Customer Reviews
Poor backup option in image mode 
2008-06-24
If you purchased this drive and software (as I did) to restore after system crashes you may be in for a rude surprise - the included Safetydrill software does not (as claimed) delete older versions of backups as required to make space for newer ones, instead it MOVES them to an (undocumented) history folder on the same drive and new backups fail for lack of space... with the failure producing only an inconspicuous error message that could be easily overlooked by unsophisticated users.
At first I found it unbelievable that automatic backup space management was unavailable in Saftydrill, but this was confirmed by Seagate/Maxtor Tech support, making this the least capable backup "solution" I've encountered in the last decade.
So... it you buy this for image-type backups an intend to use the included software be aware after the first few uses it will be *your* responsibility to manage your backup space by manually deleting older backups as required!
Good for basic backups 
2008-05-22
As others have stated, if you just want to backup your "my documents" folder this unit will do fine.
However, I was a little disappointed that the programmable backup is not available for certain folders. My internet "favorites" folder was not visible, and the "program files" folder was not visible. Some of the applications I use save the configuration files in the "program files" folder and I like to have backups of those.
I was able to back up any file/folder manually using windows explorer, but the programmable backup feature would have been much easier. I can't think of any logical reason for limiting that feature. I'm guessing lawyers got involved and thought Seagate/Maxtor might be liable if someone used the automated feature to steal corporate information. Unlikely if you ask me, but hey, McDonalds got sued for selling hot coffee so I guess anything is possible.
I like the "drive pass" feature. When you connect the unit to ANY computer a window pops up and asks for your password before you can access anything on the drive. It's a good feature for keeping nosy people out of your drive. Hackers can bypass this feature by opening up the unit and removing the hard drive. They could reconnect it without the security circuitry contained in the unit. Of course, if you use the encryption feature available with this unit the hackers will not be able to retrieve any data from the drive. I don't have anything THAT important on my drive, so the "drive pass" feature is all I use.
I wish someone would make a unit like this with the smaller 1.8 inch hard drives available. In the age of 160GB ipods, this thing seems a little big. Speaking of ipods, I bet that's why there's no 1.8 inch hard drives available for units like this.
Bottom line?
It's worth the money. I'm happy enough with it to keep it.
Beware of Maxtor's one-touch software. It will corrupt your file system 
2008-05-02
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.
Will not backup the root directory and certain files 2008-04-13
This product provides only limited backup protection for certain files in certain locations. Most frustrating is that it is impossible for it to backup anything in a root directory. For example, if you have files of any type in the C: directory (or more likely a D: or E: drive) it cannot back them up. Only files in subfolders (e.g., "C:\files") can be backed up; no file in any root directory (e.g., "C:\") can be designated for back up.
Here is the response I received from Maxtor tech support on this issue: "Folders must be selected in the software. The backup utility is designed to backup data and there for it is not really designed to backup drives. So it wants to backup information on the drive, not the entire drive. It is just the way the software is designed and is working as intended." (4/03/2008).
You are also limited to the directories you can backup. You can backup your "My Documents" and even your "InetPub" directory but you cannot point it to the default directory for your Microsoft SQL backups. And even though it will backup the "Inetpub" folder it is not a complete backup. For example, all of the hidden folders (e.g.,\_vti_cnf) will generate the message "Not Supported/File skipped (backup of hidden files and folders is not supported)" and will not be backed up.
In addition, certain files in selected folders will not be backed up. It will not backup thumbs.db resulting in so many exceptions in the log report that it is virtually unreadable. Strangely, it will back up some .jpg files but will throw an exception for others.
This product has great potential but as implemented is seriously flawed. In my opinion these OneTouch Mini's are designed to easily and automatically backup _most_ of your "My Documents" folder. If you need to backup anything more I think you will be disappointed.
Plugged it in and it worked 
2008-04-11
Reading some the negative reviews had me a little worried but I received the drive, plugged it into my MacBook Pro and it worked. Simple as that. It's also compact and lightweight. It has a nice long cable too. My Western Digital has a small 6" cable which can be inconvenient.
