Need Maxtor Driver

paul95 · 10-16-2009, 05:56 PM

I'm trying to locate the driver for a Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus external HDD (which connects via USB). I cannot find a driver download for it on the Maxtor site, the Seagate site, or elsewhere.
I found one article online that said I wouldn't need the driver because it's supplied in Windows XP SP2, but I'm running SP3 and assume that it would contain any drivers that SP2 has.
Can anyone help? Thanks!

IT-Tech · 10-16-2009, 06:42 PM

You are absolutely correct. XP SP3 should detect the drive and install it automatically. Have you tried plugging the drive in? It should work. What happens when you plug it in? Do you get an error or does the "removable drive icon appear" in the start bar (down by the clock)?

Have you checked DEVICE MANAGER to see if your USB ports are installed? Anything with an ! or ? by it in DEVICE MANAGER?

If the "removable drive icon appears" and no errors appear when plugging in the drive, you may have to go to "DISK MANAGEMENT" and assign a drive letter to the drive. Accessible via CONTROL PANEL, ADMINSTRATIVE TOOLS, COMPUTER MANAGEMENT. OR.. right click on MY COMPUTER, MANAGE then assign it a drive letter.

paul95 · 10-16-2009, 09:52 PM

Thanks for your response and suggestions! To answer your questions, here's what happens:

When I plug the drive in, Windows starts the Found New Hardware Wizard and states "This wizard helps you install software for: USB Device," so Windows at least knows it's a USB device. Next, I choose "install the software automatically" but, after searching, it states that the wizard could not find the necessary software.
Whenever the drive is plugged in, Device Manager displays it under Other devices as a big yellow question mark. I can right-click that and select Update Driver, but the resulting Hardware Update Wizard gives the identical result as the Found New Hardware Wizard (couldn't find the software).
As for my USB ports, I have another drive that's working fine and shows up as "Seagate FreeAgent USB Device." Also, all my USB thumb drives show up fine.

Note: Both wizards want me to use installation media (which I do not have) or provide the location of the software, which I presume is the driver that I cannot find online. I am doing this to help my music teacher, who can find one of two disks that came with the drive -- just not the disk with the drivers.
So I think my problems are these:

XP SP3 cannot find the drivers it's supposed to have.
I cannot find those drivers online.

Thanks again! Any ideas what I might try next?

Dogg · 10-17-2009, 07:08 AM

Are you installing the Maxtor software? According the user manual, you should connect the drive and then install the software which sets up the drive for use.

**Tyree** · 10-17-2009, 07:47 AM

Is this a new device?
The drivers needed are in XP. Your OS is apparently OK since another external drive works. Try the device in another PC.

paul95 · 10-17-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogg

Are you installing the Maxtor software? According the user manual, you should connect the drive and then install the software which sets up the drive for use.

Hi Dogg,
Thanks for the reply!
This is before the point of installing software. I'm still trying to connect the drive. As I mentioned, when I plug the drive in, it appears in Device Manager under Other devices as a big yellow question mark. So the OS knows something is there, it just cannot recognize it as an external HDD, so I can't get to the software on the drive to install it.
I still think the problem is a missing driver -- which I've not been able to find on the Web to download.

**Tyree** · 10-18-2009, 01:51 PM

Have you tried the drive in another PC?

paul95 · 10-18-2009, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyree

Have you tried the drive in another PC?

Hi Tyree,
The drive belongs to my music teacher. His computer doesn't see the drive, for some reason. (It has, though, in the past.)
So we then tried it on my desktop machine that's running Windows XP SP3 and finally on my laptop (also XP SP3). On both of my computers, when I plug in the drive, it appears under Other devices as a big yellow question mark. As soon as I unplug it, this question mark goes away.
Also, the Found New Hardware Wizard launches when I plug in the drive, but the wizard cannot find the software (the driver, I presume) to make the OS recognize the drive.
This, then, is the current status: both computers know that something is plugged in, they just don't know what.
The owner of the drive has one of the two install disks that came with the drive but not the one with drivers, so I was hoping to find drivers on the Web, but with no luck so far. Thanks for any suggestions.

**BCCOMP** · 10-18-2009, 10:09 PM

The external drive should NOT need drivers for it to work. Vista and XP have the drivers within the OS. That is why you can not locate drivers for it.
Seeing you have installed the drive in two different computers and XP will not install it. Plus you state that your teachers computer does not "see" the drive.
Chances are the drive has failed.

A couple of things to look at though.
Have you tried to connect the drive using a firewire connection?
Is the external power adapter working correctly?
Are you able to remove the drive from the casing and connect it directly to the computer?

paul95 · 10-18-2009, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BCCOMP

Have you tried to connect the drive using a firewire connection?
Is the external power adapter working correctly?
Are you able to remove the drive from the casing and connect it directly to the computer?

Thanks, BCCOMP,
> I haven't tried firewire. Good idea. I don't have a firewire cable but I'll see if the drive owner got one when he bought the drive.
> The drive seems to be getting power fine; it has a light on the front that comes on (blinks) when it's plugged in and connected to a computer. More evidence is that Device Manager has no problem seeing the drive (as an "other device" though not as a device that it can read from).

