Archive for April, 2008
Seagate Hard Drive Hardships! Resolved!?
After almost a month and a half of dealing with a troublesome, faulty set of hard drives, which I’ve chronicled here and again here, I’m happy to announce that the replacement drive sent by Seagate arrived in much better condition than the previous two sent out by NewEgg.
Since receiving the new drive, its been installed and functioning beautifully. The read/write times are faster than the previous one, and finally no more hiccups during video playback!
I don’t really know if this batch of drives experienced issues due to poor manufacturing by Seagate, or some horrible streak of bad luck, but what I can verify is NewEgg’s sub par packaging for this delicate piece of equipment. Having read through Seagate’s own packaging instructions, I realized NewEgg might be to blame.
As my original post describes, NewEgg shipped the drives in a cardboard box filled with packing peanuts, and the drives were in the electrostatic bag, wrapped in profuse amounts of bubble wrap and tape.
Seagate clearly states:
“Enclose the static-protected drive(s) in 2-inch foam rubber in a corrugated box. DO NOT USE foam packing pellets, bubble wrap, or newspaper.
Warranty is void if the SeaShield cover or top cover, or any seal or label is removed or damaged, if it is improperly packaged, or if the drive experiences shock in excess of its Gs rating.”
I’ve never had any issues with NewEgg, but such blatant disregard for proper packaging and care of my hardware doesn’t speak very highly of them. According to Seagate, there is a possibility of my drive having had its warranty voided due to NewEgg’s negligence.
I finally have a working 1TB drive installed in my PC, and I would gladly purchase a Seagate drive in the future. However, I must reassess my allegiance to NewEgg after this discovery, and the hassle it created.
Having paid close to three hundred dollars for this drive, I would expect to receive something in working condition, and proper packaging, despite its OEM status. Having to wait close to two months before receiving a functional drive, after paying an additional $8.43 for shipping the first drive back to NewEgg, followed by $21.24 for shipping the second drive to Seagate doesn’t sit well with me at all, especially since in my opinion, all of this could have been avoided had NewEgg properly packaged the drive the first time around.
No commentsHow To Fight Jyuuken Style
While “Jyuuken” may not actually be a real form of martial arts, at least to my knowledge, it seems to be a very popular form of fictional fighting style heavily based upon kung-fu/Kenpo and the principles of Chi/Ki energy, which are directly linked to the ancient belief of Chakra.
In many cultures and in some martial arts, it is believed that your power comes from the release/flow of Chi/Ki energy from specific Chakra points in the body. To inhibit the flow of natural Chi/Ki energy in a person is believed to cause dire effects on the physical body, such as aches and pains, depression, or even disease, and paralysis. The opposite holds true if you constantly work to improve the flow of Chi/Ki energy. It is believed that regular practice of Chi/Ki flow sustainment, “can significantly increase the strength, intelligence, and vitality of the practitioner, as well as inuring him/her to all forms of diseases.”
While some claims of the power of Chakra Chi/Ki energy may seem a bit far fetched, many resemblances, in function and location, can be found between the multiple Chakra points, and the human body’s own endocrine system.
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Seagate Hard Drive Hardships! Cont.
Even after all the troubleshooting, diagnosis, and tests run on the drive that came back stating the drive was perfectly healthy, it looks as if my initial suspicions were correct in regards to my new hard drive mentioned in my previous post.
*Click**Click**Click* is not suppose to be a “normal noise” on any hard drive that I’ve ever encountered, despite what I’ve read about this particular model of Seagate Drives.
SMART Detection Errors began popping up, and even Windows Vista detected the errors. I rechecked the status of my drive using Seasoft’s Sandra Lite that was mentioned in my previous post. The software concurred with Vista’s findings, displaying an enormous amount of Read/Write Errors, Seek Errors, and all kinds of issues which pointed to imminent failure.
It seems as if the Read/Write heads on the drive are failing, and they are gradually decreasing in performance, bringing about significant slow downs and hiccups during normal operation…
I’ve initiated a return to Seagate after verifying my drive’s warranty status here ; I should be receiving a replacement in the next few days.
No commentsCatheters Made Easy!
Catheters are some of the most unfriendly pieces of medical tubing a guy will ever have shoved into him. Luckily enough, I’ve never had to have one just yet.
Even luckier for me is one of this years winners of the Medical Design Excellence Award. The GeeWhiz Condom Catheter is a simple, leak free external catheter by Leading Edge Innovations Inc. The keyword here is external. Hooray for medical innovations! No more tubing shoved up your junk!:)
Families Loose Home, Pets Tragically Abandoned?
I’m the kind of guy who lets his wallet do the talking when it comes to business. No, I don’t flash huge wads of cash, but I do believe in a free market. If a product isn’t good, then the consumer shouldn’t support it, end of story!
The local Subway shop is just one of the businesses in town which I rarely support. Working there during my high school years gave me great insight as to the business practices employed by the local owners of the shop, and suffice it to say, I’m not a fan. Regardless of my stance, every now and then, I get a hankering for some Subway.
Since most people can find something offensive on almost any channel, the local Subway deemed it “good business” to keep their TVs tuned to the Texas Cable News network.
The Texas Cable News network (TCN) is one of those basic cable channels providers put in after having moved one of their more popular “free channels” to the digital cable tier. If consumers wish to have access to that newly relocated channel, we’re forced to pony up the extra few bucks and upgrade to digital cable. Sure its not a lot of money, but its just as shameless regardless of the price.
On to my point, the TCN aired an “economic” story which really surprised me. While most news networks are busy covering the “bitter”, gun toting Philadelphia voters, or the overall state of the US Economy, TCN took a different approach with this story. Direct Quote & Photo from TCN:
“It’s a nationwide crisis — foreclosure rates are at record high levels, with an estimated 2,000,000 Americans at risk of losing their homes.
Here in Austin, the mortgage mess means many are being forced to give up a beloved part of their life — the family pet.”
Really? I mean, really? People are loosing their homes, and this news network is reporting on the tragedy of pets being abandoned or put up for adoption? I some how just don’t really find this news worthy.
I love dogs, I really do! Nothing has hurt me more than having my precious dachshund, Sparky (pictured below) die all those years ago. He was my best friend & comrade for many great years!
I know times are tough, and a family loosing their homes is one of the most devastating events I can imagine happening to a family here in the US, but why is a news network so concerned with pets over their former, now homeless, masters?