A couple things to note:
The cable for the drive does have 2 USB connectors. 1 for Data & Power and 1 for Power. The 1 for Power is simply for situations where the Data & Power don't suffice on the computer in question. I have a Seagate with the same cable. I've never had to use the second USB.
Many of the complaints might be about the software that comes with the drive. I can't speak to that as I never use it. My Western Digital external has similar software. I avoid it. I'll most likely be using this drive with Apple's TimeMachine software instead.
Dont Buy Maxtor 2008-03-30
This lightweight, portable hard drive is powered from the USB port and lets you bring important files with you. You also get durability with its built-in rugged shock-resistant design. With the Maxtor SafteyDrill software for windows, SafteyDrill prepares, reboots and recovers your PC's entire hard drive in case of system failure or virus/spyware infection. Automatically synchronize your files between two computers every time you connect or disconnect the drive so you are always working with the most current data. No need to worry about unauthorized access to your private files with the Maxtor DrivePass and encryption. For the price and all its features your getting a great value. Up to 480Mb/sec Bus Transfer Rate with USB 2.0 Operating system - Windows XP Home or Higher, Mac OS X (10.4.7 or later), 256MB RAM Approximate Unit Dimensions - 4.9 X 0.59 X 3.22 Approximate Unit Weight - 5.9oz
Sync feature does not work between Vista and XP 2008-03-25
I bought this portable HD to back up two different computers and also to sync certain files across both computers. The product literature said that this was possible. What I found was that the very basic sync software that comes with the HD is not capable of syncing between Vista and XP machines because the tree structure is different. There is no feature in the software to designate custom settings. This would be an almost trivial software fix and yet Maxtor simply does not offer it, and they don't tell you that until you read the actual product manual that comes with the HD.
Also, when connecting the HD to my Vista machine there was no problem. But, when I connected it to my XP desktop the drive was not recognized. I was never able to connect the HD to this desktop XP.
I think this is an example of a company that probably has a pretty good piece of equipment but that messed it up by sloppy and amateurishly written software. This caused me a lot of aggravation and I finally just sent the drive back.
Lacks conformity to standards 2008-03-04
Sure, this is a great little item and it's very useful, but there are problems with the Maxtor Onetouch4 Mini that keep it from being perfect.
First, it doesn't use ISO-8859, meaning that any non-English letters aren't allowed in file-names. I certainly know it's possible because I have tons of files of classical music on my computer. I had to manually change file names and sync the files to make sure that they were all transferred. Special characters from other languages weren't allowed, which is a little strange these days. Secondly, For some reason folders and files would become invisible. This problem was solved with Microsoft's chkdsk program, but had I been a little more computer illiterate I would have lost these files forever. Third, this drive isn't very Linux friendly. I think that once I get around to moving the files I have on my Onetouch, I will reformat it with a better file-system like ReiserFS or EXT3 (it currently uses NTFS). Fourthly, it has an automatic shutoff that I don't know how to turn off. It only does this when it's been idle for a long time, but this "feature" is a pain in the butt because of my computer using habits.
Some praise I do have for this drive is that I don't even have to use 2 USB ports to use it. Although, the 2 USB ports was kind of a surprise for me when I opened up the box because that bit of information wasn't publicized.
All in all I would give it a C+. Maxtor made a useful product, but it didn't bother to polish it. The shortcomings of this drive will keep me from buying similar Maxtor products in the future.
Non techie review 
2008-03-03
Thought this would be great to backup my computer and I was right. So easy to use and very mobile. Office Depot had it on sale for $99 one weekend but its still a great deal. Other reviews said it didn't capture files from Outlook so you may want to check that out.
Unplug Backup before reformatting hard drive 2008-02-13
Loved this little drive until I needed it. At the direction of my IT guy who had spent the whole day trying to fix hard drive, I reformatted the hard drive, but didn't think to unplug the backup that I was counting on. The restore process reformatted the backup drive to the size of the hard drive and erased all the backed up data. Two years lost. Now thinking about a 2nd redundant back up option.
At the first sign of data loss or computer trouble, UNPLUG the back up drive.
