Date: November 23, 2007 - Author: Nate Marion
Choosing the right external HDD can be tough. In order to sell, products such as the OneTouch 4 rely on their robust software bundle to help move off the shelf. People should be given a solid backup suite, especially given the price. This is exactly where Maxtor fell short, with their OneTouch 4 Plus.
It seems like external hard drives are everywhere these days, and are perpetually growing larger in capacity and smaller in size. Competition is fierce, with almost any drive on the shelf coming equipped with an array of connectivity options as well as a complete software suite for helping consumers to back up their data.
Successful products in this market must offer fast performance on a variety of interfaces, an attractive design, quiet operation, and an easy to use yet comprehensive software suite that allows users to easily and reliably back up their data and keep it secure.
With this in mind, we're going to look at one of Seagate's new line of external hard drives, the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 500gb external hard drive.
Seagate's marketing angle with this drive compares your data to your life, and offers users an easy way to 'save your life'. While this is obviously a bit overly dramatic, I think everyone would agree that losing a couple years' worth of data due to a hard drive failure is definitely something to be avoided. Let's see if the OneTouch 4 Plus really is a life saver.
The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus comes is a fairly minimalist box, advertising PC and Mac compatibility on the font, the features and system requirements on the back, and the dimensions on the side.
The system requirements are minimal, and include:
The feature set appears to be very robust, and includes:
It's important to note that not all of these features are available to all users. The box notes that the SafetyDrill recovery software is only functional with Windows operating systems, and in any case, the entire software suite can ONLY be installed on a 32 bit operating system - if you are using 64 bit versions of XP or Vista, the external drive will function, but none of the included software will be of any use to you.
Also worthy of note is the fact that there is very little difference between the Maxtor OneTouch 4 and the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus - if you don't need the optional 256 bit software encryption or Firewire 400 support, you might as well just get the OneTouch 4.
Opening the box reveals a nice, secure packaging shell containing the drive and the cables.
Here we get our first look at the drive itself, as well as the power cord, USB and Firewire cables, manual and CD. The included CD is the SafetyDrill boot CD, the rest of the bundled software is stored on the drive itself. Maxtor recommends that the bundled software be copied to a second location to ensure that it doesn't get deleted accidentally. If you manage to delete the bundled software, you'll have to contact tech support in order to get it back - it's not a free download.
At first look the drive seems pretty nice. The brushed aluminum looks clean and sleek, and also helps to dissipate heat. There are also vents on the top/bottom/rear to help with heat dissipation. The shape of the drive allows it to be laid down on most sides, and its small size and light weight makes it relatively easy to transport and position.
The rear of the drive has connections for the power cord, USB 2.0 and Firewire 400. I don't know why there are two Firewire 400 connections, but I verified that both of them work. Only one Firewire cable was included, and that's all the excuse I need to conveniently forget this little mystery.
The front of the drive has the one-touch button, which can be used to perform user-defined backup procedures with 'one touch'. This button is backlit by a white LED, and this is the only aesthetic problem I have with the device. The light is not evenly distributed throughout the button, and compared to all the other colorful lights on various devices (laptops, keyboards, glowing mice, PC power buttons, etc.) the white light looks glaringly un-inspired and cheap.
If anyone argues that white fits in any color scheme equally well, I will argue that in the case of this LED, white makes any color scheme feel cheapened to an equal degree. To aggravate this, the LED cannot be turned off (although it automatically turns itself off when the drive remains idle for a user-controlled period of time), and acts as an activity LED, flashing when the drive is performing read/write operations.
Other than that, the drive looks great.
Getting the drive working was a snap in both XP and Vista (I don't have a Mac). Although the software is not compatible with 64 bit operating systems, the drive itself was automatically detected and fully functional regardless of the Windows operating system.
One thing that I (and the lone Newegg reviewer) found slightly annoying was that there is no power switch on the drive. This may increase simplicity, but it also means that the drive spins up every time the system is powered on, even though it may not be needed. The drive will spin down (and the light will turn off) after a few minutes of idling, and will spin up again when commanded to read/write.
While I would prefer that the One Touch 4 Plus not spin up until needed, I will point out that I generally have connection issues with my other external drive (similar to the Maxtor OneTouch 3) that has a power switch - specifically, when I power it on, I must import/enable the drive in the 'Disk Management' menu before I can use it, which is a considerable inconvenience. So while some may prefer a power switch, I can testify that there is also something to be said for simplicity.
Once the drive is plugged in and working, we can get the software installed.
As was mentioned earlier, the software is contained on the drive itself, and is ONLY compatible with 32 bit operating systems. I have performed all of the software testing with 32-bit Windows Vista. Also on the drive are the user guide and a product registration link. Software installation went without a hitch, so let's have a look at the tools the Maxtor Manager gives us.
Here's the main menu where you can change the general drive settings, create/edit backup programs and syncing, create a recovery image with SafetyDrill, and setup security passwords and encryption. We'll take a tour of each of these features, starting with the basic drive settings, reached by clicking 'settings' in the window above.
This brings up the settings menu, which we'll examine from top to bottom.
