HOT ADVICE FROM SEAGATE RE: 300GB 7200.8 PATA DRIVES

[Greg04]

Called Seagate.

After 4 of 5 of my PATA 300GB drives failed after running hot and clicking like an iomega zip drive, Seagate finally acknowledged that they had a "slight issue" with the chip that is marked "smooth" not running so smooth.

They said to cool the chip using a fan or other means and xfer all the data from the affected drive to another drive. Nice.


Anyhow, all the drives are being RMA'd. Just thought you guys might want a heads up.

The drives I had were the 300GB PATA 7200.8 version.

 

[helpme]

Sounds interesting. At least mine sits behind a 120mm fan, but...

When did you buy it?

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: Greg04
Called Seagate.

After 4 of 5 of my PATA 300GB drives failed after running hot and clicking like an iomega zip drive, Seagate finally acknowledged that they had a "slight issue" with the chip that is marked "smooth" not running so smooth.

They said to cool the chip using a fan or other means and xfer all the data from the affected drive to another drive. Nice.


Anyhow, all the drives are being RMA'd. Just thought you guys might want a heads up.

The drives I had were the 300GB PATA 7200.8 version.

Not so hot? or HOTTER THAN EVER?

*sigh*

I just installed this drive in my machine this morning. Time will tell.

 

[Greg04]

Originally posted by: helpme
Sounds interesting. At least mine sits behind a 120mm fan, but...

When did you buy it?

My first purchase date was 10/29/05. I bought them from OUTPOST.com and the full description is

ST3300831A-RK 300GB RTL ULTRA DMA RETAIL KIT

 

[zephyrprime]

Interesting. You should post this is general hardware so people get the word. Just to be clear, the problem is caused by drives with a chip marked "smooth"?

I just took a look at mine. Looks like that smooth chip is the spindle controller. Somebody did a very bad job to not have noticed that the spindle controller can't handle the power running through it.

 

[RideFree]

I've never read the GH forum but could be affected by a couple of these drives. Good to know about the cooling. I'll run 'em in the fridge if I have to.
Note to self: Make sure the 300G 7200.8s are being actively cooled.
Thanks Greg

 

[xomp]

where was your HD made?
seems the only places are: singapore, china, malaysia, thailand. or would the location even matter?
edit: i dont think ANY of my 9 seagates are made in china or singapore, gotta get home to check tho (2x7200.8 250gb, 2x7200.8 300gb).

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

IINM, the general advice is to stay away from the 7200.8 line.
I've never touched it, better safe than sorry
Only original 7200s and 7200.7s here.

 

[xomp]

my (personal, not some random online guy) friend's ~4month old made in china 160gb 7200.7 failed on him. my roommates brand new OEM (from monarch) 250gb 7200.8 made in china drive has delayed write failed errors. coincidence? =P

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Greg04

Originally posted by: helpme
Sounds interesting. At least mine sits behind a 120mm fan, but...

When did you buy it?

My first purchase date was 10/29/05. I bought them from OUTPOST.com and the full description is

ST3300831A-RK 300GB RTL ULTRA DMA RETAIL KIT

Bahhh!! I bought the 300 gig 7200.8 PATA from Outpost on 10/20 and it would go thru the whole format process, but then it wouldn't be recognized as a formatted drive. After doing that 3 times (about 1 3/4 hours each time) I checked it with the Seagate software test (anothe 1 3/4 hours) and it said it was fine. They had a "generic" test on the CD so I ran it. It failed the 90 second surface scan with 2 errors. I'd have to say their quailty control is poor.

So I had to RMA it back to Outpost (New one shipped out 10/28) and then they tried to make me pay the shipping both ways so i had to call them and straighten that out. Now there's a recall on them. ARRGGGHHHH!

I'm going back to Western Digital. I've had 2 out of 3 Maxtors fail, 1 out of 2 Seagates and the other one is being recalled, and 0 out of 15 Western Digitals fail on me.

Oh yeah, I bought the drive to put in an external enclosure (with no fan) but after testing it with the top of the enclosure off it ran WAY TOO HOT to use so i swapped it with an old WD600AB 5400 rpm drive I had in my system it runs nice and cool.

SO now what? Buy another drive to back up my 300 gig Seagate? What a crock.

 

[imported_pratz]

my 7200.7 40gb seagate failed on me at the beginning of the year. followed by my WD 120gb and now my 160gb WD has delayed write failed errors. anyone know what I should do to retrieve the datas?

I dont know which brand to trust anymore..guess all depends on our luck. And I had all three of my drives active cooled with 120mm fans.
The only one left is 13.2gb WD that I have been using the past 4 years. It is still going strong after all these years. I guess the newer drives do su**.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Now there's a recall on them. ARRGGGHHHH!.

Where did you see the info on the recall?

Must be time to trade up to the 7200.9s
# 7200.9 being served at Newegg