Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but..

comp_ali · Oct 1, 2009, 11:17 PM

OK , thanks to Tipstaff and Judas I decided to buy this HDD but I can't figure why my computer can't identify it , is it a dead disk or just a problem in bios or something like that . Just want to know quickly because I want to crak the seller's teeth right now

Edit : I forget to tell ya that the hdd led on the case remains lighted up with no flashing after attaching this HDD

~~CitySlicker~~ · Oct 1, 2009, 11:31 PM

If your dealer is around the corner just drop by and let him show you the hdd is fine else get another one.

You mobo is fairly dated - you have the latest bios?

comp_ali · Oct 1, 2009, 11:37 PM

Nope , I don't remember if I even update bios or not. And the seller is very far from here (about 2 hours) and they are closed now , so I waiting till tomorrow , if it didn't work , just go there and replace it or whatever.

BlueMak · Oct 1, 2009, 11:49 PM

If you load the BIOS, can it detect the drive or not?

~~CitySlicker~~ · Oct 1, 2009, 11:52 PM

check your current bios version and see the Gigabyte website for the latest if needed.
Maybe that will do the trick?

comp_ali · Oct 1, 2009, 11:53 PM

Updated the bios now . No it can't detect the drive . the computer freezes just right after boot couples of seconds then it starts normally (a bit slower) without detecting it.

**dj_stick** · Oct 2, 2009, 12:25 AM

ok that tells us that the mobo can "see" that something's there, but either it's too large/new for the mobo to properly recognise, or there's something wrong with the drive

Judas · Oct 2, 2009, 12:31 AM

there is a good number of motherboards that are unable to detect hardrives in excess of 750gb....

actually i've ran into a few that have issues with even 500gb+ hardrives.... but that's rare.

MAKE sure that you have the SATA 1 mode jumper in place. That might be the problem as well..

there is potential that 750gb or lower drive is the largest you can use.

But i'm surprised if that's the case..... that motherboard isn't THAT old.....

~~CitySlicker~~ · Oct 2, 2009, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

MAKE sure that you have the SATA 1 mode jumper in place. That might be the problem as well..

his board appears to be sata2 capable - no need for the jumper..

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 04:50 AM

Yes , it is SATA II. I feel it is HDD fault.

OldBuzzard · Oct 2, 2009, 07:39 AM

Double check the cables. It's possible that the data cable isn't making good connection. I had one that was very touchy, and if I even moved the case aropund a little bit it would back out just enough to give me the same symptons you are having. I eventually replaced it, and haven't had that problem since.

SeraphicSorcerer · Oct 2, 2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

Double check the cables. It's possible that the data cable isn't making good connection. I had one that was very touchy, and if I even moved the case aropund a little bit it would back out just enough to give me the same symptons you are having. I eventually replaced it, and haven't had that problem since.

This is exactly why I am glad they started making LOCKING Sata Cables, The cables come out VERY easily, Luckily Sata is hot pluggable. Unless it's your OS drive, haha.

as for the original problem if you can't see it in the bios, and you can't see it under the computermanagement in windows, then UPS (I assume who shipped it) probably dropped and killed your drive (And I am being dead serious.) I have had a few "dents" when I get packages from new egg, and yea. Always irritates me.

I would just consider it DOA, and save yourself he headache and get a new one while you still can.

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 09:13 AM

Yeah , I thought so , I am going today to seller , hopefully he replace it without any arguments.
btw , this not the first time I am f***ed up with WD drives , why the heck they don't put it in a prober package rather than this silly plastic cover , it is 125$ can't they spend some sh*t on a decent package, that's shame.

Edit :and about the cable , I tried 3 different ones but still no luck.

isaak · Oct 2, 2009, 10:38 AM

I had a similar problem when I installed my WD 1TB Green...I think the problem was which sata port it was plugged into..

good luck at the seller and try not to crack any teeth!

~~CitySlicker~~ · Oct 2, 2009, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comp_ali

.... why the heck they don't put it in a prober package rather than this silly plastic cover ..

it's the typical OEM packing - just the blue-ish bag

Judas · Oct 2, 2009, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CitySlicker

his board appears to be sata2 capable - no need for the jumper..

