drive might show far less storage than the promised 8TB—sometimes only 500GB or 148GB. This can be super frustrating, but there are a few things to check out.

A common culprit for capacity issues is formatting or partitioning problems. This drive comes preformatted in exFAT, which should work with both Windows and Mac. If the storage seems wrong, you might need to reformat the drive or check the partitions using your computer’s disk management tools to make sure the whole space is accessible.

There’s also the possibility of a mislabeling or shipping error where the drive might be packed or labeled wrong. If you're sure the formatting is right but the storage is still off, it's a good idea to get in touch with Seagate customer service or the place you bought it from. They might ask for proof of purchase and some product details, and could provide an exchange if there's an issue.

Double-check all your connections—sometimes a loose cable can throw off the drive. Make sure you're using the right USB port, preferably a USB 3.0 as suggested by the product details. Also, confirm the power supply is functional, as a faulty one might cause communication issues that could affect capacity readings.

If you’ve ruled everything out and it's still not working, reaching out to professional tech support could be the next step. They'll dig deeper into any hardware problems. This can give you some peace of mind, knowing you've tried everything.

When it comes to the Seagate 8TB Expansion Desktop External Hard Drive, the read and write speeds fall between 160MB/s to 180MB/s. This is pretty standard for desktop hard drives and should work well for things like backups, file transfers, and storing media. It's not as fast as an SSD, but it balances speed and storage capacity nicely.

The drive uses a USB 3.0 interface, which really helps in getting those higher speeds compared to the older USB 2.0 connections. This is especially useful if you're handling large files or doing big backups. The manufacturer even points this out, saying that you’ll get the best performance with USB 3.0.

Do keep in mind, it requires an external power source, which isn't great for portability. That's common for desktop drives like this one since they need more power than just a USB connection can give. Some people find this a bit inconvenient, but others value its reliability and consistency in performance, especially for big data tasks.

So, if you need a lot of storage and are okay with it being stationary—maybe for stuff like home backups or maintaining a big media collection—this drive is a solid choice.

But if you’re looking for something you can easily move around, you might want to look into an SSD or a smaller, USB-powered drive.

The Seagate 8TB Expansion Desktop Drive is a pretty popular choice for people looking for a lot of storage space without breaking the bank. The manufacturer lists it as having 8TB of storage, but keep in mind that the actual usable space might seem a little less due to the way storage is calculated—computers use a different system from what manufacturers typically advertise.

According to our research, a few folks have noticed that the drive can sometimes fall short of the full 8TB. This isn't super common, but it's good to be aware it might happen. On the upside, Seagate has customer support that's pretty quick to help with exchanges or returns if you hit this snag.

One thing to keep in mind: this drive needs to be plugged into an external power source, which is normal for desktop drives with as much capacity as this one. Some might see it as a bit of a hassle, but it comes with the territory for most large-capacity drives.

Overall, it's a decent option, especially if you switch between Windows and Mac since it's formatted to work with both right out of the box.

Just remember to account for the way storage is calculated when you're setting it up.