We have almost a terabyte of online disk space on the main system here at RainyDayMagazine.  We backup to CDs once a month and to DVDs once a quarter.  However, as everyone who does them know...it is a pain.  We have been looking for an easy system to automate our backup tasks for a while now.  We think we may have finally found the perfect combination for our needs.

Maxtor's OneTouch II backup system came with everything needed to hook up the unit to a Mac or PC.  The backup software (Retrospect Express) is from Dantz.  The unit can use either FireWire (IEEE 1394/iLink) or USB 2.0, so the data transfer rate can be as fast as 480 Mbit/sec.

The drive itself can be positioned either horizontally or vertically.  We generally prefer to place our units horizontally so we can stack them, but sometimes vertical placement is more convenient, especially if there is just one unit and it's on a desk.

The front grill and case are made of metal.  The profile is very slim...less than two inches thick, but the entire unit has a very solid feel.  Maxtor also included some nice rubber feet for the bottom of the unit.

We have always depended on Maxtor for our external drives.  The bottom unit is an 80 GB unit we had purchased almost 5 years ago.  We still use it for backing up our images.  However, we may retire it from service once we have the 300GB OneTouch II up and running.

Getting the OneTouch hooked up was pretty straightforward.  We decide to use the FireWire connection because we wanted to daisychain the backup drive with the Plextor external DVD burner.

We'll be installing the Dantz Retrospect Express backup software in the FirstUse review.  Go check it out here.

Backing up our data is something that we all know we need to, should do, and would do if the process was just easier, more convenient, and more automated.

Maxtor has put together an unbeatable system (hardware+software) for making this chore a "one button" operation.

In the FirstLook review, we'll take a look at the drive and the various pieces that came with the unit.

In the FirstUse review, we'll set up the OneTouch backup system and see whether we can really automate our backup chores with just one touch.

Reviews:

1. FirstLook

2. FirstUse

Review Summary:

Initial Impression- Nice Case!

Usability- One Button Backups!

Durability- test in progress

Price- $300

Drive Specs :

Interface- USB 2.0 or FireWire/1394

Speed- 7200 RPM

Size- 300GB with 16MB buffer

Platform- Mac and PC