Hardware experts: Can I reclaim a damaged HGST 7K60?

[brooklynboy]

I recently removed from a friend’s T42 a 7K60 that was exhibiting ECC errors using PC-Doctor for DOS. IBM kindly shipped a replacement drive under warranty, but, although the support agent on the phone said that IBM wanted the bad drive back, the package delivered contained no prepaid return shipping, or return label, or even a return address. If we don’t hear from IBM within a week or so, I shall proclaim the damaged drive mine.

I retested the 7K60 as the second drive in my T30. It passed the initial PC-Doctor for Windows SMART test, but failed the extended test. I reran the PC-Doctor for DOS surface test, and found a number of sectors, apparently contiguous, either marked bad or registering ECC errors. I then ran FDISK /r /v several times; the first time through, it marked some sectors as bad, but after that first run it reported the exact same number of bytes in bad sectors each time: 10904KB, or about 0.02% of the disk’s capacity.

My question is this: What is the likelihood that, after conditioning the 7K60 using the HGST drive-fitness utilities, it will prove reliable enough to use as my primary drive, replacing the current slow 4200rpm 40GB drive?

[kaplanfx]

I always say, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! If the bad sectors were caused by a head slamming into the platter in some singular catostrophic even then you are probably ok, but there is no way to know what caused the bad sectors and if the same process will occur again taking your precious data away with it.

-kaplanfx

[whizkid]

Once a drive starts to go bad, it will likely get worse... no doubt at the worst possible time.

And IBM will most definitely want the drive back. They may wait a month or so, then send a nice letter. If you don't send it back, they'll charge your credit card, if you gave them one when you got the replacement.

[JHaislet]

Dell does the same thing, except you don't get a nice letter and they WON'T take back the broken part. It's YOURS & they bill you for it.

Call IBM/Lenovo and make them send a label.

[JaneL]

My question is this: What is the likelihood that, after conditioning the 7K60 using the HGST drive-fitness utilities, it will prove reliable enough to use as my primary drive, replacing the current slow 4200rpm 40GB drive?

It's directly related to how much you value what's on the drive. If you use it for throwaway data that can be easily replaced, the drive will last forever. If the only copy of your work is on it, it will fail at the worst possible moment.

I wouldn't trust it.

[brooklynboy]

High-tech Murphy. Of course.

[brooklynboy]

The giant finally awakened. My friend received the return packaging the other day.