You can get a "renewed" HGST 4TB HDD for $38.44 from Amazon. I've been buying these for years, although at higher prices. "Amazon renewed" could mean anything, but, as I said, I've been putting these into computers for years. I wouldn't use one of these - or even a brand new drive - as my one and only, but they have worked for me.
I wonder what is actually involved with "refurbishing" a hard drive.
Do they just delete everything and run a data cleaner like cypher? Do they then re-format?
Do they really open it and clean the platters? If it's sealed, there should be no need to do that. The breather hole has a filter on it. Maybe they replace the filter? Maybe?
I wonder what is actually involved with "refurbishing" a hard drive.
Do they just delete everything and run a data cleaner like cypher? Do they then re-format?
Do they really open it and clean the platters? If it's sealed, there should be no need to do that. The breather hole has a filter on it. Maybe they replace the filter? Maybe?
My guess is someone returned it and they re-formatted it and it seemed to work, so off it goes. Could be good, could be bad. If you get lucky, the returner didn't know how to install it, so it's good as new.
My guess is someone returned it and they re-formatted it and it seemed to work, so off it goes. Could be good, could be bad. If you get lucky, the returner didn't know how to install it, so it's good as new.
I wonder what is actually involved with "refurbishing" a hard drive.
Do they just delete everything and run a data cleaner like cypher? Do they then re-format?
Do they really open it and clean the platters? If it's sealed, there should be no need to do that. The breather hole has a filter on it. Maybe they replace the filter? Maybe?
That's the problem. It could mean anything. All I can say is that I bought - Wow! I'm embarrassed to say - fifteen of them in the past eight years. Some are in computers, some are backups, and some are sitting on a shelf.
My guess is someone returned it and they re-formatted it and it seemed to work, so off it goes....
That's generally what "refurbished" means, a new item that was returned for some reason other than dysfunction, and checked for proper function and cleanliness. Boom...refurbished! Drives, cameras, coffee makers...whatever.
It makes no economic sense to go any deeper into the product to troubleshoot or replace parts. Expert labor is expensive.
You can get a "renewed" HGST 4TB HDD for $38.44 from Amazon. I've been buying these for years, although at higher prices. "Amazon renewed" could mean anything, but, as I said, I've been putting these into computers for years. I wouldn't use one of these - or even a brand new drive - as my one and only, but they have worked for me.