Even when an older sata 2 "compliant" board is there.... sometimes some of the SATA 2 drives won't work on them. A safe mode/last ditch effort to get them to work is to use the SATA 1 jumper.

Judas · Oct 2, 2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CitySlicker

it's the typical OEM packing - just the blue-ish bag

yeah.. retail packages come in insane packages that if you aren't careful.. shred your hands and arms while trying to get it out of the packageing.

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 06:23 PM

Good news: Just got a replacement and it works nice

.Of course the man tried to accuse me of this fault (normal reaction I guess) but it was under guarantee anyway. What pisses me off more is it is only 1 year guarantee while internal HDDs are 3-5 years , even my Genius mouse is 18 months warranted and it is just 5 $ . After I finish partitioning this HDD I will email WD about this ridiculous package . I may next time consider getting Samsung or Seagate , way cheaper and worth trying. I don't wanna be a victim because someone is careless enough to protect their expensive fragile product during cargo.

Btw , any tools for benchmarking HDD and measure speed and temps (prefer free)

Finally , thank you all for help and thanks Tyrsonswood for recommending pump action shotgun .

j/k

Judas · Oct 2, 2009, 06:39 PM

comp...

Your going to be ignored as the HD you purchased is a OEM product....

All OEM products come pretty much exactly like that...the retailer receives them in large quantities that are foam fitted and into a single box. They yank the drive out and sell it to the way you see it without any of the packing.

If you want for warranty and better packing, you HAVE to ask for a RETAIL package. But be prepared to pay the premium for it.

WD or any other company doesn't send or ship OEM disks like that.... the middle men do.

This is an example of how retail boxes look and their packing is quite considerable (usually no less then 3 inches of foam or suspension plastics that give surround the hardrive in the center of the box.)

The ones i've received are plastic and take a small army to tear appart to get at the hardrive.

IvanV · Oct 2, 2009, 06:43 PM

As CitySlicker pointed out, this is probably an OEM (bulk) packaging. Most products come in both retail and OEM "variations". The products are the same, but OEM packaging is meant for, erm, OEMs, so it's usually just a product in an anti-static bag as a system building company hardly needs anything more and they are not supposed to get sold to end users other than as a component in a pre-built PC. Retail packaged products usually come in a box and with some extras (cables, a brochure, etc), but that makes them a few bucks more expensive, so many sellers offer products in bulk packaging in order to be more competitive with their prices.

As for the warranty, it really is short, as is often the case with small retailers.

You can monitor the temperature with SpeedFan and you can use HD Tach for performance testing (the unregistered version tests random access time, burst speed, CPU usage and sequential reading, while registered also tests sequential write speed).

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 06:49 PM

hmm , got it. Will benchmark and see

Edit : Is this results good (attachment)

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 07:43 PM

comparing with my WD 500GB , the read and burst speeds are good . However cpu usage is 12% higher than WD 500GB (5%) that's normal due to capacity , right ?

IvanV · Oct 2, 2009, 09:16 PM

Well, I've got a Hitachi DeskStar 1TB and I get similar results, which, I believe, is fine as the drives are both 7200rpm and 3 platter models, though you do have more cache, 32MB vs 16.

The CPU utilisation difference probably shouldn't worry you too much, the new drive is not just bigger, it's significantly faster according to your graphs. Also, I kept CPU-Z on during testing and it showed that my CPU was at it's lowest speed (800MHz) during testing, so I assume that that would be the case with you as well (for some reason, the frequency jumps to it's full 2.8GHz after the tests, while the program is displaying results, but that shouldn't be too important).

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 09:20 PM

Thank you really

, btw what program do you use to cature screenshot ?. I see it is neat while prtscrn and paste in "MS Paint" results in distorted one like mine.

Tyrsonswood · Oct 2, 2009, 09:30 PM

Glad you got it sorted out..........

And didn't need the shotgun

IvanV · Oct 2, 2009, 09:50 PM

Actually, I did use PrtScrn + Paint. Yours may be a touch less clear because you saved the file as a jpg picture (which isn't very good for sharp lines and Paint uses a high compression level making it worse), while I used png format which is lossless. What's funny is that the lossless format somehow resulted in a smaller file than the lossy.

