There are adverts offering very low prices for reconditioned external HDs. How can a defective HD be fixed so the chances of failure won't happen again? How safe are these repaired units?
Personally, I've never purchased one but I have to admit, the offer is interesting to consider.
Thanks for opinions offered!
reconditioned HDs
-
- BronzeLounger
- Posts: 1284
- Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 12:14
- Location: Sitting in my computer chair!
reconditioned HDs
Skitterbug
A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent.
A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent.
-
- GoldLounger
- Posts: 2599
- Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 15:26
- Location: Olympia, WA
Re: reconditioned HDs
I would NOT use one of them, even if they gave them to me, my data is to important.
I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living
-
- Administrator
- Posts: 12628
- Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 15:49
- Location: London, Europe
Re: reconditioned HDs
Hard Drives have a limited lifetime. They are mechanical devices and they wear out.
I would avoid buying a reconditioned one, unless you really can't afford a new one.
I would avoid buying a reconditioned one, unless you really can't afford a new one.
StuartR
-
- Administrator
- Posts: 7218
- Joined: 15 Jan 2010, 22:52
- Location: Middle of England
Re: reconditioned HDs
I can't honestly believe that it a HD can be 'reconditioned' like servicing a car, the drive itself is unlikely to be opened. I would guess that any reconditioning is purely cosmetic, with perhaps a shiny new USB cable and/or psu unit thrown in.
How safe?
How much use has it had? How many times has it been dropped? How many bad sectors already exist on it? How much use is your money back if it fails before you expect it to?
How safe?
How much use has it had? How many times has it been dropped? How many bad sectors already exist on it? How much use is your money back if it fails before you expect it to?
Leif
-
- PlatinumLounger
- Posts: 5685
- Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 19:16
- Location: Cape Cod, Massachusetts,USA
Re: reconditioned HDs
I suppose it's possible to recondition HDs. They can be opened and things like heads replaced and flex cables changed. BUT...did they go that far and would it be economical to do so, when HD costs are so low these days? What shape are the actual platters in? Bad sectors?Skitterbug wrote:There are adverts offering very low prices for reconditioned external HDs. How can a defective HD be fixed so the chances of failure won't happen again? How safe are these repaired units?
Personally, I've never purchased one but I have to admit, the offer is interesting to consider.
Thanks for opinions offered!
I think I would think twice and go for a new drive.
BOB
______________________________________
If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
______________________________________
If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
-
- BronzeLounger
- Posts: 1284
- Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 12:14
- Location: Sitting in my computer chair!
Re: reconditioned HDs
Thanks for the comments. This verified what I felt about these offers. I can not imagine that data would be safe on a reconditioned unit and that is what users hope to achieve - safe keeping of valued files. Actually, even using "new" hardware, I am paranoid enough to make two different backups in case one fails!
Skitterbug
A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent.
A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent.
-
- PlatinumLounger
- Posts: 5416
- Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 08:33
- Location: A cathedral city in England
Re: reconditioned HDs
And preferably to two different media types!Skitterbug wrote:I am paranoid enough to make two different backups in case one fails!
John Gray
"(or one of the team)" - how your hospital appointment letter indicates that you won't be seeing the Consultant...
"(or one of the team)" - how your hospital appointment letter indicates that you won't be seeing the Consultant...
-
- UraniumLounger
- Posts: 9300
- Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 01:27
- Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas
Re: reconditioned HDs
Several friends of mine are former IBM field engineers. Another was also a BIOS programmer for Dell. They repair failed hard drives - sometimes - by replacing the ECB. They tell me that the boards fail far more frequently than do the mechanical components.
IF - note the big 'if' - the refurbished drives are those taken back by sellers, and IF (again, big 'if') they are refurbished by properly equipped, reliable engineering labs, I would consider them as an inexpensive addition to my system; but I would not rely upon them as the sole repository of data. Look for the S.M.A.R.T. results and get a money-back warranty if they fail within 90 days. These drives might make effective recorders for videos, movies or TV programs whose loss would not be catastrophic if the disks failed.
AGAIN, I would no rely on refurbished HDDs to store critical data, even with an effective back-up strategy. But they do have their place in the grand scheme of things.
IF - note the big 'if' - the refurbished drives are those taken back by sellers, and IF (again, big 'if') they are refurbished by properly equipped, reliable engineering labs, I would consider them as an inexpensive addition to my system; but I would not rely upon them as the sole repository of data. Look for the S.M.A.R.T. results and get a money-back warranty if they fail within 90 days. These drives might make effective recorders for videos, movies or TV programs whose loss would not be catastrophic if the disks failed.
AGAIN, I would no rely on refurbished HDDs to store critical data, even with an effective back-up strategy. But they do have their place in the grand scheme of things.
Bob's yer Uncle
Dell Intel Core i5 Laptop, 3570K,1.60 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Windows 11 64-bit, LibreOffice,and other bits and bobs
(1/2)(1+√5) |