Hitachi RMA Process

[LeftSide]

Has anyone ever dealt with Hitachi's RMA process. I have a 3tb xl3000 drive that just went bad. Problem is it's an external drive, and I took it out of it's case, breaking the warranty seal. Should I just send the bare drive in, like it has been an internal drive the entire time, or put it back in the case and hope they don't notice the broken seal?
The good news is, I bought two of these pre-flood for $80, the bad news is, I might have an $80 paper weight.

 

[mfenn]

Don't try to scam them, they can tell the difference. If you send in a bare drive that was originally sold as an external, they will deny your RMA as soon as they look up the serial number.

Your best bet is to come clean with them and explain what you did. They might take pity on you and offer to RMA the external drive even though you broke the seal.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hey, you take the gamble, on opening a cheap external to use the drive, you suffer the consequences when/if it fails (no warranty anymore).

 

[LeftSide]

Yea, I might try to call them instead of just filling out the RMA online. See if they make an exception.

 

[LeftSide]

Hey, you take the gamble, on opening a cheap external to use the drive, you suffer the consequences when/if it fails (no warranty anymore).

I understand I took a gamble. I thought I was taking an $80 gamble. I actually thought 'hey 6 months from now if something happens the drives will actually be cheaper, so I'm taking a $60 gamble. Really didn't plan on hard drive prices skyrocketing, and now I'm staring at an $330 paper weight. I really can't afford to replace it, so I'm asking for some help.