Why I'm furious with Seagate!

boe

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I just purchased a couple of new Seagate hard drives. One arrived DOA. I can live with the fact one was defective but what I can't live with was the RMA process. Even though the unit just arrived they said they'll rebuild it. I asked if they could send me a new one and they said - no - that is not our policy. I thought maybe I had a trainee on the phone so I politely asked for the supervisor - I was given a number to call. 3 phone calls later I got a call back and they said - nope - not our policy - you'll have to get it repaired!

If you bought a DVD player and you paid for it but then when you went to the pickup counter they dropped it - they say - ohh - we'll get it fixed and send it to you - HOW WOULD YOU FEEL? Wouldn't you feel like they should at least apply some vaseline?

I'm furious. I've had tremendous luck with on of their biggest competitors but I thought I should give Seagate a try - WHAT A MISTAKE!
 

BustedSony

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It's not as bad as you think. A hard drive is usually DOA because of a manufacturing flaw, not damage. When a drive is "reengineered" it is individually attended to in a Clean Room, it is given an individual checkover and send-off, rather than being another anonymous product of an assembly line. Some of these redone drives do hit the resale market, I have either a WD or Seagate drive (I forget which) with a regional (North American) stamp, and it's been super-reliable. In my experience Seagate is good with RMAs, if it is truly far gone they will actually replace it with a newer or larger model, if it's repairable than it will be at least as dependable afterwards as an assembly line product.
 
And just in case you did'nt know they've recently acquired Maxtor, so expect a shafting with their drives too I suppose, although to be fair whilst the Seagate policy has always been to send a 'factory repaired unit' it does still have a five year warrenty :roll:
 

BustedSony

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And just in case you did'nt know they've recently acquired Maxtor, so expect a shafting with their drives too I suppose, although to be fair whilst the Seagate policy has always been to send a 'factory repaired unit' it does still have a five year warrenty :roll:

Seagate is excellent with RMAs, a friend screwed up is new 7200.10 320 gig with a bad format which couldn't be recovered. Within five days of sendig off the old drive he had a new 500 Gig unit! Likewise I have had excellent results with the two I've had to RMA (out of 20-odd drives) one was new, one was check-stamped, both are functionally flawless.

Don't talk rot unless you have examples.
 
I've had a Seagate die whilst in service mate RMA'd it got the replacement back three week's later and had it die a few weeks after that so another RMA another three week wait (bought a replacement drive in the meantime) and then sold the returned drive to an aquaintence, so no I'm not talking rot I'm speaking from experience and if I wanted to get really anal I could probably find the shipping notes :x
 

BustedSony

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I've had a Seagate die whilst in service mate RMA'd it got the replacement back three week's later and had it die a few weeks after that so another RMA another three week wait (bought a replacement drive in the meantime) and then sold the returned drive to an aquaintence, so no I'm not talking rot I'm speaking from experience and if I wanted to get really anal I could probably find the shipping notes :x

Is the returned drive still working? Was it cooled properly?

Was it a 7200.8? One bad experience does not a trend make. Also, hard drives do have a high failure and DOA rate, no denial of that; so what happens to all the drives that DO have a problem? With the low margins in the industry (due to low cost, which is what WE, the customer, want) every one can't be tossed into the garbage regardless of the problem, they HAVE to be repaired if possible, otherwise we'd be paying a lot more for drives.

And NO manufacturer has defect-free drives, I'd pick on Maxtor, not Seagate. And no, Maxtor isn't going to "drag down" Seagate's quality control.
 
Is the drive still working? don't know ,don't care. was it cooled? no more no less than the other barrcuda's in the same and yes it was a 7200rpm drive and as I've had to RMA 3 Maxtor Diamondmax 10 250GB SATA 2's (all out of box failures)so far this year I'll sit back and wait see how the Seagate/Maxtor thing goes.
 
So what do you know about the replacement drives that I missed sir?, they turned up were fitted and started clicking almost straight away and Maxtor's own diagnostic software recommended that the drive be replaced, three drives one after another, the fourth drive the last one that turned up is still sitting in its box on the desk in front of me because I can't be arsed to even try it and if you think I'm talking out of my rectum rather than from experiance you're more than welcome to journey over here and look over my personal shipping records.
 

BustedSony

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and if you think I'm talking out of my rectum rather than from experiance you're more than welcome to journey over here and look over my personal shipping records.

