# Just bought a Seagate Expansion 1.5tb and



## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

It's clicking right out of the box, I hear that they have A LOT of problems with failure so I'm returning it today and getting something else.

Any recommendations? I've been told Western Digital isn't the greatest either.


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## kenkickr (Jul 2, 2010)

If it's using a LP 1.5TB hard drive then the clicking is actually the head parking.  I have one in a external enclosure and @ first tested the drive 3x due to the noise thinking it was failing but found out it is just the head parking to preserve power.


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## GSquadron (Jul 2, 2010)

I have used that damn barracuda 1TB version and for me that was the worst experience i have had in computer history, cuz i have lost everything in it and i had no backup.
Now i have a hitachi and i seriously thought that it would be far worse than barracuda as i don't know about hitachi. It not only is extremely faster, but the performance is marvelous.
As far as i have used it, it is simply great. It has a blue PCB too (I like blue )
I tested the two hdds and barracuda got 80MB write and 88MB read. Hitachi got 120 write and 125 read.
Hitachi always is 35-36 C, unlike barracuda who had 42 C all the time. So barracuda is 6-7 Celsius hotter.
I have read in reviews that hitachi drivers are far better than barracuda's
I dunno about western digital


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

It only clicked when I was installing a game to it and it only clicked like once every few minutes, but it hasn't clicked when I moved or removed files from it since...

i'm just very paranoid...


It's a Seagate Expansion 1.5tb, uhmm here is the link.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025KXMKS/?tag=tec06d-20

You think it's okay?

It doesn't click when its reading or playing a game... but when I was installing Borderlands to it it clicked a few times


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

Also I've heard that the clicking can be like- life changingly loud and can wake you up if its dieing but the click wasn't very loud or like scratchy, just a small click.. but not like a computer data reading click.. louder than that.


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## GSquadron (Jul 2, 2010)

Simply i cannot tell you anything about it, as i only had a seagate barracuda.


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## Kreij (Jul 2, 2010)

I've got a pair of Seagate 1TB drives in RAID1 at work that have been rock solid. (shrug)

If you are not comfortable with it, return it and get something different.
Of course, the new one could be crap, but that life and HDDs.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

I'm very worried. I might get a new one just in case..


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## GSquadron (Jul 2, 2010)

If you knew they had a LOT of problems, why did you buy it, anyway?


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## Kreij (Jul 2, 2010)

Then go for it. No use fretting about it all the time.

I think maybe we have better HDDs here in the states ... in the same way we have better hockey teams.  (just teasing)


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## slyfox2151 (Jul 2, 2010)

the clicking sound is the drive turning off to save power. etlest it should be.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

Aleksander Dishnica said:


> If you knew they had a LOT of problems, why did you buy it, anyway?




I didn't know until I looked up why my hard drive made a click noise and figured it out.


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## wiak (Jul 2, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> It's clicking right out of the box, I hear that they have A LOT of problems with failure so I'm returning it today and getting something else.
> 
> Any recommendations? I've been told Western Digital isn't the greatest either.


i just have to lul, why do you think both seagate and westrn digital isnt great?, no harddrive manufactures is great, its a matter of fact ALL harddrives can fail, i just had one 2.5" WD fail last week, before that i think ihad a samsung fail, before that i had firmware messed up seagate drives, that still work, i just had to flash a new firmware to them! 

atm i prefer Samsung, before that i used seagate, and before that i used Western Digital, so hmm, i still use WD VeolciRaptor 

try Samsung, they make great harddrives, that are cool "n" quiet, i prefer F3 for gaming rig or F3EG (F3 EcoGreen) for my htpc/server


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

Well thanks for the advice, any more info or advice is appreciated :3


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## 3volvedcombat (Jul 2, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> Well thanks for the advice, any more info or advice is appreciated :3



The amazon link on your drive shows the 2tb version of this seagate to be only 5 dollars more.

So thats 500gb more for just 5 bucks :O



happy buying


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## wiak (Jul 2, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> Well thanks for the advice, any more info or advice is appreciated :3


not much get the cheapest and fastest aka 7200rpm for gaming rig and 5400rpm for server/htpc or external enclosure,


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## Yukikaze (Jul 2, 2010)

I've been partial to Samsungs lately. I have one 1.5TB Eco Green and I plan on getting another when space runs low (sometime in the middle of next week, by the look of things).


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 2, 2010)

Yeah I didn't buy it off Amazon. That was just a link for reference.


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## erocker (Jul 2, 2010)

Make sure the HDD isn't set to shut down after xxx amount of time to save power. That will make a clicking noise. If that's not it, just return it for a different drive. Brand doesn't matter one bit. I've had every brand fail on me and I've had every brand not fail on me. All 10 of my Seagate 7200.12 drives have been great.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 3, 2010)

Why do they fail? why haven't they perfected this? I don't understand why something has a failure rate or is doomed to fail.. I don't like buying something knowing its going to die. I can't believe I wasted money on something this unreliable.


