[meerkat]

Hello friends,

Do you guys use SeaTools for Seagate HDDs? I was advised by a Seagate rep to run the Basic tests to check out my new 4TB Backup Plus external hdd, and I got confusing results:

1. The Short Drive Self Test passed.

2. The Short Generic Test failed! (the outer scan completed 100%, but the inner scan immediately failed at 0%). It asked me to run the Long Generic Test.

3. Fix All - Short passed.

4. The Long Generic Test passed (after 11 hours)! But the Short Generic Test still failed!

I don't know what to make of the results - does my new drive have real issues that must be addressed (I can still have it replaced), or can I ignore the Short Generic Test failure since the Long Generic Test passed?

Please note that my issue (the exact Short Generic Test fail - Long Generic Test pass modes) is apparently quite common! My OS is Windows 7. Apparently that could cause the Short Generic Test to fail (whereas Windows 10 reportedly passes it for the same drive!).

Subsequently I ran the same tests on another identical drive I had purchased a couple of months back (past the replacement deadline now) - same results (i.e. passed the Short DST, and failed the Short Generic test, -- didn't run the Long Generic test), but it appears to be working fine!

Funny thing is, on reporting my observations, another Seagate rep advised me to ignore the Short Generic test results, and strongly advised me to *not* run the Long Generic test, and not bother running these tests (there own tools -- and this goes contrary to what their first rep had suggested earlier) as long as the HDD is recognized and seems to work fine!

I'm all confused now, -- should I not worry about possible bad sectors? The problem is, long formatting is prohibitively time consuming for such large capacity HDDs. So what do you experienced guys do with such drives these days? I don't think having the new drive replaced would help, because I fully expect the same Short Generic failure for all similar drives!

Thanks in advance for any help.
.

[dailydriver]

In May 2020, I had purchased a WD passport 2TB Hard Disk from Amazon. Rather foolishly, I hadn't used it till now.

When I tried to connect it to my Windows laptop a few days back, it wasn't detected. I tried using it with a Linux laptop wherein a message saying that the drive couldn't be mounted got displayed.

Is contacting WD the only solution or is there something else I should try before that?

Thanks in Advance.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

In May 2020, I had purchased a WD passport 2TB Hard Disk from Amazon. Rather foolishly, I hadn't used it till now.

When I tried to connect it to my Windows laptop a few days back, it wasn't detected. I tried using it with a Linux laptop wherein a message saying that the drive couldn't be mounted got displayed.

Is contacting WD the only solution or is there something else I should try before that?

Thanks in Advance.

1. See if it is detected by BIOS. If not then there is some problem.
2. If it is detected by BIOS, then
. Check if it is detected by the "Disk Management"
(Control Panel\System and Security\Administrative Tools\Computer Management\Storage\Disk Management)



If it is then you will have to "Mount" the disk

[Cessna182]

Just wanted to share that even if you get one for free, do not use a maxtor hard disk. These go on sale on amazon and Flipkart very often, but my wife's got spoilt within 2 years and she lost a lot of photos of family functions etc.
When it comes to memory, always buy the most reliable brands like Samsung, or companies which use chips from Micron etc. Even Seagate is bad because the connectors develop problems. But never buy a Maxtor.

Edit: yes, now we store everything in one drive- the 1 TB free storage with MS office is coming to be of use. Thanks. But many still use HDD and SSD for more secure data, like patent information, or personal stuff like family photos etc. because the cooyright terms on the cloud services are unpredictable.

[Gannu_1]

/OT

Originally Posted by Cessna182

she lost a lot of photos of family functions etc.

Please store these with a backup in a cloud service like Google Drive (cheap, free 15 GB per user, multiple accounts can be made). Don't trust physical drives with these. Anything else can be retrieved.

[mohan41]

Not sure if this is the right thread for a query.
A friend of mine is looking for a good Network Attached Storage for home office. He runs a small software company and has hosted all the source code on Cloud. Now all his employees are working from home. He would like to backup the data periodically (daily) at the homes of two or three engineers of his company. He is looking for a good entry level NAS solution which can be setup to automatically do the back up and be able to retrieve quickly if need arises.

[anjan_c2007]

My existing Seagate 0.5 TB EHD is already about six years old. I had spent upwards of Rs 5 K when I bought it from the market. This EHD acts as a back-up for all my precious files and also backs up my desktop, reducing the pressure on its memory. Recently my nephew an IT professional, hinted upon the need for a second EHD back-up for this Seagate back-up for my desktop the seeing its capability a bit dwindling (back-up for an existing back-up ).

