IBM GXP Drives. Important Info!

[lhgpoobaa]

two links today.

1. a nice utility from ibm that lets u monitor the drives temp.
<A HREF="http://service.boulder.ibm.com/storage/hddtech/ibmftool-install.exe" target="_new">http://service.boulder.ibm.com/storage/hddtech/ibmftool-install.exe</A>

2. an interesting article about the large number of dying GXP drives & whats the cauze/solution.
<A HREF="http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=article&dId=180&dPage=1" target="_new">http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=article&dId=180&dPage=1</A>


Overclocked athlon 1200C @ 8.5 x 166FSB + PC2700 = GOOD!

 

[OldBear]

Thanks for the info. I feel better about my Lian Li PC-68
now because the bottom 2 front intake fans blow on my
60 GXP drive.

<font color=blue>You get what you pay for.... All advice here is free.</font color=blue>

 

[Magneto]

Excellent article! I had already read the Hexus article about ole Big Blue's drives.
I have already had to replace one 45 gig DTLA-307045, and the replacement has been acting up as well.
By the way, I've got case fans blowing on my IBM hard drive too, and it's still beginning to develop bad sectors.
I guess I'm off to shop for a dedicated hard drive cooler.
Mag...

 

[camieabz]

A well written load of crap!

Anyone who sprays stuff onto electronic parts and when they "stop working completely" doesn't really write an essay on his methods, should think before telling a manufacturer how to advertise their product.

IBM state the working temps of their drives. Its common knowledge with today's systems you need at least one case fan (especially for AMD systems).

He effectively said "don't use this drive unless you have a case fan". Hmmm. Sound advice. I don't switch on a CPU without a case fan.

I have two 60GXPs running inside drive enclosures. I've had the system running for 4 days with the CPU at max doing distributed computing and the temps inside my case were as high as they get. No probs at all!

I also supply and recommend this drive to my customers and haven't had a return yet!!!


<b><font color=blue>The Cisco Kid</font color=blue></b>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

maybe just get a fan to blow UP onto the electronics mounted on the bottom of the drive.
that would be even better

Overclocked athlon 1200C @ 8.5 x 166FSB + PC2700 = GOOD!

 

[OldBear]

Probably either way will work. Mine never gets over 25ºc with a probe next to it.
If if dies, It will be my last IBM.

<font color=blue>You get what you pay for.... All advice here is free.</font color=blue>

 

[Flyboy]

Yeah me too. I've got one and all this commotion has me prrrretty nervous. I tried to install the Drive Fitness Test and it doesn't work on my system. I asked for advice in a different thread, but no one responded . I guess I'm the only one with that problem. I was concerned because mine makes a random "tick-click" noise. It only does this once it doesn't keep clicking. Someone told me that this was just the drive "parking" the heads and is normal. I find this hard to believe considering it does it even while the system is active (not in standby). I've never heard other drives do this. Everytime it does it though, I cringe. I haven't experienced any bad sectors though.

What do you guys think? Am I going to be a victim too?

 

[Flyboy]

Man I don't get it. I just tried the DFT again just in case I missed something. The instructions for the DFT says that it supports Promise PCI-ATA controllers and yet its not listed in that table as being supported!? There's this long list of supported Adaptec controllers, etc. but nothing for Promise. Am I doing something wrong here?

All I know is afer getting all sorts of ASPI8DOS.sys Install FAILED type messages, I select "OK" for the license agreement when I get a "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP" and it just keeps "BEEEEEEEEEPing"...so the computers completely frozen. I have to hit the reset switch. Any advice?

