Quick backstory -
I have an early 2008 MBP (pre-unibody) with a 250GB Harddrive. Back in January, I decided to upgrade to 500GB because I needed the space. Speed wasn't and still isn't an issue as I just quickly picked up a 500GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue from Best Buy - bad idea on all fronts, but it was a spur of the moment purchase.
Immediately after install, I notice that the drive CAN run pretty hot, but just recently - no more than 6 months later, I notice my system going slower and slower. First I attribute it to Firefox, so I switch to Chrome. Chrome is a good browser, but not only did it not solve my issues, I noticed that once it began to lock up, it would STAY locked up unless I tried to Force quit via the keyboard because nothing was responding. Then, the OS itself began to take way too long to boot, until it decided to not boot at all by displaying the folder with the question mark blinking. So the only way I could boot at all was if I pressed option every time.
Doing some google-ing, I come across a support thread amongst about two others on different sites with very similar issues all with Western Digital drives. Now that my original drive is back in the MBP and everything is running smoothly, I am 100% certain that it was the WD drive. So I guess my first question is this: do you guys think that I (and those that experienced this issue) was just a part of an unlucky few who received some bad drives, or is this a major Western Digital problem that develops over time?
Anyone here have good experiences with a WD brand internal drive in their MBP for at least a year or longer? I know I'm at least returning the WD drive for a replacement, but I might not even open it up if I can trade it on Craigslist, but what brand should I spring for? I heard bad things about Seagate, so I'm staying away from that - so is Hitachi the way to go since that is the brand that came with my MBP? As mentioned, speed isn't that much of an issue, so 5400rpm vs 7200rpm isn't at the forefront of my mind, just the best deal and bang for my buck. Any other brands I should know about, and finally, is it worth giving WD a second chance or is this brand unreliable across the board for those doing upgrades?
Thanks for any and all advice!
I have an early 2008 MBP (pre-unibody) with a 250GB Harddrive. Back in January, I decided to upgrade to 500GB because I needed the space. Speed wasn't and still isn't an issue as I just quickly picked up a 500GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue from Best Buy - bad idea on all fronts, but it was a spur of the moment purchase.
Immediately after install, I notice that the drive CAN run pretty hot, but just recently - no more than 6 months later, I notice my system going slower and slower. First I attribute it to Firefox, so I switch to Chrome. Chrome is a good browser, but not only did it not solve my issues, I noticed that once it began to lock up, it would STAY locked up unless I tried to Force quit via the keyboard because nothing was responding. Then, the OS itself began to take way too long to boot, until it decided to not boot at all by displaying the folder with the question mark blinking. So the only way I could boot at all was if I pressed option every time.
Doing some google-ing, I come across a support thread amongst about two others on different sites with very similar issues all with Western Digital drives. Now that my original drive is back in the MBP and everything is running smoothly, I am 100% certain that it was the WD drive. So I guess my first question is this: do you guys think that I (and those that experienced this issue) was just a part of an unlucky few who received some bad drives, or is this a major Western Digital problem that develops over time?
Anyone here have good experiences with a WD brand internal drive in their MBP for at least a year or longer? I know I'm at least returning the WD drive for a replacement, but I might not even open it up if I can trade it on Craigslist, but what brand should I spring for? I heard bad things about Seagate, so I'm staying away from that - so is Hitachi the way to go since that is the brand that came with my MBP? As mentioned, speed isn't that much of an issue, so 5400rpm vs 7200rpm isn't at the forefront of my mind, just the best deal and bang for my buck. Any other brands I should know about, and finally, is it worth giving WD a second chance or is this brand unreliable across the board for those doing upgrades?
Thanks for any and all advice!
