Warníng: Used HDDs Sold as "New"

[Robbyrobot]

There is presently a scandal in Germany because some dealers have been selling used HDDs as new. The HDDs involved were made by Seagate, Western Digital and perhaps others. Some of them are marked "refurbished", most have no special identification at all. A report on this has been published by the German c't Magazine for Computer Technology:

http://www.heise.de/resale/Festplatten- ... ung/144415

The status of the HDDs can be checked using programs like Sea Tools or CrystalDiskInfo.

I myself bought a WD 250GB HDD advertised as "new" - that had already run more than 26,000 hours when I received it.

The scandal is mostly restricted to 3-1/2" PATA drives, but there have been reports of other types also involved.

I can only advise all those buying "new" HDDs to check them out upon receipt with one of the above programs, and to complain to the seller immediately if the drive is not new.

[killer]

Sound advice there, Robbyrobot. Let us know how the scandal develops.