Here you can set the function of the OneTouch button. Most users will probably use the button to either perform a backup or sync, but there's also an option to run a program of the user's choice, which is a nice addition.
It's worth noting that on occasion I found that the drive was not detected when the PC was first booted up - it seemed to spin down before the operating system loaded, and then when the Maxtor Manager was opened, very little could be done until the drive spun up. It would be nice if the OneTouch button took the drive out of its power saver mode when pressed, so that I wouldn't have to unplug/plug in the power cord in order to get the drive fully powered up.
The Power Settings menu allows the user to change the amount of idle time that must pass before the drive spins down.
The Testing menu allows the user to scan for bad sectors - this test takes about a minute to complete. Having not encountered any bad sectors, I cannot comment on the effectiveness of this test.
Lastly, there is an option to check for software updates. Again, I cannot comment on the effectiveness of this because at the time of this review there were no updates.
Moving on, there is the backup menu.
This menu will allow the user to create backups that can be run at scheduled times or when the OneTouch button is pressed. Most users will probably want to create a custom backup, because it is rare that everything worth saving is contained entirely in the 'My Documents' folder.
Having chosen to create a custom backup, the user may now select any folder or folders available on the computer, regardless of where they're located. In this way, users can be sure that email databases, game data, or any other sensitive information not found in the 'My Documents' folder is backed up.
Once the folders are selected, the user can then adjust the file types to be included in the backup to a very extensive degree.
The user can then determine the scheduled time(s) that the backup process will occur.
Once a backup routine is created, the user can edit it, delete it, restore backed up files, and toggle the automatic backup feature on/off.
The amount of flexibility provided in the backup process is very nice to see. Using this software makes backing up data as easy as locating the folders where the data is stored, and remembering to add those folders to the backup routine.
There is one glaring shortcoming though, and that is the inability to have more than one backup routine saved at any given time. I searched the entire PC for the name that I gave the backup routine hoping that I could solve this problem by copying the routine file to a safe location, but searching for the routine name turned up nothing.
It shouldn't be a huge problem, but this could result in a lot of manual searching for files in order to run different backup routines. It seems like the ability to save a backup routine for later would be a very easy feature to add that could save users a lot of aggravation.
Next, there are sync options.
Setting up a sync routine is nearly identical to setting up a backup routine. Here the user is again offered the choice between a simple and a custom sync.
Again, the folders and file types can be customized.
Here the user can choose to have files sync automatically when the drive is plugged in (assuming that all computers being synced have the Maxtor software installed), whether files are automatically replaced (when a newer version is found) and whether the synced files are encrypted when being written to the OneTouch 4 Plus.
Once complete, users have the option to edit and delete sync routines, as well as toggle them on/off. Only a single sync routine can be saved at any given time. Being limited to one sync routine doesn't seem as likely to cause inconvenience as only being allowed one backup routine, however I am still disappointed that more routines cannot be saved. That said, the flexibility is good.
The SafetyDrill feature is next, but because some of SafetyDrill's requirements deal specifically with the security features of the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus, I'm going to cover the security options first.
Here you can see that there are two main security features included in this software. DrivePass refers to password protecting the entire contents of the OneTouch 4, and Maxtor Encryption allows the user to create a hidden folder on the OneTouch 4 that automatically encrypts and decrypts files as they are moved into and out of this folder. The folder can be accessed with a password.
Creating a DrivePass password is as simple as it sounds. You can also set up a security question in case you forget the password.
Setting up the encrypted folder also requires that a password be created.
Once the password is set, a hidden folder is created, and the password must be given in order to access it. Any files moved into this folder will be encrypted with 256-bit software encryption, and the files will be decrypted when moved out of the folder.
Users can access or delete the encrypted folder, as well as change the password.
For the most part the security features are very easy to use and are fairly well designed. The only issue I have is that accessing the encrypted folder is not like accessing any other folder. The fact that the folder is hidden, and can only be accessed by the Maxtor Manager software could cause less technical users to forget that that the encrypted data is there, or forget how to access it. A more user-friendly approach would be to show the encrypted folder in the contents of the OneTouch 4 and require a password to access it.
Now that we've looked at the security features, we can move to the SafetyDrill menu.
SafetyDrill is a disk imaging program that can create a backup image of the main boot disk which can be used to restore the boot disk in the event of an emergency. Images must be created manually, but the user can set the software to remind them to update the image. The user can also set the maximum amount of drive space that can be used by SafetyDrill images, and can determine if/when old images are deleted.
I included pictures of the software as the SafetyDrill Image was being created to illustrate that the number of partitions on the boot drive does not appear to affect the function of SafetyDrill. My boot drive has three partitions: one for Windows XP, one for Windows Vista, and one for storage.
SafetyDrill appears to have included all of these partitions in its image file, even though SafetyDrill is only running on the Windows Vista partition. This is very nice to see, since a total hard drive failure could affect all 3 partitions, not just the Vista partition. However, it would've been nicer if the user were able to specify what files/folders were saved to the image.
Once the image is created, the user can allow it to be overwritten when a new image is made, or can specify that the image never be deleted.
