taking out 2nd hard drive.......and smoke started coming out.

[scott123]

ok so here is the whole story of me and my stupid self trying to take out my 2nd hard drive.

OK so i reformatted my 2nd 40gb hard drive throught windows 98, so i preceded to open up the computer and take out the hard drive (cause im using it for another computer) so i took it out, started the comp back up, and it said that there was a disk error, so i tried to put the 2nd hard drive back into the comp WHILE IT WAS STILL ON (not in windows though) and the hard drive that was not taken out started clicking and **** and smoke started coming out! so i tripped the power bar as fast i could and realized what a dumbass i was. firstly, because i took out the wrong drive (they both looked the same, and they were switched in their bays). so now i take out the one i think i fried (the 2nd one which i originally meant to take out) and started the computer up with the original drive. so now it all works good, but i have the other drive sitting in it's case. that drive was originally meant to be the first drive in my new computer im building. so now i think i ****ed myself by burning it. it seems to have no physical damage, and it was smoking from the underside where that black peice of plastic and chip/card thing is. so yeh, could it be possible that it smoked and it could still work? cause that would be great and awesome. if not, that sucks and i need to buy a new one (yay, NOT!)


oh yeh, and you can all make fun of me for being a dumbass, but as in the one guys signature it says, take stuff apart and learn how it works and basically thats what i was doing!

[ssahl]

Wow, I've seen that on SCSI drives (even done it once myself) but not usually on an IDE drive. They burn in the same place though, and you can bet it's toast too. You can hot swap with USB, SCSI (sometimes) & serial, but not IDE, even if the drive still does work, it will never work right, even if used just for storage and not on OS.

[scott123]

cool, so i just wasted 100 bucks that could have been used to build my computer. at least i burnt the drive that had no information on it, my parents would have been pretty pissed if i completely screwed over their computer.

[scott123]

maybe my warranty would cover it??? but i doubt it because i dont think they would give me another hard drive for my own dumbass mistake. and btw, WHY did it burn? did it have something to do witht he computer being on, or that the bottom of the hard drive what touched while it was on?

[Tuf]

Hard to say but I'm guess you shorted it to ground by touching it with something conductive. Just a shot in the dark but I doudt that the warranty will cover it. I'll bet you learned a lesson you won't soon forget. Everybody has gotten impatient and broken something.

[Early Q]

Yeah, luckily I learnt on a cheap 128 SDRAM module

[HAL9000]

You can try to warranty it. If it's a Quantum, or Quantum/Maxtor, some of them did have problems with a chip on the underside smoking on them.

[scott123]

so is it safe to say you never wanna connect stuff while the computer is on or else you'll fry it?

and hal, so could i just e-mail them or something and flat out lie to them and say i was just turning my computer on and the hard drive started smoking? cause i read the warranty and it says it wont cover damages done while installing.

[dave computer]

I fried my hard drive before and maxtor gave me a warrenty for it. I got a new one.

[scott123]

what did you say to them? cause im gonna try it.

[Confused]

I don't usually sleep very well when I lie to or cheat someone (even a business). Maybe you're different.
Chas

[scott123]

well, if i had the money i would buy another, but if a warranty will cover it, why not use it.

[HAL9000]

Just go to the website of the drive manufacturer and fill out an online RMA. All they ask for is the drive information. Leave it up to them whether they want to replace it under warranty or not.

[Alfie]

They may ask you to run their diagnostic on it and get the error code it shows,once it's confirmed the drive is dead,they will cross ship a drive to you.
I forget which manufacturer did it,but they covered the exposed chips,etc with a transparent piece of plastic,makes sense,other companies should do the same.

[RudeDog]

My two cents worth: 1.) Never (ever) install or remove components from your computer when it is turned on or plugged in - for your safety and for the safety of the components - also learn to use anti-static devices such as wrist straps; 2.) You know the difference between right and wrong (everybody does) - learn to do what is right; it will define the person you will become. Want to think again about that warranty sham?

[ssahl]

For sure at least try the warranty, dont tell them what you did though, play dumb (mad, but dumb) and you never know, if it were me I would of been on the phone right away.

[glc]

Let's not turn this thread into an ethics debate or it will be shut down.

[DilLy]

My little informative story:

I had a 20gig Maxtor that went bbad, clicking and crap, system wouldn't start. I bought a new 40 gig7200 Maxtor from CircuitCity, $100.

I put the old one in the box that the new one came in and took it back to CircuitCITY, and told them i couldn't use it. They have a 14 day open box policy on computer goods, so I took the chance. All they do is open it up and make sure you didn't put a brick in there or something (which is all a dead hard drive is, anyway). Then they send it back to Maxtor. Therefore, since CircuitCity screwed up and didn't check the fine print on the harddrive, they can't come back to me and say "you are naughty, grrr!". I even used a credit card, lol. This would be even less risky if I used caxh to pay.

Its all between them and Maxtor.
Worked great, and still shop at that same store. However I don't know if you bought it at a store or online, definitely makes a difference.

[ssahl]

I thought about that right after I posted it it and read it, sorry.

[glc]

Dilly: Do you work for Enron or Worldcom?

You are encouraging something that is unethical at the very least, possibly illegal. As I said, I do not want to turn this into an ethics debate but I have to take action now because I am getting complaints about your post.

To the original poster: How you handle the possibility of a warranty claim with the manufacturer is between you, them, and your conscience. To the other poster(s) in this thread - shame on you for encouraging actions that could be fraudulent. Just because it's "done all the time" does not mean that we can sanction such actions here at the Mech.

I'm off my soapbox now, and this thread is closed.