[geeks] disk advice

[Dave Kimmel]

On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, Peter L. Wargo wrote:

> I just swapped out my IBM 45M 75GXP-series for a 5400 RPM Maxtor 80G.
> I'm quite happy - it's a bit slower, but I bet it'll last longer. (The
> 75GXP drives, especially the 30M and 45M, have a really high failure
> rate.  REALLY high.)

Ironically, I bought a 20GB IBM to keep critical stuff on after having the
60GB Maxtor that was earmarked for the task make interesting noises and
eventually fail.  Keeping it powered off for a week seemed to help, and I
haven't had problems with since.  It was enough to scare me into making
sporadic backups onto CD-R!

>From what I've read, the main problem with IBM drives is heat.  That isn't
a big problem in the box that the drive is in.  Its one with a spot for
the 3 1/2 floppy moulded into the case, but there's no drive there, so it
even has a nice little vent hole.  Still though, when I bought the drive
it was because of IBM's reputation for reliability, seeing all the stuff
about them failing is rather disconcerting.

However, the box that the other IBM drive is in...  Well, its a winbox and
doesn't actually hold any important data, so...

-- Dave Kimmel
   criscokid at v-wave.com
   ICQ: 5615049