Maxtor One Touch II 100 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (E01E100)

Strange to look back 10 years and review the products I purchased. 100 GB seemed large then, 3TB would be minimally acceptable now. It worked well, securing data and probably lasted longer than predicted. How many tech cycles ago was this? Smiling at this now.

It came with the hard drive only , wrapped in plastic and placed in a shipping bag , no box , nothing to connect the drive to my laptop ... haven't been able to use at all. I don't believe it stated anywhere in the description that I would have to purchase cables extra. I did assume the basic cable would come with it. I can't rate it really because I am unable to use it without any connections. Poor purchase .

With the Maxtor, I was able to back up my important data right before my internal hard drive died. Were it not for the simplicity, capacity, and speed of this excellent device, I would have lost everything. Thank God for Maxtor! The Retrospect software is also a nice touch.

Although I do not own the 100GB model (I own the 300GB), I have recommended this model to several of my friends who were looking to buy an external drive. They have been very happy with their purchase and were please with how quiet and fast the external hard drive was performing. The OneTouch feature was also a great feature since they didn't want to put much thought into backing up their software. It's been several months and not only were they able to use it for their PC but when they switched over to the Mac, they didn't even need to install any additional drivers. When they upgraded their Mac to OS X Tiger, it continued to work well. We even used it to make an emergency backup of another friend's notebook.I regret the other review of this same product and can only believe that he just got a dud. Maxtor is a reputable brand and I would buy again from them anytime.

Approximately three and half days after I bought it, the Maxtor One Touch II failed. It no longer powers up, the LED on the front does not turn on, and the device is not recognized by my computer. No settings had changed - when I left my computer it was connected, recognized, and powered up, and when I came back a few hours later it was powered down and nonfunctional. I have tried different outlets, disconnected and reconnected every cable, and flipping the switch in each configuration. Since I was using the device as backup during a reformat, I lost about 40-50 gigs of data. I expected much better from an external hard drive.

I do all my work on a 60 GB laptop, and with all the writing, reviewing, web work, and digital photos I keep on the hard drive, a better-than-good backup system is a MUST.While worrying over this, I heard on "Website Wednesday" on the Steve and Johnnie show (WGN 720, Chicago) that their expert highly recommended their product. I did the research and agreed. Not only is this device small and handy, but it comes bundled with Retrospect software, which makes the back up process a breeze. It goes beyond the old copy/paste routine by intelligently recording new info and not overwriting old material that wasn't changed. This might not seem like a big deal until you consider that it means recovery will be a lot smoother, should--God forbid!--your system totally crash.*Knock on wood* I haven't had to use it in this capacity yet, but I have confidence in it. And with the compact design, it doesn't take much desk space. It can either lay flat or sit on its side in a handy little holder.It's quiet and unobtrusive, and you'll be glad you have it.**NOTE** In case of disaster, it's IMPERATIVE to have off-site storage. If you can afford a second unit, I'd recommend you keep a copy in safe deposit box storage. If not, look into online storage.Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer7/21/2006

I bought several of these to copy data to some of our clients. I tried installing the drivers from the CD first, then hooked up the drive. Nothing. Just a message from Windows that it does not recognize the device. I don't have the time to mess with searching for drivers for what is supposed to be a plug and play device. I will never buy Maxtor again.

I purchased this back up drive to back up my laptop computer. The drive was easy to hook-up and the software downloaded with ease. Everything seems to be working just fine. I may have to buy one for my home system. Its nice to have the security of this back up drive.