STOP Recommending IBM Hard Drive!

[ktchong]

I bought an IBM 75GPX 30-gig three weeks ago. I patched the hard drive with the Microsoft fix immediately after I installed Windows ME and before Microsoft officially released the fix. The hard drive ran extremely fast and quiet during the first two-week of use. However, now in its third week of use, it is making annoying noises and getting noticeable slower in caching and loading temporary Internet files.

The only reason I opted for the more expensive IBM 75GPX over Maxtor or Quantum was because all the senior members in here were braggin' about how great and fast and reliable IBM hard drives were. A member in here claimed that IBM hard drives could "run circle around any other hard drive"... well, that's bullshit. I have used both Maxtor and Quantum (and many other brands,) and this IBM 75GPX is the worst I have used.

At this point I don't want to RMA it because I still haven't completely done with putting together my new PC and am still shopping around for components. I will probably just return the IBM drive or exchange it for one from Maxtor or Quantum.

I maintain that IBM 75GXP has numerous serious quality issues (dying after weeks and months of use, making loud noises after awhile, corrupting data after Win98/ME shutting down, having trouble in partition/formatting, etc., etc.,) I have been reading way too many negative messages about this IBM hard drive in here. The quality of IBM hard drives is becoming like those of the generic RAM modules: sometimes people do get really good product, but many less-fortunate others get poor-quality one. There is just too much "chance" and "luck" involved. I paid for a premium-brand drive so I didn't have to take that kind of chance with quality. For some reason IBM's quality control is not as good as it used to be, but it is still charging premium prices while delivering sub-standard-quality products. People in here should stop recommending IBM hard drive already.

 

[HigherGround]

Your statements only apply to your own experiences, the same applies to the others who might have recommended that particular drive, so don't blame others for your own actions, noone forced you to buy this model, they simply gave you their opinions and left it up to you to make a determination whether or not those were valid.

 

[ktchong]

Just letting others know my experience with 75GPX so they think twice before buying an IBM.

 

[Noriaki]

That's unfortunate, I hate poor QC (cough*abit*cough), and I'm sorry you got an unreliable drive. my 30gig 75gxp is going strong.
Here is a review at storagereview.com, this review focuses on the WD Caviar 400BB 40Gig drive, but it compares Quantum, IBM, Maxtor, WD and Seagate.

Take a look and see how the drives compare. The Maxtor Dmax Plus 45 makes a good showing for itself as well as having a nice price (at least where I live). I'm not terribly impressed by the Quantum drive, but the Maxtor is very nice and cheap.

 

[Alphacowboy]

Ah... that happens with all products... you got a $hitty one, exchange it and live with it! I have had $hitty luck with Maxtor drives... in 3 years I have gone through 5.. YES 5!!! And I won't even comment on Quantum! I have 2 WD experts... AKA an IBM with WD name on it! All products can have potential problems, give another one a try, if it gives you similar problems, try something else. And WinBlowME... WHY, go with W2K or Win98SE a much much better choice!!!

 

[pugh]

childess arguments over STUFF.My Quantum works fine ...what ever works fine for you all ok....Lets be adults about this guys and gals...must we fued over dumb matters...?

 

[ndee]

In my opinion, IBMs are still the best. I now have 3 IBM Harddrives, one 15GB 75GXP, 14GB and a 8 GB. Never had problems..... and remember, Senior Member doesn't mean anything, Diamond Member doesnt mean anything..... The Status is based on the posts, and not on the quality of the posts. Only Elite Members are "elected" by the Moderator I guess.

 

[JellyBaby]

To the original poster: your message is meaningless because you probably have a bad/failing drive. RMA it, get a new one and if the situation repeats itself, then post (but make sure the fault isn't on your end). Getting angry and flaming a product on a board is pretty vain and only serves to promote disinformation.

Btw, I have that exact same drive and it's been running great since June (knock on wood [my head])!

 

[NoreagaCNN]

Uh my IBM HD is great, I've had it for a while now and have had no problems at all, you shouldn't diss out IBM cause you had troubles, IBM HD's are the best out right now.

Peace,
Nore

 

[Mem]

ktchong your statement is unfair ,I`ve just had a Thunderbird 900mhz go faulty after 7 weeks you don`t see me saying anything bad about AMD the fact is any hardware from any manufacturer can be or become faulty you were unlucky like myself to have this problem,btw my IBM harddrive is still going strong after nearly 2 years, also no company makes perfect hardware that will never become faulty.

If you buy computer hardware all the time sooner or later you will have a faulty part,only if you are very very lucky you might escape this.One last thing over the last 6-7 years I`ve had 3 faulty hardware goods & to me this is not bad considering how much hardware I`ve purchased over those years.

 

[Whitedog]

You get good ones, and you get bad ones... ALL HArd Drive brands are going to have bad ones...

I can testify that IBM hard drives ARE picky at what you put them in. They don't work very well in several of our computers we have here at work.

Yes, IBM hard drives are the fastest... this doesn't make them the most reliable and compatable though.. there is no such thing as a 100% compatable item. there's always going to be something it just refuses to work in.

