Maxtor one touch 2 i can't understand how to use it

[Smart Viking]

Hi all, i have a very old Maxtor one touch 2 hard disk, and i have never really used it cause when my dad bought it ages ago we didn't know how to use it (seriously it sucked).

And now when i was gonna install linux 10.04 on dad's machine from a usb, the hard disk suddenly worked with vista, i thought that was good cause i needed to take a backup of some important pictures dad didn't wanna lose, and i figured if it runs in vista it should work in ubuntu. But i was wrong, and it diddnt work with another laptop he had with windows 7. When i go under the disk properties thingy under administration(sorry if that is wrong i installed norwegian ubuntu and dont know if that is the right word on english), i can see it under extarnal hard drives "300gb hard drive" and under that "maxtor one touch ll".

The problem is that i cant to anything with it, when i say that i'm gona take that from the computer per example it says this:

Error detaching: helper exited with exit code 1: Detaching device /dev/sdb
USB device: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:04.1/usb1/1-6)
SYNCHRONIZE CACHE: FAILED: No such file or directory
(Continuing despite SYNCHRONIZE CACHE failure.)
STOP UNIT: FAILED: No such file or directory

Here is also an error i get when i test how fast it is:

Error benchmarking: helper exited with exit code 1: Error reading 104857600 bytes at 104857600 from /dev/sdb when guesstimating buffer size: Input/output error

And i can't even format it, then it says:

Error creating partition table: helper exited with exit code 1: Error calling fsync(2) on /dev/sdb: Input/output error

I don't know what is wrong with it, can someone please say a way that i can backup the images that are on it i don't want to lose them, if that is not possible is it a way i can just make that hard disk work?

[wilee-nilee]

That maxtor is formatted with NTFS you would have to partition it to install Ubuntu on it. I would run whatever tests will confirm it is a usable HD and not broken.

[Smart Viking]

That maxtor is formatted with NTFS you would have to partition it to install Ubuntu on it. I would run whatever tests will confirm it is a usable HD and not broken.

Hi thank you for your reply, but i'm not that good with ubuntu. So i understand i will be able to use it if i partition it, how do i do that?

[wilee-nilee]

So if you boot the Ubuntu live CD there is a program called gparted in system>administration>gparted this is the partitioner. Be very careful with it as it will remove everything on a partition so make sure you are removing or shrinking what you want. Also you never want to interrupt the partitioner until it finishes.

If you have a thumb drive laying around that might be a good way to figure out how gparted works, just make sure that your looking at the actual partition or empty space you want to change.

I have never used vista, and I am not sure about using gparted to shrink vista to leave a open unallocated space for the Ubuntu install. That is if you have Vista installed on the maxtor now. I suspect that there is a on board partitioner for vista. With W7 there is a virtual partitioner. Linux can't partition a running system like W7 that is why you need the Live CD for setting up the maxtor. Once Ubuntu is installed though you can install gparted to it and re-partition thumbs or any partition not actually running the computer, although if you wanted to partition a second operating system not running but on the same HD of the running Linux you have to turn off the swap partition.

No matter what though you want to backup what you need to and have a install disc for vista or at least a recovery disc. A full install disc is really the best, I always have these discs it will save a lot of time and hassles in case something goes wrong. Make sure that maxtor is actually working from what you have described I wouldn't trust it so test it. Hard drives are cheap. I don't know the testing protocol but others do.

Partitioning is easy once you know how, but it has a high level possibility of user error for a beginner so go slow and ask questions on the forum.

If you search you tube with gparted you will find tons of videos. gparted can be down loaded and booted by itself from a cd so some of he tutorials will show them using a gparted only disc, or search Google

[Smart Viking]

So if you boot the Ubuntu live CD there is a program called gparted in system>administration>gparted this is the partitioner. Be very careful with it as it will remove everything on a partition so make sure you are removing or shrinking what you want. Also you never want to interrupt the partitioner until it finishes.

