Seagate and WD - Secret Allies

[Sevillian273]

Not too long ago I bought a Seagate Free Agent Go 2.5" external USB hard drive from Craigslist. A couple days ago it crapped out and stopped being recognized by all my computers so I figured I'd tear it open and have a look inside... What did I find? A WESTERN DIGITAL 2.5" Notebook drive attached to a USB to SATA adapter!! Are they cutting costs by using giving business to their competitors, or are WD drives just that much more reliable?

[Panama Red]

.....or did you by something that had been altered by the original owner. You did say you bought it off Craigslist.

[glc]

You got scammed.

[Sevillian273]

I suspected that but the unit was glued shut. I actually had to cut it open with a knife. It had no signs of tampering whatsoever and no fingerprints or marks of any kind on the internals. It also had all the Seagate backup software preloaded on to it just as stated on Seagates website. If someone did tamper with it, they did a damn good job! I dont know how they could have gotten the case open without leaving any sort of evidence as it would have had to be pried open since there are no fasteners. I sure had a hell of a time getting it open! Why would someone go through all that trouble anyway?

[glc]

To try to sell it.

[chuck4456]

Originally Posted by Sevillian273 I suspected that but the unit was glued shut. I actually had to cut it open with a knife. It had no signs of tampering whatsoever and no fingerprints or marks of any kind on the internals. It also had all the Seagate backup software preloaded on to it just as stated on Seagates website. If someone did tamper with it, they did a damn good job! I dont know how they could have gotten the case open without leaving any sort of evidence as it would have had to be pried open since there are no fasteners. I sure had a hell of a time getting it open! Why would someone go through all that trouble anyway?

Happens all of the time.
I've seen a couple of instances where it happened when builders bought HDs from eBay.
One of the things that will happen when you try to cut corners on a build or a system.

[Sevillian273]

I cant imagine they would have saved alot of money, I mean WD and Seagate are pretty competitive with their prices. And as far as reliability goes it just depends who you ask. Apples and oranges....

[glc]

Maybe the original drive died and the person just happened to have a WD drive kicking around..........

Buy used parts from Ebay and Craigslist, you take your chances.

[Sevillian273]

As it turned out, it was the USB/SATA adapter(the Seagate part) that had failed. The WD Scorpio that was inside is alive and kicking. I'm going to buy a housing for it and make it a eSATA drive. I only paid $40 to begin with, so I'm still in the black on this one. :-D