Whatever you do, don't get a Seagate harddrive! Go Western Digital.

If I take them back, do you think I'd get a refund for my 80 GB internal and two 500 GB external Seagate drives? After all, they are nearly 2 1/2 years old.

PS. How are your Western Digital shares doing?

lol, what was that all about?! I also use Seagate, six drives in fact.

I was making a recommendation based on the knowledge that certain model Seagate hdd's ship with faulty firmware. This defect has been discussed in great detail on several forums. Maybe you ought to do some reading before making rash comments.

Also, a friend of mine who owned two barracuda drives had nothing but problems. Eventually both drives died out recently. Luckily enough, his was a relatively new computer, so he didn't lose any valuable data.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Firmware Issues

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 Troubles

Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

And no, I don't own WD shares nor do I have an interest in acquiring any...

This defect has been discussed in great detail on several forums. Maybe you ought to do some reading before making rash comments.

It's actually been discussed on this forum where I posted a lot of details about the firmware issue, primarily with the 1TB and 1.5TB 7200.11 drives but some reports on other models. I bought a 1TB drive 7200.11 drive sometime just before the reports started coming out. I have already upgraded the firmware and suspect the issue has been resolved on currently released models.

However, at that time I didn't trust the 1TB drive I had and purchased a 1TB WD drive and use the Seagate as a backup. Normally the failure occurred within 3 months. Mine has been running considerably longer then 3 months now with the new firmware and no problems with it. BTW: I have installed hundreds of Seagate drives at our facility with no issues with them. This is the first time in a long time they (Seagate) dropped the ball and a lot of upset customers out there.

...This is the first time in a long time they (Seagate) dropped the ball and a lot of upset customers out there.

Agreed.

...I was making a recommendation based on the knowledge that certain model Seagate hdd's ship with faulty firmware...

So why didn't you say "certain models" had a problem instead of tarring them all with the same brush?

It's actually been discussed on this forum where I posted a lot of details about the firmware issue, primarily with the 1TB and 1.5TB 7200.11 drives but some reports on other models. I bought a 1TB drive 7200.11 drive sometime just before the reports started coming out. I have already upgraded the firmware and suspect the issue has been resolved on currently released models.

However, at that time I didn't trust the 1TB drive I had and purchased a 1TB WD drive and use the Seagate as a backup. Normally the failure occurred within 3 months. Mine has been running considerably longer then 3 months now with the new firmware and no problems with it. BTW: I have installed hundreds of Seagate drives at our facility with no issues with them. This is the first time in a long time they (Seagate) dropped the ball and a lot of upset customers out there.

I agree... Just about everyone I know owns a Seagate drive.

But for those still unsure or have doubts, WD is a good alternative.

...I was making a recommendation based on the knowledge that certain model Seagate hdd's ship with faulty firmware...

So why didn't you say "certain models" had a problem instead of tarring them all with the same brush?

Maybe it didn't occur to me at the time of posting?? What is your point? Give it a rest already. I would think the OP or whoever is buying the hardware would at least be curious as to why I made those comments in the first place and do some checking around on his/her own. Do I have to sit here and spell it out for them?

But for those still unsure or have doubts, WD is a good alternative.

Also agree. Actually my primary drive on my home rig is a WD Raptor 150 GB - keep the games on that one.

...What is your point? ...

Simple, because you made a sweeping statement:

Whatever you do, don't get a Seagate harddrive! Go Western Digital.

...that implies all Seagate drives are no good based on a firmware problem with the latest Seagate drive that has now been fixed.

...Do I have to sit here and spell it out for them?

Yes. Or at least mention the firmware problem.