Then taking his suggestions into account, I ordered a Western Digital (WD) 2 TB My Passport EHD that he had suggested from Amazon on 25.09.2021. It cost me about Rs 5500=00. I tried to install it within the next few days. I tried and tried but failed again and again. Also tried to do so with my brand new Dell laptop, but again got no positive results. Then for a while due to other preoccupations, the EHD's malfunctioning had gone off my mind. It happens these days with many folks. In the older days, money used to matter a lot and any such defect would be immediately agitated with the concerned company/supplier. But now most of us including me are in some cases hardly bothered to exert ourselves in such matters. Does our being well-off spoil us ? Not sure, but it surely does many a time.

Hence, sleeping for months with the issue for a while since September 2021 end, the Amazon return of goods period (return window lapsed on 05.10.2021 viz. 10 days) had already lapsed. My nephew based in the US fumed and said Amazon has a one month window for such devices in the US. Double standards there by Jeff Bezos, the world's richest/sometimes second richest man ! Again, by December end after a lapse of three months, I took up the issue with the consumer relations department of the manufacturer M/s Western Digital, India, sending them my first mail stating about my frustration with the EHD. I got a reply within 12 hours and the feedback by Mr Saquib from Western Digital guided me on how to go about the installation. But he expressed dismay upon hearing that the EHD would not be recognised by two desktop devices at all, as stated by me. I tried based on whatever he had stated but again failed. Then I requested him for an exchange, as this was not amenable to any kind of methodologies for its "gentlemanly" installation. Again within a day, I received a mail giving me all the details about the need for registration of the device on their company website, issue of a registration number and an e-acknowledgement for the same. I registered my defective device soon on heir website and got the registration number. They also further had a process for registering for their Return Material Authorisation (RMA) for returnable goods. As I was unable to register for their RMA, Mr Saquib (he was constantly mailing back to me upon any queries raised) did it for me. With my product registered on their website and a screenshot available, he got it registered for RMA with a code number whose screen shot was sent to me. Then upon a further query by me about the return process, they sent me a local agent's address and contact number, where the defective WD EHD had to be physically handed over. I took printouts of the registration document and its RMA as advised by the company. I handed over the device with these papers to their local agent on 11.01.2022. They said that it will take about a fortnight to receive the replacement.

And to my pleasant surprise the replacement reached me on 22.01.2022. Today, I have successfully installed it and I am now backing up the Seagate with this new EHD.

We have very less examples of such probity and transparency among Indian corporates. Many of them survive with grey clouds hovering around their ethics and practices, that engulf and take their customers through the storms, winds and rains artificially created by them. But here is a company Western Digital that has been so forthcoming, proactive and very customer oriented. They are headquartered in Great Oaks Parkway, San Jose, California. I wish their tribe grows and grows ! It was a matter of just Rs 5500=00 but their ethics and customer friendly approach has overwhelmed me.

Sharing the Amazon receipt and the RMA image from WD here:-

[Aroy]

I too had problems with a new external HDD. It was not recognised. I complained and an engineer came, checked and authorised a replacement.

The point is that with any electronic item, it is best to check and raise a complaint if it does not work within the 10 day window. Otherwise yo are at the mercy of the supplier.

One good thing about Amazon is their "no question asked" return/replacement policy. I guess it is cheaper to replace than to spend time and effort in analysing "why".

[sukhoi]

Hello,

Looking for suggestions on external SSDs. For my current usage a 256 GB would be good enough but am not seeing too many options on Amazon for 256 GB SSD. Next option is 500 GB SSD for which I am getting Portable SSD T7 USB 3.2 500GB for 5499 on sale. This seems to be the best deal available.

Any feedback on this SSD, saw mixed reviews online.

Cheers,
S

[Sebring]

Go for it. I'm using the older T5, and it is reliable. Recently I picked up the SanDisk 1TB SSD, which should be Rs 1000 more, just to see another option. This one is blazing fast. Everything copies in seconds (T7 should be same league)

Originally Posted by sukhoi

Hello, Looking for suggestions on external SSDs. For my current usage a 256 GB would be good enough but am not seeing too many options on Amazon for 256 GB SSD. Next option is 500 GB SSD for which I am getting Portable SSD T7 USB 3.2 500GB for 5499 on sale. This seems to be the best deal available.