If you have a thumb drive laying around that might be a good way to figure out how gparted works, just make sure that your looking at the actual partition or empty space you want to change.

I have never used vista, and I am not sure about using gparted to shrink vista to leave a open unallocated space for the Ubuntu install. That is if you have Vista installed on the maxtor now. I suspect that there is a on board partitioner for vista. With W7 there is a virtual partitioner. Linux can't partition a running system like W7 that is why you need the Live CD for setting up the maxtor. Once Ubuntu is installed though you can install gparted to it and re-partition thumbs or any partition not actually running the computer, although if you wanted to partition a second operating system not running but on the same HD of the running Linux you have to turn off the swap partition.


No matter what though you want to backup what you need to and have a install disc for vista or at least a recovery disc. A full install disc is really the best, I always have these discs it will save a lot of time and hassles in case something goes wrong. Make sure that maxtor is actually working from what you have described I wouldn't trust it so test it. Hard drives are cheap. I don't know the testing protocol but others do.

Partitioning is easy once you know how, but it has a high level possibility of user error for a beginner so go slow and ask questions on the forum.

If you search you tube with gparted you will find tons of videos. gparted can be down loaded and booted by itself from a cd so some of he tutorials will show them using a gparted only disc, or search Google

Hi i installed gnome partition editor, and opened it and all, but i think there have been a misunderstanding, i have installed ubuntu and it worked nice, but i am trying to make an external hard disk to work with ubuntu, cause i have pictures there. After reading you reply here it looks like you think i have not completed the install on the pc, if i'm wrong i am sorry, and if not i am sorry for my bad explanation. I am only trying to get this hard disk to be usable.

EDIT: The hard disk inside the pc is working fine.

[wilee-nilee]

Hi i installed gnome partition editor, and opened it and all, but i think there have been a misunderstanding, i have installed ubuntu and it worked nice, but i am trying to make an external hard disk to work with ubuntu, cause i have pictures there. After reading you reply here it looks like you think i have not completed the install on the pc, if i'm wrong i am sorry, and if not i am sorry for my bad explanation. I am only trying to get this hard disk to be usable.

EDIT: The hard disk inside the pc is working fine.

I could have easily misread your post don't worry about it. Ubuntu should recognize the hard drive, if you look at the maxtor with gparted take a screenshot and post it, I am curious as to what it looks like. There are recovery methods, one I see most often prescribed is testdisk, I have never used it so I can't really help you there, but there are people on the forum who can.

So this maxtor is a usb HD I have a maxtor 4 320 gig version, is that correct?

[Smart Viking]

Hi here is a print screen in the disk information thingy:



About that program departed, it looks like that program doesnt find the external hard disk:



Where you see there where i can choose where it stands "/dev/sda (596.17 GiB)" I cant chose that isthe only option. What also is really weird is that i think the hard disk inside the pc is 290 GB, so i don't really understand it. Can it be that that program combines the external hard disk together with the one inside the pc i dont know.

And thank you for your help i really appreciate it.

[wilee-nilee]

If you click on this drop down it may show the maxtor.
Attachment 154275
Gparted will only show each single hard drive or thumb,you have to use the dropdown to see others. The gparted shot looks correct I see a 600 gig HD the one Ubuntu is on in the disk utility.

[Smart Viking]

If you click on this drop down it may show the maxtor.
Attachment 154275
Gparted will only show each single hard drive or thumb.

Yes i thought so do but it only show that. it wont give me any option, the one that is chosen is the only option.

[Smart Viking]

Hey i think i know the answer, as you see in my reply over there i said that maybe the program combines the external hard drive and the one inside the pc, and i now know that that must be it, cause the hard disk insode the pc was 290GB and the external hard drive is ~300GB, and them together is: 590GB, which is what that lsit shows, so somewhere there is the external hard drive.

edit: So inside the "sda1" is te external hard drive, and the thing i have to do is to partition it, hm, i might use some help from people who know how to do that.

Or, i might be wrong. Look:



This shows that the main hdd in the computer is acctually over 600GB. :/