External 1TB HDDs - Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo vs LaCie BiggerDisk Extreme

[Anna Martin]

Has anyone here had any experience with either the Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo
Edition 1TB External HDD or the LaCie BiggerDisk Extreme 1TB External HDD?

I have found them at very similar prices here in Australia (LaCie slightly
more expensive) and from the specs the only difference I can judge that
might mean anything to me is that the Maxtor has RAID 1 as well as RAID
0 -but I dont really know anything about these so I dont know if it is
important. I'd love to hear if people have any positive or negative
experiences with either or if, by magic, someone has actually done some
comparisons between the two (I've searched the net and am just getting more
confused the more info I find). Sorry for my ignorance in this matter and I
hope it's not too basic, too big or too open a question.

Ta,
Anne

 

[Bill Wittmer]

Has anyone here had any experience with either the Maxtor OneTouch III
Turbo
Edition 1TB External HDD or the LaCie BiggerDisk Extreme 1TB External HDD?

I have found them at very similar prices here in Australia (LaCie slightly
more expensive) and from the specs the only difference I can judge that
might mean anything to me is that the Maxtor has RAID 1 as well as RAID
0 -but I dont really know anything about these so I dont know if it is
important. I'd love to hear if people have any positive or negative
experiences with either or if, by magic, someone has actually done some
comparisons between the two (I've searched the net and am just getting
more
confused the more info I find). Sorry for my ignorance in this matter and
I
hope it's not too basic, too big or too open a question.

Ta,
Anne

Just within the last couple of days, my Maxtor OneTouch external USB hard
drive went on me. It is not being recognized by the system and the recovery
software I have will not recognize the drive. Further, My Western-Digital
external USB hard drive also went with days of the Maxtor. I can no longer
access this one either. I have a lot of data stored on these drives that is
unrecoverable at this point. Both drives were purchased about 6 months ago.
This being the case, I would never buy another Maxtor or other external USB
drive again. I will stick with my DVD burner to back up my files.

Bill

 

[Mike Redrobe]

Just within the last couple of days, my Maxtor OneTouch external USB
hard drive went on me.

My Western-Digital external USB hard drive also went with days of the
Maxtor. I can no longer access this one either. I have a lot of
data stored on these drives that is unrecoverable at this point.

Both drives were purchased about 6 months ago. This being the case, I
would never buy another Maxtor or other external USB drive again.

How to shorten the life of a drive:

1) Have little or no cooling so it runs hot the whole of its life.
2) Subject it to physical shock, especially whilst spinning.

External drives generally experience the worst of both of these,
so its no wonder they don't last long.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Has anyone here had any experience with either the Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo
Edition 1TB External HDD or the LaCie BiggerDisk Extreme 1TB External HDD?

I have found them at very similar prices here in Australia (LaCie
slightly more expensive) and from the specs the only difference I
can judge that might mean anything to me is that the Maxtor has RAID
1 as well as RAID 0 -but I dont really know anything about these so
I dont know if it is important. I'd love to hear if people have any
positive or negative experiences with either or if, by magic,
someone has actually done some comparisons between the two (I've
searched the net and am just getting more confused the more info I
find). Sorry for my ignorance in this matter and I hope it's not too
basic, too big or too open a question.

It is actually not so obvious what the characteristics of these
things are. The most important question is reliability.

RAID 0 gives you the full capacity and maybe higher speed (not really
in external ones) but halves the reliability: If one drive fails,
then all data is gone. RAID1 halves tha capacity, bit gives you
the square root of the failure probability, i.e. you loose only if
both drives fail. Example: Assume 1% failure rate for one drive per
year, then RAID1 has 0.01% failure rate per year. This only works
if the failure rates are independent. In addition you need to notice
when a drive has failed and replace it. I recently talked to some
guy that had RAID1 in his server, but no monitoring or alterting.
WHen he tried to move the installation to another server, he found
that one disk had failed completely and the other one was about to.
(Incidentially bthese vere inadequately cooled Maxtor disks.)

As to Maxtor external enclosures, they are _very_ unreliable.
Maxtor disks are only reliable if cooled well. The external Maxtor
cases do not do this for some strange reason. I would strongly
advise to stau away from them!

As to LaCie, they seem to be more reliable, but still have
the RAID0 problem. In addition, you cannot do SMART monitoring
on external disks, so the time you will notice an external
disk is going bad is when you loose (part or all of) your data.
For that reason I remove the disks from my external drive
cases every few months and run a full SMART self-test, i.e.
surface scan.

My advice: Stay away from these large drives. You can get 500GB
as single drive. Get at least two of them and have all critical
data on both. Make sure the data on both disks is completely
readable every few months. Still not a perfect solution, but
this way you have a pretty good chance of not loosing anything.

Arno

 

[Rod Speed]

Has anyone here had any experience with either the Maxtor OneTouch
III Turbo Edition 1TB External HDD or the LaCie BiggerDisk Extreme
1TB External HDD?

