Sob, sob... my hard disk failed... now I'm open to suggestions

Zazula · 11-24-2006, 12:37 PM

Just three months after its warranty expired, my Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA hard disk (6Y160M0) - which, by the way, was hosting my system and programs partitions - decided it had served me enough and committed suicide...

In an inornate rite, it resisted booting in any mode, and when Recovery Console was brought to its rescue, it politely produced a 0x00000024 NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM stop error. It was promptly rushed into the Maxtor PowerMax 4.23 Emergency Room, where it was diagnosed as succumbing to the inevitable with a de6d6979 code. At the ER, its twin brother HDD - which, contrariwise, was used for storing various useless rubbish - was blooming with health, adding a tone of merry irony to those, in all other respects, gloomy moments...

So, right now a contraption called Knoppix is being downloaded in order to duly extract its innards, since its last wish was to be a transplant donor for the advancement of Medicine (namely, to prevent my going mental). The place my leaving friend has been calling home all these years, a hospitable Gigabyte 8KNXP, will look so empty without it...

As a result of this distressing development, I am now facing the tough albeit essential need to decide on its replacement. Please help me with your suggestions; I wish to spend as little as possible for as big-storage-capable of a device as possible - and it doesn't need to be a SATA one. Moreover, please refrain from using Black Friday pricings, because my current state will not allow me to overcome the generated envy - and the Forum will be have one Manager less.

**Rashiki** · 11-24-2006, 12:45 PM

Sorry to hear about your loss. Now you'll be researching archiving and backup methods before too long. Reminds me, i've got to make a backup here coming up...

At any rate, i've had my eye on this WD drive. 250gb, 16mb cache, and Sata II. I'm sure you could find some seagate drives for less, but i've had three go to crap in the last year, and can't recommend them.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

**linderman** · 11-24-2006, 02:55 PM

Western Digital

Image programs or cloning

**8210GUY** · 11-24-2006, 03:51 PM

I concur with WD, and definitely 16mb cache if you can afford it, and the above drive is currently on offer as you appear to get mail in rebates etc over there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136010

Or a 320gig if you want a bigger drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136003

dai · 11-24-2006, 04:06 PM

i was just part of a bulk buy of the 500g seagates perpendicular drive,mine has never been delivered but 90%+ of those that were have crapped out within a week
i will stick with the wd drives

**linderman** · 11-24-2006, 04:17 PM

I thought the purchase of Maxtor by seagate would have an uplift effect on the Maxtor line

but apparently is has had a reverse effect! not the first time I have heard this recently either

I am sticking with WD myself

**Rashiki** · 11-24-2006, 04:23 PM

Glad i'm not the only one who's had trouble with seagate. Diamond in the rough though, they weren't my drives

**8210GUY** · 11-24-2006, 04:42 PM

TBH I have always preferred Maxtor drives, I love their utility's as well, saves me a lot of time when installing, only had 1 drive go bad and they replaced it fairly quickly and it's still going strong now, but since Seagate bought them out I will probably stick with WD's, although the new 15k Seagate's have caught my eye a couple of times and I can't but wonder at how they compare to my raptors.

**kodi** · 11-24-2006, 04:47 PM

I wont put a drive in my computer unless it is a WD, I have had a great run with them.
Hope I didn't jinx myself

**carsey** · 11-24-2006, 05:05 PM

My WD is still going very strong after about 3 or 4 years.

Tumbleweed36 · 11-24-2006, 05:44 PM

Hi,

I have used mostly Maxtor's over the years, but after some recent problems, will go with WD which has been very strong for me in the past. I do recommend the WD over any other current drive that is being made.

Zazula · 11-25-2006, 06:28 AM

OK guys, I followed your advice and bought a WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA II
The price was 66 euros (plus 19% VAT, but that's no real expense because it was bought by invoicing my company).

PS At 58 euros (+ 19% VAT) I could have bought an identical Seagate, its only differences being a 8MB Cache (but a 5-yr warranty instead of 3 yrs for WD).

**Done_Fishin** · 11-25-2006, 06:59 AM

Nice choice Zaz, sorry to hear about the demise of the former disk. I've been a fan of WD for more years than I care to remember and I don't remember a single failure from natural causes. I have one in my repair box (6GB) that requires a new pcb after my son managed to install it and find a way to short it against the hdd chassis!
I won't touch quantum except if they are freebies! I hav a couple that are used purely for back & test purposes.
My most modern PC has 5 WD's .. I've also got a few other 40GB's in other PC's .. plus an extra 200GB USB in the cupboard .. unopened as backup.

