Strengths: Cheap

Weaknesses: Poor service

Summary: I bought this 500GB for storing videos less than a year ago. It has been plugged in, placed in a well ventilated place and hasn't been moved ever since. One day, I tried to save a file and a message came up saying that the drive has been corrupted. I ran the test program that came with the drive and it came back with no problem. The software wouldn't launch the diagnostic program since the test indicated that it's OK. After several days of calling tech support,I finally got through. I followed his direction for about 5 minutes and he concluded that the drive has been corrupted. Tell me something I didn't already know. He told me to call the Recovery Department which I did. The man who answered the phone told me that I can send it in and depending on the problem, it would cost me anywhere between $700 and $2,700. Can you just imagine! Maxtor/Seagate takes absolutely no responsibility for selling this substandard equipment and offers no solution what so ever. I have so many years of precious videos on this drive and probably will have to bite the bullet and get it done but I am very angry at Seagate. Needless to say, I will never buy their product again.

Strengths: One touch backup, Works well as a secondary storage for my laptop.

Weaknesses: None

Summary: I would recommend to anyone. I recieved this as a present and was pleasently suprised. This has good transfer rates, and lots of room. The one touch backup is great.

Strengths: Large capacity

Weaknesses: No fan

Summary: The drive is cheap (bought on Thanksgiving at Staples) and has very large capacity. Used for about 3 months and had no problem. Comes with 5 year warranty. The connection is very fast and quiet.

Strengths: huge storage capacity, price

Weaknesses: USB is relatively slow

Summary: I've been using this for about half year and it works okay for me so far. I kinda don't like the physical size of this hard drive since it occupys a large space on my desk but I have to say that its huge huge storage capacity at this price. I Never have a connection issue but I feel the usb connection is somehow slow for large data delivery. Still, it is a good product to me.I have to say I like it.

Strengths: compatible with Mac. Total system recovery.

Weaknesses: Encryption fuction is kind of too difficult to use

Summary: I've been using this drive for about a month now. No problems so far. Very happy with this drive. Maxtor One Touch drive?s easy-to-use design makes it a very good choice for all kinds of consumers. Read and write is fast over USB 2.0. The enclosure feels reliable. Long warranty is a extra advantage.

Strengths: Very quiet, decent performance

Weaknesses: Quality issues, bad vent holes location, no fan or overheating prevention features. No spin-down when disconnected.

Summary: After I bought that drive and started to fill it in by my photos and other media files collection, I found a big amount of negative and even horrible reviews on Web. People reported about total partition corruption and 100% data loss. I decided to give it a try, but with precautions (always perform data backup on DVD-R). I reformatted it into FAT32 file system to make compatible with my Philips stand-alone DivX/JPG player with USB port. May be I am no so experienced, but in past I had more successes in recovering some data from corrupted FAT32 partitions than NTFS. Well, it looks like the problem in ventilation system - air intake holes can be easily blocked when drive is placed on something soft or not flat. The summer has not come yet, but so far I did not notice any sign of malfunction, even though I do a full scan check and some stress tests time to time. I will not trust that drive 100%, and will never store vital info on it without backup, but so far I am very satisfied with it due its quietness in my media center (the least noise comparing to IOmega and Seagate ext.drives). The front white LED stopped working (very strange, I thought LED are very reliable), but I don't care. Let's wait until summer comes.

Strengths: Nice size & features - IF they worked that is

Weaknesses: Ordered two and BOTH arrived defective. Tech support was worthless & warranty replacement process was poor.

Summary: I purchased two of these drives brand new (not refurbished). They both arrived nicely packed but when I did the "test drive" function both drives came up as defective. I couldn't believe two of two would be bad and called their technical support. The call center is obviously in India and the connections were bad and the people were not helpful at all. I asked if there were any other tests and if this could be a firmware problem. They had no clue what I was talking about. They kept repeating if the self test said they were defective then they must be defective. All they offered for a replacement was a refurbished drive and I had to send the new drives to them first and then wait for a replacement. Who would take a risk that the refurbished replacements would be any better?? I was a fan of Seagate quality, but NOT anymore. BAD, BAD experience. I returned both drives for a refund at Staples & bought something else.

Strengths: Price, setup

Weaknesses: USB connection short

Summary: I purchased this on a Black Friday sale and got for way below list price. I have only used it mostly as an external hard drive, but the backup software seems straight forward. The only thing I do not like about the drive is that mine seems to have a minor short at the USB connection. It stays seated ok, but if shifted, it loses its connection.

