okay@tafs.mitre.org (Okay, S J) (02/15/90)
>Subject: Re: Cheap 3.5" SCSI drives >X-Away: Originally to "amiga-relay@udel.edu" >I remember a few mail order companies taking advantage of an inventory close >out offered by Quantum. They made *tons* of 40S drives available at a >phenomenally low price. These were discontinued drives, and this all happened >last summer. Quantum said the drives had nothing wrong with them, they just >started shipping the newer revision drives, and found it more cost effective >to sell the older drive below cost than trying to upgrade them. Hmmm....well, personally I'd hold the phone on that one...Seems to me that Quantum had a spate of trouble with its 40 & 80MB drives last summer for the Mac which were causing close to 100% failure rates within a month or so of the machines manufacture. The problem was blamed on a run of improperly calendared & lubricated drives which would cause the drive heads to stick to the platters when they came to rest. The coil which drove the read/write heads didn't have significant power to move a stuck head assembly when powered up and so the drive couldn't spin up, leaving you with a dead Mac. Apple of course denied this to the hilt even up to the point of MacWeek putting out a weekly column on the problem and Quantum admitting it. If that weren't bad enough, seems that the Mac IIci is having similar problems, and guess what they're using for a filesystem??---You got it!! Quantum 80MB drives!!! :(. I know a couple people in our Dept. who have had theirs fail within 2 weeks of getting them, and the 2/6 MacWeek has an article called 'Don't buy the hard-disk IIci yet' on pg. 28. I'm not trying to knock Quantum as a company, nor am I trying to represent or recommend another drive or firm, just saying that they seem to be having some real quality control problems lately and just think twice before you get out the plastic. > > My opinions are my own and do not reflect any affiliation with Quantum. This >information provided as a service in light of a telephone conversation with >both a distributor and Quantum. Same here, I'm just using publicly, widely available info. >+--------------------------------+----------------------------------+ >| Leon D. Shaner <LDSHANER@MTUS5> :BBS: Amiga Bitswap Center Dispatch: >| EE UNDER GRAD. : (906)487-0006 <-AMIGA ONLY! : >| MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY : FREE! - 24 HOURS - 80 MB : >+------------------------------------+----------------------------------+ ------------- Stephen Okay OKAY@TAFS.MITRE.ORG Technical Aide, The MITRE Corporation "Never let reality stand in the way of a good media campaign" Claimer:Yes, you're right, these *ARE* my opinions.
FelineGrace@cup.portal.com (Dana B Bourgeois) (02/22/90)
[I may stop this line eater nonsense in the future] I had heard this same story except it was about SEAGATE drives that would quit. Thad Floryn posted a rather long message about his experiences with the problem and his solutions. Could someone with first hand knowledge please straighten out this story? Is it Seagate and not Quantum .OR. is it Quantum and not Seagate .OR. is it both Seagate and Quantum? I always thought Quantum drives were one of the more desireable drives and Seagate drives were what you bought when price was more of an issue. I'd like to know. Dana Bourgeois @ cup.portal.com