Top deals on CNET here
- Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 19 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
10 out of 13 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"The hardware is great... software is awful"
Pros: Great hardware. I've used dozens of these things and their predecessors. All have been very reliable.
Cons: Deliberately crippled backup software. You cannot backup your email with this.
Summary: I was LIVID to discover that Maxtor has decided for you the consumer what is appropriate to backup and what is not. They have deliberately crippled the One Touch Backup software to not allow you to include the Documents and Settings Folder, hidden folders, system folders, etc... in order to protect you from "attempting to back a file that the software is not capable of doing." The One Touch III had no problem at all backing up PST files. This is the MAIN reason I bought this drive. And now they will not ALLOW me to backup Outlook email. Who do they think they are to tell me that I don't need to backup my email?
Maxtor/Seagate's support forums are filled with this issue. Below is the nonsense I got when I talked to the tech support about the problem.
Josh TS189: Thank you for contacting Seagate Support. How may I help you?
Michael: I'm a little perplexed at the changes that have been made to the One Touch backup software. You can't see system files anymore. I bought this drive for the express purpose of backing up Outlook PST files and I can't use this new one for that. I have purchased dozens of Maxtor One Touch drives for the purpose of backing up PST files and they all work flawlessly.
Josh TS189: yeah the maxtor backup software will not backup pst files, as they are hidden
Michael: It seems to have been arbitrarily decided to remove this feature from the software
Josh TS189: although, if you have the older software, and like it, you can still use it
Michael: if you manually edit the XML file that shows the available folders you can hack the new version to make it work
Michael: the software WILL back up those files
Josh TS189: you can add extensions
Josh TS189: but if its hidden, it still wont backup
Michael: the user interface has been crippledd
Michael: the folder path to the PST files are hidden... the PST files themselves are not
Michael: who can I talk to to get this decision changed?
Josh TS189: you can add extensions, but this is how the software is designed
Josh TS189: the software isn't going to change
Michael: the software is still capable of backing up those files... the user interface has been crippled
Josh TS189: you can add extensions, but this is how the software is designed
Michael: so, who can I talk to to get this decision changed
Michael: ?
Josh TS189: it can't be changed
Michael: yes, it can
Josh TS189: the software is how it is
Michael: the decision was arbitrary
Josh TS189: no, it can't
Michael: look, I've been a software developer for nearly 20 years... it can be changed
Josh TS189: it wont be though, it was made this way for a purpose
Michael: what you are saying is it "won't" be changed and that is entirely different
Michael: for what purpose?
Josh TS189: so that people dont attempt to backup files the software can't backup in the first place
Josh TS189: it is made to backup data, no system files, program files, hidden files, or files that are in use
Michael: a PST file is data
Josh TS189: the ONLY thing you can do, is add extensions in that text file
Josh TS189: they are in a hidden folder, as you previously stated
Michael: even if you unhide the folder... the softare is crippled so that it is not in the list of available folders to back up
Josh TS189: right
Michael: that makes no sense
Josh TS189: thats how its made
Josh TS189: we can't change the software
Michael: who can??
Josh TS189: if you have an older version you like, use it
Josh TS189: nobody, this is how it is. You can use different software if you like
Michael: who made this newer version?
Josh TS189: Maxtor, same people who made the previous versions
Michael: it makes no sense to cripple the software
Josh TS189: Michael, I'm not trying to argue here, but the software will not be changed, thats how it is
Bottom line... if you think backing up your email is important DO NOT buy this drive.
- 1 reply to this review
-
Another way to backup your emails is to make a file folder named (emails) and just drag and drop them from outlook into this file
Where to buy
Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini (160GB):
$97.75 - $147.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
eBay
|
$97.75 | Yes |
|
|
eCOST.com
|
$147.99 |
|
%20user%20review%20and%20rating%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/laptop-hard-drives/maxtor-onetouch-4-mini/4864-9997_7-32624543-1.html){kind=small}