Rating: 
Summary: The Drive is fine - The software isn't
Review: I just installed this 160 GB drive. I used MaxBlast-3 to get it to look like a 100GB and a second 60GB drive. While I was installing Windows 2000 Pro and transfering data the directory structure became corrupted. I didn't know why so I just reformted the 100 GB partition and started over. Now the drives I'm replacing have become corrupted. I can't even slave them to another drive. ALL OF THE DATA IS NOW LOST!!! I thought it was just me but another review talks about the same problem. I talked to Maxtor support and they said they didn't see how MaxBlaster could affect another drive but suggested I get their Drive adapter card instead of using the disk overlay, implying that sooner or later I would lose data without the interface card.
Rating:
Summary: tsk tsk
Review: I still dont know why, till this day, why are people still using maxtor and western digital. These two drives are among the worst ive come across. They may be cheap but they are also a pain in the rear end. I have heard people that i know saying that their M and WD drives dying on them the first day they get it or within a few years, especially if u put stressful use on them. Can u imagine having problems just installing and OS alone. I tried installing OS from 95 to WinXP as well as the NT series of 2000 and up. That is exactly what i got when i first started using either these two drives in the PCs that i sell. From then on i have never used tham again. All my life and all my sold PCs are using Seagate and Quantum Drives, and i have never never had anyone one of them die on me neither of them gave me any problems when installing any OSs either. Wheather i leave them internally or carry it around to copy things from other PCs i never have any problems. I even have a 13 gig from 6 or 7 years ago still using today without a problem. I know quantom drives are harder to get in the US, but seagate is still my second choice in durability and software + OSs installation compatibility. Lets put it this way, i love quantoms drives so much i had my cousin ship them straight from taiwan, where they are made to me in the US. Also since i sell PCs i have to give waranties for the ones that i sell, and i have never had a HD problem before.
Rating: 
Summary: Incorrect product details!
Review: I'm giving this 3 stars because I haven't even opened the static bag yet. I'm very annoyed because I was led to believe an ATA-133 card came with the drive. Right here on amazon.com it says it comes with:"Hard drive, MaxBlast installation software, Ultra ATA cable, Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 card for Windows, user's manual (English only), and screws" There is no "Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 card for Windows" included! Be warned.
Rating:
Summary: Fine hardware, terrible software
Review: I'm writing this after being up half the night troubleshooting the installation of this drive. The drive itself works fine but the MaxBlast3 software is worthless. In the accompanying documentation, Maxtor "strongly recommends" that you format and partition the drive with MaxBlast3 instead of using Win XP's disk management utility. I did as they recommended and encountered the following problems: 1) the program would not run from within Windows 2) the program did run after I booted from the Maxtor CD, but after it formatted and supposedly copied my old boot drive onto the new partition the partition was unreadable (I checked it from within Windows after booting from my original drive, and it was impossible to boot from it after I had laboriously reconfigured my drives, jumpers, cables etc.) 3) So after reinstalling a couple of times and rereading all the documentation several times, always with the same result, I went to the support section of the Maxtor webside and, lo and behold, 2 days ago they updated their FAQ for this installation to declare that you should install the drive using the Windows XP disk management utility." Exactly the opposite of what the accompanying manuals said. This also meant that although I was able to format and partition the drive I was not able to copy my old boot drive onto the new partition which Maxtor claimed you could do with their software. 4) Also, if you don't need the ultra ATA 133 card (my motherboard supports ATA 133 already) I advise you not to install the card. I tried it out and it caused problems with my sound card. So, to sum up, the software doesn't work and the free ATA card is probematic but the drive seems to work fine. I have several Maxtor drives on various machines mostly because they tend to be cheaper (I got this drive for $... after rebates) and they have always worked fine, but next time I need a new hard disk I'm seriously thinking about going with Western Digital and just paying the extra bucks.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Drive - Excellent Price
Review: Just received my new 160gb drive. This is my third Maxtor drive. Each drive has worked wonderfully right out of the box. The negative reviews are from non-technical users. If you are not familiar with partitioning a drive, jumpers, data transfer, boot sectors, etc. than get a technician to install this for you. I am using this drive for mass video editing and it is a wonderful addition to my system. Also, the max-blast software is for non-techies, I have never used this software to install a drive. This is a great value from Amazon/Office Depot at less than [money maount] per GIG! Absolutely amazing.
Rating:
Summary: For Mac Users: If It Looks Too Good To Be True . . .
Review: One of the problems of purchasing items like this from Amazon.com (or any real-world store that might keep it behind the counter) is that you don't have a chance to inspect the box. Which, in this case, means that you wouldn't find out that you will have to buy an accessory for this before you can use it. So if that isn't an inconvenience in itself, you also find out that the low price tag isn't actually as low as it might seem. In fact, it's quite high . . . the additional part (an Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adaptor) will run you anywhere from $55-$85. Nothing to scoff at if you thought you were getting a deal on this drive.
Rating:
Summary: tsk tsk
Review: So far everything has worked right. This was the first time I installed a new hard drive. I used the instruction manual from Sony for my VAIO Digital Studio computer I got in '01. The Manual was available online. I followed Sony's instructions, and used the Windows XP Utility from the Computer Management Link on my computer, and although it took near an hour to format, it works, too early to say how well, but all appears to be operating in acceptible parameters. Only complaint is occasional noises of the spindle moving. Not sure whether this is normal. It is louder than the 60G original hard drive(master), but with this drive's sheer size, the occasional noise seems to be normal. So far so good. [Two Months Later]This hard drive has perfomed very well; the spindle noise has left , and the access time is incredibly fast. Highly recommeded.
Rating:
Summary: So far, So Good
Review: So far everything has worked right. This was the first time I installed a new hard drive. I used the instruction manual from Sony for my VAIO Digital Studio computer I got in '01. The Manual was available online. I followed Sony's instructions, and used the Windows XP Utility from the Computer Management Link on my computer, and although it took near an hour to format, it works, too early to say how well, but all appears to be operating in acceptible parameters. Only complaint is occasional noises of the spindle moving. Not sure whether this is normal. It is louder than the 60G original hard drive(master), but with this drive's sheer size, the occasional noise seems to be normal. So far so good.
Rating:
Summary: Stay Away From Maxtor
Review: Stay Away, as far as you can! I can fry eggs on my Maxtor HDD. I asked the sales guy about this before I buy and he said "this was in the past, not anymore". I was in a rush to buy a HDD and most stores were closed. I should've waited...
I know it will fail, it's just a matter of "when".
Stay away...
Rating: 
Summary: No ATA/133 controller card
Review: The technical specifications indicate an ATA133 IDE controller card is included in the box. It is not! In the box: Hard drive, MaxBlast installation software, Ultra ATA cable, ***NO*** Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 card for Windows, user's manual (English only), and screws
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