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    #1

    Seagate - RMA questions

    last week one of my Seagate SATA HDs finally died. It started to make clicking noises, and within a few hours it wasn't recognized by the controller anymore.

    Its warranty had expired a few months ago... too bad.
    I ordered and managed to recover the 160gigs of data to the new one (the freezer method worked surprisingly well).

    I should've been warned by that. Only a few days after the first disk's demise, my second (system) disk showed the first signs of its death. Yesterday I got the first few bad sectors, and this morning - same problems as with the first one. Yay!

    Luckily the second HD has a 5-year warranty which expires in 2010, so I got a RMA # from Seagate.

    Fortunately I installed a fresh primary system partition on the new drive when I got it - that's what I call intuition!
    Right now I'm freeing up space, and the bad drive is sitting in the fridge.

    Seagate seems to be a bit picky about RMA packaging. They either want you to either use their SeaShell(R) container (I have no idea where to get one since you don't even get them when you buy their drives from a retailer) or pack it in insanely thick foam (2" on each side!!). I don't have any ideas what kind of foam to use.

    I don't want them to ship it back to me due to insufficient packaging, so.... does anyone here have ever had problems with packaging and shipping RMA'd drives to Seagate?



    Thanks!
    "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Seagate - RMA questions

    oem seagate drives are coming in seashell containers. funny thing is that since they are oem you have to deal with the supplier not seagate.

    i get foam when i need it from a shop that makes cushions.
    capacitor lab yachtmati techmati

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Seagate - RMA questions

      Guess I'll have to ask at a few stores, maybe they have one left over.

      my replacement for the first drive is a Samsung Spinpoint T166 series disk, since I haven't heard anything bad about them.
      I have the impression that Seagate isn't as good anymore as it used to be a few years ago, just like WD.
      Any other bad manufacturers recently? (apart from Maxtor, of course)
      Hitachi's newer models seem to be okay, from what I've heard (the last Hitachi drive I owned was a DeathStar... in fact, it owned me and my system in the end.)

      btw, SMART sucks.
      "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Seagate - RMA questions

        I would suggest Hitachi or Samsung. Have a lot of Samsung SATA & IDe disk deployed without any problems (sure, only in combination with good PSU`s) .

        For the packing, i think Seagate takes this seriously.
        I have RMA`d a Segate HDD too, and used a special foamed package i have had laying around from the last component order.

        Just ask at any computer store, they will give you, what you need for free.
        Otherwise pack it into a standard plastic HDD shell and put any foam around, you can get till the specified thickness.

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Seagate - RMA questions

          can send you one seashell if you are stuck
          capacitor lab yachtmati techmati

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Seagate - RMA questions

            Sounds like you need to go buy some new hard drives which will give you the retail boxes you need for shipping. If you can't get a box just Advance RMA it where they send you the shipping box you need with the new drive.
            sig files are for morons

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Seagate - RMA questions

              There's one question I still can't figure out after all these years:

              What causes more stress to a drive - running 24/7 or frequent spin-up/down cycles?
              I'm talking about non-server 7200rpm drives in a well ventilated environment (no more than 30°C)

              Does this mainly depend on the manufacturer or is there a thumb rule?

              So far all my drives had bad r/w heads in the end... the question is if more on/off cycles would have killed them earlier.
              "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                I think you can`t answer this question generally for all models.
                Personally, i put my rig into S3 mode nowadays (why not? it dos use only a few watt and it is on with nearly no delay), but my last socket a unit was running 24/7 most of it`s live (s3 not working ;-) )

                I haven`t had a any age or wear related hdd failure on my own parts (if we ignore HDD`s <1024MB).
                Either i screwed the HDD by myself, sold them or already use them still today.
                And some where RMA`d due to production or handling failure (IBM ICL35, Seagate, Maxtor, WD).
                All my HDD`s are actually working, even those i sold.
                Only one Samsung model does make some high pitched noise, probably due to a bad bearing (it was an very old drive, probably from 2000/01), which could be seen as a wearing out mechanism (mostly 24/7 use)

                I think most HDD`s went fubar due to design or production failures (at least all the IDE / SATA drives w/o industrial grade QS).

                Generally, i think that a HDD should be ok for about 5 years on duty, regardless if 24/7 or 8/7.


                I think the problem with on off switching is the PSu, as most junk PSU`s tend to fry during power on, or at least producing some unpleasant voltage spikes.

                This could easily harm a HDD (consider a badcap, who's ESR is elevated if it is cold >high ripple current after powering the system on) either instantly or over time.

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                  This drive wouldn't happen to be a ST3160812AS, would it? That's my main drive. And a ST3320620AS as my backup.

                  I have had 5 Seagates. Not one died on me. I even have a working 40GB barracuda that had a 5-6 year run time I believe.

                  I've had two 80GB SATA Samsung drives 2 years ago for raid 0. Both slowed down, corrupted, etc. They were silent but not reliable.

                  I can't wait for solid state disks to become affordable and fast.
                  Last edited by rawgerz; 11-11-2007, 04:19 PM.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                    Originally posted by rawgerz
                    I can't wait for solid state disks to become affordable and fast.
                    Considering the amount of bad RAM I've been seeing lately, maybe solid state hard drives aren't such a good idea

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                      Originally posted by rawgerz
                      This drive wouldn't happen to be a ST3160812AS, would it?
                      The one covered by warranty was a ST3250823AS. Unfortunately, the other one is already in the trash, so I can't verify. It had 8MB cache, and I think it was a 7200.7 (not sure) Barracuda model from the early SATA days when they used a bridge chip, manufactured in 2004. I still have a picture of the PCB, if you need one for comparison.

