How do I damage a HDD intentionally?

Don't laugh at the title, my Seagate HDD was showing replaced sector for a few months, they increase 1-2 every week, when it reached about 30 and crashed my OS twice/epic BSOD, caused data corruption(AC3 save game lost

) I took to to service who rejected it as it passed seagate check tool, now I need to damage it, damage it good so it would develop over 300 bad sector and maybe they'll they replace it, they seriously want me to use a failing hdd until it fails completely, its like this, you have a car the engine for which is failing, now you have to keep using it until it's completely dead, in the middle of nowhere. So I need to kill it.

I though of these methods.
1. Put a massive read write load using HD Tune, repeatedly wipe the drives, somehow make replaced sector over 300 so it fails seatools -Civilized way :wink:

2. Plug it in, power it on, now shake shake shake, just like making a milkshake, hopefully this will kill that damn thing - Ravage it

So suggest, also this must not not make the drive void of warranty, so if I take path 2 will they somehow find out and reject it? Is their any metric in hdd and tools that keep a check on how much G it had experienced? Like an accelerometer?

PS: This thing has about 4-5 months warranty left, so not much time left.

Dont go for the path 2....as it would crash, if you shake and the head is damaged they would conclude that you did some tampering with it......
IMO you can put it on massive R/W loop...That would slow down the HDD and ultimately increase the bad sector and the chipset "would be" damaged...keeping your warranty intact...!
Then too keep your options open.....before trying it...!

max_snyper said:
Dont go for the path 2....as it would crash, if you shake and the head is damaged they would conclude that you did some tampering with it......
IMO you can put it on massive R/W loop...That would slow down the HDD and ultimately increase the bad sector and the chipset "would be" damaged...keeping your warranty intact...!
Then too keep your options open.....before trying it...!

No options, they won't take the RMA unless its over 300(replaced sector), but waiting till that is not possible, if I use it now there will be data corruption etc, and I have a few months to break it so they'd rma it

Try holding a very powerful magnet close to it when its running

guru_urug said:
Try holding a very powerful magnet close to it when its running

And get warranty rejected? No thanks

The very reason I want to break it so that they give me the damn warranty that I rightfully deserve.

haha, another reason why WD is better in service..
I had one bad sector in HDD (WD 160GB Scorpio Blue), so i RMA'd it, courier guy picked it up from my home and after two weeks (30jan2013), i got 320GB scorpio blue as a replacement..

ratul said:
haha, another reason why WD is better in service..
I had one bad sector in HDD (WD 160GB Scorpio Blue), so i RMA'd it, courier guy picked it up from my home and after two weeks (30jan2013), i got 320GB scorpio blue as a replacement..

Amen to that, rma'd WD Green 500GB, took 1.5 months BUT gave a 1TB Black in return(FAEX model with 64MB cache).

haha, looks like WD has a policy to double up the disk capacity in warranty..

btw, my HDD got corrupted due to lack of UPS, sudden shutdown of computer makes the head of the HDD to stop forcefully, thus damaging it, you can try that..

ratul said:
haha, looks like WD has a policy to double up the disk capacity in warranty..
btw, my HDD got corrupted due to lack of UPS, sudden shutdown of computer makes the head of the HDD to stop forcefully, thus damaging it, you can try that..

Not such a good idea, other components could get damaged.

First start testing hd by any programme or go for performance benchmark then You can remove power cable from hd and then again re-insert it (power cable from psu to hd).. ..might be that would work.. .

one more way would be keep formatting it by different file systems.. from linux to windows.

tkin said:
Not such a good idea, other components could get damaged.

well, you can then try reformatting with FULL NTFS format, according to this post, then all of the bad sectors will be revealed to the OS and you might get the number you want..

