need a good hard drive... any thoughts

[jason kissam]

*mods not sure if this is a marketplace post or equipment kinda falls into both.*

i just had my hard drive crash on the same computer for the second time since last march / april. i recently got a western digital 500 gig hard drive from best buy. all i saw was good reviews but the thing crashed after 3 months of use. im trying to find my warrenty info. but a new one is $69.99 and im able to get is asap. any thoughts or what do you think, new computer or just a hard drive. i have a toshiba sattelite for a laptop from 2007 i bought brand new.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I'm not sure we can point you to the best brand, since hard drives from any manufacturer can and will fail. Any recommendations on here are going to be anecdotal, based on limited experiences (unless we have some IT admins chime in, and even then...) Any of the big brand names should work well though. I've been running Western Digital drives in my PC for years without a problem. I've got a 120GB 10,000 rpm drive, a 500 GB 7200 rpm drive, and just put in a 2TB 7200 drive and they've been running like champs. In my previous, we've gone through two Western Digital drives. Hard drives are cheap, your data is invaluable. Make some backups (tape, online, DVD/Blu-rays) and then just buy a major brand hard drive and don't worry about crashing.

 

[jason kissam]

thanks Skip. i was in the process of doing that. made all my photo logs and dvd videos made and was getting ready to transfer it all. the thing sounded like a mouse scratching on a piece of wood. my nephew is a computer tech and hope i can get my info recovered. i liked the western digital brand , all my techy friends say thats the best.

 

[Mark Blue]

Jason,

Check the spec sheet to see if your hard drive is the 9.5 mm thickness or 12.5 mm thickness. I have a Toshiba Satellite from 2007, the P105 series and I didn't have any issues with the hard drive (although the OEM drive was 4200 rpm so it was slower than molasses in January). I upgraded the drive about two years ago now and I went with a Hitachi from ZipZoomFly - it was the Travelstar 5K500 500GB SATA model 8 MB cache. I'm actually contemplating going with a 120 GB SSD and upgrading before chase season, but I'd also have to upgrade to Windows 7 and I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Let me know what thickness drive your OEM model was and what model of laptop your Toshiba is.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Jeff Duda]

I'm not sure we can point you to the best brand, since hard drives from any manufacturer can and will fail. Any recommendations on here are going to be anecdotal, based on limited experiences (unless we have some IT admins chime in, and even then...) Any of the big brand names should work well though. I've been running Western Digital drives in my PC for years without a problem. I've got a 120GB 10,000 rpm drive, a 500 GB 7200 rpm drive, and just put in a 2TB 7200 drive and they've been running like champs. In my previous, we've gone through two Western Digital drives. Hard drives are cheap, your data is invaluable. Make some backups (tape, online, DVD/Blu-rays) and then just buy a major brand hard drive and don't worry about crashing.

I'll echo the comments made by Skip. I recently purchased a 250 GB Western Digital hard drive for dirt cheap and it has had no problems, nor has the current 80 GB one. My wife's old computer had a 200 GB Western Digital, also with no problems. Hard drives are pretty individual and, again as Skip mentioned, can randomly fail at any time apparently. I would suggest going to newegg.com to compare prices between different brands of hard drives and get something in a selected price range. It's a great site.

 

[jason kissam]

Jason,

Check the specs to see if your hard drive is the 9 mm thickness or 12.5 mm thickness. I have a Toshiba Satellite from 2007, the P105 series and I didn't have any issues with the hard drive (although the OEM drive was 4200 rpm so it was slower than molasses in January). I upgraded the drive about two years ago now and I went with a Hitachi from ZipZoomFly - it was the Travelstar 5K500 500GB SATA model 8 MB cache. I'm actually contemplating going with a 120 GB SSD and upgrading before chase season, but I'd also have to upgrade to Windows 7 and I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Let me know what thickness drive your OEM model was and what model of laptop your Toshiba is.

Thanks,
Mark

this is what i have mark

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western...tops/9172799.p?skuId=9172799&id=1218044489855

 

[Mark Blue]

Jason,

Actually, turn your laptop over and provide me with the model number from the plate or tag on the bottom. For example, my Toshiba is a P105-S9339. That way I can go to the Toshiba support site and see what thickness your OEM drive was by referencing the spec sheet. If the original was 12.5 mm and you put a 9.5 mm replacement drive in there, there might be some minimal slack there that is allowing the drive to jiggle slightly. The bracket and screws should hold the drive solidly, but I would recommend some foam or something similar to ensure there is no wiggle room in the event the OEM was 12.5 and you replaced it with a 9.5 mm thick drive (Scorpio Blue is 9.5 mm). It's very hard to find 12.5 mm drives these days as most if not all current drives are the 9.5 mm form factor - commonly referred to a Z-Height. Let me know your specific laptop model.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[jason kissam]