**BCCOMP** · 10-19-2009, 05:15 AM

Try the firewire connection and see what happens.
XP is seeing the drive, but does not regonize it being a harddrive.
This could be caused by the drive itself.
Just because the power lights are on doesn't mean it is getting the correct power to the drive. Check the adapter to make sure it is pulling the correct voltage and amps.
If either are lower than specified, it may not be enough to power the drive correctly.
The USB cable could also have issues
Bill

10-16-2009, 05:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
paul95 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP SP3	Need Maxtor Driver I'm trying to locate the driver for a Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus external HDD (which connects via USB). I cannot find a driver download for it on the Maxtor site, the Seagate site, or elsewhere. I found one article online that said I wouldn't need the driver because it's supplied in Windows XP SP2, but I'm running SP3 and assume that it would contain any drivers that SP2 has. Can anyone help? Thanks!

10-16-2009, 06:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
IT-Tech Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Indiana Posts: 221 OS: All Microsoft Operating Systems My System	Re: Need Maxtor Driver You are absolutely correct. XP SP3 should detect the drive and install it automatically. Have you tried plugging the drive in? It should work. What happens when you plug it in? Do you get an error or does the "removable drive icon appear" in the start bar (down by the clock)? Have you checked DEVICE MANAGER to see if your USB ports are installed? Anything with an ! or ? by it in DEVICE MANAGER? If the "removable drive icon appears" and no errors appear when plugging in the drive, you may have to go to "DISK MANAGEMENT" and assign a drive letter to the drive. Accessible via CONTROL PANEL, ADMINSTRATIVE TOOLS, COMPUTER MANAGEMENT. OR.. right click on MY COMPUTER, MANAGE then assign it a drive letter.

10-16-2009, 09:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
paul95 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP SP3	Re: Need Maxtor Driver Thanks for your response and suggestions! To answer your questions, here's what happens: When I plug the drive in, Windows starts the Found New Hardware Wizard and states "This wizard helps you install software for: USB Device," so Windows at least knows it's a USB device. Next, I choose "install the software automatically" but, after searching, it states that the wizard could not find the necessary software. Whenever the drive is plugged in, Device Manager displays it under Other devices as a big yellow question mark. I can right-click that and select Update Driver, but the resulting Hardware Update Wizard gives the identical result as the Found New Hardware Wizard (couldn't find the software). As for my USB ports, I have another drive that's working fine and shows up as "Seagate FreeAgent USB Device." Also, all my USB thumb drives show up fine. Note: Both wizards want me to use installation media (which I do not have) or provide the location of the software, which I presume is the driver that I cannot find online. I am doing this to help my music teacher, who can find one of two disks that came with the drive -- just not the disk with the drivers. So I think my problems are these: XP SP3 cannot find the drivers it's supposed to have. I cannot find those drivers online. Thanks again! Any ideas what I might try next?

10-17-2009, 07:08 AM	#4 (permalink)
Dogg Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: St Louis, MO Posts: 1,965 OS: XP sp3	Re: Need Maxtor Driver Are you installing the Maxtor software? According the user manual, you should connect the drive and then install the software which sets up the drive for use. __________________ Google is your friend !

10-17-2009, 07:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,410 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Need Maxtor Driver Is this a new device? The drivers needed are in XP. Your OS is apparently OK since another external drive works. Try the device in another PC. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently. Last edited by Tyree; 10-17-2009 at 07:49 AM.

10-18-2009, 01:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,410 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Need Maxtor Driver Have you tried the drive in another PC? __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

10-18-2009, 10:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
BCCOMP Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York Posts: 7,000 OS: Win XP SP3 / Windows 7 Beta / Open Suse My System	Re: Need Maxtor Driver The external drive should NOT need drivers for it to work. Vista and XP have the drivers within the OS. That is why you can not locate drivers for it. Seeing you have installed the drive in two different computers and XP will not install it. Plus you state that your teachers computer does not "see" the drive. Chances are the drive has failed. A couple of things to look at though. Have you tried to connect the drive using a firewire connection? Is the external power adapter working correctly? Are you able to remove the drive from the casing and connect it directly to the computer? __________________ PC Wizard \| Everest \| Power supply info \| Memtest86+ PC Running Slow Speedfan Last edited by BCCOMP; 10-18-2009 at 10:24 PM.

10-19-2009, 05:15 AM	#11 (permalink)
BCCOMP Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York Posts: 7,000 OS: Win XP SP3 / Windows 7 Beta / Open Suse My System	Re: Need Maxtor Driver Try the firewire connection and see what happens. XP is seeing the drive, but does not regonize it being a harddrive. This could be caused by the drive itself. Just because the power lights are on doesn't mean it is getting the correct power to the drive. Check the adapter to make sure it is pulling the correct voltage and amps. If either are lower than specified, it may not be enough to power the drive correctly. The USB cable could also have issues Bill __________________ PC Wizard \| Everest \| Power supply info \| Memtest86+ PC Running Slow Speedfan