You keep suggesting we look at your written records under the assumption we don't believe you. We do, what have you to prove? Sometimes I think hardware failure happens due to the absorption of bad vibes from its owner.. :p
 

rupert86

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We get only 10 months replacement warranty (Its Asia, not NA) on all products. (After that the dealers ask for shipping charges US$60, which isn't feasible for our greatest market, around 80-160GB. So nobody sends for RMA after that period, they just buy a new one, it is also called 10+26 months warrantee).

But I remember a special case (a 40GB Seagate U8), we sent it 4 times in RMA and it got replaced instantly initial 2 times, and then repaired the last two times (and the problem was only that it was developing bad sectors at a very high rate.)

EDIT: Disabled smilies b/c U8 was being replaced by 'cool'.
 
Dude, I was in a similar mind to the OP about preferring a new unit over a repaired replacment, and if he/she felt that by getting a repaired unit they were being shafted (vasoline reference) then as Seagate and Maxtor are one and the same now, maybe they will share the same policy, and then you implied that I was talking rot & should provide examples, other than anecdotes what examples are there, I still use and would continue to purchase both Maxtor and Seagate drives, I just like them to work straight out of the box and like the OP will never be truly happy with a 'factory repaired replacement' of a brand new item, I just feel that brand new should be replaced with brand new.
 

linux_0

Splendid
It's not as bad as you think. A hard drive is usually DOA because of a manufacturing flaw, not damage. When a drive is "reengineered" it is individually attended to in a Clean Room, it is given an individual checkover and send-off, rather than being another anonymous product of an assembly line. Some of these redone drives do hit the resale market, I have either a WD or Seagate drive (I forget which) with a regional (North American) stamp, and it's been super-reliable. In my experience Seagate is good with RMAs, if it is truly far gone they will actually replace it with a newer or larger model, if it's repairable than it will be at least as dependable afterwards as an assembly line product.



Aye this is true!

If "re-engineered" correctly the drive can be as good as new or even better than new.

If repaired incorrectly you're SOL.

This of course varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, what the problem was with the device, different batches, luck and other factors.

If the drive was purchased very recently ( within 30 days ) you can return it to the vendor instead of Seagate and get a "new" unit, if not you have to RMA it with Seagate.

GL :-D
 

linux_0

Splendid
Oh so it was you who sold me them nice drives :)

Man I been lookin fo ya!

Why don't ya send me yer new address so my cousin Sammy "The Bull" Gravano ( just got outta Riker's ) and I can grab some beer and some baseball bats^H^H^H^H^H err I mean tickets - ya that's right tickets -- and stop on by to say hello and go to the game.

We'll head to the cement mixing plant to do a quick pickup then head to the game and finally the docks by the waterfront.

How 'bout it??

:lol:
 

Doughbuy

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I've bought around 10 HDD's in the last 4 years or so... and I would have to say the only drive that died on me was a 200 gig Maxtor. RMA'ed the POS, got a 250gig back, happy camper again. I had another drive die on me, but that was because I lent it to a friend in an external enclosure and she dropped it... twice... yeah... she bought me a new one, think that was either a maxtor or a WD, forgot which... shrug

I like Seagate more than any other brands just for the 5-yr warranty. If your scared about Seagate's dieing, put all your important information on a non-seagate drive, and use the seagate for other shiz.
 

Exterous

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I just like them to work straight out of the box and like the OP will never be truly happy with a 'factory repaired replacement' of a brand new item, I just feel that brand new should be replaced with brand new.

This is not intended to be a flame or anything but it does not matter what you feel. If you look at their warrenty they state that you will get a new one or a repaired or previously used drive. If they choose to give you a repaired one, that is their right and you have no claimant to demand otherwise. A warrenty/return period is a privilage, not a right (as in they don't have to give you a warrenty but have choosen to do so. Your claim for a replacement only exists within their stated policy)
 
Dude I know (says so on the interweb site) I don't like it but I do know, however come the revolution the great worm spirit will right all wrongs, Windoze will be secure and bug free, politicians will be honest etc. etc. :lol: :lol:
 

atp777

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Try IBM Deskstar (pre-120GXP) and all of their Ultrastars.
I had my fun of sending a whole box full of 6 dead/faulty Ultrastars back to them and got refurbed ones back. Sold them all for a profit.

