On Friday December 6 2002 09:45 am, Technoslick wrote:
> I never knew of any recalls with this company, staying clear of them
> over the years. I don't doubt that Richard A's drive may need a
> low-level format to straighten it out, but I know I would never
> recommend Fujitsu drives to anyone. I didn't have much good to say
> for Egghead, either. But at least with them, I knew I was taking a
> chance. Three drives failing so quickly, and then finding it was an
> inherent problem with all of them....
I don't believe even with their current problems Fujitsu has begun a
recall. They have offered fairly generous replacement offers tho, some
extending to out of warranty drives. Still, I believe y'all should be
very cautious before considering a low level format (LLF). Even if the
manufacturer's LLF utility is used. IMO, it's a futile last resort,
o It will destroy factory mapping to firmware that was done when the
drive was manufactured, as all drives are to map out unusable/excess
areas particular to that HDD. No two platters are the same, they're
all like snowflakes.
o The drive must be at operating temp to avoid track shift due to
platter expansion. Recommended is to have the HDD spun up for at least
30 minutes in normal ambient temps before LLF is attempted. This will
not alieviate spindle wobble problems tho.
o It voids any warranties.
o It should be done with DMA disabled. This takes a long time. If for
any reason the LLF is aborted, the HDD may (specially SCSI's will)
become permanently rendered unusable.
o Little gain .... you've only maybe managed to get a questionable and
problem drive going again. For how long?
--
Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
