Before going to Taiwan, C. and I bought a G-Drive Mini 500GB external hard drive at the Apple Store to use as a portable backup. We used it throughout the year, especially once I sold my desktop I used in Taiwan. Once we got back to the US, we discovered that the hard drive had bad sectors, and now quite a few of our files were corrupt. I recovered all I could using ddrescue, which did an amazing job of extracting every last bit of information.
C. then filled out a request for RMA on G-Tech website. The website is a bit wonky, and their automated scripts were telling us our G-Drive Mini was not a G-Tech device. An email she sent them, however, explaining the situation got a quick response of an RMA number and instructions on how to send it in. The address for RMA is actually Hitach North American Logistics Center in California, which was a surprise; I did not realize G-Technology was a part of Hitachi.
Today I called to ask some final questions, like confirmations that the part numbers are correct (mine is different from one stated on RMA) and that the drive is, in fact, still under warranty. I got a hold of a customer service rep immediately, and he was very courteous and seemed knowledgeable. Their phone system is linked with online communications, so after asking my name, phone, and email, he was able to pull up the RMA and Cree's original email. He verified the part number, and also helpfully told me the drive is under warranty until September of 2012, which probably means it's a 2-year warranty, at least. I'm very impressed in how easy it was to get the RMA, as well as contact and speak with customer support.
About a week later I received a UPS package with the replacement hard drive, along with the cables and leather protective pouch like the one that originally came with it. In other words, the RMA process went entirely without a hitch, and the drive is still under warranty. Of course, now that I got a SABRENT EC-UEIS7 external enclosure and a 1TB Samsung F3 hard-drive, we don't really need the 500GB G-Drive Mini any more, so the factory refurbished hard-drive is going on Craig's List. Still, I was very pleased with G-Technology's (or Hitachi's) RMA process and would definitely be open to buying Hitachi hard drives in the future; I can't really blame the bad sectors on them, since the little hard-drive must have been through hell during all the moving and the possibly-improper use on non-flat surfaces.
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