FYI: Seagate Freeagent Pro drives fucking SUCK
Just a friendly consumer alert:
STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM SEAGATE’S “FREEAGENT PRO” HARD DRIVE LINE.
I had one 750G drive I purchased just before Christmas last year to save my sisters data off a dying WD external drive. The Seagate replacement died spontaneously before new year - that is, in under a week. With 120 gigs of my sister’s data on it. Fresh from the store.
I asked the place of purchase if they could send it to a data rescue service. They shrugged and said they could send it off to destruction, and give me a new one.
I called Seagate. They stonewalled me with some barely comprehensible blather which, as far as I could make out, was a diplomatic way of saying “you’re fucked, but thanks for your money”.
That was then, this is now. Stupid as i was, I went out and bought a replacement 750 GB Seagate for my sister (also a Freeagent Pro). It’s worked well, up till today, where I came home from work and the sis told me the drive was dead. I spent 5 minutes examining it - it’s dead alright. Doesn’t come on from pushing the power button, not from replugging Firewire cable, not from replugging power cable. The bottom was scalding hot. (A dead converter, probably, but my guess is that I’ll have to gut the drive box and write it off as another loss).
And no - we have’t poured cola in it, we are not operating it in excessively cold, hot, humid, dusty, vibrating conditions, etc. Just a regular, clean home environment, well away from potential harm.
(And you’re right - this by itself has no statistical significance. Thing is, I’m hearing the same from around my circle of acquaintances - dead and dying Seagate drives popping up regularly - too regularly).
Seagate, fuck you and your external hard drive line. What is your 5 year warranty worth if you won’t even fucking save my data on your pathetic products that die after less then a week of light use? I’ll take WD from now on, thanks!