Until something better is revealed, I have only the SMART system for a=20 warning. I wish I better understood & I do think the information is=20 available. They are all guaranteed to break the problem is just when! On 9/2/2012 4:30 PM, Peter Johansson wrote: > On Sun, Sep 2, 2012 at 2:43 AM, Chetan Bhargava wro= te: > >> Don't use WD Passport for reasons on my blog. Use Seagate GoFlex for >> obvious reasons. > Both Seagate and WD have had quality issues through the years. A few > years ago WD was preferred to Seagate, but that may easily have > changed. You always have to track the market to not only know which > manufacturer has the edge, but what specific drive models to prefer > and avoid. > > My preference has always been to purchase bare drives with a five year > warranty. I am not sure it is even possible to purchase drives with a > five year warranty any more, and almost certainly not consumer drives. > It has been my experience that most drives fail shortly outside of > their warranty period, and by the time a drive gets to be five years > old, it is worth retiring anyway. > > Drives that ship in external enclosures almost never have more than > one-year warranties, and almost always have the lowest quality drives > and usb interface/power supplies. If you want a reliable external > drive, you need to pick a quality bare drive and a quality enclosure > and assemble it yourself. > > -p. --=20 John Ferrell W8CCW =93During times of universal deceit, Telling the TRUTH becomes a revolutionary act=94 George Orwell --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .