Problems with new Seagate 1.5TB drive.

N

nerr

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
Messages
216
After having to RMA my first one due to clicking issues, I've received a second... and it's giving me hell. It makes loud squealing noises, the system won't boot with it attached, and in an external enclosure it isn't detected at all via eSATA or USB.

DOA drive, I'm guessing? I'm fairly annoyed right now with these drives, because if this one is DOA, this'll be my second time RMA'ing the same model of drive. I don't even think I want a replacement. I'd almost rather just send it back for a refund if I'm going to keep having problems.

Suggestions on what to do?
 
-=Antimatter=- said:
New firmware? Wasn't there an update or something?
Click to expand...

This one has SD17, and I was going to flash it... but again, I can't even boot with the drive attached, nor will it detect while I'm in Windows. So flashing is not an option.
 
If it's squealing then you have a mechanical problem. Firmware wouldn't fix that even if you could flash it. It's gotta be a DOA drive.
 
epimetheus said:
If it's squealing then you have a mechanical problem. Firmware wouldn't fix that even if you could flash it. It's gotta be a DOA drive.
Click to expand...

This is what I figured. I sent in an email to Newegg tech support, asking them what I'm supposed to do if I get a DOA drive after an RMA. I might just send this back for return, and if that's the case, I'd prefer not to pay restocking and shipping AGAIN for a Newegg error. Love the site, but I think I might be better off looking at some more tried-and-true 1TB drives.
 
Newegg hard drive shipping bashing aside, you shouldn't have to pay restocking fees or even shipping for an RMA. Talk to their customer service reps, they're very good about this sort of thing and you shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket for getting a functional piece of equipment.

Best of luck to you, two dead drives in a row would make me angry too. :mad:
 
Yep, I sent them in an email about two hours ago. Perhaps they'll get it before 2 more hours pass and they close down for the night.

And I guess stuff just happens sometimes... but I'd like a recommendation. If they're willing to just take the drive back, no restocking or shipping fees, should I do that and get a 1TB instead? Or should I try one more time? I guess I don't really need the extra 500GB of space, as I only had about 500GB of data on the first drive, and I had backed up everything I could think of. 1TB would probably be okay for me, and would still give me room for growth.
 
Try adding the drive to the system after the machine is powered up.
Sata drives are fully pnp as long as you use the Sata power connector.
 
As a rule hard drives will die at one of two places, within the first week or so of use, or during the end of their life cycle (judged by the Mean Time Between Failure which I'll admit is not well established yet for these devices but one should consider the Seagate 5yr warranty as some indication on this) While it does seem Seagate is having many issues with these 1.5TB models I would say that once you get a working one then there should be no troubles for the foreseeable future. The point I am trying to get at is that the infant mortality rates of hard drives is not indicative of how long the drive will perform once you get it up and running. As was said previously if you are not returning the item at Newegg then there should be no fees associated with the RMA except maybe return shipping and even that i'm not so sure about. If it is not becoming prohibitivley expensive to get a working drive, or you do not NEED it to be running in a particular timeframe (this week for example) Then I myself would stick with the Seagate until it is up and running.
 
Y'know, even if it only costs me $10 shipping... Haha, that'll be $140 total to get a single drive working, since I got it on sale for $120 with free shipping. I'd be okay with that, as that's what they normally go for anyway.

I think I will RMA one more time, and if I get another failure, definitely going to make a different selection.
 
Alright, quick update... contacted Customer Service, and I got a free shipping label + waived restocking fee for the trip back. I guess the lady understood it as me wanting to send the drive back entirely.

So now I'll have a $120 credit back. I think I might try just one more of these drives. The_Engineer recommends I try the drive one more time. That'll cost me $10 after I get this credit, and I'll be able to have the drive much faster than I would a replacement anyway. Thoughts?

PS: Newegg rocks. Customer service is indeed very helpful, friendly, and prompt.
 
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