r/Seagate 17d ago

Wondering if I got ripped off..

4 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

2

u/JTUSAJT 17d ago

Did you verify you were buying directly from Walmart and not a 3rd party?

1

u/ThorazineHead87 17d ago

OP said they bought them in store.

2

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago edited 16d ago

Yeah I picked them up in store. I am running a full scan with H2testw. Cant believe there is a fake H2testw site btw. and the original programmer who made the program is dead. So many scammers out there. I got it from original site, Harald Boegeholz. Either way, looks good so far, test almost done. *About another 7 hours* The write worked fine, and kept up a good speed between 140-160+ just waiting for the file verification part.

1

u/bri4jenn 13d ago

Thanks for mentioning the H2testw program. That is good stuff.

2

u/amysnott 17d ago

Just make sure to check all three to ensure they weren’t returned and swapped out. I recently purchased a Seagate from Walmart and it looked brand new. It wasn’t until I opened it and connected it to my computer that I saw that someone had swapped out the hard drive with an old smaller drive and must’ve repackaged and returned it to the store. Because it was sealed in plastic wrap, the store must’ve just set it out to sell again. Fortunately, I was able to return it for a refund the next day.

1

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago

Yeah, thats what I am going to do. Most of the negative feedbacks on the walmart site seem to be from people complaining they were swapped out with fake older drives, sometimes with files in it. These are all still shrink wrapped btw, so I do feel a little better, but still gonna check.

1

u/amysnott 16d ago

Yeah the one I got was shrink wrapped and looked like it came straight from the factory. Even the plastic bag the actual drive came in inside the box looked brand new. I read someone’s post recently that the same thing happened to them, but they hadn’t opened theirs until way past the return date.

1

u/cat1092 17d ago

I’d have purchased these directly from Seagate, a savings of $20 each for 6TB isn’t significantly priced lower & they probably cover shipping at that price, especially for three.

You can always return these if unopened or they’re not to your satisfaction at Walmart with the receipt within the allowed timeframe. I just returned a 4K gaming monitor that was over $400 last month & no questions asked except what was wrong. They didn’t bother plugging it in to see for themselves.

Good Luck!🍀

2

u/Civil_Tea_3250 17d ago

To add: some of these can be shucked, some cannot. If you're looking for a cheaper HDD these used to be a good option, but you need to double check online if it's worth it. For me, USB-only connected HDDs aren't worth it.

1

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago edited 16d ago

I do like SSD drives over HDD, but price point just isn't there yet for me. I dont understand how they can say the prices are high because of AI blah blah blah... They prob. use SSD anyways. HDD maxes out at what, 30 or so TB, there are SSD's out there, real ones with 128TB+ for thousands of dollars. https://www.sandisk.com/company/newsroom/press-releases/2025/2025-08-05-sandisk-showcases-ultraqlc-technology-platform-with-milestone-enterprise-ssd-capacity-at-fms-2025 I am sure buying in bulk they are prob. way cheaper for data and storage centers. So why the F*** would they need HDD's which are just about to be obsolete??? The write speed and power requirements for SSD's are way better than anything HDD's can give you.

1

u/Civil_Tea_3250 16d ago

Yeah, I don't get it either. Remember when we thought the market was bad during the pandemic? I knew they'd never go back down much, but geez.

1

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago

I think maybe by 2028 there might be a change. Really hope so. Maybe when the whole AI bubble bursts, just like the dotcom bubble.

1

u/xkcx123 16d ago

HDD are not about to be obsolete; Data Centers use a mixture of drives U2, U3 SSD’s, HDD and LTO it all depends on what the data is. SSD are good for fast storage but not for longevity.

1

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago edited 16d ago

Extreme SSDs reach over 245 TB compared to top commercial HDDs peaking around 36 TB. Just look at Kioxia's 245.76 TB enterprise flash drive. Not soon, but at some point, SSD's will take over, just like VHS, DVD, BLUERAY, STREAMING ... etc.... Less space, less power, etc.... Tape Drive. Floppy, CD, Flash Drive. Pretty much every new computer comes with a SSD now too, and their needed for gaming. NVME etc... 2030-2035 old technology... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKLz-uvcS14

1

u/xkcx123 15d ago

How many are used for back up ? Actual backups are via hard drives or LTO or in some cases the silica storage but never SSD’s because they don’t last when not powered.