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## cdawall (Jul 3, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> Why do they fail? why haven't they perfected this? I don't understand why something has a failure rate or is doomed to fail.. I don't like buying something knowing its going to die. I can't believe I wasted money on something this unreliable.



then stop buying anything electronics. all electronics will fail no if and or buts.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 3, 2010)

That is not true. Not like this, this is pathetic. I'm probably going to lose weeks of work just because this thing failed ONE DAY after I bought it. I didn't even have enough time to make a copy.

Yeah apparently this EXACT one I bought has a history of failing right out of the box.

To think I could buy something from Seagate and be happy with it, nope.


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## cdawall (Jul 3, 2010)

Why did you use an external drive as the one place you saved thing esp when you assumed it was bad in the box? I'm confused how your data loss is seagates fault if you knew the drive ticked and had historicly high failure rates?


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 4, 2010)

I just figured it out now. I wouldn't have bought it if I knew it had a high failure rate.


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## blkhogan (Jul 4, 2010)

I have an external Seagate 1TB drive that makes a clicking noise when it powers down and parks the head for "green" operation. I have been running it for about 18 months with no problems. I even went as far as pulling it from the enclosure and putting it in my HDD dock to see if that would make a difference, it did not. I called Seagate because I was worried there was a problem with it, it contains about 700GB of stuff some of great importance. They said it was completely normal for the model that I had. It was the "power" saving option that was flashed into the HDD. It bugs the living shit out of me sometimes, but has never given me a problem.


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## _JP_ (Jul 4, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> That is not true. Not like this, this is pathetic.
> 
> (...)
> 
> To think I could buy something from Seagate and be happy with it, nope.



Yes it is true and it isn't pathetic, HDDs are partially mechanic (meaning, in a way, fragile to handle) and can fail. Just so you know, I'm running a HDD that was from the batch that supposedly came with the bad firmware from Seagate (The infamous 7200.11) and it's still running without any fails. You just got bad luck, that's all.



MLG The Canadian said:


> To think I could buy something from Seagate and be happy with it, nope.



I'm going to support what erocker said regarding the brands, all brands have failure rates, some higher than others (but not by much), but they still have them. I've had Seagates, WD, etc.. die on me and others that still work, like a Maxtor that's still running after 10 years of use, for example.
But I guess if it were a Western Digital, instead of a Seagate, you would be saying the same thing. 

If it started clicking after one day, you should had asked for a replacement and not put critical data, pronto. And next time, stress test the equipment when running for the 1st time to immediately check for flaws.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 4, 2010)

It clicked after I put my data on, and everything is fine now, I got it off and I got a FreeAgent GO 640g which is essentially a large usb, and It's working flawlessly. I will admit I was frustrated but I don't get why something has a fail rate. It just seems unprofessional for something that backs up data to have a life time.. maybe I'm crazy.


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## blkhogan (Jul 4, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> It clicked after I put my data on, and everything is fine now, I got it off and I got a FreeAgent GO 640g which is essentially a large usb, and It's working flawlessly. I will admit I was frustrated but I don't get why something has a fail rate. It just seems unprofessional for something that backs up data to have a life time.. maybe I'm crazy.


Anything mechanical will have a certain % of failures no matter how "high "end the piece of equipment. That's just the nature of mechanical devices. If it has moving mechanical parts there is always the chance that it will go. That's why good companies have good warranties. They will back their product knowing there will be a number of failures being returned to them.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 4, 2010)

I guess I've just never owned something that "fails" often, with the exception of the Xbox 360.


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## blkhogan (Jul 4, 2010)

I think personally out of the hundreds of HDD's Ive used over the years the failure rate is very low. I remember back when we were sitting around the 3.2GB to 5GB range, the failure rates were unbelievable. The shop I was working in at the time was buying HDD's by the case (24 drives) and I bet 30% or better were RMA'ed back for some type of mechanical problem. So actually HDD's have come a long ways over the last 10 to 15 years or so. They are pretty reliable nowadays.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 4, 2010)

I got unlucky I guess.


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## Super Sarge (Jul 4, 2010)

I have 4 internal Hard Drives all Seagate 2 750 Gig Drives and 2 1.5 gig drives 2 external Seagate drives of 500 Gig and 160 Gig all drives are well over 2 years old and are all functioning properly with no problems. Yes Seagate drives might fail right out of the box but then again so may any other maker of drives every once in awhile you get a lemon not matter the manufacturer .

I'm running a HDD that was from the batch that supposedly came with the bad firmware from Seagate (The infamous 7200.11) and it's still running because my local shop when I had it the machine in for a upgrade on some parts noticed this and installed the firmware update for this drive.


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## Hockster (Jul 5, 2010)

Seagate sucks more than anything has ever sucked before. I would dance naked around a fire in joy if they were sued out of existence.