 

[Magneto]

Camieabz,

Good luck with your 60GXP drives! "We" all think it's the "other guy" doing something wrong when we read the posts about equipment failures and such. But don't ya worry... You'll probably have some angry "customers" looking for you before too long.
Many thought the problems with the IBM drives were limited to the 75GXP series, and that the 60GXPs would be different. It's becoming apparent that this is not true.
The drives don't die in the first "4 days", but give them a little time. That first little "scratch-click-click-squeak" will let you know when you're fixing to have that first "bad hair day". You'll probably then fix your bad sectors with Windows ScanDisk (thorough) a couple of times before being forced to either run IBM's erase disk, or RMA your drive. Heck, I didn't even know what a bad sector was until I bought my 75GXP! Now I've got the experience of 2 failed drives to fall back on.
My drive is running at the lower end of IBM's temperature recommendations, but it's having problems just the same. I don't let the system run unattended, or even get overly hot.
I have a case fan blowing right on the bottom of my drive, since the day I received the replacement from IBM, but that didn't do the trick.
Be glad that there are posts such as these available to warn people of these troubles. There were none when I first bought the IBM in Oct., 2000. The problems didn't begin to surface until after 4-5 months or so, and now you can visit any hard drive forum and read about IBM failures for hours.
Mag....

 

[Magneto]

Flyboy,

The IBM DFT test/tool (vers. 2.10/2.30) does not want to work correctly with an IBM hard drive connected to the Promise U100 controller on my Asus A7V motherboard.
If you're having similar problems, you can connect the drive to your primary ATA controller on your mobo (if you're not already setup this way), and it should recognize your drive. You can then attempt the tests.
The DFT is (probably) not going to report any errors on your drive unless you're getting the scratch-scratch-scratch (bad sectors) noises. It is going to give you a clean bill of health on your drive.
My DTLA 307045 (75GXP 45 gig) is making those same little click noises that you mentioned, and I've had 2 bad sector issues on this drive. This is a replacement for the original drive that failed last year after similar problems could no longer be fixed by IBM's DFT tool.
Windows ScanDisk (in thorough surface scan mode) will fix some of the bad sector problems (should they occur on your system), but occasionally they get to the point where ScanDisk won't work, and the DFT erase function is needed to "zero" out the hard drive. This will completely erase the drive, and it's ONLY a temporary fix. The drive will run fine for another month or so, and then repeat the malfunctions.
If I'm adding to your worries, I apologize. It's hard having a hard drive that one can't trust. I can only recommend keeping current backups of your important files in case the drive fails or develops bad sectors that cannot be fixed by Windows.
Good luck..
Mag...

 

[camieabz]

I'm sorry you seem to have had the worst luck with these drives, but they work for me!

They're fast and releiable enough for me. I tried that drive diagnostic link and mt drive temps are 38C. Given that they're rated up to 55C, I figure thats a decent enough temp for them to be running at.

<b><font color=blue>The Cisco Kid</font color=blue></b>

 

[Flyboy]

Hey thanks Mag, although I'd almost rather you lied to me!

Yeah, I thought about moving it to the onboard IDE controller, but was just too lazy to do it. I figured it was the promise controller... Thanks alot for the confirmation! This sucks. I just bought this drive too- even after reading about the IBM plague. Why the hell did I do this? I KNEW I should have bought WD, but I've always trusted IBM. Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

Thanks Mag...if it fails I'm not even going to RMA the POS because I don't want the nightmare to repeat again!

 

[Flyboy]

The IBM utility said that 30-80 degrees C is normal if I remember correctly. But your number sounds more reasonable. I must have been sleepwalking again. Anything over 50 degrees C has to be unhealthy.

 

[Flyboy]

The IBM utility said that 30-80 degrees C is normal if I remember correctly. But your number sounds more reasonable. I must have been sleepwalking again. Anything over 50 degrees C has to be unhealthy.

BTW, my drive is also running at 38deg C.

 

[wapaaga]

alt odf the new wd are ibm drives so that wouldn't have help you.

<font color=red>Gasoline + Fire</font color=red><font color=green> Can be a lot of fun</font color=green>

 

[Flyboy]

Your right. I just read about this (Anandtech). I didn't know that. Well I would have been screwed either way then. That makes me feel a lot better...NOT! Guess I'll buy Maxtor next time.

Like I said in a different thread. We all need to revert back to the punchcards!

 

[labdog]

my ibm 7200RPM 60GXP hd is highest hot than my ibm 10000RPM DRVS09V SCSI hd.
its a puzzle...


if you know you don't know, the way could be more easy.