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Storage: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most?
- 9/28/07 2:02 PM
Mistake
by WAArnold - 10/1/07 10:39 AM In reply to: Thanks for cutting me some slack W N W... by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Lee, we all make mistakes sometimes. It's a matter of us accepting our mistakes.
Let's call yours "fat fingur" heheh
Prefered HD
by randysvh - 10/3/07 5:10 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I currently like the Seagate most, but like the Fujitsu. Fujitsu though does not have the IDE/SATA drives any more. They specialize in SCSI type drives. Western Digital, has been pretty reliable for me, and favored.
Best luck with Seagate
by Steven Haninger - 10/3/07 5:41 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The WD Raptors have all been good but wouldn't buy a Caviar right now. I had mixed luck with the old IBM Deskstars or "Deathstars" as I have heard them called. They were terrific drives as long as they worked.... they just didn't work long enough. I've a couple from Hitachi (which took over the business from IBM). These have been decent. It's been at least 4 years since my last HD failure. I suppose just saying that will be the voice of doom.
Not IBM
by dlsears - 10/5/07 9:06 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The only HDDs I've had real trouble with over the past ten years have been labeled IBM. The other brands listed in the question have never given me problems.
I replace my HDDs after two or three years, though, and I do daily backups. I don't trust any hardware.
Problems with older HDs - PLUS a reference to a LIST
by randysvh - 10/7/07 7:51 PM In reply to: Not IBM by dlsearsyou mention that IBM's were the only ones you had trouble with. Let me say that as i have grown with the industry, i have found that Seagate drives were troubled through out the years. It seems that has been pretty well resolved. Western Digital and Maxtor had their times with series of bad products. I think though over the years i found Fujitsu to be one of the most reliable brands. Brands that no longer exist like, Miniscribe, Conner, Quantum, and Micropolis, were troublesome brands. Conner was frequently dedicated to designs specifically for Compaq machines, so when you tried to use them in other machines, problems occurred. A reference I found as follows, may help establish the list you seek: http://www.driveservice.com/bestwrst.htm for the full article.
randy
Here is the current list of top brands, and worst drive models. This is based on the models we see the most, and conversely the drives we see the least. We are in no way paid to recommend any particular brand or another. This is merely a statistical analysis based on the numbers of drives we see come through our doors for drive failure and data recovery. In no way does this guarantee that the top listed drive won't fail tomorrow or that what we feel is the worst one won't last you many years. This is really just a very simple guide for you to use in making a good decision about what drive to buy or to stay away from! If you continue reading, you will find my own diatribe about the latest in the industry and a few things you may or may not be aware of.
Top brands: 1 being best
1. Seagate (models since 1998 only) Cheaply made, but getting much better. I never thought I would be putting Seagate back on the top of the list but.... Seagate now has the fewest failures of all the drives made now. They do make cheap consumer models, but they also have a much better line of drives that cost a little more. Your drive, is not the item you want to try to save a buck on!
2. IBM - Notebook and desktop drives. There are issues with electro-mechanical failures and or head crash on their high speed IDE drives 40GB or greater. The 40, 45, 60 and 75 gb drives are really starting to go bad now, especially the drives manufactured in late 2000 and all of 2001. These can go without warning, so please keep them backed up! We have been seeing a lot of the 75gb drives come in now as well as the 45's and 60's. There is a class action lawsuit ongoing about the 75gb drives. A new development.. Hitachi has recently purchased 70% of the IBM hard drive division. I can't wait to see how many of these we get in the future! ( Hitachi is known for failures). Yet another thorn in the side of the consumer! I should mention that their SCSI line of drives is a good product still.
3. Fujitsu (Desktop drives only) Their 10, 15, 20 and 30gb desktop models have been failing left and right with either servo loss or electronic failure. Notebook drives are only so-so but are no longer manufactured. They have had so many returned drives, that they have stopped making drives all together.
4. Maxtor (We are seeing more and more of these as failed) see below. You get what you pay for. Do not use these in server or business applications! If you do, keep them backed up like there is no tomorrow! These are consumer drives only!