                      A few years ago, I had a 80gig Samsung which didn't work too well, either. But it seems that a lot has changed with their drives (like anywhere else.. remember the IBM DeathStars?), so I decided to take the risk. Buying a new hard disk is ALWAYS a risk, and you can't rely a 100% on old experiences, neither on good nor on bad ones.

                      I'm wondering if the refurbished replacement they send me will live longer than the first one.....
                      "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                        I emailed seagate a LONG time ago about that requirement for the special box.

                        They replied that it didn't matter what kind of box as long as it was 'effectively the same' as the one they mention. (The main concern is the right kind of padding on all 6 sides of the drive.)

                        But ~you~ write them first so you have it in writing before you go shipping anything to them.

                        ---

                        Seems to me that these drives with this new "Perpendicular Recording" method aren't lasting all that long.
                        -
                        I'm seeing an uncomfortable number of reports of data just going *poof* (corrupt) without any actual drive failure. Usually when the drives get to be a year or two old. In one case the drive was wiped, reloaded with everything, and then set to read-only,,,, the data went corrupt again within a couple days... In read-only too, so you know it wasn't a write error.... It just went *poof*.

                        My speculation is that the Perpendicular Recording technology doesn't hold the + and - charges as well as the traditional method after a 'spot' has been written and rewritten a few times.

                        And I'm thinkin' I'm gonna pass on using those kinds of drives for a few more years.
                        (Let someone else work out all the bugs.)

                        .
                        Mann-Made Global Warming.
                        - We should be more concerned about the Intellectual Climate.
                        -
                        Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
                        - Dr Seuss
                        -
                        You can teach a man to fish and feed him for life, but if he can't handle sushi you must also teach him to cook.
                        -

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                          I would recommend you go with a new 7200.10 or 7200.11 drive.
                          It seems the model number you gave was of a 7200.8 drive, I had two of those (gosh must of been 3 or 4 years ago) and sent them back because their writes were way too noisy and hot compared to earlier Barracuda generations.

                          I own a 160GB and 320GB backup drive, both Seagate. And it's the only manufacture that I would ever recommend up till I see otherwise. I think one is 2 years old, and the other about a year.
                          My 320GB drive gets a daily mirror of my main drive to a file size of 120GBs. That has been going on for many months.. Both are perpendicular recording. I've heard the "ES" series uses even more reliable components.

                          Seagate drives been good to me.
                          *Knock on wood*

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpendicular_recording

                            Seagate didn't even ship 3.5" drives with the Perpendicular recording until April 2006.
                            -
                            Initially it was only the Cheetah 15K.5 and Barracuda 7200.10 that used the method.
                            -
                            2.5" drives were only a few months earlier in January '06 and that was only in the Momentus 5400.3 models.

                            So a 2 year old Seagate drive is definitely not Perpendicular recording and a one year old may or may not be depending on it's actual manufacture date and model.

                            I'm playing "wait and see" on Perpendicular recording.
                            If there is a problem it will be ~2 years or so before it's known for certain.
                            -
                            They can't test new products for the effects of time... They can only guess...

                            It takes time to know such unexpected problems in huge markets....
                            ... Just like the bad caps plague....
                            Began in ~2000 and wasn't really clear until 2002/2003 what was going on.

                            So knock a little harder on that wood.

                            I'll knock with you!
                            - Although I don't trust the new technology yet I would really like it to work!

                            .
                            Mann-Made Global Warming.
                            - We should be more concerned about the Intellectual Climate.
                            -
                            Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
                            - Dr Seuss
                            -
                            You can teach a man to fish and feed him for life, but if he can't handle sushi you must also teach him to cook.
                            -

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                              I have great success with the 7200.11 drives. I've had a rash of WDC crashes over several years now, and have replaced them all with Seagates.

                              The WDC are either old IDE > 3 years old, or SATA, sometimes only a few months old. Their SATA seem to be somewhat crappy... just a gut feeling from the number I have replaced.

                              With my business clients, they all get new PSU and new drives at 3 year intervals. I tell them it is the same as replacing tires before the blow.

                              You CAN wait until last minute, only to have it go at the worse possible time: driving I5 to Disneyland, holiday weekend, 110 degrees, running late, and your mother-in-law is in the car.

                              Or... replace them when they are worn down, but before the blow.

                              Comment

                                #16
                                Re: Seagate - RMA questions

                                The 'guts' [mechanicals] of a SATA drive are no different than a PATA.
                                The only difference is in the PCB attached to the drive.

                                Personally I don't think any brand of drive is any better than another as long as you compare drives based on the same warranty length.

                                What I see happen a lot is someone saying abc brand sux 'cause they keep breaking but my xyz drives never fail. - If you dig a little you usually find the abc drives had 1 year warranties as new and the wyz had a 3 or 5 year warranty.
                                - That's not even a reasonable comparison.
                                [ That's like saying I had 3 Vegas and they sucked so all Chevys are crap, but my Lincoln has never failed be so all Fords are great. ]

                                I really get a kick out of people bad mouthing Maxtor drives and then talking-up Seagate in the same paragraph,,,,
                                ... because as of about 2? years ago Seagate owns Maxtor... LOL

                                I'm just saying look at the warranty length to determine the quality of a drive.
                                The brand matters less.

                                .
                                Mann-Made Global Warming.
                                - We should be more concerned about the Intellectual Climate.
                                -
                                Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
                                - Dr Seuss
                                -
                                You can teach a man to fish and feed him for life, but if he can't handle sushi you must also teach him to cook.
                                -

                                Comment

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