Diagnostics

SEATOOLS for Windows is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool set that helps you quickly determine the condition of the disk drive in your external hard drive, desktop or notebook computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disc drive and any other non-Seagate disc drive.

SeaTools for Windows tests USB, 1394, ATA (PATA/IDE), SATA and SCSI drives. It installs onto your system. SeaTools for Windows is completely data safe.

SeaTools for DOS is also available for SATA and PATA drives.  Because the software boots to its own operating system, you can test your drive regardless of the OS installed on it.  You can even test a new or completely blank drive.

Download SeaTools diagnostic software now at http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools.

Drive Cloning and Data Migration

DiscWizard is your choice if you are upgrading and want to migrate your operating system and data from the old drive to the new drive.  DiscWizard automatically partitions and formats the new hard drive and adjusts the size of the partition for the new capacity.

Download DiscWizard drive cloning software now at http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard

Firmware

Seagate products are run by firmware.  Having the latest firmware can improve performance and or reliability of your product.  Seagate recommends applying new firmware to enhance the performance and or reliability of your drive.

Check for new firmware now at Document ID: 207931.

Drivers

Drivers are files normally provided by software and hardware vendors. Hard drives are connected to hard drive controllers which are devices usually located on a motherboard, but which can also take the form of an add-in controller card. Controller drivers are normally provided by the operating system (ie, Windows or MacOS) or from the motherboard or add-in card manufacturer.  Most of the time, you will want to contact the manufacturer of your motherboard for more information regarding drivers. 

The hard drive is usually supported by drivers that are built into the operating system.

Be advised, drivers are not the same thing as firmware. If you are checking for a firmware update on your SATA drive, see Document ID: 207931.

Seagate and Maxtor-brand external hard drives do not require additional drivers to function in Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Mac OS X. These external drives are supported by the standard device drivers that are already included in these operating systems out of the box. Installing Serial ATA drives requires the installation of drivers from the Serial ATA motherboard. See Document ID: 188411 for more information on this subject.

Note: If Windows Vista is prompting for a driver for an external drive, please see Document ID: 201235.

However, we understand you may be troubleshooting or experiencing an error condition that may suggest that you need to obtain a driver from our web site.

Here are some common reasons you may be looking for a driver or a download to use your drive. These links will direct you to documentation that will aid in the resolution of the actual issue. 

• My drive is not detected.
• My external drive is slow.
• The Device Manager in my computer displays a yellow ! and a Code 10 or Code 28 and/or informs me that "the drivers for this device are not installed".
• Does my drive need a firmware update?
• My drive is locked.
  - Maxtor BlackArmor - Understanding Maxtor Manager Security Settings
  - How to Unlock a Maxtor OneTouch 4 Drive
  - How to Unlock a Maxtor OneTouch III Drive
  - How to Unlock a Maxtor OneTouch II Drive
  

For more information on how to solve problems related to undetected drives, please check the following useful articles:

• The external drive troubleshooters
• The Serial ATA drive troubleshooter
• The (Parallel) ATA drive troubleshooter
• How to install an additional hard drive using Windows XP/2000 Disk Management.
• How to install a Serial ATA drive in Windows Vista
  

Bundled Software

Numerous Seagate/Maxtor hard drives (mostly external models, such as FreeAgent GoFlex, FreeAgent, OneTouch and Maxtor Basics) do have available bundled software downloads. This article will summarize and link to them.  For any Seagate/Maxtor ATA/IDE, Serial ATA (SATA), or SCSI drives no driver is needed.

Current Seagate and Maxtor-brand External Hard Drives

Drive image	Drive name	Additional driver download required from Seagate?	Software available for download?
	Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Drives	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why?)	GoFlex Installation Software for the GoFlex drive in case the software has been deleted from the drive.
	Seagate FreeAgent Drives	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why?) Sometimes drivers for FreeAgent drives must be loaded manually in Windows Vista. Please see Document ID: 201235 for details.	64-bit software update for FreeAgent Go, Desk, and Xtreme. For Memeo or Ceedo bundled software, please contact Seagate Support. See also: Seagate FreeAgent Drives - Bundled Software for Windows and Macintosh Computers for FreeAgent software reference.
	Seagate Replica	No additional driver required. Backup software is available for download.	Replica Software Downloads
	Maxtor Basics Family	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why?)	No software is bundled with this drive. See: How to use an external drive without any special software.
	Seagate Expansion Family	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why?)	No software is bundled with this drive. See: How to use an external drive without any special software.
	Maxtor Central Axis	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why?)	Central Axis Manager Client Software Central Axis Downloads