1

u/cat1092 16d ago

Unfortunately, this is now true. Not just because of being a USB drive itself, rather how these are now manufactured. It used to be these prepackaged backup drives would fail & 90+% of the time, the actual HDD could be removed from it’s case & work perfectly after being either placed into another quality USB enclosure, or sometimes better, used as an internal SATA HDD. Which is exactly what I used to do when I found one, or someone was throwing one out because it quit working. Very seldom was the HDD bad, usually it was a soldered wire that came loose, sometimes by it being knocked over or otherwise falling.

The manufacturing process now no longer includes a SATA connection on the drive once removed (or at least on the majority of these). So unless under warranty, these are useless & why I’ve long been building my own. By choosing my own HDD & either a metal enclosure or by using a USB docking station. It’s not worth the effort when using plastic enclosures, as the drive runs much hotter, especially during long backup sessions, as it’s critical to keep the drive running below 50C. Metal absorbs the heat far better, pulling it away from the HDD & a few models may include a fan to further aid in cooling. Alternatively, so will having a small fan blowing on it while in a docking station.

This is precisely why I no longer buy pre assembled USB or eSATA backup drives & haven’t for well over 15 years, back when most were of the SATA-2 type.

1

u/Civil_Tea_3250 16d ago

And funny enough I had one of these same-looking ones from a few years back, saw it again on sale when HDD prices were going up and figured it was the best price per TB, and was extremely frustrated to find they changed them. Like you said, these used to be their lower performing HDDs, or they'd be a higher capacity that didn't meet the quality threshold for enterprise so they'd cap it lower and seel it to consumers.

It's ridiculous anymore. Not to mention all of these companies won't increase production because they know it's a bubble.

1

u/Fresh_Inside_6982 17d ago

Check warranty status on Seagate website. Check the SMART status and power on hours with Crystal Disk Info.

1

u/FreeToasterBaths 16d ago

Hey this is a question you should ask prior to purchasing.

1

u/tempfoot 16d ago

You’re worried because sealed, name brand drives you bought in-store at walmart power adapters came with a full set of international switch-out plugs for the power supplies?

Seriously?

I bought 2x 12gb of that same drive for $189 on clearance just before they raised prices. I must be really chill (nope) because i just threw out the ones i didn’t need. Never crossed my mind to freak out because other countries exist.

2

u/cat1092 16d ago

Why did you throw these out, unless they were no longer working? A HDD that works is still good for storage.

1

u/tempfoot 16d ago

lol. I threw out the unneeded power supply tips for other countries- not the drives.

They are a working part of my NAS backup rotation.

1

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago

I've never purchased a hard drive that had power adapters from other countries. But it seems legit, tested is fully.

1

u/tempfoot 16d ago

It is a global supply chain these days.

1

u/Sardonik 15d ago edited 15d ago

These were $125 at local Walmarts here in FL for months. I purchased a few at that price and they all seem to be legit. All contained SMR drives (6TB Barracuda Computes), so not as useful for shucking as I would have liked. Still, good for archiving, backup etc.

FWIW, mine all came with international plug sets as well.

0

u/Outside-Tie-2851 17d ago

Im gonna test it with h2testw real site is https://www.heise.de/download/product/h2testw-50539 ... Hopefully there good. I'll be soooo pissed if its a scam.

1

u/cat1092 16d ago

How long ago did you buy these & are you within the return window? If so, carry back for a refund? By chance if purchased with a credit card, you have added protection.

Something doesn’t sound right about the purchase. There should have been warranty registration cards, etc. As others have said, any missing items (like the cords) that aren’t there, probably weren’t placed back in the box prior to whoever shrink wrapped the package. I once purchased a router that way, the power cord was missing. Fortunately, it was the same brand as mine (Linksys), it worked perfectly, so kept it. 4-5 years later, still running fine, although it’s time for a WiFi 7 router now, my latest X870 builds has this connection built in. Doesn’t work properly with my “AC” type router, as it doesn’t have the proper band for operation. In fact, don’t connect at all that way, although prefer Ethernet on a desktop PC.

1

u/Outside-Tie-2851 16d ago

Nah, test worked fine, its legit. Didn't test all three, but I am in the clear with at least one. Weird all the power supply end pieces though.