Strengths: Quiet, large capacity

Weaknesses: Big time Data loss

Summary: I too purchased my Maxtor 1 Touch 4 on Black Friday. I was really happy with the price after the rebate, but that happiness was dispelled after losing several files. After reading the other reviews, I believe I have gotten a faulty drive. I have backed up more than a few picture folders from my laptop onto the 1 touch. unfortunately, when I went back into the drive to check them, 101 folders out of 247 backups were corrupt or unreadable. It wouldn't even let me delete the folders. I could rename them, and eventualy move them to another part of the drive. I did get an update message for the drive, so I updated the firmware. After that little update I lost more folders. At that point I couldn't even remove the folders or relocate them because it kept giving me the same error code. Now I have umpteen folders that are just empty, unreadable and corrupt. At this point the drive has been rendered useless to me. I'm hoping that when I contact Seagate on Monday they can help me to figure out the problem or replace the drive. Good luck to you all, and make sure you don't count on this drive to be your only backup source.

Strengths: warranty, seagate drive inside, sata drive

Weaknesses: backup software, heating issues, no on off switch

Summary: I purchased the drive on black friday for approximately $60 after rebate so was quite please with the price point. This unit is a basic external drive with usb connectivity. The drive inside is a seagate drive with 16meg cache and 7200 rpm and comes with a 5 year warranty. Having said that, if the drive fails within warranty, you will likely receive someone else's repaired failed drive. And remember, backup. As for included software, the backup utility is very basic allowing you to back up specific folders only with little choice to back up files elsewhere. I have a western digital drive that spins down when not being accessed as opposed to shutting off when the computer is shut down. Do not know which is a better system however. I prefer the unit spinning down when not in use. The case is attractive but a little bulky. Construction is not bad but I fear that heat will be an issue with the unit. Overall and for the price I am very pleased.

Strengths: Stable, good price, and fast

Weaknesses: No power button, case feels cheap, and noisy

Summary: I have been using this hard drive for a month now. Setup was a piece of cake, it only took a couple of minutes. It worked flawlessly right out of the box. I backed up about 250GB of data so far in the past month and have had no problems with it. Overall, I am pleased with my purchase. I was debating getting this or the Seagate 500GB and am glad I chose this one. I strongly recommend this product to anyone who needs extra storage!

Strengths: 5 Years warranty, easy use, cheap

Weaknesses: Bulky, no power switch

Summary: It looks like everybody got it at Black Friday sale. Yes, this is the only 500 GB I can find below $90. Like others, plug in it and it start working immediately. What I don't like about it is no power button on the case. You have to unplug the power cord to make sure it doesn't consume any electricity. It is quite inconvenient for me since I use it occasionally.

Strengths: 5 Years warranty, automatic turn off when USB disconnected, Onetouch backup software, quiet, price.

Weaknesses: Weird design and shape is weird and not convenient.

Summary: Bought it from Staples day after Thanksgiving sale. Nothing new to tell about this item from well known manufacturer. It does what it suppose to do. I don't really use Onetouch backup software though it may be convenient for some people.It is quiet. It does turns power off when USB disconnected or if computer is turns off. That one thing annoyed me in older external drives - when they always stayed on warming the room. 5 years warranty from Seagate is nice touch too.The only issue is - shape of it. It would be OK for empty table, but many of us have some sort of clutter on the work table or after so regular rectangular shape would work better for me to stack it with some other things on my table but ... otherwise I am happy with it.

Strengths: I bought this during a Black Friday sale. No problems so far. Very easy to set up and came with the software needed to install/backup. I am pretty impressed that it does not overheat with long use.

Weaknesses: Not very aesthetically appealing, but it takes up only a little room on the desk. No on/off button, so you must unplug it to turn it off. One Touch feature a little annoying.

Summary: Given the fact that there is no on/off button, I have heard from many people that you can lose your data if you unplug the drive. I haven't experienced it myself, but I haven't unplugged it yet. I am not sure what will happen if I do unplug it. Some people have also noted that their drives overheat with periods of long use -- mine does not, though I haven't used it for that long. I wish I could lay it flat; it is pretty annoying having it stick up in the air.

Strengths: Plug in and access all the data

Weaknesses: Kind of heavy but good for 500GB

Summary: I bought this on thanksgiving sale and its very hand - just plug in and access all the data. It doesn't make any noise or getting heated. Best value for the money