Not sure if.intentionally damaging will help you much.
This thread only serves as evidenc.you tried damaging intentiinally, should they ever find.it.

guru_urug said:
Try holding a very powerful magnet close to it when its running

Wont work with any daily everyday magnet. Only powerful industrail magnets designed to lift cars and.similar load can erase an HDD.
(Saw a detailed program on TV)

there is not any fixed way that you can damage your hdd in 1 or 2 days,its not a writer.if you try to damaging it there is a risk that its not get damage before warranty but after warranty it damaged...anyway search on google...

clmlbx said:
First start testing hd by any programme or go for performance benchmark then You can remove power cable from hd and then again re-insert it (power cable from psu to hd).. ..might be that would work.. .

one more way would be keep formatting it by different file systems.. from linux to windows.

Sure that warranty will get void.

thetechfreak said:
Not sure if.intentionally damaging will help you much.
This thread only serves as evidenc.you tried damaging intentiinally, should they ever find.it.

Wont work with any daily everyday magnet. Only powerful industrail magnets designed to lift cars and.similar load can erase an HDD.
(Saw a detailed program on TV)

Can you tell from this thread who am I or what the serial of my HDD?

ratul said:
well, you can then try reformatting with FULL NTFS format, according to this post, then all of the bad sectors will be revealed to the OS and you might get the number you want..

That won't work, its a myth, all replaced sectors are revealed by smart, so smart has to show that no. of replaced sec>300.

Gaurav265 said:
there is not any fixed way that you can damage your hdd in 1 or 2 days,its not a writer.if you try to damaging it there is a risk that its not get damage before warranty but after warranty it damaged...anyway search on google...

Its already damaged, I need to break it faster, hey its not my fault, I just wanted a RMA, nothing else.

atomatic power on/off is best way to give bad effect on hdd.after power failure hdd is the part which get most effected...

Gaurav265 said:
atomatic power on/off is best way to give bad effect on hdd.after power failure hdd is the part which get most effected...

But repeatedly doing that may damage my mobo as well, so not an option.

then try to formatting your hdd as many times as you can and check that bad sectors increasing or not...

Gaurav265 said:
then try to formatting your hdd as many times as you can and check that bad sectors increasing or not...

As soon as I get it tommorow, then I'll repeatedly tax it with HD tune benchmarks and wiper.

^^ How many bad sectors are there currently on your HDD ??

gameranand said:
^^ How many bad sectors are there currently on your HDD ??

Around 30

tkin said:
Around 30

Then you'll be having hard time increasing them 10 fold.

gameranand said:
Then you'll be having hard time increasing them 10 fold.

See my problem, now my Adata External HDD has 208 such replaced sector, but it has long stopped updating and so I use it, and also never faced any data corruption on it, but on seagate I got corrupt OS, BSOD and data lost, which bugs me, looks like I'll use this as my expendable drive(drive in which I keep only my games, intstalled).

Well your best bet is to try damaging the drive before warranty goes out of the window and I guess that in future you are never going to get a Segate product. Good thing that I didn't bought any Segate drives either, only WD drives so far.

300 bad sectors..this is BS... :twisted:

Seagate needs to change their RMA policy

Zangetsu said:
300 bad sectors..this is BS...

Seagate needs to change their RMA policy

WD all the way

Seagate is just robbing us, in daylight, one year warranty, bleh

you could try and kepp it running in a hot place. use a hair dryer on it while only plugging the power cord to rotate the platters..

anirbandd said:
you could try and kepp it running in a hot place. use a hair dryer on it while only plugging the power cord to rotate the platters..

Might cause the PCB to get burnt

^if u want more BadSectors then google for a virus/malware which creates Bad Sectors (I think so)

Zangetsu said:
^if u want more BadSectors then google for a virus/malware which creates Bad Sectors (I think so)

Good suggestion if they are able to do it by any means.

