Maxtor one touch or Windows back up Utility?

[johngood_____]

Novice has just bought a Maxtor external hard drive and it has Maxtor 'one
touch' 4 , 'back up' software with it. Would it be better to use this
software or the Windows back up utility that comes packaged with Windows XP
please?

 

[R. McCarty]

That's a difficult call, but usually any 3rd-Party software will have more
features/capabilities than the basic functions provided by Windows. The
key is to setup an appropriate backup routine ( Full System, Personal
Data ) on a fixed schedule and make sure any "Verification Pass" on the
backup is performed. Also, split the end result modules so they can be
periodically burned to a permanent media ( CD-R, DVD-R ). It's not
enough to simply have the backups store on another "Magnetic" type
of storage. All disk drives are susceptible to failure. Finally, be sure the
data backups are readable/usable. There is nothing worse than having
a backup that cannot be used.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Novice has just bought a Maxtor external hard drive and it has Maxtor 'one
touch' 4 , 'back up' software with it. Would it be better to use this
software or the Windows back up utility that comes packaged with Windows XP
please?

I'm not familiar with the Maxtor software, but my guess is that it's
superior to the built-in Windows backup tool, which is about as
primitive a backup tool as you can get.

But what not try both, and see which is preferred?