MAXTOR BREAKS INDUSTRY RECORD – SHIPS 80 GB PER PLATTER DRIVES

SHIPS 80 GB PER PLATTER DRIVES

Maxtor Expands Hard Disk Drive Line Targeting Applications

Ranging from the Desktop to PVRs

Maxtor Corporation (NYSE: MXO), a worldwide leader in hard disk
drives and data storage solutions, today announced it is shipping the industry’s
highest density hard disk drives, its latest additions to its DiamondMaxÒ 5400
RPM and DiamondMax PlusÒ 7200 RPM families of desktop drives. Both feature
industry-leading 80 GB per platter areal densities. The DiamondMax 16 and the
DiamondMax Plus 9 are designed for capacities from 60 GB to 160 GB.

Both drives are
currently shipping with the UltraATA/133 interface and will be available with
Serial ATA (SATA) interfaces, for even higher performance with data transfer
rates up to 150 MB per second. Built on the same platforms as the DiamondMax
Plus 9 and the DiamondMax 16, Maxtor also is currently shipping the parallel ATA
DiamondMax Plus 8, the company’s first single head, single disk performance 7200
RPM drive, and the FireballÔ 3, a single head, single disk 5400 RPM drive. Both
drives will be available at 20, 30 and 40 GB capacities.

Currently shipping in volume to OEMs, distributors and channel
partners, the latest DiamondMax, DiamondMax Plus and Fireball drives are
engineered to achieve the best capacity, performance,
reliability and value. They are ideal for a wide-variety of applications
including personal and commercial video recorders, external storage devices,
and traditional PC and Macintosh environments.

“As a premier hard drive manufacturer with more than 44 million
ATA drives shipped in 2001, Maxtor offers one of the broadest lines of hard
drive solutions in the industry,” said Mike Dooley, senior director of marketing
for the Desktop Products Group at Maxtor. “With the introduction of these new
drives, the company continues its tradition of time-to-volume and technology
leadership. We continue to focus on diversifying our ATA solutions into the
emerging enterprise and consumer electronics space, maintaining strong channel
and OEM partnerships, expanding our global presence, and building customer
satisfaction.”

Maxtor’s award
winning* DiamondMax family of high-capacity hard drives and Maxtor’s DiamondMax
Plus performance drives consistently meet consumer, commercial, and enterprise
customers’ requirements to store large amounts of information economically.
Customer acceptance of Maxtor’s previous-generation products is validated by its
sales success, enterprise-class qualifications and shipments to leading
companies[MH1] .

The Maxtor
DiamondMax 16 and DiamondMax Plus 9

Poised to
continue this tradition, the DiamondMax 16 offers great value, highest gigabyte
areal density, solid performance and industry-leading reliability. It is
designed to offer 60, 80, 120, and 160 GB capacities.

Maxtor’s latest
7200 RPM DiamondMax Plus 9, continues Maxtor’s tradition of performance
leadership with a 2 MB or optional 8 MB buffer. Engineered for blistering fast
performance in capacities including 60 GB, 80 GB, 120 GB and 160 GB. It is the
latest solution to the growing demand for performance drives as desktop users
transition from 5400 to 7200 RPM.

Both new drives
feature the Maxtor Fast DriveÔ UltraATA/133 interface for data transfer speeds
up to 133 MB per second and Maxtor’s Quiet DriveÔ technology for superior
acoustics. The DiamondMax 16 and the DiamondMax Plus 9 also deliver superior
reliability and data protection with Maxtor’s Shock Protection SystemÔ and Data
Protection SystemÔ. These two industry-leading technologies give users enhanced
protection against both operating and non-operating shock, and verify essential
hard drive functions to help protect user data and eliminate potential drive
returns.

Next-Generation
Interface - Serial ATA

At 150 MB per
second maximum data transfer rate, serial ATA improves hard drive performance to
keep pace with the rapidly increasing performance requirements of data intensive
environments such as audio/video, consumer electronics, and high performance PC
workstations, and entry-level servers. With a point-to-point connection
architecture, and a rich command set for managing hard drive activity and data
flow along the interface, serial ATA advances the performance and efficiency of
the drive to system interface. The interface features a compact cable structure
that allows better airflow within a system and benefits the user with increased
design flexibility and hot plug capability.

Availability

Parallel ATA
versions of the Maxtor DiamondMax 16 and DiamondMax Plus 9 are currently
shipping in volume. Volume shipments of the DiamondMax 16 and DiamondMax 9 with
serial ATA are scheduled to begin in December 2002.

Maxtor also
announced today the third generation of its extremely successful single-head
5400 RPM ATA drive, the Maxtor Fireball 3. This product has been specifically
designed to support the needs of entry-level users up to 40 GB capacities.

Maxtor also
continues its performance leadership with the introduction of the innovative
DiamondMax Plus 8, the company’s first single head, single disk performance 7200
RPM drive. It is ideal for the mainstream business desktop and entry capacity
performance user. The Fireball 3 and DiamondMax Plus 8 drives have also been
shipping to distribution and retail channels.

-ends-

About Maxtor

Maxtor Corporation (www.maxtor.com)
is one of the world’s leading suppliers of information 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 of being a proven market leader by providing consistent
high-quality products, service and support for its customers. Maxtor and its
products can be found at

www.maxtor.com. Maxtor is traded on the NYSE under the MXO symbol.

* The DiamondMax
16’s predecessor, the Maxtor DiamondMax D540X was selected as a 2002 PC World
World Class Award winner in the Best Hard Drive category, July 2002 issue.

Note: Maxtor, DiamondMax and the Maxtor logo are registered
trademarks of Maxtor Corporation. Fireball, Fast Drive, Quiet Drive, Shock
Protection System and Data Protection System are trademarks of Maxtor
Corporation. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

GB means 1 billion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies
depending on operating environment.

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, 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. These and other risk factors are contained
in documents that the company files with the SEC, including the Form 10-K for
fiscal 2001 and its recent 10-Qs