Maxtor OneTouch 4 External HD,Slow Transfer

So ive had this external harddrive sitting on my desk for a few months

but everytime i try to use it, i always get a transfer rate of no more than 1.0Mb/Sec, ive tried reinstalling drivers, and changing cables and still to no avail

and there is absolutly no tech support on the maxtor site

any suggestions?

 

First thought: That's USB 1 speed. Are you connecting to something old with a USB 1 port?

Second thought: You are transferring very small files. They always transfer much more slowly.

Third thought: Go into Disk Management and make sure the policy for this HDD is set to "Optimize for Performance".

Fourth thought: Try another USB cable and try connecting to another computer.

John

 

well the thing is, all of my usb portsare 2.0 but when i plug it in it says there are
faster ports available, but i tried all of my ports and they say the same thing,
another thing is i have an internal HD that i converted to external with an ide to usb cable and that works fine i get about 30mb/sec, so my usb ports should be fine, i dont know if there is somthing up with the driver or what?

 

Here's someone with the same problem, but no response.

Can Device Manager tell you the USB hardware in your computer and in the OneTouch?

John

 

so in the device manager there are 5 INTEL ICH8 FAMILY USB UNIVERSAL HOST CONTROLLERS

and 2 USB2 Enhanced Controllers

and a One Touch HD

 

Try using a different USB cable to connect your HD to your laptop. It sounds like the HD isn't getting enough power from the USB port to run at full speed, which could be caused if you are using the incorrect USB cable. You might need to use a cable with two USB connectors to draw extra power from another port.

 

Intel hardware is normally well-behaved. You could try to update the Intel chipset drivers with the INF update.

Checking behaviour with different cable and computer would be worthwhile to eliminate other options.

Also, which OS? If Vista, then I hope you have applied SP1.

John

 

its xp

i belive somehow xp isnt recognizing that i have 2.0 ports, i read the the manual and all 4ports that i have are all fully 2.0 compliant

ive had the same problem with vista
and on other comps


and the HD has its own power supply

im trying to find updates for the usb driver but i cant

 

1. It may be worthwhile applying XP SP3 now that it is on final release.

2. My computer is showing one USB 2 enhanced host controller, 4 USB universal host controllers and 5 root hubs (at the bottom of the Device Manager list). I think that as long as there is one USB 2 controller then the USB 2 support is there.

3. If you are getting the same problem with the OneTouch plus other cables or computers then suspicion falls on the OneTouch.

John

 

Update: so it seems like my bios is reconizing the drive as a USB 1.1 drive
when i boot up the system

 

Does the BIOS have any USB compatibility options? Do you normally boot with the OneTouch plugged in, or plug it in after booting?

Does the OneTouch have any switches?

John

 

i checked my bios setup and i couldnt find any, Usb options for in it, ive tried booting with it pluged in and with out,

and no it has absoutly no swtiches

Btw Thanks for all your help/concern John Ratsey

 

OK. We're running out of options.

You need to check the OneTouch with another computer or two and see whether they can manage a sensible speed. If they can then it's your notebook which is being fussy and you can't blame the OneTouch. If the OneTouch is slow with other computers then it's time to call Seagate.

A possible work-around is a USB 2.0 adaptor in your card slot (assuming that will manage to get a USB 2.0 connection). But, for similar money you could buy a new external enclosure and change over the HDD. If I were buying now then I would pay a bit extra for an enclosure with eSATA as well as USB. It will come useful in the future.

John

 

Hmm can i get an adaptor for eSata? cause i know my Notebook dosnt come with an eSata Port,
but yeah i will call Segate SUpport, my last resort is a new enclosure which i probably could get around $50 maybe cheper

 

If your laptop has a PC Card or expresscard slot, then you can get an eSATA PCMCIA adaptor.