Disclaimer: I won't be held responsible for anything very bad happens to HDD if anyone actually uses this method

1. Plug the HDD in your rig in such a way that you can yank it out anytime i.e. hot swap bay.
2. Start coping a big continuous file like a >10GB iso or rar or zip file.
3. After the copied content reaches ~30-40% of total size, disconnect the SATA power port from the HDD.
4. After the copied content reaches ~30-40% of total size, disconnect the SATA data port from the HDD.
5. Don't plug in the HDD without restarting your PC.

Repeat the process ~25-30 times using one of the step between 3&4. For best result, Use in this sequence:{ 1-2-3-5, 1-2-3-5, 1-2-4-5, 1-2-3-5, 1-2-4-5 }

Congrats! Now you have successfully damaged your HDD. :facepalm:

Zangetsu said:
^if u want more BadSectors then google for a virus/malware which creates Bad Sectors (I think so)

gooood method, but if its discovered that its the effect of a virus, then no RMA

anirbandd said:
gooood method, but if its discovered that its the effect of a virus, then no RMA

y so..its not written anywhere is it?

d6bmg said:
Congrats! Now you have successfully damaged your HDD.

@tkin: do u want to damage the HDD or just bad sectors?

Zangetsu said:
y so..its not written anywhere is it?

dunno.. are there ways to affirm if a damage is due to virus?

anirbandd said:
dunno.. are there ways to affirm if a damage is due to virus?

can virus harm any hardware ?

Zangetsu said:
y so..its not written anywhere is it?

@tkin: do u want to damage the HDD or just bad sectors?

I want it to fail a SMART test, period.

Gaurav265 said:
can virus harm any hardware ?

Nope.

tkin said:
I want it to fail a SMART test, period.

Then go ahead with my method.

d6bmg said:
Then go ahead with my method.

Is there any way I could overwrite the SMART values?

^^ Nope.
What you are asking for is like bypassing a lie detector. :lol:

d6bmg said:
^^ Nope.
What you are asking for is like bypassing a lie detector.

Gawd Damn It :evil:

I scared about the seagate external 1TB harddisk ma bro own

With this thread i learned how all ways I SHOULD NOT treat a HDD

NikiNfOuR said:
I scared about the seagate external 1TB harddisk ma bro own With this thread i learned how all ways I SHOULD NOT treat a HDD

Unless it gets damaged like a bad sector and Seagate won't give you a RMA until its dead beyond anything and during that period you won't be able to store anything on it as it might get corrupted, its like sitting helpless besides a dying patient whom the doctors won't treat as he is not dead enough.

tkin said:
Unless it gets damaged like a bad sector and Seagate won't give you a RMA until its dead beyond anything and during that period you won't be able to store anything on it as it might get corrupted, its like sitting helpless besides a dying patient whom the doctors won't treat as he is not dead enough.

thats a nice analogy. :lol:

Check if this helps: Software to manually mark a bad sector on a ntfs - Hard-Disks - Storage

so you trashed that HDD yet??

anirbandd said:
so you trashed that HDD yet??

Haven't fetched the drive, don't feel the need to even get it, hopeless.

You are spreading the disease :evil:

221 reallocated sectors have cropped up in my 500gb hdd :razz:

CrystalDiskInfo marks its health as 'Caution'

Myth said:
You are spreading the disease
221 reallocated sectors have cropped up in my 500gb hdd
CrystalDiskInfo marks its health as 'Caution'

Seagate?

tkin said:
Seagate?

Yup .

Myth said:
Yup .

See if it fails sea tools, if it passes no RMA for you, then do what I am about to do.

tkin said:
See if it fails sea tools, if it passes no RMA for you, then do what I am about to do.

Bought it on 1st march 2009. So no warranty.

My 7 year old maxtor 300gb still going strong now.

My friend and I got the same hdds together (so assuming same batch). His hdd crashed a month back.

Btw, which particular seatool test to run ?

Myth said:
Bought it on 1st march 2009. So no warranty. My 7 year old maxtor 300gb still going strong now.
My friend and I got the same hdds together (so assuming same batch). His hdd crashed a month back.