5. Toshiba (notebook drives only). Good engineering! Generally good all the way around, but can develop bad heads in some models. As always, just keep it backed up.
6. Quantum. Has had a bad batch of drives with a defective chip incl. the Fireball™ CX,LA,LB,LC and KX series. Maxtor now owns Quantum (got them at a good price too!). We have been seeing a large number of the Quantum ASxxxx series drives come in with missing outer servo, especially the 40gb drives, similar to the problem Fujitsu has. This is an unrecoverable situation! Beware.
8. Samsung also known as Trigem in E-machines (Inexpensive, you get what you pay for!) Cheaply made, consumer use only but do a religious backup!
7. Western Digital (They still haven't learned, their drives are still failing left and right). Cheaply made. Especially the 'EB' series. The 20gb AB and EB series are horrible. Again, I urge you not to use these in business applications. These have servo problems too which are starting to surface.
Worst Models Ever: 1 being worst
1. Western Digital AC1XXX, AC2XXX and AC3XXX series except AC31000 (Prone to severe head crash).
2. Quantum Bigfoot Series (any model) Prone to many severe failures. Cheap drives that never should have been made. These were used heavily by Compaq, to keep their costs down!
3. Quantum Fireball CX,CR,LA,LB,LC,KX All have defective spin chips and will fail without warning! Quantum was bought by Maxtor 07-01.
4. Conner CFS850A and CFS1275A (Some of the most RMA'd drives of all time).
5. Hitachi Notebook drives of any kind (Almost always head crash or lose servo or suffer from misalignment) Don't use them! If you have to, backup! Used exclusively (because they got a good deal) by Dell! If you order a Dell, request a different drive or go elsewhere.
6. Fujitsu Notebook drives of any kind are prone to head crash, desktop drives are bad now too, sorry. Again, they have stopped making drives and now barely support what is left out there.
7. Samsung drives of any kind (Either head crash, or stiction (heads stick to the platters)) Cheaply manufactured.
8. Toshiba MK2103MAV and MK2101MAN 2.5" drives (Prone to severe head crash, heavily RMA'd)
9. NEC drives of any kind (Poor engineering causes many failures, no longer making desktop drives)
10. JTS any model (Prone to head crash, cheap drives, now out of business)
11. Maxtor 7850, 71336, 71260, 72004 (All had defective head stops, heads fly off platters and break off)
12. Maxtor 10GB, 20GB, 30GB any model are crashing at an alarming rate! Severe electrical problems as well. These are consumer drives at best. Back them up now! Do not use for business applications.
13. Seagate Elite 9GB SCSI (Poor engineering promotes severe head crash).
14. Seagate 32140A (Prone to severe head crash, heavily RMA'd drive).
15. Seagate 5xxx series (Prone to head crash and or broken head wires).
16. Micropolis (Almost always head crash, what else is new? They have been out of business now for 5 years).
Mark Cooper
President
Drive Service Company
The Data Recovery Specialists!
E-mail: mark@driveservice.com
SEAGTE HD's
by spanish39 - 12/29/07 3:40 PM In reply to: Problems with older HDs - PLUS a reference to a LIST by randysvh1. Seagate (models since 1998 only) Cheaply made, but getting much better. I never thought I would be putting Seagate back on the top of the list but.... Seagate now has the fewest failures of all the drives made now. They do make cheap consumer models, but they also have a much better line of drives that cost a little more. Your drive, is not the item you want to try to save a buck on!
Which SEAGATE HD are the best though? I only need to store camcorder video footage on it only. I don't need much more than 320 GB, any suggestions?
Seagate HD's
by randysvh - 1/2/08 12:18 PM In reply to: SEAGTE HD's by spanish39For video files you may want to consider the AV versions of the Seagate drives as they have specific drives oriented toward audio video files.
randy
My vote is for Samsung because I haven't tried anything else
by aaasolanki - 10/5/07 11:06 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been using a Samsung 60GB hard drive since early 2005 and it has never acted up. I have written terabytes of data in and out, but its still going strong!!!
