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Maxtor One Touch, user comments???
Local store is running a deal on the Maxtor One Touch II, 300 gig external drives. These have the 16meg buffer, still run at 7200rpm. I'll be using the firewire port, not the USB
Anyone have any good/bad/indifferent experiences with this drive and editing? (I cut on an Avid, but anyone's experience would be good to hear.) |
they seem to work just fine. i bought a couple on sale, one is already full, and have not experienced any notable problems with mac and FCP.
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I have the 200GB version. Been carrying it around the world, connected to Macs and PCs with both Firewire and USB. I have had no problems with it, even when capturing/exporting DV with the drive connected by USB connection.
The only issue I had was when I was working in a non-ventilated enviroment and the temperature was in the high 90s: the drive got really hot and really slow, but when I turned the fan directly on it it got better. |
I have 4 of the 160GB models which are about 3 years old now. They have worked fine for me. Took two of them to Argentina this summer and captured/edited quite a bit of video on them...
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these latest maxtor drives are questionable... i had one die after less than 30 days of use, and it had a fan blowing cool air on it the entire time that it was running.
be sure and take a look at the warranty on any external drive package that you get, it's typically never more than a year long, but with some manufacturers you can get a 3-5 year warranty on the same drive, if it's bought seperately from the external case. food for thought. |
I just had a second catastrophic failure with my Maxtor 300 GB One Touch. I believe the first incident was because of an upgrade to XP SP2 where all of my data was lost but only visually. I was able to recover it with software, reformat it and everything worked fine. Yesterday, after several months of perfect operation, it failed again. It powers up and the drive is spinning but the blue light does not light and it is not recognized by my PC by using the firewire or USB ports. I also found out that Maxtor and probably most other manufacturers don't even repair these drives. If it's under warranty, as mine is, they will send me another drive. However, I found out that it will be refurbished. Great, another time bomb. Even though all refurbished units are tested to factory specs, there's no telling how many operating hours those used parts have on them so it's just a matter of time. Getting another drive is not my problem, getting my data back is! I am going to have to send it out to a data recovery company and this could get real expensive. Some places charge a reasonable flat fee to diagnose the problem and tell you what can or cannot be recovered with no further obligation beyond the diagnostic fee. Then there are others that won't charge anything to diagnose and report what is or is not recoverable. This is my third experience with failed drives and let me tell you, it ain't fun. I have hours and hours of rendered, composites and streaming media files trapped on this thing that will just take forever to reproduce. So, I don't have a choice but to send it out. I could kick myself for not backing up to CDs or DVDs because I do have CD burners. But after this, I think I will be investing in a DVD burner, probably Blue Ray with what I heard of 30+ GB discs. I just need something for backup that cannot mechanically or electronically fail!
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Can you pull the drive out and put into an internal bay? Might be worth a try for starters....
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www.ontrack.com www.cbltech.com |
Oh, I don't know.... never tried to open one of those models myself. I'd think it's a bit of a gamble for you at this point. Is it under warranty? If not then there doesn't seem much downside to prying it open. You could just as easily send the bare drive to a data recovery company but at least you'd have a (probably slim) chance of recovering it yourself.
If it is under warranty then you would be risking the cost of buying another drive. OTOH, if you aren't happy with their drives do you really want them to replace it? But if you aren't comfortable with opening it up then of course you should just send it somewhere. |
Well, it is under warranty and I think this is way over my head. It has got to be something with the electronics. Remember, I got my data back before because it was just software related and my PC at least recognized it and accessed it but you just couldn't see any of the files. This time the PC just doesn't even see it at all with any of the ports and the power light doesn't work. So I don't think it would matter if it was internally or externally mounted. As far as not being happy with their drives, I know about the inherent risks with drives from any manufacturer. My first drive failure was with an IBM SCSI drive. As you know they are expensive but statistically reliable. I bought two more after that failure and have had no issues. SCSI drives also come with a 5 year warranty! I think it's just a calculated risk that we all take when buying these kinds of components. We've all heard IT people say back up your data no matter what. Maxtor admitted that brand new drives could go bad within the first 30 days or they could last for years. I really do think it's a calculated risk and one that's worth it. Look at PCs and OSs, that is the best example of something that is never completed and we are doing the R&D for all of these manufacturers for free! Who would have thought that so many people would have bought into a product that is never completely finished? I have seen others, including yourself, that have used these drives for a while with no issues so I will give them another chance. They're just too affordable not to. I am definitely going to get my warranty replacement drive and probably buy another new one and if this happens again, that will probably be it for Maxtor products.
