quote:
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.
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.
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).