Legacy Seagate and Maxtor-brand External Hard Drives

Drive Image	Drive type	Additional driver download required from Seagate?	Software available for download?
	Maxtor Black Armor	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why?) Drive is preloaded with software to unlock drive.	None, the software is delivered on the drive itself.   See Maxtor BlackArmor - Installing Maxtor Manager from the Pre-Boot Area for more information.
	Maxtor OneTouch 4 Family	No additional driver required from Seagate if no password has been used to lock the drive. (Why?)	OneTouch 4 Lite Software Download OneTouch 4 Mini Software Download Safety Drill Recovery CD (for OT4 Mini) OneTouch 4 Plus Software Download Safety Drill Recovery CD (for OT4 Plus)
	Maxtor OneTouch 3 Family	If a password is used on the drive, the software must be loaded to unlock the drive. MacIntel Update GPL Source Code	EMC Vista Update RetroBackup Software (for OneTouch 3 FW800, Turbo, and Combo models starting with FA) MaxBackup Vista Software (for OneTouch 3 USB-only and Combo models not starting with FA) VistaBackup Software (for OneTouch 3 USB-only and Combo models not starting with FA) Vista Software (for OneTouch 3 Mini)
	Maxtor OneTouch 2 Family	If a password is used on the drive, the software must be loaded to unlock the drive. For a Settings Update For a MacOS 9 Update For a MacOSX 10.1.5 Update For a MacOSX Driver Update For a MacIntel Update	Retrospect Express HD Update
	Maxtor OneTouch Family	For Windows 98SE For MacOS 9 For MacOSX Driver Update For a Settings Update	Retrospect Express HD update Retrospect Express Upgrade
	Maxtor Personal Storage Family	Personal Storage 3000LE and LS, for Windows 98SE PS 3100 for Windows 98SE PS 5000 for Windows 98SE, Windows Me, and Windows XP	PS 3100 Diagnostic utility How to use an external drive without any special software.
	Seagate Pushbutton External Drive	Windows 98SE drivers only	For BounceBack Express, please contact Seagate Support.
	External Drive	Windows 98SE drivers only	No software available or needed
	Seagate eSATA Drive	Drivers for bundled eSATA PCI card	For BounceBack Express, please contact Seagate Support.
	Seagate Portable Drive	Windows 98SE drivers only	For BounceBack Express, please contact Seagate Support.
	Seagate Pocket Drive	Windows 98SE drivers only	Software Toolkit
	Seagate Compact Flash Photo Drive	No additional driver required from Seagate. (Why not?)	No software available nor required.

Please see My USB device is detected with a ! or ? in Device Manager for more information on when Windows reports a problem with drivers in the Device Manager or when it seems to require a driver refresh.

Legacy Network Storage Drives

Drive image	Drive name	Additional driver download required from Seagate?	Software available for download?
	Maxtor Shared Storage 2 Drive	GPL Source Code	Maxtor Shared Storage II Update v3.1.28 Maxtor Shared Storage II Vista Software Naspack
	Maxtor Shared Storage Drive	GPL Source Code	MSS Quick Start Installation ISO Image for Win/Mac Maxtor Shared Storage Update v2.6.2 for Macintosh Maxtor Shared Storage Update v2.6.2 for Windows Maxtor Shared storage qs_remove.dmg for Macintosh Naspack
	Maxtor Shared Storage Plus Drive	GPL Source Code	MSS Plus Quick Start Software MSS Quick Start Installation ISO Image for Win/Mac Maxtor Shared Storage Update v2.6.2 for Macintosh Maxtor Shared Storage Update v2.6.2 for Windows Maxtor Shared storage qs_remove.dmg for Macintosh Naspack
	Maxtor Fusion	GPL Source Code	Fusion Software Update version 1.54
	Seagate Mirra Drive	No additional driver required from Seagate	Mirra PC and Mac Software Download v. 2.2

Why doesn't Seagate provide a driver for my hard drive?

Seagate manufactures its hard drives to work with the drivers that are already present in Windows (and MacOS, where supported).  No additional driver support is required except for Windows 98SE with some legacy drives. 

More information on troubleshooting driver error messages for external products:

Windows 7/Vista requests drivers for an external drive

The Device Manager displays a yellow ! icon next to my external drive

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