Vista driver needed

External drives should not require any drivers other then what should already be installed as part of the motherboard drivers which includes usb ports.
If you are unable to get the Maxtor drive recognised, chances are you have a faulty unit. If so it's more then likely it's a fault in the case rather then the actual drive.
I have seen many of these complaints regarding Maxtor units.
If you can, try it on another pc to confirm if it still fails to read it.
Before you do try another usb port at the rear of your pc, if you are using a hub it may not be getting enough power.