Customer Reviews

IBM DeskStar 60GB EIDE Hard Drive

5 star:		(5)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I Needed a drive that I could use to store lots of files, 2 operating systems (WindowsME and Windows2000) and I wanted speed. When I first thought about getting a new drive, I didnt initially look at IBM, but as I kept shopping, IBM kept coming up. Eventually, I brought the drive. WOW, it's Fast, even on an ATA-66 Controller, also isnt as loud as other drives, its makes almost no sound for someone who is used to a slow loud drive. The drive comes with all the hardware, software, and manuals you need. The drive is reliable, and is durable. The 3 year warranty is great to have, just in case things do go wrong (Nothing is perfect). If you need a drive for Speed and lots of storage space, buy the IBM line of 75GXP Drives, I currently own the 60GB version, if I had the money, I would buy the 75GB.

Don’ t be mislead by the model numbers. DeskStar 60GXP actually is the latest and the best IDE-type IBM hard drive you can get at the moment. If you want more capacity you would have to go with the discontinued 75 gigabyte version of IBM 75GXP to get comparable performance. The main difference between these two generations is that the current version uses 20GB platters instead of 15GB ones.

This drive is one of the quietest and coolest running drives you can currently get. It’s not much better than the previous generation though it improves slightly on all of the important hard drive ratings in its class. And, of course, it blows the competition out of the water.

The unit is easy to install as the secondary drive and it is also quick to move data from your primary drive if that’s what you’re replacing. The included or downloadable utilities make the whole process pretty much automatic – the program will visually show you how to set jumpers and what to do next.

Just do a google search on 'IBM deskstar drive failure', and you will see that the majority of these drives are winding up in the garbage heap with the same symptoms. In fact, there is a class action lawsuit currently pending against IBM. You are taking a huge risk if you use this product.

I lost 2 months worth of data - thousands and thousands of dollars worth of time. It was my backup drive. Now another one has failed on me. I had a hard time diagnosing it, because the system could not detect the other drive in my system, after the IBM failed. I thought it was a software problem. Then the drive started buzzing. My husband removed the drive, and then our computer worked again. When I shake it, it rattles. I talked to a guy in a computer store, and he told me the drives are a tragedy. He didn't even want to look at it. He didn't even want it in his store. He said there was nothing he could do for me. He suggested Seagate, or Maxtor, or just about anything but IBM. He said IBM do not make good products. He said he would not even carry their junk. He advised me not to exchange it with IBM. He said the replacement would fail just causing more trouble. He told me to "throw it in the lake," but I think I'll just throw it in the trash.

If your drive fails, you will have to ship it back to IBM, then wait up to two weeks for them to send a replacement, then wait for it to get to you. If you can't afford to wait up to a month for a new drive, avoid IBM.

Most reputable drive manufacturers ship the replacement drive as soon as you obtain the RMA.

I needed more hard drive space for my mp3 s, and decided to go with the ibm drive. It's awesome... I had some trouble installing it, but that had more to do with my BIOS than the drive. It's fast, and silent. My recommendations.

I was very satisfied with this drive when I first installed it. It was quick and quiet. However, after only six months of operation, it died on me. I was able to retrieve most of my data in time, but the return process was a battle. I would not recommend this drive or any other by IBM due to their (now) well-known reliability problems.

My IBM DeskStar drive failed me. I've owned it for less than 4 months. However, I did irretrievably lose important data. A speedy harddrive is useless if it is not reliable.

I was unaware IBM DeskStar's history of reliability problems prior to this purchase. (I've owned many computers and drives, and although I've had my share of problems in the past, I've never had a hard drive quit on me like this one did). I will be replacing it with a Western Digital.

While it WAS functioning, it did work beautifully.

After two years of medium workload HDD became extremely noisy and show error: "Excessive vibration". IBM replaced my drive with USED REFURBISHED HDD. I didn't make mistake. I don't know what was first USED or REFURBISHED. But anyway drive body has a lot of testing tags and scratches that it was not really matter how it was used. I just want to mentioned I got same problem with TWO DIFFERENT HDD BOTH IBM 180GX 60Gb. BOTH FAILED AFTER TWO YEARS ON DIFFERENT COMPUTERS.

I installed two of these drives in my most recent computer and I'm very satisfied. The 60GXP line from IBM is a successor to the earlier 75GXP. (Yeah, I know. Higher number is usually the later product. Not so in this case. Long story not worth telling -- but never let engineers choose your marketing names<g>.)

The fact that somebody sued IBM is about as relevant (and newsworthy) as a report that it rained in Seattle last week. Lots of lawyers in this world, and lots of money in IBM.

Aside from obvious precautions like not dropping them when you install a drive, the most important factor in drive reliability is cooling. The computer cases used by volume manufacturers are thermally balanced for the configurations they sell. Whether a particular case will tolerate more heat load depends on the number of high-temp options you ordered with the computer or installed afterward, the temperature of your working area, and to some extent the budget pressure put on the design engineer. (Always assuming you bought the computer from a major supplier that actually employs engineers. The result from a rack-em-stack-em house is merely random.)

I'm putting a third unit of this IBM drive in my computer this week. That's why I happened on this page -- but my case is custom unit specifically chosen for high cooling capacity and lots of air movement. If you're choosing a drive to ADD to your existing computer, you should seriously consider a drive cooling kit. This drive will fit in a small bay, but is likely to bake there. It is better to install it into a drive cooling kit that provides a fan and a heat sink. The resulting package fits into a 5.25" bay and will keep the drive happy for a long life.

Good product. Recommended by this graduate design engineer, even if not all store clerks agree with me...