Up to this point SafetyDrill seems solid. However, there is a small note in the user guide that reads:
"Seagate [owners of Maxtor] recommends that you boot your system with the SafetyDrill CD to verify functionality. Note:
I have a lot of problems with this as it relates to ease of use. First, and most obviously, if a user only has one PC and has password protected their OneTouch 4 drive, that user is completely hosed in the event of a hard drive failure until they can find another PC on which to install the Maxtor software and remove the password protection.
People don't plan on their hard drives failing. The inability to encrypt disk images is only slightly less annoying, and the result of both of these restrictions requires that all disk images be completely unsecured in order to be of any use. So what do you value more, A: security or B: The ability to easily recover from a hardware failure?
Those of you who answered B will be interested in the other problem I have with Seagate's note from above - the part about verifying functionality before use. I've never seen that before - a company telling the user that they had to verify that something works, without any explanation or system requirements other than 'only works with Windows systems.' In my case, there didn't appear to be any functionality.
I created my SafetyDrill image and ensured that DrivePass was disabled while also taking care not to somehow move the image into the encrypted folder. Then, I booted with the SafetyDrill CD.
This is the menu that first appears, indicating that users should select one of two boot options using only the Up, Down, and Enter keys. Following these instructions, I selected the 'Maxtor SafetyDrill Restore [CD]' option.
This loading screen appeared:
And after a minute or so, more information was displayed:
In case you can't read that part at the bottom, it says that the KNOPPIX file system can't be found, and that I'm being given access to an extremely limited shell program with access to about 6 commands, none of which seem to work because I can't type anything. It also suggests that the reset button may be used to quit.
I tried this 3 times with the same result before making a new image (which shouldn't have any effect on the boot process) and making sure that the OneTouch 4 was fully powered on (spinning) during the boot process. Still, the same thing happened.
Oh well. The image was bound to get stolen and used by the forces of evil anyway, since I couldn't password protect it.
Time for some performance testing!
In order to see how this drive performs, I'm going to be testing it using HD Tach and HD Tune, and will be comparing the performance of both USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 connections. For flavor, I will also be testing a Maxtor 300GB IDE drive in a Rosewill external enclosure that supports USB 2.0. I'll be running these tests on my main PC, which consists of:
This test clearly shows that USB 2.0 is the better interface to use with the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus. The USB 2.0 average read speed is 81% greater than the average read speed using Firewire, and the random access times are nearly identical. The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus also displayed much better random access time and CPU usage than my older IDE drive in the Rosewill enclosure.
Again, we can see that the USB 2.0 performance is much better than Firewire performance. The tiny difference in random access times and CPU usage are nothing compared to the glaring difference in transfer rates - users might as well throw away the Firewire cable that comes with the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus. The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus beats out the Rosewill enclosure by a small margin in transfer rates, and a very large margin in access time.
From these two tests, we can see that the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a very capable external storage solution when used with a USB 2.0 interface. It has enough bandwidth to effectively record and stream music and HD video, and thus might find a home attached to an HTPC when not being used for backups elsewhere. Users requiring faster performance will want to either use internal storage or find an external drive with eSATA connectivity, but overall the performance of the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is very good.
Users who might want to use this drive with an HTPC will naturally be concerned with the amount of noise the drive generates. I'm happy to say that even when the drive is spinning at full speed, it is only just barely audible from 1.5 feet away in a quiet room. The only time that the drive became noticeably noisy was during the HD Tach random access test, which is hardly a normal workload for this drive. HTPC users and silent PC enthusiasts have nothing to worry about with the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus.
The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a nice little unit. The drive itself performs well with USB 2.0, has an excellent 5-year warranty length, and is designed with an eye for simplicity. However, Maxtor (Seagate) doesn't have the market cornered when it comes to easy-to-use drives, so it's important not to overlook the bundled software, which can add quite a lot of value to the average consumer.
Unfortunately, Maxtor's software bundle is completely useless when it comes to 64 bit operating systems - which were supposedly the wave of the future a few years ago. Another problem is that Safety Drill, the emergency system recovery software, can only be used with Windows-based systems, leaving Mac and Linux users hosed when it comes to recovering from a hard drive failure. SafetyDrill's failure to function on my own Windows-based system leaves me very hesitant to recommend this drive for the sake of peace of mind. Fortunately for Maxtor, the general backup software works well.
At the end of the day, the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a nice solution for 32 bit Windows users who value ease of use, but everyone else will want to take a serious look at the software packages offered by other companies (in terms of compatibility and customization) before spending hard-earned money. The software limitations, poor-performing Firewire and lack of eSATA support are the main reasons that this drive is getting a 5/10 rating.
September 02, 2009 Addendum: Reader Robb had this to say:
"You need to warn readers that the Maxtor 4 Plus Safety Drill (SD) software is defective. With too many systems the boot disk needed to restore the backup can't find the Maxtor drive so no restore is possible. Seagate is quietly telling customers to download Drive Wizard (a version of Acronis True Image). But the new software can not restore the compressed proprietary image made by Safety Drill! And the new software itself creates a proprietary compressed image. So in my case I made a SD backup in July fearing my HD was beginning to fail... and now I can't use it!!! I had to create another image with DW... and one that might be corrupted!"
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