Btw, which particular seatool test to run ?

Quick test I think, see if there's something called SMART test, if not run quick test.

tkin said:
Quick test I think, see if there's something called SMART test, if not run quick test.

Doesnt matter actually. Warranty has expired. Will move the hdd to storage/backup only.
I ran a few basic tests yesterday, bugger passed all.

*1TB WD Black, here i come* :bananana:

Myth said:
Doesnt matter actually. Warranty has expired. Will move the hdd to storage/backup only.
I ran a few basic tests yesterday, bugger passed all.

*1TB WD Black, here i come*

Its a beast, make sure to get the 1002FAEX model that has 64MB cache, older FALS model has 32MB only, both are sold at slightly different prices, FALS wll be a little cheaper.

tkin said:
Its a beast, make sure to get the 1002FAEX model that has 64MB cache, older FALS model has 32MB only, both are sold at slightly different prices, FALS wll be a little cheaper.

Yeah, I had my eyes on that one for quite some time now. Just a matter of time. Got too many things lined up :razz:

@ tkin
How is your bad sector making mission going ?? Any progress in that ??

gameranand said:
@ tkin
How is your bad sector making mission going ?? Any progress in that ??

@Myth: As it is out of warranty you can't do much about it.

gameranand said:
@ tkin
How is your bad sector making mission going ?? Any progress in that ??

I haven't picked it up yet, will update once I get it.

OK sure, do tell us. Maybe someone would need that in some special case.

d6bmg said:
@Myth: As it is out of warranty you can't do much about it.

Thats what I thought.
Turns out seagate warranty validation thinks otherwise. It is in warranty till 24-Dec-2013 :lol:

Again we face two more problems:
1. I have to make sure its fails seatool tests by dec-2013
2. *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/shopping/...ng-advice-thread-kolkata-249.html#post1837074

Myth said:
Thats what I thought.
Turns out seagate warranty validation thinks otherwise. It is in warranty till 24-Dec-2013
Again we face two more problems:
1. I have to make sure its fails seatool tests by dec-2013
2. *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/shopping/...ng-advice-thread-kolkata-249.html#post1837074

RMA it and sell it

tkin said:
RMA it and sell it

Brilliant idea, my dear Watson.
Btw, for rma, do hdds need 300 reallocated sectors regardless of capacity ?

Myth said:
Brilliant idea, my dear Watson.
Btw, for rma, do hdds need 300 reallocated sectors regardless of capacity ?

Not sure how many it needs but it must fail seatools. I read somewhere its 300 for the replace count.

My o My. Segate is not happy to have you as customers for sure, you guys are wicked.

Myth said:
Brilliant idea, my dear Watson.
Btw, for rma, do hdds need 300 reallocated sectors regardless of capacity ?

lol some poor guy is in for a rude surprise

I think might just sell this one.
Rma is a headache.

Myth said:
I think might just sell this one.
Rma is a headache.

Don't sell a broken HDD to a tech savvy seller, first thing he might see is SMART

I for one am going to break it good, rma it and then sell it.

tkin said:
Don't sell a broken HDD to a tech savvy seller, first thing he might see is SMART

I for one am going to break it good, rma it and then sell it.

Probably I will do the same thing.
300 counts is tough target. When do you plan to execute your 'trash the hdd' plan ?

Myth said:
Probably I will do the same thing.
300 counts is tough target. When do you plan to execute your 'trash the hdd' plan ?

I'll probably get the drive tomorrow, then brick it by next week.

tkin said:
I'll probably get the drive tomorrow, then brick it by next week.

What is your hdd capacity ?
Could you ask how many replaced sectors are needed for a 500gb drive ?

Myth said:
What is your hdd capacity ?
Could you ask how many replaced sectors are needed for a 500gb drive ?

Mine's 500GB too, 7200.11, 3500620AS, now they won't answer that, as they themself does not know it, but it must fail seatool, google it.

