yamapinto
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:15 PM |
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Computer component rumor
Just wondering if any clued up LCB'ers had any imput on this..
Last night I was asking somebody who works in IT if Hard Disks should be kept cool... he said that yes they should be.
Because, I've now gone through 3 or more SATA Hard Disks in 2 years and there inside the computer right behind a Case fan and the grille is
always dirty and getting cleaned so its obviousley flowing alot of air.
He suggested it could be where i've been buying them from, he suggested that say out of a production run of 10,000
The first 2,500 go to system builders like Dell etc and server builders as there the most reliable,
the next 5,000 to reputable retailers and then
the final 2,500 to the cheeper end retailers and Computer fairs etc..
I'm just wondering if there's some truth in it?.
Or what else could be causing so many terminal failures.. they've all sounded like the heads were clunking into the disk so i've had some
warning of them going.
The last 2 have been Western Digital and the 1 before a Maxtor I think.
Puzzeled and annoyed 
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clairetoo
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:22 PM |
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I'd have thought it unlikely as most computer component runs will be in millions ?
Just suppose the first hundred thousand go to Dell , then a month later they want some more - do they get the second-rate ones ?
Its cuz I is blond , innit
Claire xx
Will weld for food......
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ravingfool
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:26 PM |
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sounds like you've just been unlucky. Hard disks don't necessarily need to be that cool, they will run effectively at most temps as long
as not too extreme, neither too hot nor too cold.
Statistically if a hard disk is going to fail then it will fail in the first 6 months of use. Also statistically a hard disk that is used more often,
heated up properly and run for longer periods of time is less likely to fail than one which is rarely used. (source google's own analysis of
it's thousands upon thousands of hard disks, they use standard hard disks in a massive storage network, although I forget where I read this,
possibly bbc news)
Both big brands that you mention there, so probably just unlucky. Do some research of the particular model you intend to buy next time as some models
will have larger proportions that fail than other models.
I personally would recommend a samsung unit though, as of all the samsung electronics i've had, including a hard disk that's got a few
years of daily use under it's belt, have been faultless.
hope that helps
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hobzy
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:26 PM |
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Sounds like b*llocks to me. Luck of the draw on anything that complex.
[Edited on 9/9/08 by hobzy]
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oily85
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:35 PM |
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I've only had one hard-drive fail on me, and that was a Maxtor, caused by a power surge when lightning hit the wires.
I had 3 other hard-drives in other computers running at the same time though, all Seagates, and all 3 survived. I haven't had a Seagate fail
since I've had a PC, which was December 1996, and I've had Seagates in all my computers since.
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yamapinto
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:35 PM |
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I thought it quite unlikely myself at first.. but like he said i'd been buying them from whats probably the cheepest local trade supplier there
is.
I'd been having HDD problems with the PC I build before a few years ago and somebody suggested the SATA controller can play up and damage them,
so last Febuary I build a whole new computer to the newest and complete matching spek with Branded goods and plenty of ram etc and tried to keep the
discs cool.
It just seems funny how PC's you buy and laptops don't seem to have the same problem.
I usually leave it on for a few days at a time or certainly for the whole day so its not starting and stopping don't do any massively demanding
tasks the odd game and surfing the net and downloading stuff so the disks probably get quite full, Just trying to find some sort of pattern or
resoning to it.
I think they've all been the heads clunking into the disk and windows hanging thats alerted me to them... its jusdt getting a tad tiresome now
keep having to transfer all the data over and replace the drive every like 6-12 months!.
Strangely i've had a SATA power connector fail as well 
[Edited on 9/9/08 by yamapinto]
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joneh
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:57 PM |
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I have heard that the top % with within accurate tolerences were known as military standard and went to the MOD etc.
I know a resistor will have a tolerence and I suppose any piece of electrical equipment will also.
I'd put it down to bad luck. Take a look at WD Green hard drives 5 yr warranty for 24-7 use. ( I use them in CCTV systems)
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ecosse
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 08:58 PM |
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WD drives are generally pretty reliable and shouldn't be failing in that space of time.
Although extremes of temperature can have quite damaging effects on drives.
Do you have ups protection?
(Possibly a power supply issue causing it)
Lots of good info here though
http://www.storagereview.com/guide2000/ref/hdd/perf/qual/index.html
Cheers
Alex
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TGR-ECOSSE
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 09:26 PM |
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Its just the luck of the draw. I work in electronic manufacturing and things like hard drives are all tested the same way and any that fail are
scrapped,there are no tolerance tests that determine where they go.
quote:
Originally posted by joneh
I have heard that the top % with within accurate tolerences were known as military standard and went to the MOD etc
We also do military work and that is made separately from normal production electronics.