Yeah... IBM/Hitachi, I will never use again. I am subcontracted to HP right now and I get more dead travelstars than anything else. In fact, 2 of my Dell laptops had travestars in them and they BOTH died. Talk about a bad drive. I mean, yes all hdd's will eventually die, but these were very premature, within a year. And the funny thing about it was, neither one was a traveling laptop, both just sat on desks, used as an energy saving desktop. They were replaced with fujitsu drives. 8)

And Seagate, I've had nothing but goodness come from that company.
 
Dear Sir
You appear to have misread/misunderstood the refund policy of FKUOVR.inc the management reserves the right to ignore, insult, refuse, abuse as we see fit, a full refund will only be given if the following criteria is met and exceeded, the goods in question must be returned unopened, unused and in better condition than you received them, all shipping cost to be paid by the customer to and from the customer (subject to added cost) packaging must meet or exceed our strict undisclosed guidelines, A reputable carrier of our own choosing must be used, deliveries will only be excepted Mondays to Fridays but not during the week.
 

Exterous

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Thats why I am a big fan of their 5 yr warrenty

mousemonkey: You'd be suprised how many people don't know that. Anyway I think FCUOVR is the contracted warrenty service for most places these days
 

pcrig

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And just in case you did'nt know they've recently acquired Maxtor, so expect a shafting with their drives too I suppose
That's the most utter bullcrap I've heard this month.

Well ...... looks like all you have never learned, every fact for you is always nothing but a crap. It just show how damn you are!

Seagate Press Release

SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY TO ACQUIRE MAXTOR CORPORATION

Combination Will Provide Increased Scale To Drive Product Innovation,
Maximize Operational Efficiencies

Transaction Expected To Be At Least 10-20% Accretive For Shareholders
On A Cash EPS Basis After First Full Year Of Combined Operations

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.—21 December 2005—

Seagate (NYSE: STX) and Maxtor (NYSE: MXO) today jointly announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Seagate will acquire Maxtor in an all stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Maxtor shareholders will receive .37 shares of Seagate common stock for each Maxtor share they own. When the transaction is completed Seagate shareholders will own approximately 84% and Maxtor shareholders will own approximately 16% of the combined company. The value of the transaction is approximately $1.9 billion.

The combination of Seagate and Maxtor will build on Seagate’s foundation as the premier global hard disc drive company, leveraging the strength of Seagate’s significant operating scale to drive product innovation, maximize operational efficiencies, and realize significant cost synergies. These capabilities will enable the combined company to compete more effectively as the highly competitive data storage industry addresses the challenges and opportunities for significant growth that lie ahead. The combined company will be well-positioned to accelerate delivery of a diverse set of compelling and cost-effective solutions to the growing customer base for data storage products.

The combined company is expected to generate significant synergies, and the transaction is expected to be at least 10-20% accretive to Seagate on a cash EPS basis after the first full year of combined operations. As with other past combinations of disc drive manufacturers, revenue attrition is anticipated to result from this combination. Synergy estimates take into account anticipated revenue attrition. It is estimated that the incremental revenues will generate gross margins that are in line with the high end of Seagate’s stand-alone model. In addition, the combined company expects to achieve approximately $300 million of annual operating expense savings in connection with the transaction after the first full year of integration.

“Seagate is excited about the opportunity to achieve greater scale, reduce supply chain costs, and leverage combined R&D efforts across a broader product set. With the increased scale of the combined company, we can reduce overall product costs and provide more innovative products at more competitive prices,” said Bill Watkins, Seagate CEO. “We believe this is a strategic combination that will provide value for our shareholders as well as benefits for our customers.”

“We believe this combination offers an exciting opportunity for our two companies to come together in a transaction that maximizes value for our stockholders, through the combination of an attractive premium and through future value enhancement of the combined company’s operations,” said Dr. C.S. Park, Maxtor chairman and CEO. “Together, we will leverage our combined technical resources to deliver to our customers an even more compelling and diverse set of products, and get them to market more quickly and cost effectively.”

Steve Luczo, Seagate chairman, said "Seagate's board of directors is very enthusiastic about this unique combination and believes it will provide value for shareholders of both companies. This transaction has significant strategic and financial benefits, and the combined company will be better positioned to anticipate and serve the needs of the global customer base in the highly competitive data storage market."

Seagate’s executive management team will continue to serve in their current roles. The combined company will retain the Seagate name and executive offices will be located in Scotts Valley, California. Dr. Park will become a director of Seagate upon the closing of the transaction. Seagate’s chairman, CEO, executive vice presidents, and the principal equity investors affiliated with certain of Seagate’s Directors have committed to vote their shares in favor of the acquisition.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of calendar 2006, subject to obtaining shareholder approvals and customary regulatory approvals. There is a termination fee of $300 million payable to Maxtor under certain conditions. The transaction is intended to be tax-free to Maxtor shareholders.

