Should I return my hard drive? - Printable Version
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Should I return my hard drive? by alegator on 01-04-2007 at 06:28 PM
I bought this brand new 320GB EIDE Western Digital hard drive to be used as 2nd internal in my XP Pro SP2 PC. So I installed it as a second internal drive. I went thru the WinXP Computer Management procedure to initialize the disk, create primary partition and quick NTFS format.No problem till there. After using it for one day, the drive made a funny noise and the system froze forcing me to reboot. I managed to boot back into WinXP so I run the WD Diagnostics Extended test (a specific Western Digital diagnostic test software). The test reported bad sectors and gave me the option to repair it,so I went ahead to repair the drive as prompted and ran the Extended Test again and it passed OK without any bad sectors reported. I called Western Digital to ask them if I should return it, they said that if the Extended test gave me the option to repair it and then the test passed OK, that the drive is 100%reliable as if there were no bad sectors in the first place, so that although there's no need to return it, I'm free to return it if I want.So should I return the drive to Western Digital for replacement, or is the drive fine? I fear that even if a bad sector is repaired, it's an open invitation for future trouble.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by Mnjul on 01-04-2007 at 06:31 PM
If you are not in a hurry, return the drive.
It's likely a hardware failure that the drive made a funny noise, and that's something a software can't repair. The hardware failure might just come again...
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by Voldemort on 01-04-2007 at 07:42 PM
If you did hear some noise, return it, as Mnjul says... it probably WILL 'die' again...
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by kni on 01-04-2007 at 08:05 PM
This might help http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/Disk-Checker.shtml
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by Adeptus on 01-04-2007 at 08:17 PM
quote:Do NOT return it to WD. Take it back and exchange for another new drive at the store if you can instead, stick with it and see how it goes if you can't. What you will get from WD may be a lot worse.
Originally posted by alegator
So should I return the drive to Western Digital for replacement, or is the drive fine? I fear that even if a bad sector is repaired, it's an open invitation for future trouble.
Here's why (and it applies equally to all hard drive manufacturers, not just WD): hard drive warranty replacements are normally not new drives, but "refurbished" -- which generally means a drive somebody else returned which they think is ok, or a drive they have repaired (usually not very well). You will only get a new drive if they don't have any refurbs on hand.
Because of this, my own and many others' experience has been that warranty replacement drives don't last long. Sure, they will replace it again. And again, until the original warranty period + 90 days from the last replacement run out -- but do you really want to suffer through that?
After having done it once or twice, my personal policy when a drive fails is to simply buy a new drive. The warranty replacement, when it comes, goes on eBay for some other poor fool to deal with (correctly described, of course).
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by absorbation on 01-04-2007 at 08:23 PM
How much was it? The size sounds great, but if you found it for what you believe was good value it may be too good to be true. It may have some great storage, but it can have some serious issues that need to be addressed.
I suggest taking it back, after visiting the company's online support. I suggest getting a smaller hard drive for around the same price, you will probably find it is much better quality 
It's a fine balance between quality and quantity.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by alegator on 01-05-2007 at 05:06 AM
I bought it for $95 at a reputable online retailer (Zipzoomfly). It was shipped brand new, factory fresh.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by absorbation on 01-05-2007 at 04:43 PM
$95 for 320 GB sounds a little fishing. I'm sure you got that storage, but performance wise, it may have some major problems. Your best off returning it, it clearly has some form of fault. However I recommend not getting the same harddrive, instead look for a good quality one that has a decent capacity.
Ask yourself the question: How much space are you going to need, then look for a harddrive with that storage. I would also Google for any reviews/ problems on it before you buy .
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by alegator on 01-05-2007 at 08:48 PM
The WD 320Gb hard drive is excellent, low noise, very reliable, best price per gb.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by user27089 on 01-05-2007 at 11:00 PM
A cheap price usually means that it's not as good quality, $95 is very cheap for a 320gb hard drive, which tells me that it's not great.
quote:
Originally posted by alegator
low noise
Hard drives usually are.
quote:
Originally posted by alegator
very reliable
Doesn't seem that way.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by surfichris on 01-07-2007 at 01:07 PM
quote:Oh please. So when an item goes on sale, is discounted, cheap or etc it is not as good quality as others?
Originally posted by traxor
A cheap price usually means that it's not as good quality
You don't know how much it costs to manufacture a hard drive so you can only base your judgment on prices you've seen drives for at other places. Business can afford to discount really close to the RRP if they have the customer base, have purchased a larger number of stock etc.
$95 is standard price for a Western Digital 320gb HDD (8mb cache) - I can get them for $123 AUD which is roughly $96.
quote:3/4 drives in my current machine are Western Digital drives (and they're also 320gb drives which I paid $128 AUD for - because they're SATA) and I've never had a problem with any of them.
Originally posted by traxor
Doesn't seem that way.
You get unlucky sometimes, but it doesn't mean you go around and blurt out that it is an unreliable brand or product.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by alegator on 01-08-2007 at 06:37 AM
Chris, I agree 100% with your comments.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by Woraug on 01-08-2007 at 07:12 AM
I agree with Chris as well. You sometimes get unlucky and get a bad one. Not just WD, any maker. Every HD I've ever owned (Except for the Maxtor and Seagate I have now) has been WD. Much more reliable than anyone else, or at least IMHO.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by alegator on 01-08-2007 at 08:04 PM
Woraug, I read good comments on Seagate hard drives. Woould you rate Seagate as high as WD?
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by Woraug on 01-08-2007 at 09:40 PM
A great many people like Seagate, but I don't. Every SG drive I've dealt with has died within a year. The one I have now it broke. It's an 80gb, but it only shows up as 40 (Yes, I've tried the jumpers, repartitioning, formatting, the Seatools, ect) The only way I've been able to see the other 40gb is if I run Linux. The only reason I haven't returned it is because I can't find the receipt for it. And I don't trust SG's RMAs.
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by Adeptus on 01-08-2007 at 10:09 PM
While they deal more with performance than reliability, I usually buy whatever is currently on Storage Review's LeaderBoard for the appropriate category, or at least consult their reviews of the drives I am considering.
Like the endless AMD vs. Intel fanboy battles, no blanket statement about any hard drive manufacturer means much. Different product lines perform differently and can be more or less reliable -- you really should be looking at specific drives, not the manufacturer.
Seagate has a long history of making fast and highly reliable high end server hard drives, so they definitely know how to make a good drive. Whether they put the same effort and materials in low end products is another question. 
RE: Should I return my hard drive? by CookieRevised on 01-09-2007 at 12:02 AM
My old HDDs (100MB, 256MB and 512MB) from my 386 were Seagates, they never died on me and they still work even now, after 10 years of abuse...