WL 6TB Hard Drive now $150

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canta

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Nov 26, 2014
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WL means your own risk.

Torture the drives in badblock intensive loop test.
Once is done. Use and remember the backup.

Those drive s mostly used and smart data is erased.
 

Chuckleb

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Mar 5, 2013
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Some of them are better than others. I have many and they are fine. You get good batches and bad bat he's. Overall, the cost saving a should be invested in a spare or two, so when it fails, you can swap in.

I'd buy some if I needed more... Depending on the task!
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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@Chuckleb if I am recalling correctly you have many many many of these in service... any chance you have failure rate #s/data by year? Curious what your 90-150 day failure rate is, and then yearly after if you have it :D
 

Chuckleb

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Mar 5, 2013
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I have the 4TB versions, first batch. They had good firmware, were raid enhanced. We lost maybe 5 drives in 30 days, then have been stable since. We haven't had any fail in over 2 years.

This really depends on the batch they get and resell. The 2nd batch they got in from their supplier had bad firmware that they wouldn't even sell me.

I think the drives are RMA drives to the manufacturer, who sells them off to a refurbisher or disposal group, that then rebrands and checks them, wipes data, and sells. So you may get fixed drives which have a good chance of being just fine. Especially in the raid enhanced variety or NAS. For desktop drives, not so sure. The RE and NAS are more hardened so a refurb is probably still fine.
 
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canta

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Nov 26, 2014
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I have the 4TB versions, first batch. They had good firmware, were raid enhanced. We lost maybe 5 drives in 30 days, then have been stable since. We haven't had any fail in over 2 years.

This really depends on the batch they get and resell. The 2nd batch they got in from their supplier had bad firmware that they wouldn't even sell me.

I think the drives are RMA drives to the manufacturer, who sells them off to a refurbisher or disposal group, that then rebrands and checks them, wipes data, and sells. So you may get fixed drives which have a good chance of being just fine. Especially in the raid enhanced variety or NAS. For desktop drives, not so sure. The RE and NAS are more hardened so a refurb is probably still fine.
I do not think these are pure RMA drive,
if you send the drive for RMA to seagate or WD, they will reuse/fix the drive for later when possible :D.

I had been RMA drives and the return drives seems got "fix" from another "not new" drive.

as I said. when the tortured is done, the drive should be OK

I bought two drive "hitachi" drives ehem.. one failed after badblocks for 2 days. without fee, they sent me another drive and passed badblock. the drive is acting as a spare drive now..

I agree, non desktop drive should better with some less risk, but the risk is still there. I would get extra drives and make raidz2/3 with backup :p..