[audioholic]

@Drsingh thanks. I haven't dropped the drives anytime, for it is an internal drive and is securely mounted and left as it is. I am fed up of this RMA thingy. At least they must be kind enough to give a new drive as replacement, just like how I get a new belkin Surge Protector everytime the old one conks out, because of my mistake only

I had sensed this problem and purchased another drive to back up my data, and hence I was satisified. The problem started with the first drive failing to sustain extended read/write periods. For example, to read or write a Movie from one location to another, it used to hang twice or thrice. I had to remove the SATA power cable and let the Drive stop, and again power it up manually. That would give me some respite. Now I have completely disconnected the drive. Guess I will return it today or tomorrow.

[drsingh]

^^^ good to know you're smart about backups.incase of hard drives always assume your disk will fail and make redundant backups. Data recovery is expensive and unreliable in india

[audioholic]

So let me revive this thread. Also invite your suggestions. The third replacement hard disk(certified repaired crap) failed as soon as I started writing the backup data back to the drive. I had just transferred 5GB of data and the drive starts making the same clicking sound and the computer hangs. Isnt the drive designed for such heavy transfer of data?

Immediately called up Seagate singapore and spoke to the technician. They offered to replace the drive with a new build. This happened last monday. They instructed me to return the drive to the collection point. The same evening of returning the drive, the collection point declares no fault found and asks me to take delivery of the drive. Actually it was remarked NFF and I did not know what it went. When I went there, I was handed over the same drive again. Pissed me off badly and I again contacted Seagate. They are saying that a new build will be provided, but these people here are playing fool. There were so many other customers who were angry about repeated complaints. Gave a mouthfull to the manager. Now they have relogged the disk and I am waiting for the replacement.

I am totally fed up of going to the collection center, and that is similar to a government office. Always I find people there who are totally fed up of their customer relations.

What I am more concerned is why this problem is repeatedly occuring. My computer CPU sits in an air conditioned room, with no heating problem. Moreover, I transfer data in small quantities. One movie was enough to pack up the drive. So, I am looking forward to know why such a problem will occur. I am using another 80GB hard drive next to the 500GB one, which is older and has been working flawlessly from more than 5 years IIRC. When that drive can take my usage, why cant a much more latest, advanced drive do the same? Any tips?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by audioholic

What I am more concerned is why this problem is repeatedly occuring. My computer CPU sits in an air conditioned room, with no heating problem. Moreover, I transfer data in small quantities. One movie was enough to pack up the drive. So, I am looking forward to know why such a problem will occur. I am using another 80GB hard drive next to the 500GB one, which is older and has been working flawlessly from more than 5 years IIRC. When that drive can take my usage, why cant a much more latest, advanced drive do the same? Any tips?

Let me tell you that Seagate quality sucks big time. I moved to WD in 2006..no more Seagate for me ever. WD has better QC though they are not fault free but they are certainly more reliable than Seagate. Also, WD picks up the faulty drives and delivers the replacement at your home/office.

Please don't be under the assumption that a drive will last only due to AC, they are mechanical devices and WILL fail at some point. Please back up your data even if you have a new drive! Also, larger the capacity and higher the platter speed the more the chances of failure. Take it from me. I've been experiencing this issue since the mid 90s. Call it bad luck or whatever. I take multiple back ups of the same data i.e. backup of back up of back up. The last on a RAID 1(mirroring) external drive.

[audioholic]

I do agree that mechanical devices do fail at some point of time, but this is definitely premature failure. I think their quality has gone down in recent times. There were so many other 500GB barracudas which were given for RMA. The other Seagate I have has taken more abuse, with a small period of having no backup to the comp also. Till date it runs fine. I would not have bothered if this one failed. But newer one failing, multiple times is a let down for me. Not sure what they mean by "Certified repaired" drives. Guess they just put a different sticker and pass it from one customer to another. I guess my next hard disk will not be a seagate. Having said that, even my backup rests in a seagate goFlex. If that fails, I will be a mad person then. RAID drives are expensive for home use. I was thinking about NAS, but starting prices was 8k. So rested that idea.

Another problem with backup is I have to do it manually. Everytime I change something in my computer, I have to do the same in the backup disk. If that was automatic, things would have been easier.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by audioholic

But newer one failing, multiple times is a let down for me. Not sure what they mean by "Certified repaired" drives. Guess they just put a different sticker and pass it from one customer to another. I guess my next hard disk will not be a seagate. Having said that, even my backup rests in a seagate goFlex. If that fails, I will be a mad person then. RAID drives are expensive for home use. I was thinking about NAS, but starting prices was 8k. So rested that idea. .