Did you know that things like pc motherboards are made to one of the lowest standards in electronics,i am surprised some of them even work at all. We
used to make Dell laptops and what a pile of cheap junk they are on the inside 
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yamapinto
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 09:38 PM |
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I've just found the E-recipt for it... 1/3/08 so its lasted no time at all!.
I have noticed the lights dim slightly a couple of times over the last few hours.. probably cos i'm concentrating on this laptop screen.
Thankfully i've got a Network HDD to back everything up on... on Sh*t thats a WD as well!
And Now i'm really Mad.. one I sent back in March was "replaced under warranty"
So I left it in the box as it wasn't needed... just been trying for 2hrs to get windows to install on it and i've noticed the label it
looks like a proper retail label but reads:
"Certified repaired HDD"... the Ba*tards... it doesn't bloody work!
[Edited on 9/9/08 by yamapinto]
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JonBowden
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| posted on 9/9/08 at 11:02 PM |
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I don't suppose you plug in an electric welder near your computer do you?
I can say from some years supporting computers that that is a BAD idea - hardware will start to fail
Jon
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Agriv8
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| posted on 10/9/08 at 08:01 AM |
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Not sure about Discs but I say it could be true.
I know with magnetic media ( backup tapes ) the raw magnetic tape used to be only made by 1 company this was then tested to see how many errors were
fond along the length of the tape and graded accourdingly. Depending on how much the buyer wanted to spend determinied what quality of tape he got (
and what you would end up with )
So I see no reason that the same does not apply to the Platters ( the magnetic surface of the disks ) depending on if these are made in house or by a
third party.
Just my thoughts
Agriv8
Taller than your average Guy !
Management is like a tree of monkeys. - Those at the top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces. BUT Those at the bottom look up and see a
tree full of a*seholes .............
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martyn_16v
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| posted on 10/9/08 at 08:38 AM |
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As mentioned above, if you have to buy more disks buy Seagate. They've got a bit noisy compared to some other brands recently but I've
never had one fail.
Maxtor on the other hand
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 10/9/08 at 12:44 PM |
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It's pointless discussing reliability of any given manufacturer based on a tiny sample. I've had drives from several different
manufacturers fail over the years: Maxtor, Seagate, Western Digital and Samsung of the top of my head yet I still have drives made by the same
manufacturers that are years old and work perfectly.
Several failures within a relatively short time suggests either bad luck or possibly an underlying problem. Besides excessive temperatures, vibration
and poor quality power supplies are the enemies of hard drives. The cheap no name PSUs that come fitted to cheap cases are pretty dreadful w.r.t
regulation and filtering.
By the way, if you return a hard drive to the manufacturers you very often get a factory refurbished one back IME. It's not an ideal situation,
but with the ridiculously cheap prices of storage now I suspect the margins are pretty thin.
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yamapinto
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| posted on 17/9/08 at 11:13 AM |
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Well after leaving them with the HDD for a week for "testing".. god knows why it took that long!
They've agree'd that its faulty and replaced it.
I'm just wondering now if the PSU is abit underpowered, its only 400w and i've had 2HDD's (in the past)
2 DVD/Writers
GeForce 8800GTS
2x case fans
its a Athalon X2 64 4200
and it makes the room bloody hot!
Its not over clocked and i've never known it turn off completely when running a game, it might have frozen the odd time tho.
I have read about issues where the graphics card can take alot of power and cause problems if its on the same PSU spur as the HDD's which mine
was
obviousley i've put it on another spur now.
Any ideas or comments? ta
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basicaudio
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| posted on 18/9/08 at 10:01 AM |
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Hi
I'm new so hello.
At work we build specialist computers, I have noticed that if we buy components in quantities under 100, the failure rate is about 15% higher.
Graphics cards and case fans are more reliable in lower quantites strangely.
Hope that helps
Ben
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 18/9/08 at 04:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by basicaudio
Hi
I'm new so hello.
At work we build specialist computers, I have noticed that if we buy components in quantities under 100, the failure rate is about 15% higher.
Graphics cards and case fans are more reliable in lower quantites strangely.
Hope that helps
Ben
Perhaps it down to how different quantities are packaged?
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