Just wondering. In the last couple of weeks I've had both an external 250gb
FreeAgent drive brought to me that had gone tango uniform.
Now, this week, a brand new Seagate PATA internal I ordered for a laptop
arrived DOA.
FWIW, I have been seeing (over the past several months) a lot of Hitachi
drives (maybe 6 to 8) that have expired, but I don't consider that news
(given the history of IBM drives).
I just hope Seagate isn't letting Maxtor rub off on them somehow.
On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:45:03 -0600, "S.Lewis"
<Gossamer@interesting.com> wrote:
>Just wondering. In the last couple of weeks I've had both an external 250gb
>FreeAgent drive brought to me that had gone tango uniform.
>
>Now, this week, a brand new Seagate PATA internal I ordered for a laptop
>arrived DOA.
>
>FWIW, I have been seeing (over the past several months) a lot of Hitachi
>drives (maybe 6 to 8) that have expired, but I don't consider that news
>(given the history of IBM drives).
>
>I just hope Seagate isn't letting Maxtor rub off on them somehow.
>
>
>Stew
So far my two Seagate External 500GB Free Agent drives are OK -- I've
been using them for a few months.
I have about eight 250GB drives of the previous generation. I liked
the enclosures of those drives better because they are stackable and
seemed to have good ventilation.
No problems here.
My 200GB internal 7200 laptop drive is Hitachi. Maybe I should take
extra care to take frequent backups ...
On Feb 25, 7:45 pm, "S.Lewis" <Gossa...@interesting.com> wrote:
> Just wondering. In the last couple of weeks I've had both an external 250gb
> FreeAgent drive brought to me that had gone tango uniform.
>
> Now, this week, a brand new Seagate PATA internal I ordered for a laptop
> arrived DOA.
>
> FWIW, I have been seeing (over the past several months) a lot of Hitachi
> drives (maybe 6 to 8) that have expired, but I don't consider that news
> (given the history of IBM drives).
>
> I just hope Seagate isn't letting Maxtor rub off on them somehow.
>
> Stew
> Just wondering. In the last couple of weeks I've had both an external
> 250gb FreeAgent drive brought to me that had gone tango uniform.
The 80GB Seagate Momentus drive in my Macbook "squeaks" under heavy access.
It hasn't done anything bad, but you'd better believe I'm keeping a running
disk image of the system on another drive. I've really never heard anything
like it, so there's a Hitachi drive just waiting to take its place.
My brother's Seagate Momentus 160GB drive died in the night and was clicking
repeatedly the next morning.
I can't say that I dislike Seagate drives (there is a 386DX-40 around here
somewhere running with a 540MB Seagate drive that is still going strong),
but they aren't my first choice. Whenever I invest in an external drive, I
usually pull it from the case to see what the SMART data says after a good
SpinRite run.
As an aside, do you remember when I asked about the ExcelStor drives? I
bought an 80GB PATA ExcelStor desktop drive shortly after asking. It has
surpassed my expectations in every way. You'd have to hear (or maybe more
appropriately, not hear) the drive to appreciate how quiet it really is. The
temperature never gets above 90 or so even under heavy access. It's been
running approximately 24/7 since installation. I don't think they have
laptop drives, though.
> My 200GB internal 7200 laptop drive is Hitachi. Maybe I should take
> extra care to take frequent backups ...
I've had excellent luck with several recently purchased Hitachi laptop
disks, all of them PATA. Most are in laptops and are 5400 RPM drives, but I
also have a 7200 RPM, 100GB PATA 2.5" Hitachi drive in a self-powered USB
enclosure.
About the only laptop drive I really can't recommend would be a Toshiba. I
have a stack of dead Toshiba 2.5" hard disks that is getting large. They die
in strange ways. The most recent one works fine when cold and held upside
down. When it warms up it will act as though it cannot read data off the
platters. The same is true if you turn it any way except upside down.
The 7.02 revision Seagate 80GB drive in my Macbook is supposed to be
afflicted with the problems that so many have, but it just keeps
running...although it has had a "squeak" at times when moving the heads
around. I'm keeping a running backup.
On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:20:13 GMT, "William R. Walsh"
<newsgroups1@idontwantjunqueemail.walshcomptech.co m> wrote:
>Hi!
