From owner-freebsd-hardware Wed Jan 8 09:00:59 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) id JAA17250 for hardware-outgoing; Wed, 8 Jan 1997 09:00:59 -0800 (PST) Received: from diablo.ppp.de (diablo.ppp.de [193.141.101.34]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id JAA17245 for ; Wed, 8 Jan 1997 09:00:52 -0800 (PST) Received: from freebie.lemis.de by diablo.ppp.de with smtp (Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0vi1Mm-000QYwC; Wed, 8 Jan 97 18:00 MET Received: (grog@localhost) by freebie.lemis.de (8.8.4/8.6.12) id QAA04077; Wed, 8 Jan 1997 16:39:15 +0100 (MET) From: grog@lemis.de Message-Id: <199701081539.QAA04077@freebie.lemis.de> Subject: Re: Support when getting DDS drives repaired In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19970108135447.006976cc@pop.dial.pipex.com> from Simon Reading at "Jan 8, 97 02:05:02 pm" To: aat81@dial.pipex.com (Simon Reading) Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 16:39:14 +0100 (MET) Cc: freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.org (FreeBSD hardware Users) Organisation: LEMIS, Schellnhausen 2, 36325 Feldatal, Germany Phone: +49-6637-919123 Fax: +49-6637-919122 Reply-to: grog@lemis.de (Greg Lehey) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4ME+ PL28 (25)] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-hardware@FreeBSD.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Simon Reading writes: > In comp.sys.hp.hardware "Stephen Whitlock" wrote: >> My experience with Hewlett Packard and the C1553A has been >> less than satisfactory. My company had a C1553A for >> backing up its main server. It stopped working after about >> 13 months. The problem seemed to be attributable to the >> heads. The backup loads were not unreasonable (never >> exceeding 3.5 hours a night, 5 days a week). But it >> completely failed and left us without a backup. >> >> The biggest problem came with trying to get the failed >> drive serviced. I spent at least 12 hours over several >> days on the phone with HP trying to find some way to get it >> fixed, replaced, serviced, etc. Finally, they informed me >> of the Express Exhange program which is where they ship you >> a refurbished drive. Then you send in your broken one. I >> was given a ship date from them of 3-5 days (as opposed to >> the advertised 24 hours). After three weeks, I called >> again, and they said it was back ordered for at least >> another 7 days. After a month from the original order >> date, they said that no refurbished drives would ship >> before a month. (This is in addition to the month I had >> already waited!) > > Greg > > When you have had your drives repaired, did you have to send them back to > the manufacturer (HP or EXABYTE) or did you return the drive to your dealer > and he fixed it (replaced the heads etc)? I went to a place on Stevens Creek in Santa Clara, called Digital Repair Technology. Really a rather primitive looking joint. > If you returned your drive to the manufacturer, what was their support like? > > Is getting the heads repaired on a DDS drive expensive? Yes. The 35480A cost $250, the Exabyte $300. > PS. That exabyte drive that was giving you problems, did you ever get it to > work with freebsd? The problem wasn't with FreeBSD. It worked fine until it failed. I gave the tape to a friend of mine, and just today he said he had trouble with it on a different machine, so there's a possibility that it was the tapes (I tried several) and not the drive. The jury's still out on this one, but I'll keep you posted. Greg