Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini 160 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive STM901603OTA3E1-RK by Seagate
|
List Price: Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
(Click here)
Digital camera reviews of Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini 160 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive STM901603OTA3E1-RK
Digital camera Review: Beware of Maxtor's one-touch software. It will corrupt your file system
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this drive to assist my mother in law. Her computer is old and I was hoping to avoid a costly data recovery (aka tech rape).
When the "one-touch" software installed, it forced a reboot. The computer never came back up.
I figured I'd made a mistake so I bought a brand new Seagate internal drive, built it up with Windows XP, and reinstalled the external drive. Once again, the software installation for one-touch forced me to reboot - and again the computer would no longer boot.
I tried several utilities to recover the data, to no avail. So I took both drives to the local data recovery place. They informed me that the file system was corrupt on both drives, likely due to whatever I'd last done on the drive before it crashed.
If you insist on purchasing this brand, DO NOT INSTALL the software. The techs at Maxtor were not at all helpful.
Digital camera Review: Beware- not for multisystem use
Summary: 2 Stars
I was happy when this product was listed as compatible with both my Mac and my husband's XP machine. However, not until I scour the seagate/maxtor knowledge base did I discover that this device can't be set up to support both systems. It is formatted for XP, so there's no backing up my files, now. This little drive seems to do everything except what we purchased it for.Digital camera Review: Broken Promises.
Summary: 1 Stars
This product promises to work with Mac, and to provide support, and yet once again, scored horribly in this area also. I have a Macbook with Leopard installed. I tried for several days to get this product to work but with no success. I tried to get someone from Apple and Seagate/Maxtor Support to help with this product, but unless you are from Canada, there is no help for you. The only reason I give it one star is that the device powered up.Digital camera Review: DO NOT BUY THIS.
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a terrible Hard Drive. I am switching macs, and I am incredibly frustrated because my new one will not recognize this device. It chirps. It whirrs. It demands two powered USB ports. A total piece of garbage. Go with one of those colorful Toshiba ones- they work beautifully, are the same price as this one, and won't screw you over. And, they look nice.Digital camera Review: Decent drive, unsatisfying software
Summary: 3 Stars
I was swayed by the slick advertising...one touch backup. Although it was a decent price break, I wish I had opted for another product.
Pros: I love that the drive can be powered without an external power supply. That is a requirement for me, and many external drives to not function well with only power from the USB. This drive handles it fine - I've had no problems or data errors (that I know of) in the year that I have used this drive. The drive is also small and I can slip it into a briefcase easily. For these pros, I give it four stars.
Cons: It isn't terrifically fast, but since I wanted it primarily for backups and syncing rather than day-to-day data access, the speed is not a consideration for me.
But the clincher for me is the Maxtor Manager software supplied with the drive. As other reviewers have stated, the software does not copy many hidden files, and for reasons I cannot comprehend, does not like .zip files. I simply cannot use software that won't copy the many zip files I use for storage. Although for many people, this may be fine, and the interface is very easy, although very limiting in functionality. For the software, I give it one star.
There are other file sync packages out there, and I have been using Beyond Compare for years. It not only syncs, but gives a comprehensive graphical interface to control sync direction, filtering, provides file differences, etc. So, I've invested the $30 for complete piece of mind. And with this combination of drive and separate software, I am happy with the resulting system.