I read its 300 in a forum.

Update guys:

I went to seagate today, the guy gave my hdd back, then I gave him a mouthful, called out the technician, explained my issue to him, he kept mumbling about Seatools, then he did a stupid thing, he plugged it in and ran seatools, for some reason it failed this time and with a massive sound, maybe platter crashed due to all that moving around, got a new HDD as a replacement on the spot

*i48.tinypic.com/2mgqefn.jpg

W

at last some good news after that micromax fiasco.

P.S.btw what is the deal with flipkart.

whitestar_999 said:
at last some good news after that micromax fiasco.

P.S.btw what is the deal with flipkart.

After some heated discussions they had shipped both my laptop and camera at the same time tonight

Please post pics and mini review of laptop then..

Rajat Giri said:
Please post pics and mini review of laptop then..

I said shipped, not delivered

H

You Should Connect the Harddisk power cable exactly opposite it was connected. Then it will be short Circuited and will be dead..I did also that unknowingly and got my seagate Harddisk Replaced.......

You have Successfully Destroyed Your Harddisk..Congrats

tkin said:
Update guys:

I went to seagate today, the guy gave my hdd back, then I gave him a mouthful, called out the technician, explained my issue to him, he kept mumbling about Seatools, then he did a stupid thing, he plugged it in and ran seatools, for some reason it failed this time and with a massive sound, maybe platter crashed due to all that moving around, got a new HDD as a replacement on the spot

*i48.tinypic.com/2mgqefn.jpg

You are lucky b******. Enjoy.

tkin said:
Update guys:

I went to seagate today, the guy gave my hdd back, then I gave him a mouthful, called out the technician, explained my issue to him, he kept mumbling about Seatools, then he did a stupid thing, he plugged it in and ran seatools, for some reason it failed this time and with a massive sound, maybe platter crashed due to all that moving around, got a new HDD as a replacement on the spot

*i48.tinypic.com/2mgqefn.jpg

lol. Bad luck for those guys and great luck for you.
Congrats on the new hdd.
What exactly were the contents of the mouthful ? I might try my luck with the same

Btw, can I rma a seagate hdd in kolkata which was bought from bhubaneswar ?

Myth said:
Btw, can I rma a seagate hdd in kolkata which was bought from bhubaneswar ?

Yes, you can RMA any HDD bought from any places in India in nay RMA center.

hunter.inf said:
You Should Connect the Harddisk power cable exactly opposite it was connected. Then it will be short Circuited and will be dead..I did also that unknowingly and got my seagate Harddisk Replaced.......

You have Successfully Destroyed Your Harddisk..Congrats

Sata connectors have a notch to prevent that you know.

d6bmg said:
You are lucky b******. Enjoy.

That I am

For now anyway.

Myth said:
lol. Bad luck for those guys and great luck for you.
Congrats on the new hdd.
What exactly were the contents of the mouthful ? I might try my luck with the same

Btw, can I rma a seagate hdd in kolkata which was bought from bhubaneswar ?

Scream and spurt out some technical terms like SMART status, HD tune, replaced sector etc

COngo!! enjoy. if its brand new, you gonna sell it, or keep it??

anirbandd said:
COngo!! enjoy. if its brand new, you gonna sell it, or keep it??

Gonna sell it, posted a sales thread already: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/bazaar/169947-rmad-new-seagate-500gb-hdd-kolkata-only.html

congrats

and the new HDD has fresh warranty or carries the warranty of the old one?

saswat23 said:
congrats
and the new HDD has fresh warranty or carries the warranty of the old one?

carries the warranty of the old one.. always for RMA, regardless of repalcement/repair.

saswat23 said:
congrats
and the new HDD has fresh warranty or carries the warranty of the old one?

Of course carries the old one, has 6 months left, so that's about 50% of current warranty, not too shabby.

tkin said:
Gonna sell it, posted a sales thread already: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/bazaar/169947-rmad-new-seagate-500gb-hdd-kolkata-only.html

Well, that was quick.

