Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:2614 comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:3086 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!trd10523 From: trd10523@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Die Hard Cub Fan) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc Subject: Re: HD will not spin up (sometimes), banging it helps; Suggestions? Message-ID: <1990Oct28.225823.26812@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Date: 28 Oct 90 22:58:23 GMT References: <1447@pedsga.UUCP> <4668@trantor.harris-atd.com> <1990Oct26.201641.25090@cs.odu.edu> Sender: news@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (News) Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 51 In article <1990Oct26.201641.25090@cs.odu.edu> aiko@cs.odu.edu (John K Hayes) writes: >>In article <1447@pedsga.UUCP> mikes@pedsga.UUCP (Mike Shulman ,SPCSYS,7586) writes: >>> >>> Well, like the subject line says, I seem to have a masacistic HD. It's >>>a Seagate ST125 (20 Meg, 3.5 format), and every once in a while when I >>>turn on my computer it refuses to spin up. The solution seems to be to >>>take it out and bang it hard a few times. Then re-install it, and it >>>works like a champ...until the next time it feels like doing this. > > >In article <4668@trantor.harris-atd.com> sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) writes: >> I have a Seagate ST-138R 32M RLL drive that developed this >>problem after one year of use (after warranty). And for the past >>year I have had to "kick-start" the *@#?! thing... > > >Yaas. It seems to me that the Seagate folks put out some pretty raunchy stuff. >As for RLL drives in general - these seem to be the most unstable type drives >around (at least for the 32M variety or lower). I think I have heard that the >RLL format works better in larger varieties. But - I don't know. And if it >were me buying a large disk I would probably go for an ESDI type. >But the kind of trouble I've had with the RLLs is the frequent need to >re-format after the disk gets fried somehow. I know DOS has something to > >It's hard to understand that a company with such a large share of the market >like Seagate can get away with making such junk. >Of course, I guess some of their stuff is ok, tho. I have to speak up in defense of Seagate here. I had an ST138R that did the EXACT same thing - crapped out after 18 months of faithful service. After yelling at a couple of hard drive dealers, I found out that the problem was the lubricant used on the motor shaft. It is not silicone based, so it seizes up with time. (So, banging it un-seizes it enough for the motor to drive it.) Well, after hearing this, I proceeded to send Seagate a NASTY letter on their tech support BBS system (1-408-438-8771, 1200 bps). They explained that this happened a lot to the first generation of these drives. He gave me an RMA numberand I sent it in, despite the lack of warranty. They replaced it for a $40 fee and 30 days [they're very strict on the 30 days] of waiting. I now have a "second generation" ST138R, with which they gave me a 90 day warranty. I have had no problems since then. (I don't know about a year from now :-) ) Bottom line: Seagate has always meant quality to me for years. It looks to me that they're willing to admit when they make a mistake. I'm not about to give up on them. -- /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / Todd Davis INTERNET: trd10523@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu / / Computer Engineering Student COORDINATES: 40 06' 47" N / 88 13' 35 W / / University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign / ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////