**Rashiki** · 11-26-2006, 02:47 AM

Good choice :) Chances are you won't need to use that warranty.

As another note, i have a 7 year old maxtor 20gb (big for it's time) with a 2mb cache in my 'beater' computer still running strong!!

Zazula · 11-26-2006, 03:16 AM

The irony that kills me is that the failed disk's "twin brother" has been working for the last months with only 0,3% free space (and obviously fragmented), and it's OK!'

**PanamaGal** · 11-26-2006, 04:12 PM

The Maxtor DiamondMax 10s suffer no such problems the 9 line had, which was due to some corruption in the manufacturing process of those drives. I would have no qualms about recommending them, since I have been using a few of them from the time they came out without incident. Over the last few years we've simply had a few too many WD drives fail than we would like. That's not to say they're bad, we just don't seem to have great luck with them.

Zazula · 11-26-2006, 06:54 PM

Hehe, breaking news... My brand-new WD failed on the 9th second of the six-minute quick test! Of course, it also failed all other, more thorough tests... Waiting to see what happens when I return it to the shop I bought it from, in about five hours' time.

Zazula · 11-27-2006, 03:26 AM

OK folks, the DOA hard disk was duly replaced; now I'm zeroing the new one I was given.

11-24-2006, 12:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Sob, sob... my hard disk failed... now I'm open to suggestions Just three months after its warranty expired, my Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA hard disk (6Y160M0) - which, by the way, was hosting my system and programs partitions - decided it had served me enough and committed suicide... In an inornate rite, it resisted booting in any mode, and when Recovery Console was brought to its rescue, it politely produced a 0x00000024 NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM stop error. It was promptly rushed into the Maxtor PowerMax 4.23 Emergency Room, where it was diagnosed as succumbing to the inevitable with a de6d6979 code. At the ER, its twin brother HDD - which, contrariwise, was used for storing various useless rubbish - was blooming with health, adding a tone of merry irony to those, in all other respects, gloomy moments... So, right now a contraption called Knoppix is being downloaded in order to duly extract its innards, since its last wish was to be a transplant donor for the advancement of Medicine (namely, to prevent my going mental). The place my leaving friend has been calling home all these years, a hospitable Gigabyte 8KNXP, will look so empty without it... As a result of this distressing development, I am now facing the tough albeit essential need to decide on its replacement. Please help me with your suggestions; I wish to spend as little as possible for as big-storage-capable of a device as possible - and it doesn't need to be a SATA one. Moreover, please refrain from using Black Friday pricings, because my current state will not allow me to overcome the generated envy - and the Forum will be have one Manager less. __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

11-24-2006, 12:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Sorry to hear about your loss. Now you'll be researching archiving and backup methods before too long. Reminds me, i've got to make a backup here coming up... At any rate, i've had my eye on this WD drive. 250gb, 16mb cache, and Sata II. I'm sure you could find some seagate drives for less, but i've had three go to crap in the last year, and can't recommend them. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701 __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

11-24-2006, 02:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 19,384 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Western Digital Image programs or cloning __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

11-24-2006, 04:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 53,622 OS: vista 32x 64x ultimate retail	i was just part of a bulk buy of the 500g seagates perpendicular drive,mine has never been delivered but 90%+ of those that were have crapped out within a week i will stick with the wd drives __________________

11-24-2006, 04:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 19,384 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	I thought the purchase of Maxtor by seagate would have an uplift effect on the Maxtor line but apparently is has had a reverse effect! not the first time I have heard this recently either I am sticking with WD myself __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

11-24-2006, 03:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
8210GUY TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,558 OS: xp Pro	I concur with WD, and definitely 16mb cache if you can afford it, and the above drive is currently on offer as you appear to get mail in rebates etc over there. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136010 Or a 320gig if you want a bigger drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136003

11-24-2006, 04:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Glad i'm not the only one who's had trouble with seagate. Diamond in the rough though, they weren't my drives __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

11-24-2006, 04:42 PM	#8 (permalink)
8210GUY TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,558 OS: xp Pro	TBH I have always preferred Maxtor drives, I love their utility's as well, saves me a lot of time when installing, only had 1 drive go bad and they replaced it fairly quickly and it's still going strong now, but since Seagate bought them out I will probably stick with WD's, although the new 15k Seagate's have caught my eye a couple of times and I can't but wonder at how they compare to my raptors.