Mechanical drives WILL fail at some point. Backups are a must.

The RAID set that I have is about 13K for a 2 TB WD R0/R1 drive enclosure. It is the best way to secure your data. This has multiple interfaces including FireWire 400/800, e-SATA and USB 2.0.

Be aware that NAS is very slow as it is over a network. If you back up large amounts of data you need a gigabit network for best speeds. Direct connection via FW, USB or e-SATA is the best.

In the end how much one is willing to spend to protect data is generally dictated by the value of that data Like I said, I have multiple backup sets having faced HDD failures on and off for a long time.

I too had Barracudas and they are responsible for me to turn away from Seagate permanently. I am talking about events that happened more than 6 years ago in mid 2006. The recertified sticker is when drives under warranty are repaired and tested, offered as replacements swaps for faulty drives from the market. I guess you drive had a green label instead of the white that comes on new drives.

Originally Posted by audioholic

Another problem with backup is I have to do it manually. Everytime I change something in my computer, I have to do the same in the backup disk. If that was automatic, things would have been easier.

Please invest in a backup software solution(s) that automate the task. For disk imaging I use Macrium Reflect (VFM solution but they also have a free version) which is excellent as is Storagecraft's Shadow Protect which is pretty expensive. The former is targeted to home or small office use while the latter is mostly for corporate environments. Both are bullet proof. I also used Acronis but of late that software has been transformed into a snail, takes too long to back up and worse still restores are inconsistent. I stopped using Acronis.

For data back ups I use Genie Backup Manager Pro and real time back up is done by Genie Time Line. The same functions are available in Acronis, but this software is not recommended!

Hope this helps.

[audioholic]

Thanks R2D2. I am fed up with their service. Yesterday, I got a repaired drive again, and in spite of the tech support assuring me that I will get a new drive. Here is the conversation:

From Seagate,
Dear Sankalp

We have indicated clearly to the collection point to have your hard drive replaced with a new build. We are now checking with the collection point to confirm that you will be receiving the new build. Kindly ignore the message that you have just received. We will be contacting you again within this week to advise you further. Many thanks.

--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: Sankalp
To: sfdc.apacsupport@seagate.com
Subject: RE: Seagate RMA New Build Case ID: 03007528 [ [

I recieved a message from SeaCare center which said
""Greetings from SeaCare, Your SGTBET120016714DW hard drive serial no
Z2A1K64W is repaired and ready.Please visit us and collect it."

Regards,
Sankalp


From: Seagate Support
To:/*****@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Seagate RMA New Build Case ID: 03007528 [ [
Dear Sankalp

We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please allow three to seven
working days to allocate a new build replacement for you. We are now
contacting our counterparts in India to see how we can expedite things
for you as well. Many thanks.

--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: Sankalp Talagonda *******@gmail.com]
Sent: 12/7/2012 4:02 PM
To: sfdc.apacsupport@seagate.com
Subject: RE: Seagate RMA New Build Case ID: 03007528 [

I have returned the drive to Accel care center as per your instruction.
The call id SGTBET120016714DW. However, they are not offering a
replacement immediately. I am basically fed up of visiting the
collection center everytime and spending my precious time. Probably
this would be the last time I will be investing money in a seagate
product. I am really disappointed with the quality of service offered
to me, even after providing a defective product. Hope you folks improve
things soon.

Regards,
Sankalp
From: Seagate Support
To: sanshrinand@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Seagate RMA New Build Case ID: 03007528 [

Dear Sankalp
Thank you for contacting Seagate Technical Support.

Please note that we have approved your hard drive to be replaced with
a new build. We have forwarded your information to the collection
point that was specified by you. We will also start the replacement
process once the faulty unit is returned. Many thanks.

After all this, I get a repaired drive again The manager was the most careless and rude lady I have seen till date. "Take it or leave it" Was what she told. Dont know when this drive will fail. Just FYI, this is the fourth drive I am getting from Seagate including the purchase. Guess its time to try Western Digital

[Thad E Ginathom]

This is really astonishing. Glad mine are Western Digital now. But all hard disks die, and backup is the thing! To be fair, my last Seagate failure was several years after the warranty had expired, but I don't feel like dealing with a company that treats people the way they are treating you.

