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From: thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: On the lighter side...
Message-ID: <31704@cup.portal.com>
Date: 14 Jul 90 06:07:55 GMT
References: <33854@ut-emx.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 43

greg@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp) in <33854@ut-emx.UUCP> writes about his
client having "locked-up Seagates..." who shrugs that problem off with the
(incredible to me) quote: "Other than that," he says, "they're fine." "Oh
yes," he responded, "You just have to pop the case open and give it a little
spin.  Thay start right back up!"

Yeah; right.  After cleaning up after a recent fire, the Maxtors, Connors
and Quantums started right up as if nothing had happened.  My (last) Seagate,
a ST-157N, wouldn't spin up.  11 drives and ALL 11 develop the same problem:
the non-spin (this includes ST-251 and ST157N drives).  Kinda leads me to
think that perhaps the "ST" in the Seagate product code number stands for:
                        ^^
                   Stops Turning

(You DON'T want to hear my OTHER choices for the meaning of ``ST'' :-)

Ripping-off the anti-static beryllium-copper tab with a pair of plumber's
pliers and twisting the (main) shaft with said pliers got the drive going
again.  That drive had stiction beyond belief; difficult to believe a tiny
3-1/2" drive could "glue" the heads so tightly in the park zone (this was
the first time it was powered down in a long time).

What with the hundreds of emails I received over the past several years
concerning Seagate drives and my own experiences with 11 different Seagate
drives, I'm wondering whether anyone has considered some kind of class-action
suit?

Or would pestering the FTC be more effective as it was against Radio Shack
circa 1972-1975 with their "500W" audio amps and nano-pico-femto-Watt
sensitivity FM tuners, forcing the FTC to institute new consumer protection
laws (with RS re-rating the same audio amps to 25W and tuners to 10milliWatt)?

Suffice it to say, Seagate is one company whose products I now avoid.  And
remember the posting by a VAR (not me) to comp.periphs a month ago expressing
concern the new Seagate logo on Imprimis drives would eat thru the case
bringing with it software rot and bit decay.  :-)


"---------  OTHER THAN THAT?!?!?!?!?!"

Sheesh.

Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]