The following chart lists which Seagate and Maxtor drives are compatible with Windows Vista, as well as the compatibility of software bundled with those drives.
Windows Vista offers an included backup software, whose use is explained at this Microsoft Support article and this Microsoft TechNet article.
Legacy (Older) Products|
Product Image |
Product (name) |
Hardware Compatible? |
Hardware Supported? |
Software |
|
|
Seagate BlackArmor
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
|
Maxtor Basics Family
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
N/A - this drive is sold without any bundled software (and can be used with Windows Vista backup).
|
 |
Maxtor Black Armor |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
 |
Seagate FreeAgent Classic Drives |
Yes |
Yes |
Ceedo - Yes
Memeo Backup - Yes
FreeAgent Launcher - Yes |
 |
Maxtor OneTouch 4 Family |
Yes |
Yes |
OneTouch Maxtor Manager, DrivePass, and Safety Drill are all Vista compatible. |
 |
Maxtor Central Axis |
Yes |
Yes |
Manager Client Software - Yes
Network Storage Server Software- Yes |
 |
Maxtor Shared Storage 2 Drive |
Yes |
Yes |
Maxtor EasyManage - Yes
Maxtor Backup - Yes
Maxtor Shared Storage II Homepage - Yes3 |
 |
Maxtor OneTouch III with Firewire 800, 400 and USB 2.0, and Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo Edition |
Yes |
Yes |
OneTouch Manager and Retrospect Express HD - Not on drives that haven't shipped recently, but a bundled update to the software is available in the OneTouch III EMC Vista Update. There are also updates available to allow you to map the OneTouch button to Vista Backup or Retrospect Express HD 2.0. Current drives are shipping with the updated Vista-compatible version of the software. |
|
|
Maxtor OneTouch III with Firewire 400 and USB 2.0, and Maxtor OneTouch III with USB 2.0 |
Yes |
Yes |
-
The Vista-supported Retrospect HD 2.0 for OneTouch III Combo/Triple drives is downloadable here.
-
The Vista-supported Maxtor Backup (MaxBackup) software for OneTouch III Combo drives is downloadable here.
-
The Vista-supported Maxtor Backup (MaxBackup) software for OneTouch III USB-only drives is downloadable here.
|
 |
Maxtor OneTouch III Mini |
Yes |
Yes |
The new OneTouch Mini software supports Vista but does not support encryption as some of the Windows 2000/XP versions do. |
 |
Maxtor OneTouch 2 Family |
Yes |
Yes5 |
OneTouch II Settings - No
Retrospect Express HD - No1 |
 |
3.5" PATA Drive for Desktop computers (such as Barracuda and DiamondMax) |
Yes |
Yes |
DiscWizard - Earlier versions will not function properly. Download the latest version of DiscWizard.
MaxBlast - MaxBlast 4 and earlier will not function properly. Download the latest version of MaxBlast.
|
 |
2.5" (laptop) PATA Drive (such as Momentus and MobileMax) |
Yes |
Yes |
DiscWizard - Earlier versions will not function properly. Download the latest version of DiscWizard.
MaxBlast - MaxBlast 4 and earlier will not function properly. Download the latest version of MaxBlast. |
 |
Seagate Pushbutton External Drive |
Yes2 |
Yes5 |
BounceBack Express: BBE version 7.1.6 can be downloaded from www.cmsproducts.com (follow the support > software updates link, be sure to download the Seagate BounceBack Express version). This version is compatible with Vista.
|
 |
External Drive |
Yes |
Yes5 |
N/A - this drive is sold without any bundled software (and can be used with Windows Vista backup). |
|
|
Seagate eSATA Drive |
Yes2 |
Yes5 |
BounceBack Express: BBE version 7.1.6 can be downloaded from www.cmsproducts.com (follow the support > software updates link, be sure to download the Seagate BounceBack Express version). This version is compatible with Vista.
eSATA controller card drivers - The drivers on the CD are not supported, however Promise eSATA controller card is plug and play within Windows Vista. |
 |
Seagate Portable Drive |
Yes2 |
Yes5 |
BounceBack Express (included in 100GB and greater models) - BBE version 7.1.6 can be downloaded from www.cmsproducts.com (follow the support > software updates link, be sure to download the Seagate BounceBack Express version). This version is compatible with Vista. |
 |
Seagate Pocket Drive |
Yes |
Yes5 |
Seagate Software Toolkit- No |
 |
Seagate Mirra Drive |
Yes |
Yes |
Mirra Client Software v2.0 and v2.1- No, but Mirra Client Software v2.2 is available for download from the Support Downloads Page. |
 |
Maxtor Personal Storage 3200 |
Yes |
Yes5 |
N/A - this drive is sold without any bundled software (and can be used with Windows Vista backup). |
 |
Maxtor Shared Storage Drive / Shared Storage Plus |
Yes |
Yes |
Maxtor Quickstart - No
Maxtor Backup - No
Maxtor Shared Storage Homepage - Yes4 |
 |
Maxtor Fusion |
No |
Yes5 |
Installation Software - No
Fabrik - No |
|
|
Legacy External Drives |
Yes |
Yes5 |
N/A - this drive is sold without any bundled software (and can be used with Windows Vista backup). |
Notes:
1 - It is recommended that you use Windows Vista's backup software to backup data files to your external hard drive.
2- The pushbutton backup feature of BounceBack Express is not available in Vista. All other features will be normal.
3 - In some version of Windows Vista, the Maxtor OneTouch button on OneTouch III drives may be configured to map to the backup software included with Windows Vista. For more information, see Document ID: 197151.
4 - Even though the Maxtor Shared Storage and Maxtor Shared Storage II homepages can be accessible within Windows Vista, allowing you to add, modify, and remove shared folders and user accounts, as well as access other features of your Maxtor Shared Storage device, there can be problems accessing private accounts due to the increased security of the Windows Vista operating system. For further information about correcting this issue, see Document ID: 197371.
5 - This hardware was released prior to the release of Vista. Therefore, it has not been thoroughly tested in that environment and is not supported by Technical Support.