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 10:45 PM

Not really , I am using XP , MS paint came with it saved it *.PNG as 700KB but you ar using win7 , that's why you had it in small size

IvanV · Oct 2, 2009, 11:19 PM

I haven't used it much, but HyperSnap should be good. Also, if you have any image editing program (apart from Paint), you can paste to it and save as jpg with some lower compression, or in some other format, any of them should have decent output filters and provide better results than Paint.

Tipstaff · Oct 2, 2009, 11:32 PM

comp_ali, do yourself a favor, and double check the warranty at WDs site HERE. 1 year doesn't sound right to me. Whether it's bulk (OEM) or retail, it's still 5 years, even in the Middle East, so I'd double check your drive just to be sure. However, if the seller bought them off the grey market, that might be the reason, but if that's the case WD may not even warranty it at all, meaning that the 1 year you were given is local only, with the seller themselves.

comp_ali · Oct 2, 2009, 11:47 PM

You are right, I checked my drive and found it will end in 21/8/2014 . I meant the warranty at the seller (written at the back of the purchase bill) is 1 year. But since WD site says it is 5 years , I think that means if anything happens to the drive after 1 year , I won't refer to the seller but WD office instead.

Oct 1, 2009, 11:17 PM	#1
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. OK , thanks to Tipstaff and Judas I decided to buy this HDD but I can't figure why my computer can't identify it , is it a dead disk or just a problem in bios or something like that . Just want to know quickly because I want to crak the seller's teeth right now Edit : I forget to tell ya that the hdd led on the case remains lighted up with no flashing after attaching this HDD __________________

Oct 1, 2009, 11:31 PM	#2
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. If your dealer is around the corner just drop by and let him show you the hdd is fine else get another one. You mobo is fairly dated - you have the latest bios?

Oct 1, 2009, 11:37 PM	Thread Starter #3
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Nope , I don't remember if I even update bios or not. And the seller is very far from here (about 2 hours) and they are closed now , so I waiting till tomorrow , if it didn't work , just go there and replace it or whatever. __________________

Oct 1, 2009, 11:49 PM	#4
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,244 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. If you load the BIOS, can it detect the drive or not? __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Oct 1, 2009, 11:52 PM	#5
~~CitySlicker~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Posts: 183 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. check your current bios version and see the Gigabyte website for the latest if needed. Maybe that will do the trick?

Oct 1, 2009, 11:53 PM	Thread Starter #6
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Updated the bios now . No it can't detect the drive . the computer freezes just right after boot couples of seconds then it starts normally (a bit slower) without detecting it. __________________

Oct 2, 2009, 04:50 AM	Thread Starter #10
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Yes , it is SATA II. I feel it is HDD fault. __________________

Oct 2, 2009, 07:39 AM	#11
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,781 Rep Power: 141 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Double check the cables. It's possible that the data cable isn't making good connection. I had one that was very touchy, and if I even moved the case aropund a little bit it would back out just enough to give me the same symptons you are having. I eventually replaced it, and haven't had that problem since. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Oct 2, 2009, 09:13 AM	Thread Starter #13
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Yeah , I thought so , I am going today to seller , hopefully he replace it without any arguments. btw , this not the first time I am f**ed up with WD drives , why the heck they don't put it in a prober package rather than this silly plastic cover , it is 125$ can't they spend some sht on a decent package, that's shame. Edit :and about the cable , I tried 3 different ones but still no luck. __________________ Last edited by comp_ali; Oct 2, 2009 at 09:21 AM.

Oct 2, 2009, 10:38 AM	#14
isaak HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2,253 Rep Power: 108 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. I had a similar problem when I installed my WD 1TB Green...I think the problem was which sata port it was plugged into.. good luck at the seller and try not to crack any teeth!

Oct 2, 2009, 06:23 PM	Thread Starter #18
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Good news: Just got a replacement and it works nice .Of course the man tried to accuse me of this fault (normal reaction I guess) but it was under guarantee anyway. What pisses me off more is it is only 1 year guarantee while internal HDDs are 3-5 years , even my Genius mouse is 18 months warranted and it is just 5 $ . After I finish partitioning this HDD I will email WD about this ridiculous package . I may next time consider getting Samsung or Seagate , way cheaper and worth trying. I don't wanna be a victim because someone is careless enough to protect their expensive fragile product during cargo. Btw , any tools for benchmarking HDD and measure speed and temps (prefer free) Finally , thank you all for help and thanks Tyrsonswood for recommending pump action shotgun . j/k Attached Thumbnails __________________