I have found them at very similar prices here in Australia (LaCie
slightly more expensive) and from the specs the only difference I can
judge that might mean anything to me is that the Maxtor has RAID 1 as
well as RAID 0 -but I dont really know anything about these so I dont
know if it is important. I'd love to hear if people have any positive
or negative experiences with either or if, by magic, someone has
actually done some comparisons between the two (I've searched the net
and am just getting more confused the more info I find). Sorry for my
ignorance in this matter and I hope it's not too basic, too big or
too open a question.

Like I said previously, I think you are much better off avoiding them both.

An eSATA drive or an internal does at least allow you to monitor the SMART
data for the drive and so check what temperature its running at etc.

RAID0 is stupid for backup, in spades with an exernal
drive and is only used so you can see a 1TB drive.

Thats much better done with network storage instead of
either of those you list, because 500G is currently about
the biggest physical drive that makes any economic sense.

 

[geb_google]

I have the same problem as Bill Wittmer above. I have a Maxtor
OneTouch (120 Gb) External Hard Drive and a Maxtor OneTouch II (300Gb)
External Hard Drive. The 300Gb dirve has not been recognized by my
Windows XP Pro desktop for quite a while, but the 120 Gb drive works
fine. One day both drives were there and the next only the 120 Gb
drive shows up in device manager. If I plug the 300 Gb drive into a
laptop, it is recognized but I get a "device not installed correctly
and may not work properly" error and it does not show up in device
manager. Can anyone help me understand what happened and what I can do
to get the data off the 300 Gb drive? Based on what I have read in
this and other threads about Maxtor drives, should I be trying to get
the data off the 120 Gb drive before it fails??? Without the 300 Gb
drive I have no back-up, so I'd have to buy still another drive.
Thanks,
Greg Baker

 

[Rod Speed]

I have the same problem as Bill Wittmer above. I have a Maxtor
OneTouch (120 Gb) External Hard Drive and a Maxtor OneTouch
II (300Gb) External Hard Drive. The 300Gb dirve has not been
recognized by my Windows XP Pro desktop for quite a while,
but the 120 Gb drive works fine. One day both drives were
there and the next only the 120 Gb drive shows up in device
manager. If I plug the 300 Gb drive into a laptop, it is recognized
but I get a "device not installed correctly and may not work
properly" error and it does not show up in device manager.
Can anyone help me understand what happened

If it doesnt show up in the device manager, something has died.

Try it as an internal drive, that should give more info on what has died.

and what I can do to get the data off the 300 Gb drive?

It might work as an internal drive. If it wont even work like that,
its safest to use a recovery operation to get the data back.

Based on what I have read in this and other threads
about Maxtor drives, should I be trying to get
the data off the 120 Gb drive before it fails???
Yes.

Without the 300 Gb drive I have no back-up,
so I'd have to buy still another drive.

Safest to use an internal rather than an external.

Externals are much more risky, they mostly arent
cooled properly and are at much more risk of getting
dropped and few drives like that when running.

 

[link-pan]

It is actually not so obvious what the characteristics of these
things are. The most important question is reliability.

RAID 0 gives you the full capacity and maybe higher speed (not really
in external ones) but halves the reliability: If one drive fails,
then all data is gone. RAID1 halves tha capacity, bit gives you
the square root of the failure probability, i.e. you loose only if
both drives fail. Example: Assume 1% failure rate for one drive per
year, then RAID1 has 0.01% failure rate per year. This only works
if the failure rates are independent. In addition you need to notice
when a drive has failed and replace it. I recently talked to some
guy that had RAID1 in his server, but no monitoring or alterting.
WHen he tried to move the installation to another server, he found
that one disk had failed completely and the other one was about to.
(Incidentially bthese vere inadequately cooled Maxtor disks.)

As to Maxtor external enclosures, they are _very_ unreliable.
Maxtor disks are only reliable if cooled well. The external Maxtor
cases do not do this for some strange reason. I would strongly
advise to stau away from them!

As to LaCie, they seem to be more reliable, but still have
the RAID0 problem. In addition, you cannot do SMART monitoring
on external disks, so the time you will notice an external
disk is going bad is when you loose (part or all of) your data.
For that reason I remove the disks from my external drive
cases every few months and run a full SMART self-test, i.e.
surface scan.

My advice: Stay away from these large drives. You can get 500GB
as single drive. Get at least two of them and have all critical
data on both. Make sure the data on both disks is completely
readable every few months. Still not a perfect solution, but
this way you have a pretty good chance of not loosing anything.

Arno

Hope you do not mind me jumping in - but your advice is the kind I was
looking for when I navigated to this group. I have an internal 300GB
Seagate that I purchased to help with my video requirements for myself, and
it is getting quite full. Because of the larger HD I began saving video in
a larger size - not outrageous, 480x368 MPEG2 at 2400Kbits, and it is
mounting up. I create a DVD when full, but I think of DVD's like I used to
think of CD-Rom's, just a backup if the HD fails. I want the original
video on my computer for access.