If you feel like having any further attempts with them, I suggest you put your mobile phone on voice-record, and slip it in your pocket where it can catch the conversation. The head office might be interested in the recording, especially if it includes names.

These people wear us down. Take it or leave it, she doesn't mind how many times you try again, she knows you will give up in the end.

[audioholic]

I agree, because, even my other seagate which is way past the warranty period is working well and good, and will sustain extended audio recordings without giving a cry. The new one cant handle even 4-5GB of continuous write sessions. The one I recieved was able to take in things from my backup drive. So far, so good. But what I dont approve/understand/decipher is that, when Seagate has offered to replace the drive with a new drive, why cant the collection point simply give me one? I told the same to the manager. They had told me to forward the conversation to them while they took my drive and I did the same. I showed the mail to the manager also. Her exact reply was "See, this is what we have got from our Head office. If you want you can take it and do what you want with Seagate, if you dont take it will just stay in our storage. I cant do anything".

I sent a mail immediately to Seacare Singapore. All these days, they used to respond quick but from three days, no news. Basically, be it Maruti, or any other mass market brand. I was NEVER, ever disappointed like this. Even the auto major has enough courtesy to send its employees home to fix a small scratch they had made on my car during service. This, without asking a single question. A belkin surge protector that had burnt due to a wiring fault in my house was replaced by their distributor, after accel care centre(the same collection point for seagate) delayed the whole thing by a month saying no stock. And for a mere 3k hard disk I need to undergo so much trouble. It is indeed true that mechanical devices fail. But so soon? And when other components in my computer are doing fine from a longer time? Once my drive failed, I got a replacement. No cry. Again it fails, I am annoyed. The third failure made me a maniac.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Thanks R2D2. I am fed up with their service. Yesterday, I got a repaired drive again

audioholic, they will ALWAYS give you a refurbished/repaired drive, no two ways about it. It is their corporate policy. Once upon a time WD gave brand new drives as replacements, not any longer.

Don't rely on hard disks too much. Just backup regularly, and use a good backup programme to automate the task.

WD fails as well (experienced 2 failures in 6 years) but not as frequently as Seagate.

A SSD is ideal for robustness and speed. But they come with limited life and are very expensive in terms of cost/GB. So they are best as boot drives as of now. But as time progresses we'll get high capacity SSD with lower costs but I don't believe the limited life span issue will be resolved - it is a limitation of the most basic unit of construction: flash memory cells. Backups will still be necessary. But SSDs do not lose the data when they die, they lose the ability to write. You can continue to read data off the SSD.

[audioholic]

I agree sir, but when they have committed to give a new one to me, what is the collection points problem? I have seen two other people getting a brand new drive as replacement. As in the previous conversation, they have assured me of a new replacement. So, they should keep up their word right?

[R2D2]

All I'll say is good luck mate . Seagate sucks big time.

[audioholic]

I woke up to see this mail:

Dear Sankalp

We apologize for any inconvenience caused. We have specified very clearly to have your hard drive replaced with a new build. We have had an investigation ongoing on the matter stated in your previous email.

We are going to contact you by phone at 9195*555*1*5 or by email to advise you further on the new build replacement arrangement. Many thanks.

Not that the new disk will be fail proof, but I guess its anyday better than these repaired stuff. The current disk I have has a PCB that has corroded contacts and tracks. At least such things wont be present. However, thanks to R2D2, Thad E Ginathom for your inputs and suggestions. I shall update it once some development takes place. Will I buy a seagate even if they replace my drive with a new one? NO.

[rbp]

Guys, I have a 500 GB internal hard disk with corrupt partitions, I was using this with a enclosure. The disk has thousands of snaps of my kids which are invaluable, I have tried all types of software's to recover data, some I could recover, some I cannot, any professional place where I can get the recovery done?

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I am totally fed up of going to the collection center, and that is similar to a government office. Always I find people there who are totally fed up of their customer relations.

Are you talking about the one near SP road on the 2nd floor of a dingy building? I have had bad experiences with them as well.

When returning a faulty drive, the moron (yes, I'll call him that only) entered wrong details and gave me a receipt with all my personal details incorrect. On asking, he started verbally abusing me. I too started shouting and another person (maybe the manager) intervened and proceeded to issue another receipt. After a couple of weeks when I was checking the seagate website on the replacement status, I see that the details are still incorrect at their end. Apparently, the second moron had issued me a fake receipt. I mailed the seagate customer care but without any avail. Didn't have time or inclination to follow up the issue, so left it at that.