Is this brand new Maxtor drive defective?

[Patrick]

I replaced an older hard drive with a brand new 40Gb Maxtor D740-6L ATA/133 drive. I installed it on a Promise Ultra/100 card and had no trouble using FDISK and then formatting it as drive "D". (It was NOT the boot drive.) I put some AVI files on it and just started to do a little video editing when everything locked up. When I tried to reboot, I couldn't get past the point where Norton Disk Doctor diagnoses the drive (due to the improper shut down). When Disk Doctor tries to analyze the Boot Record on this drive, the computer freezes up. I then tried to use a Win98 boot disk and the computer again freezes up just as it finishes loading the RAM drive.

I took the drive out and tried it in a different computer. (Again, not as the boot drive.) The same freeze-ups occurred in the second computer. Dumb question perhaps, but does this sound like a defective drive?

Just as a side note, the first computer will now no longer boot up, even with this drive removed. It freezes just as Windows is starting to load. The same thing happens in Safe mode. I've never had a problem with this computer before. What could the Maxtor drive have done to this computer when it screwed up?

[ayoub_ibrahim]

odd problem!
can only suggest you run powermax on the hdd to see if it's faulty!

[Wulfman]

I can do the same with an old 4 gig caviar drive.

But that won't help you much...

mfg
wulfman

[Technoid]

Yes, A bad drive can screw up a controller!!

At work we had a bad Samsung and that bastard almost killed one of our machines...

Had to clear cmos to get the computer to even boot again!

[Patrick]

What a nuisance!

...can only suggest you run powermax on the hdd to see if it's faulty!

I wish I could get that far! The two computers I've tried the drive in lock up during the re-boot. Keep in mind that when I mentioned Norton Disk Doctor checking the drive, that was occurring before Windows had a chance to load. But you're right on one count, this is an "odd problem"!

Yes, A bad drive can screw up a controller!!
At work we had a bad Samsung and that bastard almost killed one of our machines...
Had to clear cmos to get the computer to even boot again!

Ah, so I'm not crazy! I tried the Promise ATA/100 controller card in another computer and it works fine, but the first computer will still not boot up. I guess I'll try clearing the CMOS and see if that helps. Thanks for the tip.

[Patrick]

At least the computer works again...

Technoid, I cleared the CMOS and the computer boots up now. Thanks again.

This drive is going back to the dealer!

[Jammrock]

It's a Maxtor, so pobably so. I've seen Maxtor drives cause these problems before.

Jammrock

[Patrick]

Just what is the Maxtor warranty period on this drive?

When I took the drive back to the dealer, a techie checked it out and sure enough it locked up his computer. They replaced it (because I just got it three days ago), but I'm a little concerned by what it states at the Maxtor website.

http://www.maxtor.com/products/diamo...ault.htm#D740X

Warranty Period To Be Determined

Like what the hell does that mean!!???

[Wombat]

They have "no quibble service and support," it says.

Looking at the other drives, it would appear that Maxtor will warranty any drive of a given model up to X months after they stop production. Since that model of drive is still being actively manufactured, they can't calculate that date yet.

It's pretty cool, actually. No more having to prove exactly when/where you bought a drive, especially since I only hold onto such receipts for a month or two.
This is kind of like the way Matrox was really easygoing about RMAing G400s, since they knew that they hadn't manufactured a card that had run out of its warranty period yet. I've had problems with other companies like that before, where they wouldn't warranty a product even though I had just purchased one of the first ones they released.

[Patrick]

Well, that sounds good...

I hope you're right!

[Jammrock]

I just picked up a 120 Gb Western Digital drive last night Western Digital has the best customer service I have ever seen. Had a drive get fried when my p/s went out and they replaced it no questions asked. They cross shipped it and everything. One of the many reasons I like WD so much.

Jammrock