Is it worth fixing bad sectors on a harddrive, or should I RMA?

[Sandor]

I have had my IBM 60GB 60GXP (a replacement from IBM for a previous drive) for about 4-5 months, and it has bad sectors. The Drive Fitness Test from IBM identified these, and asked if I would like to fix them. I was wondering how effective this really is, or if I should just go ahead and RMA it (again). I figure with the history of these drives and the fact the DFT said I had a defective drive, I would have no problem.

 

[Epyon9283]

I would RMA it. In my experience, bad sectors lead to more bad sectors...

 

[Bozo Galora]

i agree, dump it. with any other drive i would wait for another notice, but 60XP, no way.

 

[Sandor]

That's what I was thinking. I was also thinking about buying a Maxtor while this one was in transit, but then I'll be out another $100+ and have 2 hard drives. If I used the IBM purely as storage (no OS, apps, etc), would the data be safe? Or could it get corrupted regardless of its use?