Maxtor Hard Drive Question/Problem

[bullion416]

I have a Maxtor 60 gig 7200 rpm drive. The model number is: Diamond Max Plus 5T060H6 and it seems to be running slower than it normally does. I have tried reformatting and everything. My concern is that is makes an unhealthy sounding clicking noise every once in a while. This noise will occur at startup some times and it has progressed and now makes it sometimes when i am using windows. I I had to guess, I think there may be a problem with the arm that reads the actualy disk in the hard drive. What do you think and should I send the hard drive back to Maxtor for a replacement? (do you know if they have a program where they will give me a temporary replacement so that I am not with out a hard drive?) Thanks

 

[Texun]

That sound can't be a good thing.

Maxtor's No Quibble Service program offers these return service options:

Advanced Replacement RMA Service:
Maxtor will ship your replacement product(s) first, then you will have 30 days to ship us your defective product(s). Maxtor will aim to issue an RMA number within 1 business day of your online request, call, fax or E-mail, and will strive to ship replacement(s) within 2 business days. There is a 2-product limit on advance replacement RMA's. You will be asked for a credit card number to secure the replacement(s). Your account will only be billed for defective product(s) not received within 30 days. (Distributor and OEM customers, your Maxtor account will be billed after 30 days and a credit card will not be required). Replacements will be shipped by a second day air service. You can go to their web site for full details, but this is the essence of how your swap will work:

Standard RMA Service:
You return the defective product(s) first, then Maxtor will ship the replacement product(s) to you.
Maxtor will aim to issue an RMA number within 1 business day of your online request, call, fax or E-mail. Upon receipt of the returned product(s), Maxtor will typically ship replacement(s) within 2 business days. Replacements will be shipped by a second day air service.

PLEASE NOTE: If you suspect that your Maxtor Hard Disk Drive may be faulty, we recommend first running Maxtor?s diagnostic software utility "Power Max" to verify the error before contacting our website or calling 1-800-2-MAXTOR for replacement. If the device is found to be defective, we will be glad to replace it for you.

Good luck.

 

[bullion416]

Thanks for your help. Do you know what happens if they find your drive not defective?

 

[Texun]

I honestly can't say, but from what you said it sounds like it has had some type of hard failure. Rather than return the drive to you I would expect them to replace it, which is part of their "No quibble replacement plan."

The power max software should tell you, or you could try running scandisk from Windows and use the full test method. This will test the surface, and if you've experienced a hard failure it will almost certainly show up there in the form of bad sectors. Even if scandisk attempts a repair it will only be a temporary fix. Once the sectors start showing up as bad, the end won't be far off.

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. I've used Maxtors for years and found them to be more reliable than any other drive, but bad ones do slip out now and then.

R

 

[4824guy]

I got back a RMA drive that worked ok. However, when I ran HDtach benchmarking software on it, the results weren't too good to me. I called Maxtor up and told them that the think made a clicking sound somtimes and requested a new one. It worked for me. I got a fine replacement unit.