Prior to the closing, Seagate and Maxtor will operate as separate businesses.

Seagate's previously announced outlook for the December quarter of $2.2 billion in revenue and earnings per share in the range of $0.53-$0.57, excluding non-cash stock based compensation, remains unchanged. Additionally, Seagate confirms its recently announced guidance for fiscal year 2006 earnings per share outlook of approximately $2.00, excluding non-cash stock based compensation.

Investment Community Conference Call

The management teams of Seagate and Maxtor will hold a conference call to discuss the transaction today at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call can be accessed live via telephone as follows:

USA: 877-223-6202

International: 706-679-3742

A live audio webcast of the call, as well as other facts and information related to the transaction, will be available and archived at www.seagatemaxtor.com.

A replay of the call will be available beginning at 5:30pm Eastern Time today through January 3, 2006 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, and can be accessed online at www.seagatemaxtor.com or by telephone as follows:

USA: 800-642-1687

International: 706-645-9291

Access code: 3729125


About Seagate

Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, and Consumer Electronics applications. Seagate's business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers, and to be the low cost producer in all markets in which it participates. The company is committed to providing award-winning products, customer support and reliability to meet the world's growing demand for information storage. Seagate can be found around the globe and at www.seagate.com .


About Maxtor

Maxtor Corporation (www.maxtor.com) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of information storage solutions. The company has an expansive line of storage products for desktop computers, near-line storage, high-performance Intel-based servers and consumer electronics. Maxtor has a reputation as a proven market leader built by consistently providing high-quality products, and services and support for its customers. Maxtor and its products can be found at www.maxtor.com or by calling toll-free (800) 2-MAXTOR. Maxtor is traded on the NYSE under the MXO symbol.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed transaction involving Seagate and Maxtor. In connection with the proposed transaction, Seagate plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing a Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and each of Seagate and Maxtor plan to file with the SEC other documents regarding the proposed transaction. The definitive Joint Proxy Statement / Prospectus will be mailed to stockholders of Seagate and Maxtor. Investors and security holders are urged to read the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC carefully in their entirety when they Become available because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by Seagate and Maxtor through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC from Seagate by directing a request to Seagate Technology, 920 Disc Drive, P.O. Box 66360, Scotts Valley, California 95067, Attention: Investor Relations (telephone: (831) 439-5337) or going to Seagate’s corporate website at www.Seagate.com, or from Maxtor by directing a request to Maxtor Corporation, 500 McCarthy Boulevard, Milpitas, California 95035, Attention: VP of Investor Relations (telephone: 408-894-5000) or going to Maxtor’s corporate website at www.Maxtor.com.

Seagate and Maxtor, and their respective directors and executive officers, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding Seagate’s directors and executive officers is contained in Seagate’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 1, 2005 and its proxy statement dated October 7, 2005, which are filed with the SEC. Information regarding Maxtor’s directors and executive officers is contained in Maxtor’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2004 and its proxy statement dated April 11, 2005, supplemental proxy statement dated May 10, 2005 and Current Report on Form 8-K dated August 24, 2005, which are filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants will be included in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and the other relevant documents filed with the SEC (when available).

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the benefits of the proposed transaction between Seagate and Maxtor and the future financial performance of Seagate. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to Seagate and Maxtor as of the date of this release and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include a variety of factors, some of which are beyond Seagate’s or Maxtor’s control. In particular, such risks and uncertainties include difficulties encountered in integrating merged businesses; the risk that the transaction does not close, including the risk that the requisite stockholder and regulatory approvals may not be obtained; the variable demand and the aggressive pricing environment for disc drives; dependence on each company’s ability to successfully manufacture in increasing volumes on a cost-effective basis and with acceptable quality its current disc drive products ; and the adverse impact of competitive product announcements and possible excess industry supply with respect to particular disc drive products. Information concerning additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements is contained in Seagate’s Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on August 1, 2005 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on October 28,2005, and Maxtor’s Annual Report on Form 10-K /A for fiscal year 2004 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter ended October 1, 2005 as filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Seagate’s or Maxtor’s views as of any subsequent date and neither undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made.

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Some people never learn as they are to damn to chech what they not know!