Refurbished HDD

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

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hillkitler
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:36 pm
Location: The 208.

Refurbished HDD

Post by hillkitler » Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:20 pm

Is it safe to purchase a refurbished HDD? I mean, of course it's perfectly SAFE, but is it a practical decision from a silent point of view? It seems to me that a refurbished drive may be more prone to nondescript rattles and seek noises. I suppose it's inconsistent, as hard drives come in many shapes and sizes and are likely refurbished in a number of different ways. Does anyone have real experience or at the very least, an opinion on the matter?

L2GX
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:36 am
Location: brussels

Post by L2GX » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:02 am

saying any HDD is safe is like saying people won't die. You don't know that.

So you're left with statistics or engineering to give you a probable answer.
statistics are no guarantee, and engineering rarely designs with refurbishing in mind.
Likely 'refurbishing' a hdd means locking down bad sectors, a simple enough procedure that you can do at home to your own drives if they show problems. At the very best the controller board was busted and they swapped that, but don't imagine the drive has been opened or 'cleaned'

the drive is inferior in many ways to a new one, having been used, so you'll have normal wear and tear, and having been 'broken' wich might reoccur and at the very least will have caused exceptional wear and tear.

the good part?

it has been tested before re-release.

hillkitler
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:36 pm
Location: The 208.

Post by hillkitler » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:34 am

Thank you for your answer, belittling as it may have been.

KlaymenDK
Posts: 122
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:20 am
Location: Denmark

Post by KlaymenDK » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:37 am

For some uses, I would not mind using refurbished parts. Heck, my beloved Palm T3 is a refurbished model, though my life darn near depends on it. Although, I do have an automatic running backup, and a spare T3 in a drawer at home.

But using a refurbished hard disk? Never! I mean, I know these things are bound to fail "eventually", but why push your luck? If it's the PSU, some add-in card, or the memory, you'll lose your session if the part kicks the bucket ... but if it's the disk, you lose everything since your last backup (assuming you have one). That's a fair amount of potential stress, so I would pay extra to push the "eventually" a little further into the future.

But that's just me. :wink:

hillkitler
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:36 pm
Location: The 208.

Post by hillkitler » Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:11 am

I'd have to agree. I wouldn't want to take my chances with a hard drive. I'd rather pay the extra $20 for the added security, warranty, peace of mind, etc.

L2GX
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:36 am
Location: brussels

Post by L2GX » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:17 am

hillkitler wrote:Thank you for your answer, belittling as it may have been.
Sorry about that, old habit. Belittling was non-intended, so I do apologize.

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