And I think it will get sold very quickly as you are offering it at a very good price.

d6bmg said:
Well, that was quick.

And I think it will get sold very quickly as you are offering it at a very good price.

Got a call already, giving it for 2k

tkin said:
Got a call already, giving it for 2k

Lol. That was a quick sale !!

My hdd passed all seatool tests

tkin said:
After some heated discussions they had shipped both my laptop and camera at the same time tonight

What was happened ??

tkin said:
Got a call already, giving it for 2k

Kisko Phophat banaya ??

gameranand said:
What was happened ??

Kisko Phophat banaya ??

Locally sold

Lucky you. Got the RMA a customer willing to jump with the RMAed HDD.

gameranand said:
Lucky you. Got the RMA a customer willing to jump with the RMAed HDD.

It was a steal, 2k for a 3.4k hdd with 50% of the original warranty.

tkin said:
It was a steal, 2k for a 3.4k hdd with 50% of the original warranty.

Yeah considering the fact that not everyone knows about Segate's ASS.

gameranand said:
Yeah considering the fact that not everyone knows about Segate's ASS.

Shhhhhh

thetechfreak said:
Not sure if.intentionally damaging will help you much.
This thread only serves as evidenc.you tried damaging intentiinally, should they ever find.it.

Wont work with any daily everyday magnet. Only powerful industrail magnets designed to lift cars and.similar load can erase an HDD.
(Saw a detailed program on TV)

its that BREAKING BAD episode..

tkin said:
Update guys:

I went to seagate today, the guy gave my hdd back, then I gave him a mouthful, called out the technician, explained my issue to him, he kept mumbling about Seatools, then he did a stupid thing, he plugged it in and ran seatools, for some reason it failed this time and with a massive sound, maybe platter crashed due to all that moving around, got a new HDD as a replacement on the spot

*i48.tinypic.com/2mgqefn.jpg

you got hdutne pro version licence... :-D

logout20 said:
you got hdutne pro version licence...

Shhhhhh

tkin said:
Shhhhhh

Yeah sure. So I guess you are getting a WD Black HDD right ??

so u got new Seagate HDD...congrats

Zangetsu said:
so u got new Seagate HDD...congrats

And he sold it for 2K.

gameranand said:
Yeah sure. So I guess you are getting a WD Black HDD right ??

I already have a Black 1TB(FAEX, 64MB Cache), its enough for everything I own, I tend to keep my stuff on DVDs anyway, will buy a 1 TB external in a few months.

Okay, first things first. Thank you tkin for posting your problem and highlighting the issue.
Seems my hdd had a similar problem.

Second,
Just sold my hdd for 2.3k. Had warranty till dec'13 by hdd serial number.
I had bought it in mar'09 for 3.2k :razz:

@tkin: Is this the one you were telling to purchase : Untitled Page ?

PS: I miss the old hdd rates. One of the older bills for a 1tb seagate states 2.8k :evil:

Myth said:
Okay, first things first. Thank you tkin for posting your problem and highlighting the issue.
Seems my hdd had a similar problem.

Second,
Just sold my hdd for 2.3k. Had warranty till dec'13 by hdd serial number.
I had bought it in mar'09 for 3.2k

@tkin: Is this the one you were telling to purchase : Untitled Page ?

PS: I miss the old hdd rates. One of the older bills for a 1tb seagate states 2.8k

Yeah, its the fastest 7200RPM hdd in the market, also the most reliable and 5yrs warranty, its worth the extra 1k over normal 1TB drives, its about 5.8k in Kolkata.

tkin said:
Yeah, its the fastest 7200RPM hdd in the market, also the most reliable and 5yrs warranty, its worth the extra 1k over normal 1TB drives, its about 5.8k in Kolkata.

Thanks for the tip.
Will post once I pick one.