Oct 2, 2009, 06:43 PM	#20
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,652 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. As CitySlicker pointed out, this is probably an OEM (bulk) packaging. Most products come in both retail and OEM "variations". The products are the same, but OEM packaging is meant for, erm, OEMs, so it's usually just a product in an anti-static bag as a system building company hardly needs anything more and they are not supposed to get sold to end users other than as a component in a pre-built PC. Retail packaged products usually come in a box and with some extras (cables, a brochure, etc), but that makes them a few bucks more expensive, so many sellers offer products in bulk packaging in order to be more competitive with their prices. As for the warranty, it really is short, as is often the case with small retailers. You can monitor the temperature with SpeedFan and you can use HD Tach for performance testing (the unregistered version tests random access time, burst speed, CPU usage and sequential reading, while registered also tests sequential write speed). __________________ Our Folding@home stats:

Oct 2, 2009, 06:49 PM	Thread Starter #21
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. hmm , got it. Will benchmark and see Edit : Is this results good (attachment) Attached Thumbnails __________________ Last edited by comp_ali; Oct 2, 2009 at 06:59 PM.

Oct 2, 2009, 07:43 PM	Thread Starter #22
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. comparing with my WD 500GB , the read and burst speeds are good . However cpu usage is 12% higher than WD 500GB (5%) that's normal due to capacity , right ? Attached Thumbnails __________________

Oct 2, 2009, 09:16 PM	#23
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,652 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Well, I've got a Hitachi DeskStar 1TB and I get similar results, which, I believe, is fine as the drives are both 7200rpm and 3 platter models, though you do have more cache, 32MB vs 16. The CPU utilisation difference probably shouldn't worry you too much, the new drive is not just bigger, it's significantly faster according to your graphs. Also, I kept CPU-Z on during testing and it showed that my CPU was at it's lowest speed (800MHz) during testing, so I assume that that would be the case with you as well (for some reason, the frequency jumps to it's full 2.8GHz after the tests, while the program is displaying results, but that shouldn't be too important). __________________ Our Folding@home stats:

Oct 2, 2009, 09:20 PM	Thread Starter #24
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Thank you really , btw what program do you use to cature screenshot ?. I see it is neat while prtscrn and paste in "MS Paint" results in distorted one like mine. __________________

Oct 2, 2009, 09:50 PM	#26
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,652 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Actually, I did use PrtScrn + Paint. Yours may be a touch less clear because you saved the file as a jpg picture (which isn't very good for sharp lines and Paint uses a high compression level making it worse), while I used png format which is lossless. What's funny is that the lossless format somehow resulted in a smaller file than the lossy. __________________ Our Folding@home stats:

Oct 2, 2009, 10:45 PM	Thread Starter #27
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. Not really , I am using XP , MS paint came with it saved it *.PNG as 700KB but you ar using win7 , that's why you had it in small size __________________

Oct 2, 2009, 11:19 PM	#28
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,652 Rep Power: 280 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. I haven't used it much, but HyperSnap should be good. Also, if you have any image editing program (apart from Paint), you can paste to it and save as jpg with some lower compression, or in some other format, any of them should have decent output filters and provide better results than Paint. __________________ Our Folding@home stats:

Oct 2, 2009, 11:32 PM	#29
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,658 Rep Power: 187 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. comp_ali, do yourself a favor, and double check the warranty at WDs site HERE. 1 year doesn't sound right to me. Whether it's bulk (OEM) or retail, it's still 5 years, even in the Middle East, so I'd double check your drive just to be sure. However, if the seller bought them off the grey market, that might be the reason, but if that's the case WD may not even warranty it at all, meaning that the 1 year you were given is local only, with the seller themselves. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Oct 2, 2009, 11:47 PM	Thread Starter #30
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,441 Rep Power: 331 System Specs	Re: Bought WD Black Caviar 1 TB but.. You are right, I checked my drive and found it will end in 21/8/2014 . I meant the warranty at the seller (written at the back of the purchase bill) is 1 year. But since WD site says it is 5 years , I think that means if anything happens to the drive after 1 year , I won't refer to the seller but WD office instead. __________________