Product Review

[Voice Recognition and eMachines M5310] [Canon 6.3MP EOS Rebel Digital Camera] [Voice Over IP] [HP Pavillion ZD7000] [Radio Shack 6-in-1 Remote] [Palm Zire 71] [Perfect Notebook Part 2] [Perfect Notebook] [Do LCD's make a difference?] [Digital Camera Binoculars] [Maxtor Backup] [Apple iBook Part 2] [Apple iBook Part 1] [Sony Vaio Laptop] [Panasonic’s KX-TG4000B 4 Line, Multi-Cordless Handset] [Brother MFC-9700] [E-Machines] [Dual Monitors] [Sony Clie PDA] [IDE Raid Controllers] [Olympus C700 Digital Camera]

Maxtor Backup

Simple Fast Backup…. FINALLY!!!

Well, this month’s product review is very exciting for me. One of the most difficult and time consuming procedures facing computer users is backing up their computers. Most of the time people just don’t do it because it’s too complicated. There have been several devices and solutions over the years to help, i.e. tape drives, CD-R/RW drives, etc, but with the size of the average hard drive being 40 gigs or so, there has not been an easy means of backing up. That was until Maxtor released their new line of external hard drives. (Click here to purchase on-line from Maxtor)

Maxtor’s new line of drives with “one touch” backup allow users to backup their entire computer systems with one touch of a button. I’ve been running this on several of my computers for the last six weeks and I’m thrilled with the results. There are several versions of the device starting with an 80 gig USB 2.0 only version ($199), all the way up to a 250 gig drive with USB 2.0 and Firewire ($400). Maxtor sent us their 5000dv, a 120 gig drive with USB 2.0 and Firewire for testing ($299). This is the middle of the road drive for both PCs and Macs and it worked equally well with both.

Now the fun part, how did it install and perform? The drive ships with a CD for the backup software and drivers for Windows and Mac OS X 10.1. You’ll need to install this first. Once you’ve installed the software, simply connect the drive to your USB or Firewire port. THAT’S IT! It really doesn’t get easier than that. To backup your system you only need to push the button on the front of the drive. This launches Retrospect, the bundled backup software for the drive. You answer 3 questions, and you are done. The next time you push the button the Retrospect software just executes the script created your first time through. The Retrospect software will run on just about any “workstation” class software but requires an upgrade to run on a “server.” I was disappointed that it did not work with my windows 2000 server. On the other hand, Windows 2000 Server has its own backup software and I was able to configure it to backup to the drive just fine.

One thing to consider, you NEED to have a USB 2.0 or Firewire port in your computer to really appreciate the speed of this drive. With 1.1 the drive works great, just slow. So if you are wanting to backup your computer and you have an older USB port make sure you do it just before going to bed. I was able to backup my entire desktop in about 2 hours running USB 2.0. It took about 6 hours to backup using an older USB port. Also, very few notebooks come with USB 2.0 so to use this drive at full speed you either need a notebook equipped with Firewire or you need to purchase a USB 2.0 PC card. You can get them at just about any computer store. If you’d like to add USB 2.0 and Firewire to your notebook, Adaptec sells a combo PC card that adds both to your system. As for USB 2.0 on your desktop, most new “name brand” computers come equipped with it. I say “name brand” because most of the new motherboards that I see being sold for system assemblers are still using older USB ports. If you are buying a custom computer make sure to ask for USB 2.0. If you have an older system, you can pick up a USB 2.0 card at just about any major computer store.

Bottom line, I love this drive and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has a computer. It takes the complexity out of backing up your computer and at a $299 price for the 120 gig model, it is the least expensive of all the other alternatives and by far the easiest to use.

Please send any questions about, or ideas for product reviews to Staff@dogriverdesign.com.