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What Boyd is saying and what I was also going to suggest, is that the drive itself may be fine. The interface electronics built into the enclosure may be failing. Internally, the drive is no different than one you would buy and install as an internal unit. That's why we were wondering if you could remove the drive from the enclosure and install directly inside your pc. I understand if this is not in your comfort zone, but don't give up on your data that quickly. -gb- |
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I'm not going to do this because it is under warranty but if I was to remove it from it's enclosure, then what? If it is something complex like the interface I would have to have proprietary parts wouldn't I? Then I would have to have the knowledge of how to fix it. Surely it couldn't be as easy as removing it from the case and plugging it in as an internal. Are you suggesting that it is a typical drive chassis and that the external ports on the case just plug into standard ports on the drive chassis like on a typical drive. In other words, do you think that this casing is for cosmetics and the drive inside has typical connections? Thanks. |
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But, to be completely sure about the drive, I would try to mount it into the pc even temporarily just to verify its operation. The only thing you might have to change is a jumper on the drive that determines whether it is the master or slave device on the IDE bus it's connected to. If you already have a second hard drive in your pc, then it would be easy to unplug that one and plug this one in its place just to see if it still works. If so, get a new enclosure and you're back in business. -gb- |
Like you suggested, I think a fuse has popped or something has happened after the drive to the interface and that's why the power light doesn't work and the ports don't work. The drive still powers up and spins and the fan still runs. So you're saying that this drive possibly docks with pins or jumper wires from the external panel ports, both firewire, USB and power to the drive? If I was to remove it, I should be holding a rectangular drive with no special circuit boards just like any other?
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From the rest of your post, it sounds as if your +12VDC is working but maybe not the +5VDC. If true, that would be solved with a new enclosure. -gb- |
Yes, like Greg says it will just be an off-the-shelf IDE drive inside. All those connectors are standardized. You can pull it from the case, find the model number on the nameplate, then go to Maxtor's website and look through the support section to find the correct jumper settings for your PC or Mac.
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What does the 5v provide power to?
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Now it doesn't surprise me that it's a typical drive in there but I did think that there would be alot of extra circuitry or whatever permanently attached to it. Even if the interface is the problem, I don't think that this can be fixed because Maxtor doesn't repair these things therefore wouldn't provide parts either. They just replace them to make another $300 from a drive that they already made $300 from. I would hate to find out that was the problem after spending at least $1000 and at most $2600 to recover data from a $300 drive that I could have gotten back myself! I think I'm going to get into the drive and/or recovery business.
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But isn't there a troubleshooting section or a user forum at their site to start with? |
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You can find all this information online. -gb- |
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Actually, if the drive is OK you can buy a do-it-yourself enclosure and pop it inside. I think that will cost more like $100, maybe even less....
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What I would do if it was about important data without backup: take out the IDE drive, get it into a friend's or colleague's desktop PC or external enclosure.
If it is OK, I would immediately backup my files and then get a USB/FW combo external enclosure for 50-60$, end of story. If it is bad, I would get an estimate for data recovery, consider if the cost is worth it and decide further. But there's the risk of not getting the data back and voiding the warranty as well... |
I spoke with someone from a very popular Maxtor dealer today and he said that as far as Maxtor drives, the most models that he is seeing issues and/or failure with are those that exceed 250 GB on a single drive. He knows that it costs more but recommends at least two drives of at the most 250 GB for better performance and more reliability. He also agreed that there are plenty of users with higher capacity Maxtor single drives that have had no issues and that every maker has its share of issues.
I am going to give Maxtor one more chance. I have ordered my warranty replacement and bought another new drive to have a real back up, one that stores only. I am going to take my bad drive to a local computer store and have them remove the internal drive and see if the problem is the interface or if its the actual drive. If the drive is fine I'll have them to recover my files and transfer them over to the new drive. I'll be sure to post the results. Thanks for the help! |
Here are some images of the drive when it was removed from the case for anyone who hasn't seen how it works. If the interface board was found to be the problem and the drive is fine, it seems to me that Maxtor would offer a replacement of only the interface board because all of this is simply removing a few screws and unplugging a couple of cables. Alot of time and money could be saved for the end user if it was done this way.
Drive Image 1 Drive Image 2 Drive Image 3 Drive Image 4 Drive Image 5 |
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Good luck, and let us know how it works out.
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Okay, I just got my drive back from the local compture store and I got all of my data back!! They just took the actual drive, plugged it into a tower and copied the files over to my new drive. It only cost $65 instead of the minimum $1000 if I had sent it off!! So, it was in fact the interface that was bad and not the drive. Thanks for all of your help!
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I have now realized that I could have done this myself and even saved that $65 by simply switching the drive with the bad interface unit with the new warranty replacement and then copied the files over to my third brand new drive! UHHHHHHHH! The only catch was that I had to break the seal on this replacement unit that I just received. I went ahead and opened it because there's only 6 months left on it anyway and I want to keep my original drive because I know what how much time is on it and don't with the replacement certified or not. Maxtor doesn't care, they'll just keep sending replacement drives until the warranty runs out. Basically I did what Maxtor should have done, replaced the bad interface with the good one and kept the orginal good drive. One thing's for sure, I sure as hell know the inner workings of an external drive now!!
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Glad that it ended happily for you!