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## Super Sarge (Jul 5, 2010)

I am sure no one would show up, you are entitled to your opinions. My opinion is that Seagate makes a fine product, has good service if needed. It is a bit over priced for comparable drives on the market. I have six of them a couple are over 4 years old the others are at least 3 years old and I have never had a problem.


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## Oscnn (Jul 5, 2010)

seagates are good.


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## de.das.dude (Jul 5, 2010)

Aleksander Dishnica said:


> I have used that damn barracuda 1TB version and for me that was the worst experience i have had in computer history, cuz i have lost everything in it and i had no backup.
> Now i have a hitachi and i seriously thought that it would be far worse than barracuda as i don't know about hitachi. It not only is extremely faster, but the performance is marvelous.
> As far as i have used it, it is simply great. It has a blue PCB too (I like blue )
> I tested the two hdds and barracuda got 80MB write and 88MB read. Hitachi got 120 write and 125 read.
> ...




true i have a Hitachi and a Barracuda, the Hitachi is much better and offers better performance too.


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## _JP_ (Jul 5, 2010)

de.das.dude said:


> true i have a Hitachi and a Barracuda, the Hitachi is much better and offers better performance too.



Hmm...curious, reviews tend to say otherwise.
Barracudas have worked well with me, being reliable and with good performance (since 7200.2).
Anyway, Seagates are the best for their price here, unlike Western Digital/Samsung which is overpriced. The budget ones are usually Hitachi HDDs. I guess it ends up being how much importance costumers give to the brand and then shops raise their prices accordingly.

Oh, and FYI (and for a 2nd time), Seagate had some bad disks in the 7200.11 era, with lots of firmware failures in HDDs ranging from 500GB to 1.5TB (lucky mine is a 320GB ). The current series, 7200.12, is very good and has improved performance and reliability (not to mention better firmware). Check the reviews if you don't believe me .


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## Super Sarge (Jul 5, 2010)

They put out a firmware fix for those drives I have one, I know this as my local shop installed the firmware when I had it in for an equipment update


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 5, 2010)

I bought a Seagate FreeAgent Go 640 USB powered external, works flawlessly. 

I love it, it makes no noise, it's smaller than a pass port, and comes in considerable sizes and colors!


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## _JP_ (Jul 5, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> I bought a Seagate FreeAgent Go 640 USB powered external, works flawlessly.
> 
> I love it, it makes no noise, it's smaller than a pass port, and comes in considerable sizes and colors!



Yes, but which is the Seagate HDD that comes inside it? 

I bet it's an 7200.12.


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## MLG The Canadian (Jul 5, 2010)

I don't care, it works better than my musical seagate external hard drive.


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## Radical_Edward (Jul 5, 2010)

I've had hit or miss luck with Seagate's. I got one of the new 7200.12's and it was DOA. 

Then again, I had a 160GB IDE that refused to die, and I have a Seagate 320GB sitting in my rig right now. 

I haven't had any WD's die on me per say, nor has my brother but I do have one that came from my uncle's shop that doesn't work. 

Basically, all hard drives can fail, it's just the way things are, it's the same with cars, firearms... The list goes on. If you don't want stuff to fail, then your dead outta luck, unless you leave it unhooked and not powered, you can't be sure it won't fail.


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## erocker (Jul 5, 2010)

MLG The Canadian said:


> It clicked after I put my data on, and everything is fine now, I got it off and I got a FreeAgent GO 640g which is essentially a large usb, and It's working flawlessly. I will admit I was frustrated but I don't get why something has a fail rate. It just seems unprofessional for something that backs up data to have a life time.. maybe I'm crazy.



Where are these fail rate statistics? This is what is hilarious about the internet/forums. One person can get a shit drive (most likely damaged during shipping) and all of a sudden they have a high failure rate. With Seagates their first 7200.11 drives had a high failure rate due to a bad firmware. It was corrected.

The way I see it is all hard drives can fail. I've had to RMA them from every brand at one point or another. I'll say it again, I just recently bought 10 Seagate 7200.12 500gb drives for work. They all work.



Hockster said:


> Seagate sucks more than anything has ever sucked before. I would dance naked around a fire in joy if they were sued out of existence.



Just using your post for an example, but I would dance around in joy if useless posts like this were never posted again. Just saying, though I can understand your frustration if you actually had problems with a particular company. I just don't know that though, due to the lack of information in your post. Then again, I don't care.


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## _JP_ (Jul 6, 2010)

erocker said:


> One person can get a shit drive (most likely damaged during shipping) and all of a sudden they have a high failure rate.



Sadly, this ends up being most of the cases. 
Hence the reason some people (a ton of people in some forums) say that HDD companies are bad.
They're not bad, in fact, HDDs are designed to withstand some movement without failing. But improper handling is another thing. 
One thing is the HDD when it's on our hands, the other is while it wasn't.


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