Info on the Dell 120GB WD Drive

claffeyb

Senior member
Mar 26, 2001
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Thanks for the info - just got my Dell drive yesterday, and although I wasn't worried about it, it's always nice to have 3 years instead of only 1!
 

TechDreamer

Senior member
Feb 7, 2002
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That would be nice if it's true. I read the e-mail the guy wrote and he didn't give anything official. He just stated what was said to him on the phone. I hope he wasn't talking to some low level Customer Service rep who was clueless. It would be nice to see something in writing. I guess we could all call up individually and find out oursleves, but then we would probably mess it all up for everyone.
 

Dre

Platinum Member
Oct 15, 2001
2,246
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Unless you have it in writing from a company rep on your individual drive, don't trust it.
 

Shoemakerpom

Junior Member
Jan 8, 2002
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I have been an Administrator for years and all Western Digital, Maxtor and Seagate and Most Quantum drives are covered for the Minimum of 3 years. I have replace porbally 100 drives or more from each of these manufactures just by going to the home page and filling out the forms. Some of the companys like maxtor and I think seagate still send you a new drive replacement without a deposit. You don't need any reciepts just the number off the drive itself when filling out the forms and most of the time it can all be done through their page.

Shoemakerpom
 

GLudlow

Senior member
Jul 10, 2000
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I don't think this hols any water at all- from what I've heard (and I'll verify this tonight) NONE of these drives will be supported by Wester Digital at ALL.

There is a huge difference between retail and OEM. When you buy that "white box" item, it was sold to a systems builder (supposedly). They are responsible for handling maintenance and service requests, unless otherwise specified.

The way WD works, they won't directly support these drives. You *have* to go through Dell if the drive breaks. If you fill out the form on their webpage, it will say something like "This device was sold to a computer manufacturer. Please contact them for support." I got the same thing at work when a SCSI drive went out on our external enclosure.


 

grappa

Senior member
Apr 10, 2000
331
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Well, check it for yourself... go to WD's Warranty Checker and put in the serial numbers of the drives you want to check.

If WD says they're not covered, it doesn't matter what the Dell rep says, WD won't cover the drive.


G

 

Zclyh3

Banned
Oct 16, 2001
582
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Um...this does not constitute as a "hot deal". Moderator, do your magic...WoOOoo PAh!

 

Sawadee

Member
Mar 13, 2000
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I received mine yesterday. It was not packaged correctly. Just the drive in OEM anti-static bag dropped in 9x9x11" box.. Really a lot of room to bounce around in during UPS shipping. Dents on inside of box.... Called Dell Customer Service and another one is on the way... I hope. Did not want to have a problem later. Expected better from a computer manufacture...
 

Smoothie

Member
May 21, 2000
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I just checked my drive and it basically said what GLudlow said, no limited warrenty no nothing because it was "sold to a computer manufactuer" or whatever. Just a heads up that these will only be covered by dell's 1 year and not the 3 year.
 

rondeemc

Golden Member
Jan 6, 2001
1,216
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There is a huge difference between retail and OEM. When you buy that "white box" item, it was sold to a systems builder (supposedly). They are responsible for handling maintenance and service requests, unless otherwise specified.

My experience has been just the opposite. I was unlucky enough to have two IBM drives fail that I had purchased from newegg as oem. IBM replaced them without any problems, never even spoke to newegg.
 

SKiller

Senior member
Oct 10, 1999
660
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<< My experience has been just the opposite. I was unlucky enough to have two IBM drives fail that I had purchased from newegg as oem. IBM replaced them without any problems, never even spoke to newegg. >>


Newegg is NOT a system builder, they sell drives that are covered by the 3 year warranty.
 

MontyBurns

Platinum Member
Feb 29, 2000
2,836
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I really don't see what the big deal is on whether this drive has a 1 year or 3 year warranty. For the price, who the hell cares? The drive is top-rated by all reviewers, and is being sold by a reputable company. Would the lack of an extra 2 years of warranty really keep you from making a purchase, or prompt you to return the one you bought?

 

Stevem627

Golden Member
Jun 18, 2000
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Warranty would make a difference to me. A BIG difference. Drives go bad more than any other part of a system in my experience. That is why I buy Maxtor now. They have a great turnaround time and a good product. Any slight performance differences are neglible and not as imprtant as the warranty.
 

SupermanCK

Platinum Member
Mar 31, 2000
2,264
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did you guys notice it said WD 120GB...not the dell brand 120GB...need to be clarify because dell also sells WD's OEM drive...
 

nnnyyy

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
3,370
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<< I received mine yesterday. It was not packaged correctly. Just the drive in OEM anti-static bag dropped in 9x9x11" box.. Really a lot of room to bounce around in during UPS shipping. Dents on inside of box.... >>



Thats strange. I received mine in a 9x7x7inch box that was completely packed with foam. Just like how the retail box drives are packed. Mine is the dell branded one.
 

Mje

Member
Jun 25, 2001
188
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<< Thats strange. I received mine in a 9x7x7inch box that was completely packed with foam. Just like how the retail box drives are packed. Mine is the dell branded one. >>



Both of mine were like this. The corner of one box is pushed in, looks like it took a major hit.... I wonder if the drive will be ok?
 

explorer2k

Senior member
Sep 7, 2001
211
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Dell sucks!
They called and said they wont be shipping it till the 15th.
A MONTH AFTER THE ORDER.
 

Dre

Platinum Member
Oct 15, 2001
2,246
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I got the WD labeled drive and it was packed in foam all around. Great packing.
 

Devistater

Diamond Member
Sep 9, 2001
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Keep in mind there are at least THREE differant types of hardware sold, not just retail and "OEM' but retail, bulk packaged, and "oem." Many companies misuse the OEM term, OEM is supposed to be stuff without warranty from the manufacture. Generally they mean bulk packaged (i.e. just in the bag, or white box) when they say OEM. Almost all bulk packaged stuff is supported by the full warranties, at least in my experiance for things like hard drives. In this particular case, dell is selling OEM drives which means the warranty is from dell, and its ONE YEAR not 3. Test it out, enter the serial in the WD warranty web site. My drives from dell weren't covered. Anyway, this is not a hot deal, and its misinformation, so it needs to be locked :) The whole reason dell buys OEM stuff is so that they can buy it real cheap since they tell WD that Dell will do support, not WD, so they get a discount for that. That's differant than bulk packaged stuff. Normally for bulk, they tell you to call the manufacture for support, so that means its not OEM.
 

Rio Rebel

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,194
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You're right about misuse of the term "OEM."

"OEM" stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer", and used to refer to a company which bought and re-used the item as a part of a system they would resell. The factory would sell the same part to an OEM at a lower price, because the OEM would be using the part in a system that they would market and warrant. The OEM would normally buy in bulk, and would almost always be responsible for the warranty themselves, so the factory could afford to sell at a much lower price.

Now, in the computer industry, this term has become very inconsistent.

 

IgorTs

Senior member
Dec 4, 2001
421
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76
got the drive today and run is serial for warranty: no warranty from Western Digital on it...
I have one year from Dell and another one from Blue.
 

tkim

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2000
2,103
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so i'm not getting this. is the dell branded better or the wd branded better? cause i have the wd branded one.

are the warranties the same for either?
 

pillage2001

Lifer
Sep 18, 2000
14,038
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<< got the drive today and run is serial for warranty: no warranty from Western Digital on it...
I have one year from Dell and another one from Blue.
>>



How do you know you get a year from AMEX?? Do I get it as well? I bought it with the AMEX blue student version. :)