Digital Trends

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 500GB January 3rd, 2008 | by Josh Norem

Features and Design


Now that the Maxtor OneTouch line has morphed into its fourth version, it actually looks cool and offers some impressive features that go way beyond pedestrian backup duties. The previous versions of this drive could best be described as a “silver slab,” which then transformed into a “silver brick.” The new design is definitely an improvement over previous versions, and looks pretty slick in our opinion; almost monolithic if you will.

The chassis has a molded design that looks like an enlarged version of the OneTouch 4 Mini. The front of the unit has the infamous “OneTouch” button, which flashes a white light when the drive is being accessed. You can press the drive if you want to manually activate your pre-established backup plan. 


Software Package

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. All backup drives are the same, but what separates them is the software. Maxtor’s software suite is incredibly comprehensive, and offers more features than other backup drives we’ve evaluated.

All the drive’s activities are controlled via the Maxtor Manager software, which includes five tabs that act as control centers for different functions.


My Drives
The first tab shows if you the drive is connected or not, and provides links to Maxtor support and shows you how much free space is on the drive.

The main window of the Maxtor Manager software.

Backup
The backup tab is where you control your backup plan. You can only create one plan, but can change it at any time by adding or removing folders. You can opt for a “simple” backup that copies all files in your personal folder (the folder that is your Windows profile), or you can select custom folders if you wish. Once you select the folders you want backed up, you select the type of files you want including “all files.” Finally, you select when you want the backup routine to run.

Here you can tweak your backup routine, restore files or delete the routine and make a new one.

You can schedule the backup routine to run daily at any time you choose.