Checking to see if hard drive is not/damaged

[chipandegg]

I just bought as internal hard drive for my Mac Pro, to back up everything from the system drive. I was just wondering, the drive came through the post, it was well packaged, though is there was way of scanning it to see whether its 100% condition ?


Would I format it by in Disk Utility by clicking on the drive and pressing erase, I read that somewhere?

Thank you in advance

 

[MacDawg]

Yes, use Disk Utility to erase and format your new HDD
If it is for Mac exclusively, you would want to select Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
It should be the default

 

[rickvanr]

I just bought as internal hard drive for my Mac Pro, to back up everything from the system drive. I was just wondering, the drive came through the post, it was well packaged, though is there was way of scanning it to see whether its 100% condition ?


Would I format it by in Disk Utility by clicking on the drive and pressing erase, I read that somewhere?

Thank you in advance

Yeah, throw it in. Open disk utility, erase/format/rename and what not. Check the S.M.A.R.T status. If you really want to check out the disk, you can run apps like Tech Tool I'm sure, maybe run the Apple Hardware Test disk too.

 

[chipandegg]

Yeah, throw it in. Open disk utility, erase/format/rename and what not. Check the S.M.A.R.T status. If you really want to check out the disk, you can run apps like Tech Tool I'm sure, maybe run the Apple Hardware Test disk too.

Yes, forgot about Apple Hardware Test.

I'm just wondering and double checking, even though I know use 10.6.2 now, for the Hardware Test I have to use the disc that came with my mac?

Cheers

 

[polotska]

Checking the SMART status is about the best you can do for what you're looking for.

The best way to determine whether there is a fault with a drive is real-world use, however, so there's no substitute for giving it a go.

 

[Malithion]

These things when turned off are rated to take hundreds or thousands of G's of force, so chances are it's fine.

 

[nanofrog]

I just bought as internal hard drive for my Mac Pro, to back up everything from the system drive. I was just wondering, the drive came through the post, it was well packaged, though is there was way of scanning it to see whether its 100% condition ?

You'd want to run a full surface scan (it's a good idea to do IMO before using the drive).

The manufacturer should have drive utility software available on their site, and it is brand specific, as the low level formatting is different from one brand to another.

These things when turned off are rated to take hundreds or thousands of G's of force, so chances are it's fine.

Yes, but it's only for a few milliseconds. And even if it came no where near this, that doesn't account for other issues, such as manufacturing defects.

This is why it's a good idea to do a surface scan when you first get a drive. I realize it's not common practice as a general rule, but Quality Control has gone downhill for most consumer electronics (10 - 13% DOA rates are high IMO, and unfortunately, the norm - doesn't include those that fail later, but within the warranty period either).

 

[mmomega]

agreed that someone is more likely to damage a hard drive by accidentally doing something wrong after removing from package than the manufacturer or shipper.

I received a hard drive I ordered online and the box actually looked like someone kicked it around like a football. It's still running strong after 3years.

 

[student_trap]

its good to test them out.

i just bought 2 WD caviar blacks, that went wrong after two days (fault identified by techtool deluxe)

then as a replacement,, I bought 2 Hitachi deskstars (the new 'C' models), and out of the box, both were clicking and dying.

Just my luck, but its a good idea to check new drives when you receive them

 

[bearcatrp]

its good to test them out.

i just bought 2 WD caviar blacks, that went wrong after two days (fault identified by techtool deluxe)

then as a replacement,, I bought 2 Hitachi deskstars (the new 'C' models), and out of the box, both were clicking and dying.

Just my luck, but its a good idea to check new drives when you receive them

Where did you get these from? Seems folks getting them from new egg are getting bad ones. Bought 6 hitachi drives from OWC in the past 2 years and never had a bad one. Lucky I guess.

 

[student_trap]

Where did you get these from? Seems folks getting them from new egg are getting bad ones. Bought 6 hitachi drives from OWC in the past 2 years and never had a bad one. Lucky I guess.

I bought the from DABS.com in the uk.

As it happens, they are an absolutely terrible company: No phone line, no answer to emailed questions (just automated responses)...terrible terrible service.

Will never buy from them again

 

[nanofrog]

its good to test them out.

i just bought 2 WD caviar blacks, that went wrong after two days (fault identified by techtool deluxe)

then as a replacement,, I bought 2 Hitachi deskstars (the new 'C' models), and out of the box, both were clicking and dying.

Just my luck, but its a good idea to check new drives when you receive them

I've had more issues with Hitachi than WD (consumer models). I actually despise Hitachi's drives at this point, given the failure rate.

Since it's happened with both drives purchased from the same place, it makes their packaging suspect, or possibly their supplier (i.e. seconds, refurbished,... without telling the purchaser).

Where did you get these from? Seems folks getting them from new egg are getting bad ones. Bought 6 hitachi drives from OWC in the past 2 years and never had a bad one. Lucky I guess.

Newegg's packaging isn't always that great. Those that seem to be sent in brown paper (primarily) are far more likely to have been damaged in shipping (IIRC, the brown paper is a pilot program, and isn't yet used in every one of their warehouses, but I expect it will presuming its the cheapest packing material they can get).

 

[alphaod]

Newegg's packaging isn't always that great. Those that seem to be sent in brown paper (primarily) are far more likely to have been damaged in shipping (IIRC, the brown paper is a pilot program, and isn't yet used in every one of their warehouses, but I expect it will presuming its the cheapest packing material they can get).

Interesting: I've always gotten my drives either in the HDD tray foam and/or wrapped in 4-5 layers of bubble wrap.

 

[nanofrog]

Interesting: I've always gotten my drives either in the HDD tray foam and/or wrapped in 4-5 layers of bubble wrap.

I've gotten some wildly varied packaging from newegg (sometimes lots of bubble wrap, sometimes one layer and lots of paper). So far I've been lucky, but the bubble wrap + paper method really scares me. Especially when I think of how drives used to be shipped (fitted dense foam carriers) and working for UPS during college.