Like many others, my Seagate Barracuda also died. I first knew there was a problem when my hard drive was not detected in Windows. I powered off and on, and it was still detected in Windows. I restarted and found out that the drive was not even detected in the BIOS--yikes. I powered off my computer, unplugged the power cable, opened my case and re-seated the cables to the drive. Still not in BIOS. I also tried a different SATA port on the motherboard and a different cable with no success. When I used my computer the next day, the drive was detected again.
Since then, my hard drive will intermittently stop recognizing in Windows and in the BIOS. Sometimes it is gone when I power up, sometimes it dies while I am using it. It has been difficult to run diagnostic tools, such as chkdsk and Seagate's SeaTools, because half the time my drive is not recognized, or stops being recognized.
I do back up my important files, and after this happened, I started moving all my data off the drive. This was a very frustrating and slow process as often the drive was not recognized. Eventually I got most of my data off, but some of it was definitely corrupt because when I would move it the drive would immediately stop being recognized.
The worst news is that others are not receiving good customer support from Seagate. With Seagate's warranty terms, the drive has to be shipped back with specific packaging requirements, such as no peanuts. Yet, I received the (OEM) drive covered in bubble wrap and surrounded by peanuts... After paying for shipping, you have to wait for Seagate to send you a different refurbished hard drive. Unfortunately, they send the same model and customers have had their replacement drives die on them too. They then have to repeat the return process. I contacted Seagate to ask if I could receive a hard drive model without these known problems, and they said no. I also asked if they had improved their testing to ensure that bad drives were not sent to customers. They said that bad drives happen and they couldn't prevent that. I understand that, but couldn't they at least send a model that does not have these known problems?
I deal with hardware, warranties, and vendors all the time in my professional and personal life. Compared to other situations, I am not pleased with Seagate's customer service. I recommend buying from a company that values their customers. Anyone can make a hard drive, what really counts is a company that values its customers.Get more detail about Seagate Barracuda ST3320620AS, 7200.10 - Hard drive - 320 GB - internal - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - buffer: 16 MB.
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