Dead caviar - rma or buy a new one

[uphigh016]

So heres my story..

One day i decided to use ccleaner on my wd black caviar 1tb and do a 35 pass drive wipe, clicked 'ok', but it will take 3 days to finish. At first i was willing to wait 3 days for it to finish but then i thought 'nah thats just too long, i'll just do a normal reformat'. Canceled the drive wiper, everythings fine, then restarted my computer. When the computer restarted it said 'operating system missing'.

Long story short, my said hard drive is now dead. I know coz i tried plugging it in to different SATA ports and nothing, not even in my bios.

So is there a way for me to repair it myself or should i RMA it.

Heres the case, if i rma it, it will cost me the same amount to send it to them as if i buy a new one.

Now, should i repair it myself, in that case how; rma it, or just buy a new one.

Note: nothing important in my hardrive.

On the side note, can ccleaner kill your hard drive?

 

[nordlead]

Sounds like it just died. I doubt CC cleaner had much to do with it other than stressing your HDD, but just copying a lot of files could do that too.

As for repairing, it typically means you have to have either another working or broken (but different problem) HDD of the same model and revision. Since you don't need to recover anything on the drive it probably isn't worth the effort unless you happen to have another broken one laying around.

I'd RMA if it was cheaper, but if it is the same price I'd do whatever got me a new drive the fastest.

 

[pjmelect]

Have you downloaded and run the manufacturers diagnostic software from their web site? You have to do this for the RMA process anyway. The utility will tell you if the drive is dead and if faulty whether the fault qualifies under the RMA terms. I would definitely return the drive if faulty but I would not follow the suggested postage guidelines but would send it the cheapest way possible, but well packed with at least 1.5 inches of solid foam all around it (not chips or bubble wrap).

 

[fancarolina]

Seagate has a diagnostic tool, Western Digital does not. WD has no policy that you have to prove anything to send a drive back. Furthermore if the drive doesn't detect in the BIOS then no Windows utility will be able to tell you anything.

As for sending it back if it's under warranty it will only cost you shipping one way, how is this more expensive than buying a new drive? I would send it back might as well get it fixed if you can. You can always buy a new drive if you want the reliability and then you'll have the extra space of the RMA’ed drive as well. If the drive is no longer under warranty then you are very correct it's not worth getting it fixed, just buy a new drive.

Have you downloaded and run the manufacturers diagnostic software from their web site? You have to do this for the RMA process anyway. The utility will tell you if the drive is dead and if faulty whether the fault qualifies under the RMA terms. I would definitely return the drive if faulty but I would not follow the suggested postage guidelines but would send it the cheapest way possible, but well packed with at least 1.5 inches of solid foam all around it (not chips or bubble wrap).

 

[Hawkeye22]

Seagate has a diagnostic tool, Western Digital does not.

Western Digital does indeed have diagnostic software, their data lifeguard tools.

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=613&lang=en

You may want to give it a try. Also, you may want to RMA anyhow. If they don't make that drive model anymore they'll replace it with a newer larger capacaity hard drive.

 

[fancarolina]

I stand corrected, still useless in this circumstance since the drive doesn't detect in the BIOS. My previous statement about not having to use the tool in order to get an RMA Authorization remains valid. Western Digital's policy of not requiring the use of such a tool is why I buy their drives in favor of Seagate, Seagate requires you receive an error code out of their software to get an RMA authorization. If the drive will not spin up or detect in the BIOS this is impossible.
I also share your experience of receiving back superior drives then I sent them. My last RMA I sent back a pair of RE2 500gb and got back brand new RE4 500gb drives.

Western Digital does indeed have diagnostic software, their data lifeguard tools.

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=613&lang=en

You may want to give it a try. Also, you may want to RMA anyhow. If they don't make that drive model anymore they'll replace it with a newer larger capacaity hard drive.

 

[uphigh016]

Thanks guys, i think i'll rma my drive and send it to them in the cheapest way possible. Quick question though, is it okay not to follow thier shipping instruction, and is there any wat to bypass the customs fee?

 

[Hawkeye22]

I'd use their packing instructions just in case they decide to refuse the warranty over it. As for customs fees, if you live outside the USA I'd imagine you have to pay for it. It's been a long time since I've had to RMA a WD drive so their practices may have changed.

 

[pjmelect]

You MUST follow their packaging rules as otherwise they will refuse the RMA (any excuse ) but I would send it by the cheapest postage method as the method they suggest would cost as much as the drive is worth. You must get a RMA return authorization from their web site before returning it. You shouldn't have to pay any customs duty as it is a warranty return (mark on packet).

 

[uphigh016]

Best answer selected by uphigh016.