>
>> My 200GB internal 7200 laptop drive is Hitachi. Maybe I should take
>> extra care to take frequent backups ...
>
>I've had excellent luck with several recently purchased Hitachi laptop
>disks, all of them PATA. Most are in laptops and are 5400 RPM drives, but I
>also have a 7200 RPM, 100GB PATA 2.5" Hitachi drive in a self-powered USB
>enclosure.
>
>About the only laptop drive I really can't recommend would be a Toshiba. I
>have a stack of dead Toshiba 2.5" hard disks that is getting large. They die
>in strange ways. The most recent one works fine when cold and held upside
>down. When it warms up it will act as though it cannot read data off the
>platters. The same is true if you turn it any way except upside down.
>
>The 7.02 revision Seagate 80GB drive in my Macbook is supposed to be
>afflicted with the problems that so many have, but it just keeps
>running...although it has had a "squeak" at times when moving the heads
>around. I'm keeping a running backup.
>
>William
What is the difference between PATA and SATA laptop hard drives. I
think all of mine are SATA. I have a spare 80GB Hitachi and a spare
80GB Toshiba. I am probably going to use the Hitachi to do a trial
run install from scratch of a student version of XP Pro for my Lenovo
X61. I'll try it first to see if I can do it without Lenovo's backup
disks.
It's worth the learning experience because I will probably get Lenovo
laptops from now on although I will say that I am still undecided
whether to part with my Latitude D520. It is also very well made and
rugged, and I like the screen on it for business purposes. Maybe I'll
hype it up on Craig's List to see if I can get a buyer for $900
because it has the 3 year complete care warranty.
I put a low-ball offer on a MacBook tonight and someone was going to
sell me one for $300. I wrote back and said that it's a good deal but
I have other laptops already but that she should be able to get a lot
more for it. I think I could make some money if I didn't mind the
hassle of buying and selling on Craig's List because people accept low
offers if their first sale didn't go through and you establish some
rapore with them.
I'll make sure to keep the hitachi and put the Toshiba into any
notebook that I sell in the future.
> What is the difference between PATA and SATA
> laptop hard drives.
The interface that connects them to the computer is the main
difference. Mechanically PATA and SATA hard drives will be nearly
identical.
Although I generally don't like the SATA connectors (because I have
visions of the cables slipping off or me snapping a SATA plug wafer
off of the drive!), the SATA laptop drives do offer a nice feature--
they use the exact same plugs as their desktop (3.5") counterparts. No
adapter is needed. 2.5" PATA drives require an adapter to plug them in
to a desktop.
> I think all of mine are SATA.
If they are SATA, the drives will have the "split" connectors--a small
one for data and a larger one for power. PATA laptop drives have a 50
pin connector and master/slave/cable select jumpers.
> It's worth the learning experience because I
> will probably get Lenovo laptops from now on
> although I will say that I am still undecided
> whether to part with my Latitude D520.
I like the Lenovo laptops, but I don't necessarily think they are any
better made than Dell's competing Latitude lineup. My Latitude D800
has only been repaired once under its three year warranty. The Lenovo
has been in twice for service. Both systems had broken ports.
To be fair, I am going to send my Latitude in for some "refreshing" as
its warranty is due to expire this March. The keyboard is very
slightly iffy on a few keys (not a big problem), the primary click
button on the touchpad is worn, the volume buttons need to be hammered
to work (and always have to some extent) and the display hinges are
just a very little bit loose. (These problems no doubt sound much
worse than they really are--my Latitude D800 is a great system that I
will keep until it works no more.)
Those are an *excellent* laptop drive in my book. I've got two in
laptops right now, one in a self powered USB/FW400 enclosure and more
in embedded applications. There hasn't been a single failure.
One of the laptop drives was pulled from a Dell that got bit by
lightning. The laptop was a write-off but the drive is still going.
It's been running long enough that the "lifetime counter" in the SMART
data is getting close to the end of the Fujitsu specified lifetime.
For reference, it's a 12GB drive--and the laptop has run around the
clock since 2002 or so. (The other laptop drive--a 60GB unit--is in my
Latitude D800.)
The one in the USB enclosure came from an iBook G4 that was powered on
when a dog peed on it. This drive is working great.
(OT) Anyone seeing any Seagate HDD's dying? 
Linear Mode
