# Hard drive warranty experiences



## jeff125va (Mar 15, 2001)

I've had the occasion in the past month or so to get two hard drives replaced under warranty. One of them I hadn't actually used in my TiVo, but thought they might both be worth sharing anyway.

Maxtor - This was a 300GB QuickView drive I had added to my first HR10-250, it was about 15-16 months old. They actually sent me the replacement drive first, as long as I gave them a credit card #, which they didn't charge as long as I got the old drive back to them within 30 days. Worked out great, as I was able to just use the same packaging. Only thing I didn't like was that they didn't give me a QuickView drive, which they didn't guarantee, but I think they should. It was probably a refurbished drive, which is fine since the one I sent back obviously wasn't new. I can live with the non-QuickView thing though, it's been working fine in my HD-TiVo for about 4 weeks now. I actually had my original WD drive from that unit fail at the same time as the upgrade drive, but that wasn't under warranty so I have no info to share about WD.

Seagate - This was a 120GB drive I had in my PC. They wanted a $25 fee to send me the replacement drive first, which I thought sucked compared to Maxtor's service, so I didn't bother with that. But I did get a 200GB drive as a replacement, which I was pleasantly surprised to see when it arrived yesterday.

Anyway, just thought this info might be helpful to someone deciding what brand of hard drive to buy.


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## captain_video (Mar 1, 2002)

Maxtor and Western Digital will both allow you to provide a credit card number for an advance replacement (i.e. they'll send you a replacement before you have to send yours back). I've sent drives back to both manufacturers under warranty and never had any problems getting a replacement. The only refurbed drive I've ever gotten as a replacement was an old Quantum Bigfoot (remember those?).

Seagate has a new return policy but I can't recall if they offer advance replacements. They do have a better warranty period than any other manufacturer but you really have to read the fine print. I believe there is a co-pay involved with getting a replacement drive, even under warranty. 

After three years, they'll only prorate the value of the drive based on its age and apply that to the purchase of a new retail drive from Seagate, which essentially means you'll pay more for the replacement than what you could get it for at your local CompUSA or Best Buy. In reality, the last two years of warranty coverage on Seagate drives is a joke so they really have only a 3-year warranty that is of any value.


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## JS2003 (Jan 10, 2004)

I've got a Maxtor drive going in for replacement under warranty, too. I've not had good luck with Maxtors lately; several drives (in Tivos as well as PCs) have failed after less than 2 years of use. I think I'll be buying Seagates in the near future...


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## 1283 (Sep 8, 2000)

captain_video said:


> After three years, they'll only prorate the value of the drive based on its age and apply that to the purchase of a new retail drive from Seagate, which essentially means you'll pay more for the replacement than what you could get it for at your local CompUSA or Best Buy. In reality, the last two years of warranty coverage on Seagate drives is a joke so they really have only a 3-year warranty that is of any value.


Where did you see this info? The Seagate package clearly states "full guarantee covers all parts and labor" for 5 years. I have not found any Seagate warranty statement that says anything about prorated coverage.


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## HomieG (Feb 17, 2003)

I've used Seagate, Samsung and Maxtor drives over the recent 5 years. Only the Maxtor's have had problems, and sometimes the refurb replacements have lasted less time than the one's I've returned. Therefore I've stopped purchasing Maxtor's. I mostly buy Samsung drives these days. Good warranty, good performance, good pricing, and very quiet. Samsung may or may not have the size/density you want, though.


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