Jason,

Actually, turn your laptop over and provide me with the model number from the plate or tag on the bottom. For example, my Toshiba is a P105-S9339. That way I can go to the Toshiba support site and see what thickness your OEM drive was by referencing the spec sheet. If the original was 12.5 mm and you put a 9.5 mm replacement drive in there, there might be some minimal slack there that is allowing the drive to jiggle slightly. The bracket and screws should hold the drive solidly, but I would recommend some foam or something similar to ensure there is no wiggle room in the event the OEM was 12.5 and you replaced it with a 9.5 mm thick drive (Scorpio Blue is 9.5 mm). It's very hard to find 12.5 mm drives these days as most if not all current drives are the 9.5 mm form factor - commonly referred to a Z-Height. Let me know your specific laptop model.

Thanks,
Mark

ah ok. sorry im at work and running off all kinds of idiots tonight trespassing. my laptop is at home. i will get on here tomorrow and let you know via pm.

thanks for the help

 

[Greg Campbell]

FWIW, I've had 100% success with Hitachi drives. I've been running a Hitachi 2GB in my desk computer for about 6 months with no issues. Just bought a 60GB SSD for a boot drive. (Crucial C300 series.) Holly crap, the thing is fast!

I also hold the (statistically random) opinion that Toshiba makes decent drives. Got an old 80G in the laptop and it goes great.

Many years back I bought two 850MB Samsung units on sale. Both imploded shortly after the warranty expired, so I've sworn off them for life.

Check the Newegg or Amazon HD reviews to get an idea of which drives might have issues.

 

[Matt Tottle]

I've been a lifelong Western Digital fan. I've only had one WD hard drive crash on me in nearly 20 years. My media server is loaded with eight 1.5TB Caviar Black drives, plus the 6 or 7 drives of various ages and sizes that are in my regular computers.

You actually don't need the receipt or anything for warranty with them. Their warranties go by the manufacture date of the drive, and run 1, 3, or 5 years depending on the model. Go here Warranty Check for End User and input your serial number, then request an RMA. You have the option of an advance exchange, where they put a hold on a credit card and ship out the replacement immediately, then you have 14 days to return the defective one.

 

[jason kissam]

I've been a lifelong Western Digital fan. I've only had one WD hard drive crash on me in nearly 20 years. My media server is loaded with eight 1.5TB Caviar Black drives, plus the 6 or 7 drives of various ages and sizes that are in my regular computers.

You actually don't need the receipt or anything for warranty with them. Their warranties go by the manufacture date of the drive, and run 1, 3, or 5 years depending on the model. Go here Warranty Check for End User and input your serial number, then request an RMA. You have the option of an advance exchange, where they put a hold on a credit card and ship out the replacement immediately, then you have 14 days to return the defective one.

thanks matt i will have to check into that. i bumped my desk at work when it "crashed" i hope i didnt hit it too hard that it messed it up.

 

[jason kissam]

ok this may be good news. the computer HD is accepting the repair disk and is searching for items to be fixed. one of the warnings was the registry was corrupt... (fingers crossed) thanks to all who have replied. if this HD is good then im getting an external and backing it ALL up i did find amajority of my files on usb drives and i know on my desktop i have others. thanks again.

 

[Mark Blue]

The z height or thickness of your OEM stock drive is 9.5 mm, so that means the model you chose (Western Digital Scorpio Blue) is the right size and there should be no issues size wise. I referenced it here: Toshiba A135-S2276 on the "Detailed Specs" tab where they list the information about your hard drive as it came equipped from the factory. The good news is this is the most common size for laptops nowadays, so your choices are wide open for future upgrades. I've tried every conceivable brand of hard drive in the past and have good luck with most all of them. I started out liking Western Digital, then I switched to Seagate, then I was on a Maxtor kick for awhile, and have also tried Hitachi, Samsung and Fujitsu, so I've pretty much tried them all.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on an SSD and upgrade my laptop as what Greg said above is true. There are testaments all over the internet about how fast programs load from an SSD. I guess it's instantaneously, so fast that a person will miss the splash screen. Anyhow, it seems you should be able to RMA your drive and be in good shape. Just pick up a copy of Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image and get in the habit of backing up in the future and data loss will be a thing of the past. I hope we were able to help you out and that we have resolved your issue.

 

[jason kissam]

thanks mark, i was talking to a tech tonight about the ssd drives. seems like that may be an option too. but $ wise its a great thing to do, just right now not alot of $ to use. it has been a huge help trouble shooting and getting info. best buy was sold out of the 500 gig hd. but i may have another option too. thanks again everyone for the help and the info sharing it really was helpful.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

The best thing to do is keep backups. And check your backups regularly. I've had good luck with Seagates, but they haven't been 100% failsafe. I've just never lost 2 at once