Thanks,
Abhishek 'Dexter"', Mumbai, India.
Trustworthy HDDs
by DOSpower - 10/5/07 11:44 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Based on personal experience I would trust the now long gone quantum and the still current Seagate. I have some seriously old drives from these makers and they haven't missed a beat in operation. For laptop drives I would also include Toshiba. Great price, reliable and great performance.
WD
by Ed-duh-win - 10/6/07 7:33 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
From what I've heard, WD is the one to go.
Absolutely Seagate
by lurker2048 - 10/7/07 6:13 AM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've been in desktop support for over 10 years now. While other hard drives (escpecially Quantum/Maxtor) have died with real consistency, I've only ever replaced one Seagate drive. They just plain work day after day, year after year.
I trust Western Digital
by markerichannelly - 10/7/07 11:44 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have WD Hard Drives in all my computers and I have the 120GB WD Passport portable HDD as well. Have had no problems whatsoever with them. Very fast file transfers and low noise. I think thats what all people want in a hard drive.
Which brand of hard drive
by FredMars - 11/9/07 12:52 PM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
IBM may be the most reliable however thy are not the fastest. Having worked for a manufacturer of aluminum disks for hard drives, I know that Fujitsu was the toughest specs to meet but their drives were the least reliable, due to the large failures of their notebook-size drives. Quantum Fireball drives have been the most reliable and predictable drives I have used in my DIY machines at home. 5 years is their life span, and usually, a new machine is being built within that time frame, and new hard drives are installed.
Don't Put your life on it.......
by crunkpopeye - 12/10/07 2:14 AM In reply to: Poll: Which brand of hard drive do you trust most? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Here is the email i sent to Western Digital during my still on going nightmare with recovering data from my WD MyBook Essential 160 GB
I purchased your product at a reasonable price simply based on the confidence of your slogan "Put Your Life On It". According to that hefty tagline I have been dead most of this year. I am aware that you do not provide support for data recovery and the specialists at CBL have been addressing what should be YOUR problem. It is incredibly disappointing as a consumer to have this experience, especially when it concerns items of irreplaceable value such as my personal data. I am eager to hear the response to your $400 mistake.
I basically did nothing to my drive, and suddenly drive became ill with
Hard drive suddenly fails and now the format is shown as RAW in disk management and properties. Diagnostic tests show that the drive is physically fine but the data is "locked" on the drive.
Damage to the volume mapping information.
Damage to the Partition information and structure.
Possible file structure damage.
I'm glad i ran into this forum because WD still has a top spot but i REFUSE TO BUY ANOTHER WESTERN DIGITAL DRIVE!
Data Recovery
by randysvh - 12/10/07 6:01 PM In reply to: Don't Put your life on it....... by crunkpopeyeData is very important and i sure understand your situation greatly. In the past i have felt good about WD drives, but in recent years they have lost their touch. In the beginning when i was working with 10mb drives i liked Seagate and then they had their share of problems and some were good and others were, well not so good. Maxtor in the early days were super drives, but when they bought out Miniscribe and took on a new series of designs and were poor for a long time. Each brand has had their ups and downs. Right now i feel that Seagate is the one to choose and a strong choice for reliability. i have some maxtors, westerndigitals, and seagates. Right now i am cautious with them all.
i do data recovery when it comes about and it is time consuming to do and try to keep the costs down for the individual who wants to keep their files that they have worked so hard to save and develop over a period of time. personally i charge a fee usually from $200-300 in most situations to recover your data. Even with the programs available today, there is no way to guarantee the data can or will be recovered. i certainly wish i could have helped you, as i know the feeling when it comes to your data, having lost data of my own, just so happens on a WD.
Seagate right now may be the choice in HDs today for reliability. Tomorrow, who knows what might be the right choice. Whatever you do save your data on multiple platforms or media.
randy
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