RMA this drive? Consensus please.

[Piyono]

I RMA-ed a dying Samsung SP2504C and recieved the replacement by courier a few weeks ago. I think it's a refurb. It vibrates like your barber's Wahl and emits a mildly irritating array of hums and whines. It has a Nidec motor stamped "P120". I'm quite sure it's the noisiest drive I've purchased in 6 years. By contrast (and to the best of my recollection), the SP2504C I sent out was reasonably quiet and motionless.

I have one other Samsung drive — an SV1604N/MBP — which, in idle, is dead-still and so quiet that I have to bring my ear within a few inches to tell if it's on. Seeks are nice and soft. Love it. JVC motor on this one.

Would SP2504C owners or familiars please step forward and join the sample set? I'd like to determine a normative mechanical character of this drive.

Piyono

 

[ddrueding]

I haven't used Samsung drives in quite a while (capacity issues), but IIRC, the Nidec motors were quieter than the JVCs.

 

[MaxBurn]

Shaking and makes a lot of noise? I would return it.

 

[Bozo]

Send it back.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Piyono]

Yeah, you know what...
I just tested a 6-year-old Maxtor 5T040H4. Noisy as all-get-out but totally inert.

RMA #2, here we come.


Piyono

 

[Tannin]

Who TF is your Samsung distributor? No way known is that a correctly functioning, healthy Samsung drive. They just don't sound like that.

 

[Piyono]

Tannin, I don't actually have a Samsung distributor anymore because the company I was using dropped the line a while back citing Samsung's withdrawal from the Canadian HDD market. Odd claim considering that Samsung's Canadian website still lists hard drives.

In any case, I called customer service and they said that getting a replacement for my replacement is as easy as writing "Refused" on the packaging and paperwork (which I kept) and calling UPS for a pickup. The nice people at the refurbishing lab will happily send me a new drive.

Will report back.

 

[Tannin]

I don't understand this refurbishing caper, Piyono. I have never been shipped a refurbished Samsung drive, and I've been selling them since a 3GB drive was a nice thing to have brand new.

Obviously quite different distribution arrangements apply in our different countries.

 

[Piyono]

It's always been like that here with Sammy. Warranty claims are replaced with refurbs. Maxtor, too (may they rest in peace), as I recall.

Anyway, I just typed up a letter for the claim handler in the hopes of ensuring a properly working replacement for my replacement. Sometimes a few well-chosen words work wonders in greasing the wheels of good will. I'm putting it in the box with the return. Let's hope it helps.

Piyono

 

[ddrueding]

All the Seagate RMAs are refurbs as well. AFAIK, WD is the only company to send me new drives from RMAs.

 

[CougTek]

Samsung drives are nothing exordinairy in North America. Like some CRT monitors, they work better in the southern hemispher.

 

[Piyono]

It's always been like that here with Sammy. Warranty claims are replaced with refurbs. Maxtor, too (may they rest in peace), as I recall.

Also, if it were not for the fact that I was told I was being shipped a refurb I might not have known because the drive itself is not marked as such (although the box it came in was not new, so that might have tipped me off). Who knows— maybe my refurb is your Authorized Merchandise Return...

Anyway, I just typed up a letter for the claim handler in the hopes of ensuring hand-selection of a properly working replacement for my replacement. Sometimes a few well-chosen words work wonders in greasing the wheels of good will. I'm putting it in the box with the return. Let's hope it helps.

Piyono

 

[Piyono]

What the heck is up with editing posts on this board?
I hit save and nothing happens.

 

[ddrueding]

What the heck is up with editing posts on this board?
I hit save and nothing happens.

Mark and I had the same problems. I'm sure Handruin is looking into it.

 

[Bozo]

Seagate and WD send refurbished drives as replacements. They are marked accordingly on the drive. usually in very small print.
I have gotten new drives from both companies. I presumed they were out of referbs or the mobel was too old to fool with.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Piyono]

I remember once sending in a 40GB drive to Maxtor and receiving a 60GB drive in return. Pleasant surprise.

 

[Piyono]

Well, it's been 8 weeks, a dozen phone calls and lots of red tape later but I've got a new drive, and for my trouble they bumped me up to a 300GB model, the HD300LJ. Not a speed demon but this is just for near-line storage so even a 5400 would have done nicely.

Just glad to have a working drive (knock on wood).

]-[