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160GB OneTouch External Hard Drive and Backup System - FireWire and USB 2.0 / 1.1
Reviewed by
Brian Nadel
on 09/10/2004
front back combo
front back combo

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  • Quick specs
  • Hard drive size: 160 GB
  • Interface type: IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB
  • Buffer size: 8 MB
  • See full specifications

Add to my list Product summary

The good: Quick setup; outstanding throughput; one-button backup; quiet operation; USB 2.0; Mac compatible.

The bad: Expensive; big enclosure.

The bottom line: With its single-button backup, Maxtor's 160GB OneTouch drive not only makes avoiding PC disasters easier, it's also lightning fast.

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CNET editors' review

  • CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
    Detailed editors' rating
      Setup and ease of use : 8.0
      Features : 8.0
      Performance : 8.0
      Service and support : 7.0
      Overall score: 7.8 (3.5 stars)
  • Reviewed by:
    Brian Nadel
  • Edited by:
    Felisa Yang
  • Reviewed on: 09/10/2004
  • Released on: 05/12/2004
If you're a digital pack rat with gigabytes of who knows what, Maxtor's OneTouch external hard drive is more than a safe place to put digital pictures, music, videos, and all kinds of Web downloads. Capable of backing up a computer with the push of a single button, it is essential equipment if your hard drive is filling up faster than you can say "broadband."

Beneath the large anodized aluminum case is a Maxtor 3.5-inch DiamondMax Plus 9 hard drive that spins at 7,200rpm, includes 8MB of hardware cache, and has a rated seek time of 9.3 milliseconds. Based on a 133MB per second ATA and a USB 2.0 interface, the drive is capable of delivering a peak throughput of 272Mbps. To show that it's ready for data, the silver switch has a blue LED that throbs hypnotically. The kit comes with a USB cable, an AC adapter, a stand, a start-up guide, and a CD with a manual, a backup application, and some drivers. Maxtor sells USB OneTouch drives for PCs in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 200GB, and 250GB capacities; FireWire drives for Macs in 160GB, 200GB, and 250GB capacities; and combo FireWire and USB drives that work with either operating system in 160GB, 200GB, 250GB, and 300GB capacities.

Once the drive is set up and the included Dantz Retrospect Express program is configured, OneTouch lives up to its name, with the easiest data backups on the planet. Tap the illuminated blue button on the front, and the computer copies, compresses, and sends its files to the drive. Restoring a computer in the case of a system crash requires you to go through Retrospect's interface, but it's a snap.

With data transfer rates of up to 480Mbps, the rated speed for USB 2.0, the OneTouch is fast. The OneTouch's transfer speeds clocked in between 98.4Mbps and 138.7Mbps when moving a slew of digital audio and video files onto and off of the drive, and it performed an initial backup of our notebook's 11.5GB in just more than 32 minutes. We're happy to note that regardless of whether it was churning through data or idle, the drive was pleasantly silent.

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