On Fri, Jul 14, 2023 at 7:29 AM Michael D. Setzer II via users <users@lists.fedoraproject.org> wrote:
Not very happy with WD support, was actually looking for info to
figure out what happened with drive versus trying to get a
replacement, but that seems all they are concerned about NOT
DOING.

Manufacturers of low-end consumer gear want lowest possible component 
cost.  They can optimize device longevity so vast majority of drives last
the system's warranty period (and those have been going down for low-end
consumer gear).   If you want longevity, go for enterprise gear, but much
of that is not sold in small quantities.  You can buy used gear dumped by
a failed company from independent resellers, refurbished gear from
big vendors (warranty returns or 3+ years old).   Apple gear was expensive,
but durable, so may be an option "real soon now" if you can live
without Xorg and don't need a big server.

The void was being filled by less well-known vendors: <https://linuxpreloaded.com/>,
but now big vendors have seen sales opportunities. 
 
Then on top of that. The two WD Black drives I just ordered and
seller sent serial numbers without being asked. WD Support comes
back that those serial numbers were meant for drives installed in
systems, so WD provides no warranty. Likely that others fall into
same conditions. Think if a company makes a product, they would
stand behind it. Person seems nice, but would prefer a straight
answer. You are screwed that our drive failed, and we don't
provide any support....

The problem is that those drives were built not to last and sold very
cheaply.  The drive makers make it clear that the end-user warranty
doesn't apply.  I do wonder if companies claiming to be manufacturers
are buying large quantities of "junk" drives to sell on ebay.

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll create monthly images of all systems
to be save. Pulled out a new 4TB Seagate regular drive I had
sitting around, and will make image files of the 1TB disks on it.
Than hope it continues with no problem. Seagate Iron Horse...

Enterprise quality SSD's are more reliable than mechanical drives.
For either technology, constantly filling drives with new data and
then replacing that with newer data is the worst case scenario.

--
George N. White III