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Hitachi warranty starts @ DoM?

S

snowbound

Member
Puchased a Hitachi 7K1000.C internal hard drive and idling with no partitions on it and no other actvity on the computer there is a noticable noise coming from the drive. One can also feel the drive apparently seeking / vibrating.

Since the drive is new I can return it to the online reseller or RMA it to Hitachi. The DoM (date of manufacture) is Feb 2010 10 mths ago. Hitachi online support system shows the warranty start date as Feb 2010. A post in another forum indicates Hitachi's warranty begins at DoM and Hitachi does not extend the warranty if one provides an invoice showing date of purchase. Is this indeed the case with Hitachi warranty? If it is I will be returning the drive to place of purchase and never buy Hitachi hard drives again.
 
I don't know if they extend it or not based on receipt, but I do know that generally speaking ALL hard drive manufacturers use DoM as a baseline time for warranty, though some will let you use receipt too.
 
Well I know Western Digital does and I believe Seagate as well. If Hitachi doesn't then I have lost 10 months of warranty on this hard drive by it sitting on a distributor's shelf in a warehouse. I have never seen a hard drive like this one which is quieter when it is doing a full drive test than when it is at idle. I can hear the thing 4' away when the drive is idling.
 
I ran the fitness test short and long and it passed. During the test the drive was a lot quieter than when it was idle!

The drive makes the noise even with the SATA cable disconnected. I can return the hard drive and they will test the drive like I did and then charge me a 15% restocking fee because it passes the test. The drive is going to be used for backups and will be idling alot.

When I had the drive outside of the case the idle noise can be heard from 4' away.
 
A 15% restocking fee is a small price to pay for the peace of mind, knowing that your data will be safe on a quality HD.
Buy a WD Black this time around.
 
Blain said:
A 15% restocking fee is a small price to pay for the peace of mind, knowing that your data will be safe on a quality HD.
Buy a WD Black this time around.
Click to expand...

Actually going to cost me about $38 for the 2 shipping charges plus restocking fee.
 
If you lost all your data due to a bad HD, would it be worth $38 to get it all back and have a better quality drive?
 
Blain said:
If you lost all your data due to a bad HD, would it be worth $38 to get it all back and have a better quality drive?
Click to expand...

Problem these days hard drives are a commodity. All brands have problem models. Getting a WD black drive is not a guarantee that it will not fail. I have had problems with Seagate, WD and now apparently Hitachi.
 
Blain said:
A 15% restocking fee is a small price to pay for the peace of mind, knowing that your data will be safe on a quality HD.
Buy a WD Black this time around.
Click to expand...

So buying a WD Black means you don't need to do backups? :hmm:

One issue the OP has is with noise. WD Caviar Black drives are one of the noisiest desktop drives on the market.
 
I for one, can't agree with manufacturers using DOM as start of warranty time. That drive could have been on a vendors shelf for months, before it sold, so why should the end buyer lose warranty time ? Seems kinda one sided (in the maker's favor) to me.
 
DOM unless receipt from authorized reseller shows otherwise. obviously they will question you when you present a drive that has been shelved for 2+ years but if you don't have proof of receipt.

non-authorized resellers usually void warranties - so don't be too quick to offer up ebay receipts.
 
The thing is at Hitachi warranty terms page the only time a proof of purchase is mentioned to modify a warranty period is under

"The Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Warranty for Machines"

This would not cover hard drives but rather computers such as laptops My interpretation is that if a extension of the warranty for a hard drive is not not mentioned in the terms of the warrant then its not applicable. :\
 
Zap said:
So buying a WD Black means you don't need to do backups? :hmm:

One issue the OP has is with noise. WD Caviar Black drives are one of the noisiest desktop drives on the market.
Click to expand...
I don't think I said that. :$ Backups are an issue between the OP and his maker.
The OP is concerned about his Hitachi making odds sounds (along with vibration), presumably because he thinks the sounds are an indication drive failure.

I could sell him one of my WD Blacks, they aren't loud at all.
But then he wouln't be getting a full 5 year warranty.
 
Any real computer technician knows that diagnostics don't detect all disk defects, including excessive vibration, and no reputable merchant will charge a restocking fee on an exchange, especially because their distributor will absorb the cost of defective products. Also most manufacturers prefer that merchants handle warranty claims within 15-30 days of purchase, although rarely do that of the customer.

I'd say at least 5% of the drives I've bought have vibrated too much, but sometimes the mounting can resonate just right and greatly amplify even a small amount of vibration.

Hitachi upgraded the firmware of the 7Kxxxx.C drives and in the process caused the head movement noise to be much louder than before. Worse, it can no longer be adjusted.
 
OP: That noise is completely normal. Apparently every 10 minutes or so, the drive does something that makes that noise. I can't hear it on mine, but in reading reviews of the drive I came across that.
 
you can definitely wank performance with different drives (different vibrations) or even the same drives. scream into hard drive while watching 100% load - or fire off that 12" bass and watch your sustained read speed drop like crazy.
 
If you go through the actual warranty process of returning the drive hitachi will honor the data on a sales receipt. I have been using them exclusively for the past 1.5 years for workstations. If a drive fails you fill out the forms and attach a copy of the sales receipt. It has to be from an authorized dealer The reason for the date seen on the website is they have to put a date when the drive was manufactured and use that as a basis for when the warranty expires unless further information is provided.

I never once had a problem with a return to them .

I use the enterprise class drives which are virtually silent. You can adjust the acoustic management to make the drives quieter but it will hurt performance some. Not usually enough to matter though. You need software like victoria for windows that can access the settings.

http://majorgeeks.com/Victoria_for_Windows_d5688.html
 
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snowbound said:
Actually going to cost me about $38 for the 2 shipping charges plus restocking fee.
Click to expand...

There should be no restocking for defective merchandise. I believe they all will replace defective merchandise without a restocking fee. Some may charge you a fee if you ask for a refund, but an even exchange should be covered.
 
Old Hippie said:
Now what?
Click to expand...

Well drive manufacturers make you go through such tests and hoops to get an RMA, however a reseller within the return window will take it back. The drive vibrates/makes excessive noise, tell them that and they should swap it out for you. Within a return window I wouldn't even bother dealing with a manufacturer. You were sold defective merchandise, you can return/exchange it.

Your position by virtue of being within the return period is golden. I cannot imagine why you would even deal with a manufacturer given that position. If it happened after the return window, then sure you would be stuck dealing with HGST, but consider yourself lucky.

EDIT: I just realized I wrote my post as if you were the OP.
 
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sxr7171 said:
Well drive manufacturers make you go through such tests and hoops to get an RMA, however a reseller within the return window will take it back. The drive vibrates/makes excessive noise, tell them that and they should swap it out for you. Within a return window I wouldn't even bother dealing with a manufacturer. You were sold defective merchandise, you can return/exchange it.

Your position by virtue of being within the return period is golden. I cannot imagine why you would even deal with a manufacturer given that position. If it happened after the return window, then sure you would be stuck dealing with HGST, but consider yourself lucky.

EDIT: I just realized I wrote my post as if you were the OP.
Click to expand...
You're missing the point.

He ran the fitness tests and they said the drive isn't defective.

Hopefully they would swap the drive but technically is isn't defective.
 
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