First RMA experience.. WesternDigital - is the replacement drive always a "refurbished" drive?

[dahunan]

I did an RMA on my 80gb SE because it has a very high pitch sound that is irritating.

I received my replacement today and it is a refurbished drive.. this doesn't feel very good... but the warranty is still good for another 2+ years.

My question is; should I be upset that I received a "refurbished" drive when I purchased mine in a retail box when they first came out?


I never want to worry about my hard drive failing and it seems as though they sent me one that has already failed once before??


Should I just quit whining and be glad they have a good warranty or should I demand a non-refurbished drive? 😀

Thanks In Advance

 

[Mitzi]

I think most HDD manufacturers send refurbs in response to an RMA (I know that IBM certainly did when I sent my 60GXP afew months back). They replace like for like, the drive you sent them is now second hand so you recieve a refurb in response, kinda sucky but as long as it works I'd be happy.

 

[Joemonkey]

In most cases, companies will send out a brand new drive if it fails within 30 days. After 30 days, you can be 99.9% sure you'll get a refurbished drive back from the manufacturer.

I don't get too worried about refurb stuff, most times if a drive can be refurbished it would be something simple to fix

 

[Bug]

I got a refurb for an rma as well. It works fine, so you should be okay.

 

[capricorn]

I've RMA-ed a couple drives and got back refurbished drives both times. In one case the refurb lasted as long as any drive. In the other case, the refurb drive went belly up in about 2 months. (It was an old 8 GB drive, so I just replaced it with a larger drive rather than go through the hassle again.)

-cap

 

[sunkim50]

I figure.. if it was refurbished.. then a technician actually fixed it. I would think it better than a mass produced one.. hehe