 

[pm]

The ATA100 problem affects all HD's with a large cache and an ATA100 interface, so it's not fair to say that it's specifically a GXP75 problem.

As far as the drive itself, I bought one and I have no complaints at all. It's quiet, very fast and was excellent value for the money. I would recommend the drive wholeheartedly because in my experience it's been a wonderful HD.

Edit: I understand why you guys are complaining. If my GXP75 died a premature death, I'd stopped recommending the drive too. But it hasn't. Nor have either of the two that guys in my group purchasesd. I'll add these reports of defective drives to my database and I may tone down my enthusiasm for the drive, but I don't think that I'll change my recommendation.

 

[METALBOY]

I want to backup your statement about the IBM drives being bad. I have purchased three drives from differnt vendors and differnt batches (You old time sys admins like me will know why I do that) and two of them died. I recomemded the drive (before the death of my two) to a friend and his died and another friend bought 2 for his ABIT raid board and one died! Tell me that's not a defective line! I have not seen such a bad run since the original Maxtors or the 6.4 gig westerndigitals. All junk.

 

[Technonut]

I have had 2 15GB ATA66 IBM Deskstar hard drives that both failed within 6 months. I had no problem RMAing the drives, but I found it odd that IBM offered to cross ship me NEW replacement drives if I paid with my credit card, $143.00 each (which would be authorized but not officially charged if the defective ones were sent back in time) but when I did not go that route, I was sent remanufactured drives clearly labeled as such. I ended up selling both of them advertised as remanufactured drives, and have used Maxtor's in both my personal system, and customer builds. I have never had any problem to date (a long time) with any Maxtor drives. As was posted though, all products will have some lemons. Just make sure that whoever you deal with has a good RMA policy.

EDIT: Just to be fair, I do recall having one problem with a 20GB Maxtor drive. I pulled it for awhile, and was ready to RMA it, but I used the MaxBlast disk to run through the read and write test, and it worked fine after that.

 

[The Sauce]

What are you guys talking about? His study was very scientific...he bought one drive, and it broke. Therefore one must conclude that all IBM drives break within the first three weeks. (N=1, p=0.00001). I believe this is something we in the buisness refer to as "anecdotal evidence," which essentially means - worthless.

 

[Rigoletto]

I have two IBM drives. Neither have broken down. Seem quiet and fast.
IBM may be the best but they are not expensive drives, you don't expect a flying lady and cream leather seats with them you know........

 

[arthurb1]

adding to the sample for of that exact model...all screaming along just fine

 

[Aboroth]

I can see not everyone in here needs to take a class in statistics.

 

[DaddyG]

All IDE drives are now consumer level products. The data density and speed being achieved creates a situation where defective drives are being produced and shipped by all manufacturers. Many people have varied experiences. I've had 3 out of 10 WD drives either DOA or failed within 5 mins. Made me think twice about WD but not post that they are bad. I used lots of Samsung drives, not fast but they performed flawlessly, others simply say they are crap. In the old days, almost every PC maker used Seagate ST225 20meg drives, they rarely failed. If you think the drive is bad RMA it, then report on the quality of service from IBM. The fastest this or that is not always the best.

BTW, could the annoying noises be the fact that the drive has more data and to seek father, this would also explain the fact that the performance seems off a bit.

 

[Super6]

I have 2 30GB 75GXP's....one made in Hungary and the other in Singapore (I think) and both have been flawless. I'm running the first version of Win98 (98Lite Micro install) and just added a wave file to slow down shutdown. So far it's worked fine.

I have one running on an Epox EP-8KTA2 at ATA100 and the other off a Highpoint controller on a Soyo SY-BA+100. Both are quiet and spooky fast.

Super6

 

[AaronP]

I have an IBM Ultrastar 18LZX and I love it. Been working great for 9 months.

 

[DarinT]

IBM Desktar 5 8.4GB.. i've used it as my primary drive for about 3 years i think.. i've had no problems.. even though it supposed to be slower then my maxtor udma/66.. i think it is actualy faster.. i've personaly reccomended ibm over maxtor in every instance that i've been asked.. even though i've only owned one of each myself.. i've seen friends' maxtors die quick.. yes, mine is still giong strong.. but i use it just for file storage.. i don't have windows or any programs installed on it.
-DarinT

 

[hubbs]

Just because you have had a bad expirience doesn't mean you should hold other people back from having good experiences. I have a Ibm 30gig GXP and it works perfect and I can't even hear the thing. It's a really good drive.

 

[urbantechie]

Hmm...IBM is the best hands down. You are just one unlucky soul.




<< I opted for the more expensive IBM 75GPX over Maxtor or Quantum was because all the senior members in here were braggin' >>



:Q

 

[Imported]

All my IBM drives have worked great, all the way back from when I had a 1.2GB drive from them. I've had a few Maxtor drives as well and they were nothing but problems for me. My current drive is a 30GB 75GXP also, which is at IBM being fixed hopefully.