11-24-2006, 04:47 PM	#9 (permalink)
kodi Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 7,156 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 and 32bit, Xp Pro, Windows 7-RC 64 & 32 Bit My System	I wont put a drive in my computer unless it is a WD, I have had a great run with them. Hope I didn't jinx myself __________________ Brian

11-24-2006, 05:05 PM	#10 (permalink)
carsey Moderator, TSF Articles Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hunwick, Co. Durham England Posts: 10,472 OS: XP Pro SP3 My System	My WD is still going very strong after about 3 or 4 years.

11-24-2006, 05:44 PM	#11 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 18,030 OS: XP Professional	Hi, I have used mostly Maxtor's over the years, but after some recent problems, will go with WD which has been very strong for me in the past. I do recommend the WD over any other current drive that is being made. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

11-25-2006, 06:28 AM	#12 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	OK guys, I followed your advice and bought a WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA II The price was 66 euros (plus 19% VAT, but that's no real expense because it was bought by invoicing my company). PS At 58 euros (+ 19% VAT) I could have bought an identical Seagate, its only differences being a 8MB Cache (but a 5-yr warranty instead of 3 yrs for WD). __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

11-25-2006, 06:59 AM	#13 (permalink)
Done_Fishin Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brit living in Greece Posts: 6,530 OS: WinME, WinXP Pro SP3, Win7 Beta, Ubuntu 9.04 & Netbook Remix & CD2USB, Mepis 6.5, Fedora 10 My System	Nice choice Zaz, sorry to hear about the demise of the former disk. I've been a fan of WD for more years than I care to remember and I don't remember a single failure from natural causes. I have one in my repair box (6GB) that requires a new pcb after my son managed to install it and find a way to short it against the hdd chassis! I won't touch quantum except if they are freebies! I hav a couple that are used purely for back & test purposes. My most modern PC has 5 WD's .. I've also got a few other 40GB's in other PC's .. plus an extra 200GB USB in the cupboard .. unopened as backup. __________________ . . I'm not old!! I'm age impaired .. D_F How to mark your thread as solved HDD DIAG UTILS TSF's Photographer's Corner

11-26-2006, 02:47 AM	#14 (permalink)
Rashiki Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 878 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Good choice :) Chances are you won't need to use that warranty. As another note, i have a 7 year old maxtor 20gb (big for it's time) with a 2mb cache in my 'beater' computer still running strong!! __________________ ASUS P5WD2 Premium v0709 \| Intel Prescott 3.2ghz \| 2gb Corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 \| Sparkle Power 550w PSU \| ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro \| Sound Blaster Audigy 4 \| CoolerMaster Aluminum Case \| WD Raptor 76gb 10K RPM SATA HDD \|ASUS CD/DVD RW Combo Drive \| Mitsumi 7-in-1 Floppy Combo Drive \| Coolermaster Copper Heatsink

11-26-2006, 03:16 AM	#15 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	The irony that kills me is that the failed disk's "twin brother" has been working for the last months with only 0,3% free space (and obviously fragmented), and it's OK!' __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

11-26-2006, 04:12 PM	#16 (permalink)
PanamaGal Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Panama Posts: 1,240 OS: WinXP Pro SP2; Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista Ultimate; Vista Business	The Maxtor DiamondMax 10s suffer no such problems the 9 line had, which was due to some corruption in the manufacturing process of those drives. I would have no qualms about recommending them, since I have been using a few of them from the time they came out without incident. Over the last few years we've simply had a few too many WD drives fail than we would like. That's not to say they're bad, we just don't seem to have great luck with them. __________________ It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

11-26-2006, 06:54 PM	#17 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Hehe, breaking news... My brand-new WD failed on the 9th second of the six-minute quick test! Of course, it also failed all other, more thorough tests... Waiting to see what happens when I return it to the shop I bought it from, in about five hours' time. __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

11-27-2006, 03:26 AM	#18 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	OK folks, the DOA hard disk was duly replaced; now I'm zeroing the new one I was given. __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)