Maxtor one touch 4 mini 250GB hard drive beeping

I had the same problem and the Maxtor/Seagate website did not have any solutions. I finally got in touch with Tech Support and got a fix. I was using it with a Dell tower and plugging into a USB port in the front. I also was using an after market cable.

I learned the Maxtor is a power hog and beeps and shuts down when it is not getting enough power. I did not know but the USB ports on the front of a desktop/tower computer do not provide as much power as a port on the back (the back ports are sometimes directly connected to the motherboard). I got a USB extension cable and connected it to a USB port in the back and it solved the problem.

I also learned that most laptop USB ports are not powerful enough to run the Maxtor. Mine would also not work if you attempt to share it by using an unpowered USB hub. I have gotten it to work with a powered desktop USB hub (Belkin).

I believe that this may explain why you get a "Y" cable with the drive. I could not find an explaination for the cable or how to use. There may be an accessory to purchase that attached to the cable and powers it.