[KLUG Hardware] problems with IBM/hitachi hard drives

[Adam Tauno Williams]

DO NOT CROSS POST!

> My problem with sudden failure of IBM/Hitachi hard drives has reached 
> epic proportions.  I initially bought 2 drives, about 3 years ago.  I 
> have now sent back, and had replaced, about 6 of them.  And that's 
> really in a 2 year interval, as I mostly stopped using them after 2 
> years of dismal reliability.  The 2nd to last one failed after 2 months 
> of light use (after sitting on a shelf for several).  It's replacement 
> didn't even last long enough to get the operating system installed! 

Hmmm.  Are these all in the same machine?  If so have you considered
that your power supply might be crap, or that you have inadequate
cooling.

The are hi-speed (7,200rpm is fast in IDE land) consumer grade drives -
(1) You can't operate them in ambient above 85F
(2) You can't high-density mount - one drive directly above another -
you need ~1in clearance between drives.
(3) Shock resistance is minimal, the case should never be so much as
even skooched with the drives spinning.

If these conditions aren't acceptable either buy 5,400rpm drives, or get
and external cabinet and use SATA or SCSI.

> company that bought IBM's storage division and has continued to replace 
> faulty drives with more faulty drives) through as much mud as I can 
> manage.  May I have better luck tilting at windmills than the Man of La 

Horror stories about these drives are common.  But the drives are not
faulty, it is almost always the fault of the PC they are installed in.