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Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 14th, 2017, 17:17

Bought a portable external 2tb drive which has turned out to be fake. The drive seemed to failing read test around 80GB mark. Formatting was also not happening.

Removed the hdd, removed label sticker and the top cover, ran speed test. USB 2.0, the drive head nearly touched the spindle around 80GB mark. Single platter/head. The speed dropped abruptly and speed was jumping up and down after 60 to 70gb mark around 10MBps.

The sticker also came off easily and was fixed back perfectly. No sign that it had been opened. HDD sentinal shows it as hitachi but label is seagate.

yes, i have been duped thank you. Question is can i use this as a 60gb or 80gb drive??

I read the drive capacity restores to actual capacity when formatting if the edits were in some table. But i dont thinks thats my case. Thanks in advance. Attached are some pics including HDD sentinal drive details.
Attachments
4.jpg
3.jpg
1.jpg

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 14th, 2017, 19:37

ST920217AS is a 20GB HDD.

http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/datashe ... s_ld25.pdf

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 14th, 2017, 23:11

The top label is covering the breathe hole...the drive is ID as a non existent Hitachi model, this drive is only good for a conversation piece.

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 15th, 2017, 0:59

The sticker doesn't fit right.

Here is a genuine ST920217AS:
https://catalog.onliner.by/hdd/seagate/st920217as

Could we see the PCB?

Edit: OK, so it's an 80GB Hitachi pretending to be a 2TB Seagate and identifying as a 2TB Hitachi.

http://data.stuartconnections.com/object/image?p=9333&i=1

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 15th, 2017, 1:23

fzabkar wrote:The sticker doesn't fit right.

Here is a genuine ST920217AS:
https://catalog.onliner.by/hdd/seagate/st920217as

Could we see the PCB?

Edit: OK, so it's an 80GB Hitachi pretending to be a 2TB Seagate and identifying as a 2TB Hitachi.

http://data.stuartconnections.com/object/image?p=9333&i=1



Attached is a pic of the bottom. From my search i have concluded it to be a hitachi but dont know what size or if i can reflash to the original firmware / drive flash. what a waste of 80$.

The error scan shows 0 bad sectors upto 80gb and it has 99% health. So was thinking i could use it for some purpose; even a 60gb would suffice.
Attachments
IMG_20171015_104251 (Large).jpg
the pcb

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 15th, 2017, 1:26

fzabkar wrote:Edit: OK, so it's an 80GB Hitachi pretending to be a 2TB Seagate and identifying as a 2TB Hitachi.

http://data.stuartconnections.com/object/image?p=9333&i=1


ok thats great you found out. is there anyway i can get it to be identified as that drive?

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 15th, 2017, 11:43

fzabkar wrote:Could we see the PCB?

Edit: OK, so it's an 80GB Hitachi pretending to be a 2TB Seagate and identifying as a 2TB Hitachi.

http://data.stuartconnections.com/object/image?p=9333&i=1



pic of the bottom side attached.

And yes that seems to be the drive. Can i restore that drive details by any method to my drive and start using it??
Attachments
IMG_20171015_104251 (Large).jpg

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 17th, 2017, 4:08

Here are some possibilities:
http://search.store.yahoo.net/yhst-14437584971410/cgi-bin/nsearch?query=OA28613&searchsubmit=Go&vwcatalog=yhst-14437584971410&.autodone=http?3A?2F?2Fwww.hdd-parts.com?2F

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 17th, 2017, 4:37

Travelstar 7K100 HDD Specification:
https://www.hgst.com/sites/default/file ... spv2.1.pdf

    Number of sectors for 80GB model = 156,301,488

You could try to limit the capacity to 156,301,488 sectors by creating a HPA. I believe that Hitachi's Feature Tool should be able to do this, but I don't know how it will handle your fake.

https://www.hgst.com/support/hard-drive-support/downloads/legacy-downloads

BTW, uncover that breather hole.

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 17th, 2017, 14:03

The capital "O" in the middle of the sentence "Do not press On top cover" is a dead giveaway that the label is forged. Also the fact that it has a manufacture date of July 2006 which is long before any 2.5" 2Tb drives even existed.

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 17th, 2017, 16:31

I'm reminded of the stoning scene in "The Life of Brian" where men play the parts of women pretending to be men.

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 17th, 2017, 18:41

yes, i have been duped thank you. Question is can i use this as a 60gb or 80gb drive??

why would you want to?? If you are under resourced, and If you pay only shipping I will send you 5 320GB laptop drives.

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 19th, 2017, 3:09

HaQue wrote:
why would you want to?? If you are under resourced, and If you pay only shipping I will send you 5 320GB laptop drives.



Thanks for the offer haque :) ; but im not in need. 2 reasons for asking :-


- i still am not able to accept the fact that i've been tricked :lol:
- knowledge; if that can be done and how to.

and i take it that once the top cover is opened the drive should not be used for any purpose? I havent touched anything inside though.
Last edited by jetuaime81 on October 19th, 2017, 3:14, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Fake hdd drive; 80gb as 2TB

October 19th, 2017, 3:14

data-medics wrote:The capital "O" in the middle of the sentence "Do not press On top cover" is a dead giveaway that the label is forged. Also the fact that it has a manufacture date of July 2006 which is long before any 2.5" 2Tb drives even existed.



It was a lenovo external drive with sealed box . The casing is authentic 2TB there is noway i could have known when buying.

But thank you all for the help.
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