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Thanks but this situation is not over yet. I have simply changed the drives in the casings and am going to send back the warranty replacement instead of my drive which is still fine. I don't think it should matter which one they get back because they're still going to check it out to certify it and they'll just be checking a drive that's already been certified. Basically what it amounts to is that I am only keeping the interface from the replacement drive and returning the replacement drive that they sent with the bad interface from my original drive unit. I know how much time is on my original drive which is still perfectly fine but I don't know what that replacement has been through so it is just another trainwreck waiting to happen. I hope they don't make things difficult for me when they receive that unit and the serial numbers on the returned drive don't match the paperwork from the original.
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I understand, but the important thing is that you got your data back. The rest is just money :-)
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James, it's good to hear that all those files have been taken off the disabled list. It seems to me that $65. was a pretty low tuition rate to pay for that harddrive management course. Thanks to your experience and the help that was provided here, we all will be better prepared to deal with a similar problem.
I just hooked up a Maxtor One-touch 300GB external HDD three days ago. It has recorded and played videos just fine and is quiet. I will keep it propped up on end, in one of its plastic brackets (one way it is intended to be used) and away from other units, so it should get good air circulation around it. I'll glue a round piece of thin plywood under the bracket to make it more tip-resistant. I have a tiny, 4-inch fan that I will use on it, when it's running during hot weather, or for more than an hour or so at a time. I will always turn off its power switch and a switch I have for its power adaptor, when I'm not using it. It's a FireWire/USB 2.0 type, but I couldn't get it to function with FireWire. That's just as well, as I have more USB ports than I need. It turns out, that after I placed the order, I discovered that it is a re-furbished unit, hence the $80. price break. There's only a 90 day warranty on it. But, with all the gadgets I have in that price range, I can't get too concerned about any one of them. I will just hope for the best and prepare for the worst. A large number of re-furbished units never have been in the hands of another owner. They have been pulled off the production line for a fault and are run back through the re-furb line to be corrected. This could lead to them being more carefully inspected, than those that made it through the first time. Sometimes, they are units that were opened and then returned to a dealer, perhaps with a fault and perhaps not. I wouldn't think that a large percentage were actually used for an extended time and then after breaking down, were replaced under warranty. This one of mine, has not the slightest trace of a nick or scrape on it. Here's what I will do with every video I have on that HDD and also on my main HDD: Every edited and raw camera video I have made, will be duplicated onto a Sony Excellence DV tape. I will also copy them onto one DVD-RAM and at least one DVD-R (several of each of these will go into the hands of friends) I'll also maintain M-PEG2 files of the more important ones on the 160GB HDD of my DVD recorder. The M-PEG2 ones are reduced in bits to 9.2mbps, but they'll be far better than nothing, if everything else fails. The storage on this external HDD is just one leg of several, that support my preservation of videos. I've just experienced a software fiasco with my main HDD and I may lose everything on it. But, every video stored on it is still on at least one DV tape and most of them on two or three. The Maxtor, being unpowered at the time, won't have its contents affected. |
I spent the whole evening putting my new Maxtor 300-gig HDD through its paces. I loaded footage from two Digital8 edited tapes directly onto it, using WMM and moved three more hours of video to it from my main HDD. Oddly, there were some playback problems with half the hour-long programs, when I used WMM and MPC. They froze on the first frame of some, although they played the others. However, my Ulead video editing program played back everything from the Maxtor without a glitch and so did WinDV, the freeware utility that is less than 100Kb in size. It helps to have several players at your disposal to manuever around these problems. I'm going to look for a few more players, freeware or commercial, to broaden my options. Was there some instability in the DV/Digital8 footage or was it in something that happened during or after capture, that affected the playback on some players?
I still am unable to get a FireWire connection to work with my computer's capture-card, so I use USB 2.0. I know the FireWire ports on the card are good, as I use them often for capture from VCRs. I tried two new 6-pin to 6-pin cords, one that came bundled with the HDD and another by Belkin. I connected to both of the FireWire ports on the Maxtor, but got no recognition. I also unplugged all other cords from the two other ports on the card and on the Maxtor. I'd be interested to hear from other One-Touch users on this issue. The specs say that USB 2.0 can pass 480mbps and this version of FireWire can carry 400mbps After running it for three hours, it got only moderately warm and as long as it's on end, I doubt there'll be an overheating issue, even in the Summer. You want to turn off its power switch when it's not in use, as the drive keeps spinning, otherwise. I forgot to do this tonight and it ran quietly for three more useless hours, after I'd finished with it. |
Maxtor Ontouch II failure
Hi James, I largely have the same problem at this point in time. I have two 300GB External Maxtor's and one has just failed after 90 days use. I'm currently waiting for the warranty replacement from Maxtor. I have 30 days in which to return the faulty drive to Maxtor.
Regarding your resolution I don't understand how you have exchanged the interface without disturbing the security seal. PaulD |
It's Ok if the seal is broken as long as you provide a copy of the receipt of the service center worked on it. Technically they have to break the seal but how do they know who really broke it. I'm just sending Maxtor the bad interface and the warranty drive that they sent and keeping my original drive with the new interface. Basically I just switched out the hard drives in the cases with the interfaces.
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