Maxtor Wins Tom’s Hardware Guide 2005 Readers’ Choice Award

Maxtor Shared Storage™ Solution Earns First Place for Simple, Intuitive Data Protection for Home or Small Office Networks

MILPITAS, Calif. – March 13, 2006 – Maxtor Corporation (NYSE: MXO) announced today that its Maxtor Shared Storage network storage solution has been honored with Tom’s Hardware Guide 2005 Readers’ Choice Award for best network attached storage (NAS) product. Selected from hundreds of products, the 2005 award winners span ten categories and reflect a highly influential audience comprised of IT professionals, C-level executives and tech-savvy consumers. According to the publication, about 81 percent of its audience specify, recommend or approve purchases at some level within their organizations.


“Our readers know the ins and outs of technology, and they are some of the world’s toughest critics when it comes to performance and ease of use,” remarked Patrick Schmid, managing editor of Tom’s Hardware Guide. “Their votes recognize trend-setting products that help define industry standards and push the envelope of innovation. Congratulations to Maxtor for its Shared Storage network solution!”


The Maxtor Shared Storage network solution makes it easy to store, share and organize digital photos, music, videos and any other computer files on home or small office networks. Installation is quick and easy. With the storage solution’s automatic network configuration and quick-start software, users can promptly add hundreds of gigabytes of storage capacity to their network in minutes. Two built-in USB ports allow users to connect and share two additional external drives or USB printers.


Organizing documents on the Maxtor Shared Storage solution is also a breeze. Users simply drag their files to the solution’s special desktop icon, and the Maxtor exclusive Drag and Sort™ feature automatically identifies, sorts and copies more than 100 different file types into designated music, photo, video, Web, software or document folders. A well-designed software interface makes it easy to assign full or limited access to all shared folders.


Maxtor recently began shipping a new addition to its family, the Maxtor Shared Storage Plus™ solution, the industry’s first three-in-one network drive that provides shared storage, automatic PC and Mac data backup and media streaming for home or small office networks. The drive is ideal for users with wired or wireless networks who want to simultaneously back up, share, stream and print digital files from one centralized location. The drive provides nearly effortless data management and security for up to 20 users, which allows users to free themselves of the mundane but critical task of ensuring that their precious data is automatically backed up frequently.


“The Maxtor Shared Storage solution is exceptional because it provides reliable data protection features, automated network backup and the ability to quickly and easily organize consumers’ vast amount of digital content,” said Stacey Lund, vice president of marketing, Maxtor Branded Products Group. “We know that Tom’s Hardware readers are some of the most stringent judges in the tech industry. Winning this 2005 Readers’ Choice Award validates our leadership in providing the most trusted storage and backup solutions for home and small businesses.”


Customers who have purchased the original award-winning Maxtor Shared Storage solution can easily upgrade their drive’s software to enable Maxtor Shared Storage Plus functionality at no additional charge. To do so, customers can visit Maxtor’s support site at http://www.maxtor.com/MSSPlus/ for more details.


Maxtor Shared Storage Plus network solutions are available now at major U.S. and worldwide retailers, distributors, online stores and at www.maxstore.com. Visit www.maxstore.com for local distribution channels and retail outlets


About Maxtor


Maxtor Corporation (www.maxtor.com) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of hard disk drives and consumer storage solutions. The company has an expansive line of storage products for desktop computers, storage systems, high-performance Intel-based servers, and consumer electronics. Maxtor has a reputation as a proven market leader, built by consistently providing high-quality products, services and support for its customers. Maxtor and its products can be found at www.maxtor.com or by calling toll-free (800) 2-MAXTOR. Maxtor is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MXO.


Note: Maxtor and the Maxtor stylized logo design are registered trademarks, and Maxtor Shared Storage and Drag and Sort are trademarks of Maxtor Corporation. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.


The Maxtor Shared Storage solution is an element of a user’s overall backup solution and protection plan. For purposes of measuring disk drive storage capacity, one gigabyte (GB) represents one billion bytes.


This announcement relating to Maxtor may contain forward-looking statements concerning future technology, products incorporating that technology, and Maxtor’s execution. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties which could materially affect the company’s results, including, but not limited to, market demand for hard disk drives and network storage, integration of the company’s products with products produced by others, the company’s ability to execute future production ramps and utilize manufacturing assets efficiently, pricing, competition, and the significant uncertainty of market acceptance of new products and technologies, and the growth and implementation of home networking. These and other risk factors are contained in documents that the company files with the SEC, including the Form 10K for fiscal 2005 and its recent 10-Qs. Maxtor is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any responsibility to update or alter, its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact Information

Erin Hartin

Maxtor Public Relations

Maxtor Corporation

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