Failing HDD - returns policy

Fanny Cradock

Pri Master hard disk: S.M.A.R.T Status BAD,Backup and Replace

Win 7 alerted me today to a HDD problem. It looks like it is failing because I got the above message when I restarted the machine to run a disk check.

My questions are about getting a replacement from Samsung. Does anyone have experience of returning products to them? I have had the HDD for the best part of 1.5 years, which means I'm over the 12 month policy. However, I've read that they will still replace beyond this time.

Also, if I do send it back to them what about the data stored on the drive? I'm absolutely not sending the drive back if it's full of my data. Format?

I need a new HDD quickly but I can't afford to buy one. I also can't afford to wait for a replacement (should they send it to me).

:S

deconduo

Most Samsung drives have a 3 year warranty. I had a Spinpoint F3 fail on me once, all I needed to do was to put the serial number into their site, print off a postage sticker, and send it off. Got a replacement back within a week. However since then they've been taken over by Seagate, so I have no idea what their RMA process is like now. If you do send it off, expect to get a blank drive back.

_AVALANCHE_

deconduo wrote: »

Most Samsung drives have a 3 year warranty. I had a Spinpoint F3 fail on me once, all I needed to do was to put the serial number into their site, print off a postage sticker, and send it off. Got a replacement back within a week. However since then they've been taken over by Seagate, so I have no idea what their RMA process is like now. If you do send it off, expect to get a blank drive back.

Who has??

Fanny Cradock

deconduo wrote: »

Most Samsung drives have a 3 year warranty. I had a Spinpoint F3 fail on me once, all I needed to do was to put the serial number into their site, print off a postage sticker, and send it off. Got a replacement back within a week. However since then they've been taken over by Seagate, so I have no idea what their RMA process is like now. If you do send it off, expect to get a blank drive back.

What about the data on your drive?

deconduo

_AVALANCHE_ wrote: »

Who has??

Samsung's hard drive division.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/20/seagate-shores-up-its-hard-drive-business-finalizes-samsung-pur/

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

What about the data on your drive?

They aren't going to look at it or steal it :pac: You can format it if you want but there's nothing to worry about.

Check if your drive is in warranty:
http://support.seagate.com/customer/en-US/warranty_validation.jsp?form=0

Works with Samsung drives too. To send them back you usually need a failure code from the Seatools diagnostic app. Though if the drive is so knackered you can't even get the diagnostic to run you can just say so.

Pack the drive properly because ive heard of them rejecting ones that arent packed safely. I usually keep the packing when I buy a new drive because ive sent a rake back by now. At one stage every Seagate 2TB drive I bought died in quick succession.

yoyo

deconduo wrote: »

Samsung's hard drive division.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/20/seagate-shores-up-its-hard-drive-business-finalizes-samsung-pur/

News to me as well, not a huge fan of Seagate, but they arn't the worst either. Maxtor (Now Seagate as well), Hitachi, Fujtsu I would try to avoid if possible, always found Samsungs and WD to be the better drives

Nick

_AVALANCHE_

yoyo wrote: »

News to me as well, not a huge fan of Seagate, but they arn't the worst either. Maxtor (Now Seagate as well), Hitachi, Fujtsu I would try to avoid if possible, always found Samsungs and WD to be the better drives

Nick

WD bought Hitachi HDD business in November for 4.3billion dolla and Toshiba bought Fujitsus HDD section in 2009, leaving only 3 Suppliers:(, no more price wars. First thing Seagate did was butcher their Warranties.

Was looking at Seagate/samsung deal their last nite, Seagate had to give $1.4B, half in cash, half in shares (10% of the company) for Samsungs loss making HDD business, Samsung got to put an executive on Seagates Board, Samsung source HDD from Seagate but Seagate have to source SSDs from Samsung.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2011/04/19/seagate-agrees-to-buy-samsungs-hard-drive-business-in-1-375-billion-deal/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-samsung-seagate-idUSTRE73I1CG20110419



I was thinking the canny Koreans got a great deal here, wonder who advised them

Morgan Stanley was financial adviser to Seagate, while Allen & Co was financial adviser to Samsung and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker was its legal adviser.

Ahh, that explains it I thought:o....it wasn't until I came across this

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383812,00.asp

The two companies struck a deal to co-develop SSD controllers in Aug. 2010.

that things evened out abit.

Extending and enhancing the existing patent cross-license agreement between the companies

^^^ was abit vague.

unkel

yoyo wrote: »

always found Samsungs and WD to be the better drives

Same here. Up to about 6-7 years ago, I had best experiences with WD. Since then I've switched to Samsung for my own use and haven't had one fail on me yet.

Of all of the dead / problematic 2.5" hard drives that I've seen over the last few years, the vast majority were Hitachi...

yoyo

unkel wrote: »

Same here. Up to about 6-7 years ago, I had best experiences with WD. Since then I've switched to Samsung for my own use and haven't had one fail on me yet.

Of all of the dead / problematic 2.5" hard drives that I've seen over the last few years, the vast majority were Hitachi...

Fujitsu and Toshiba would be close to them (they only do 2.5" disks). I've had one samsung disk fail, not too bad as I've owned around 9 of them over the years. I lost no data either, and got a replacement no probs . Having said that I do believe with hard disks its all down to users expierience, I'm sure many have used Hitachi/Seagate etc (I have a Seagate drive still going fine) with no issues, and some who've had many issues with WD/Samsung etc, I guess its the luck of the draw with them . When I'm replacing drives for people as well there could well have been a knock or laptop fall which caused the drive to fail to begin with

Nick

unkel

yoyo wrote: »

When I'm replacing drives for people as well there could well have been a knock or laptop fall which caused the drive to fail to begin with

And people seem to be surprisingly honest about those kinda accidents happening to them

I had one person stating they stamped their fist on a specific part of the keyboard. Exactly where I showed him the (now defunct) hard disk is housed

yoyo

A machine I'm currently in the process of replacing the drive for: here. To note from the pic that SMART is enabled and yet the drive still failed with SMART passing, not always going to warn you in time SMART :P . Drive failed Seatools and Vivard (after 5%)

Nick

unkel

Yeah I largely ignore SMART too. I don't trust it to be a good indicator for imminent drive failure.

yoyo

unkel wrote: »

Yeah I largely ignore SMART too. I don't trust it to be a good indicator for imminent drive failure.

If its been tripped however its not something that should be ignored :pac: . It certainly warrants investigation, and I'd reccomend a new drive or keeping regular backups of data

Nick