Is the Lacie Big Disk actually two disks? The site does not mention RAID
for the Lacie Big Disk - but others do. My original backup medium looks
better and better everyday, albeit slow. I have been handling video for a
number of years as a hobby, since the Pentium II days, so I would send my
video out via a Scan Converter to my VCR. Tape is slow, but dependable.

Now I have a DVI out port for video, plus Composite out, Component Out, and
Svideo Out. Since I am basically archiving video - I guess go back to Tape
with the VCR (until there is an HDTV solution) - but what about having
instant access to video?

Is two 500GB drives the best one can obtain? If so, would it then be best
to combine two or mor computers - each with two 500GB HD's. Old p3's can
be had for $20 or so - install two 500GB drives in them, and then learn how
to access them - plus my system with a TB.

Am I on the right path? Video uses a lot of data, and the new HDTV spec
will just eat up a HD - even a TB.

any thoughts?

thanks

 

[Rod Speed]

I have an internal 300GB Seagate that I purchased to help with
my video requirements for myself, and it is getting quite full.

Yeah, that's the main problem with digital video, nothing else
comes close to filling the hard drives like there was no tomorrow.

Because of the larger HD I began saving video in a larger size - not
outrageous, 480x368 MPEG2 at 2400Kbits, and it is mounting up.

You wanna try digital TV capture, it isnt hard to need 50G per evening,
mostly so program guide time slippage doesnt lose anything you want.

I create a DVD when full, but I think of DVD's like I used
to think of CD-Rom's, just a backup if the HD fails. I
want the original video on my computer for access.

Is the Lacie Big Disk actually two disks?

Yep, it has to be, 500G drives are about
the biggest that have a decent $/GB.

The site does not mention RAID for the Lacie Big
Disk - but others do. My original backup medium
looks better and better everyday, albeit slow.

Thats the problem, the lousy speed. Its
mechanically inconvenient with 50G of files too.

I have been handling video for a number of years as a hobby,
since the Pentium II days, so I would send my video out via a
Scan Converter to my VCR. Tape is slow, but dependable.

But with a big downside today that its analog, not digital.

Now I have a DVI out port for video, plus Composite out, Component
Out, and Svideo Out. Since I am basically archiving video - I guess
go back to Tape with the VCR (until there is an HDTV solution)

Not a good idea, too much quality loss that way.

- but what about having instant access to video?

Only hard drives can do that.

Is two 500GB drives the best one can obtain?

Best $/GB, anyway.

If so, would it then be best to combine two
or mor computers - each with two 500GB HD's.

You can do a lot more than two drives if you want.

Old p3's can be had for $20 or so - install two 500GB drives in them,

Or 4 drives trivially, 8 isnt much harder.

and then learn how to access them

Completely trivial if you run XP on that lan storage.

- plus my system with a TB.

Am I on the right path?
Yes.

Video uses a lot of data, and the new HDTV
spec will just eat up a HD - even a TB.
Yep.

any thoughts?

Just have a separate box running XP and
as many drives as you like or can afford.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hope you do not mind me jumping in - but your advice is the kind I was
looking for when I navigated to this group.

No problem at all.

I have an internal 300GB Seagate that I purchased to help with my
video requirements for myself, and it is getting quite full.
Because of the larger HD I began saving video in a larger size - not
outrageous, 480x368 MPEG2 at 2400Kbits, and it is mounting up. I
create a DVD when full, but I think of DVD's like I used to think of
CD-Rom's, just a backup if the HD fails. I want the original video
on my computer for access.

Is the Lacie Big Disk actually two disks? The site does not mention
RAID for the Lacie Big Disk - but others do.

It has to be. Nobody makes 1TB disks today. That they do not tell you
this is another warning sign. They do not really care about your data.
And word-of-mouth apparently is not damaging their sales (yet?).

My original backup medium looks better and better everyday, albeit
slow. I have been handling video for a number of years as a hobby,
since the Pentium II days, so I would send my video out via a Scan
Converter to my VCR. Tape is slow, but dependable.

For DVD, I would think that unless you have a very well tuned
burner/media combination, the only reliable option is DVD-RAM.

Now I have a DVI out port for video, plus Composite out, Component
Out, and Svideo Out. Since I am basically archiving video - I guess
go back to Tape with the VCR (until there is an HDTV solution) - but
what about having instant access to video?

Running disks. There is no other option.

Is two 500GB drives the best one can obtain? If so, would it then
be best to combine two or mor computers - each with two 500GB HD's.
Old p3's can be had for $20 or so - install two 500GB drives in
them, and then learn how to access them - plus my system with a TB.

Actually using several disks and RAID5 (i.e. you loose one disk
in capacity but are redundant against one disk failure) is better
IMO. With Linux you can do this in software. I have about 6TB
that way in one computer and it has been very reliable. The computer
has 12 disks (8 of them 500GB SATA) and a 600W PSU. You can get
8-port SATA controllers for a reasonable price.

Am I on the right path? Video uses a lot of data, and the new HDTV
spec will just eat up a HD - even a TB.

I think you are on the right path.

Arno