Does anyone have experience with large capacity (4+ tb) refurbished hard drives ?
Also, does anyone have a reliable store to buy them from ?
Refurbished HDD Reliability and Supplier
leftspeaker2000 on 21/02/2025 - 11:38
Comments
This post is specifically NOT about new HDD
I wouldn't call east digital reliable if they have been selling refurbished drives with their power on hours reset to zero.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for buying refurb drives at the right price (I'm running enterprise second hand drives in my NAS - 4 years with zero issues)
But the fact they were resetting the power on settings and them selling them is bullshit and should be called out as such.
@stratbargain: different experiences.
I bought a refurb x16 and x18 (16TB) refurb. I checked the FARM data which they couldn't wipe and it is zero which means it was server drives sitting there.
Someone else on here bought drives and there was a lot of FARM hours on there.
i wouldn't trust their refurbished drives either
If you can believe what you read on the internet, refurb drives are also caught up in this scandal.
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/seagate-resp…
It would seem that these drives were used, refurbished by Seagate, used again, and then resold as freshly refurbished models.
Thanks for posting this. I purchases some drives on this deal:
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/815601
I just checked the hours:
$ sudo smartctl -l farm /dev/sdc | grep "Power on Hours"
Power on Hours: 22704
Spindle Power on Hours: 7636$ sudo smartctl -A /dev/sdc | grep "Power_On_Hours"
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 092 092 000 Old_age Always - 7724To be honest I suspected they were refurbished drives at that price even though the listing marked the drives as new.
Even if they were being deceptive I hope they don't shutdown. I want 2 years more of warranty!
A good summary of the situation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8WBnoPvkTw
east digital have done me right for multiple bulk orders so far. no bad disks, no bad experiences.
can definitely vouch for them (if you're buying for yourself)
Did you check the farm number thingie assuming you bought brand new
Just get a new one.
I would think that anyone who values their data would get a new one to try and minimise the risk of failure. Warranty doesn't bring back lost data.
Have 16 x 16TB refurb EXOS from east-digital !!
- 6 have been used in a RAID 6 array 24/7 for the last 2.5 years
- 6 in a backup RAID 6 array that only gets switched on for the backup
- 4 spares that get used occasionally as portable drives, will use as replacements for dead RAID 6 drives
Have not had any issues with their drives or service (packed well, shipped quick, drives as stated).
Was expecting a dead drive or two by now, but still holding their ground!
Where did you get them ?
Learn to read a little ;)
from east-digital !!
As in, the first link in these comments: https://east-digital.myshopify.com/
Aussie reading goes hand in hand with Aussie maths.
Congrats on 16 drives. I've only got 2 of those. One to back up the other.
Ops
Have 16 x 16TB
You must take a lot of photos.
More like 8k RAW videos at bitrates of 1600+Mbps ;)
its literally a roll of the dice. some people have had no troubles, others are experience DOA and failures https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/15395243/redir
if your data is important you need redundant copies of your data
for 4TB, you might as well buy brand new
Just for movies. So rolling the dice seems okay.
Buy from reputable sellers. If they're reputable, then there will be an avenue for you to return a dodgy drive (and you're less likely to get a dodgy one anyway).
When you receive the drive/s, run SMART checks and software like badblocks across them1. This will reveal things like read failures or bad sectors on the drive. If you encounter any failures, immediately RMA the drive since it should easily be within the return window for the seller, and you won't have lost any data since you haven't put any on there yet. (not that you should lose any data if you had, since it shouldn't be your only copy. Remember: one is none. KEEP BACKUPS!2)
Be aware that most of the refurbished drives being sold are SAS interface not SATA so you will need to have a HBA. A HBA will need a PCIe slot it will also consume power and stop your computer from going into low power states (below C3).
In general:
- Buy from a reputable seller.
- Make sure the drive is in good health (SMART test will determine this)
- Understand that SMART data can be reset.
- If the drives are on the higher side make sure the seller has some form of warranty or at least accepts returns and read buyers comments to make sure they ship the drives well packed.
- Perform a conveyance self test when you receive the drive to make sure that it wasn't damaged during shipping.For 4TB SAS you are looking at $25 and up typically.
Great if they refer is legit…. Smoken hot if you get the drift. No idea otherwise.
I will buy fro east dig.
https://east-digital.myshopify.com/