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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Read the "WHAT IS NOT COVERED" section.
http://rescueandreplace.seagate.com/doc ... 010813.pdf

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Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

Yep, seen this a long time ago.

Could well be useful for some end-users, but there are quite a lot of exclusions (main ones being not business or education, or accidental damage including incorrect PSU attached etc...)....

[i]WHAT IS NOT COVERED: THIS SERVICE PLAN DOES NOT COVER ANY LOSS, REPAIRS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM
THE FOLLOWING, UNLESS OTHERWISE EXPLICITLY STATED BELOW:
(A) SERVICE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES, OR CANADA; (B) EQUIPMENT SOLD WITHOUT A
MANUFACTURER’S/RETAIL WARRANTY OR SOLD “AS IS;” (C) PRODUCTS USED FOR COMMERCIAL OR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
(MULTI‐USER ORGANIZATIONS); (D) MAINTENANCE, REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT NECESSITATED BY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING
FROM ANY CAUSE OTHER THAN NORMAL USE AND OPERATION OF THE EQUIPMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURER’S
SPECIFICATIONS AND OWNER’S MANUAL; INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: THEFT, EXPOSURE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS,
OPERATOR NEGLIGENCE, MISUSE, ABUSE, IMPROPER ELECTRICAL/POWER SUPPLY, ETC.; (E) UNAUTHORIZED REPAIRS, IMPROPER
INSTALLATION OR ATTACHMENTS OR TRANSPORTATION DAMAGE; (F) CHANGES OR ENHANCEMENTS IN COLOR, TEXTURE, FINISHING,
EXPANSION, CONTRACTION OR ANY COSMETIC DAMAGE TO YOUR EQUIPMENT, HOWEVER CAUSED; INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
TO SCRATCHES AND MARRING THAT DOES NOT AFFECT THE EQUIPMENT’S OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE; (G) LACK OF
MANUFACTURER SPECIFIED MAINTENANCE OR IMPROPER EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS; (H) PHYSICAL OR COSMETIC DAMAGE TO
YOUR EQUIPMENT DUE TO VANDALISM, ANIMAL OR INSECT INFESTATION, RUST, DUST, CORROSION, DEFECTIVE BATTERIES, BATTERY
LEAKAGE, OR ACTS OF NATURE OR ANY OTHER EXTERNAL PERIL ORIGINATING FROM OUTSIDE THE EQUIPMENT; (I) EQUIPMENT
USED IN INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS (EQUIPMENT USED IN INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS MAY BE DEFINED AS: ANY UTILIZATION OF EQUIPMENT
THAT IS INCONSISTENT WITH EITHER THE DESIGN OF THE EQUIPMENT OR THE WAY THE MANUFACTURER INTENDED THE
EQUIPMENT TO BE USED, OR ANY AND ALL CASES IN WHICH THE MANUFACTURER OF THE EQUIPMENT WOULD NOT HONOR ANY
WARRANTY REGARDING THE EQUIPMENT; (J) ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE (EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT COVERED UNDER “ADH COVERAGE”),
CRACKED OR DAMAGED DISPLAY SCREENS OR DAMAGE DUE TO WATER OR LIQUID MARKS AND/OR RINGS; (K) COMPONENTS NOT
CONTAINED WITH THE HOUSINGS OF THE COVERED EQUIPMENT; (L) PRE‐EXISTING CONDITIONS INCURRED OR KNOWN TO YOU
(“PRE‐EXISTING” MEANS A CONDITION THAT WITHIN ALL REASONABLE MECHANICAL OR ELECTRICAL PROBABILITY RELATES TO THE
MECHANICAL FITNESS OF YOUR COVERED PRODUCT PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF THIS SERVICE AGREEMENT); (M) SERVICE NECESSARY
BECAUSE OF IMPROPER STORAGE, IMPROPER VENTILATION, RECONFIGURATION OF EQUIPMENT OR IMPROPER USE OR MOVEMENT
OF THE EQUIPMENT; INCLUDING THE FAILURE TO PLACE THE EQUIPMENT IN AN AREA THAT COMPLIES WITH THE MANUFACTURER’S
AMT‐SGT‐HD (09/12) 4
PUBLISHED SPACE OR ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS; (N) ANY UTILIZATION OF EQUIPMENT THAT IS INCONSISTENT WITH EITHER
THE DESIGN OF THE EQUIPMENT OR THE WAY THE MANUFACTURER INTENDED THE EQUIPMENT TO BE USED; (O) ANY
INSTALLATION THAT PREVENTS NORMAL SERVICE; (P) ANY AND ALL CASES IN WHICH THE MANUFACTURER OF THE EQUIPMENT
WOULD NOT HONOR ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE EQUIPMENT; (Q) YOUR FAILURE TO USE REASONABLE MEANS TO PROTECT
YOUR EQUIPMENT FROM FURTHER DAMAGE AFTER A SUSPECTED FAILURE HAS OCCURRED; (R) CONSUMABLES SUCH AS BATTERIES,
BULBS, POWER CORDS, ETC.; (S) EQUIPMENT WITH REMOVED OR ALTERED SERIAL NUMBERS; (T) REPAIRS RECOMMENDED BY A
REPAIR FACILITY NOT NECESSITATED BY A FAILURE, AS DEFINED, OF THE EQUIPMENT; (U) ANY REPAIR THAT IS A RESULT OF INWARRANTY
PARTS NOT BEING PROVIDED OR SHIPPED BY THE MANUFACTURER; (V) DAMAGE OR FAILURES, SYSTEMS OR
COMPONENT(S) WHICH ARE COVERED BY MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY, MANUFACTURER’S RECALL OR FACTORY BULLETINS,
INSURANCE OR ANOTHER SERVICE CONTRACT; (W) CLEANING, PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, OR CUSTOMER EDUCATION EXPENSES
RELATED TO THE EQUIPMENT, OR ANY RESULTANT DAMAGE CAUSED BY SUCH; (X) SERVICE REQUIRED AS A RESULT OF ANY
ALTERATION OF THE EQUIPMENT, OR REPAIRS MADE BY ANYONE OTHER THAN A SERVICER AUTHORIZED BY US, OR THE USE OF
SUPPLIES OTHER THAN THOSE RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER; (Y) CHARGES RELATED TO “NO PROBLEM FOUND”
DIAGNOSIS, NON‐FAILURE PROBLEMS; INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: NOISES, SQUEAKS AND OTHER SIMILAR INTERMITTENT
ISSUES ARE NOT FAILURES (AS DEFINED); (Z) PUBLIC RENTAL EQUIPMENT OR PRODUCTS USED IN COMMUNAL SETTINGS (USE OF A
PRODUCT FOR THESE PURPOSES WILL CAUSE THIS SERVICE PLAN TO PROVIDE NO COVERAGE); (AA) DAMAGE CAUSED BY COLLISION
WITH ANOTHER OBJECT (EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT COVERED UNDER “ADH COVERAGE”); (AB) LIABILITY OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, OR
INJURY OR DEATH TO ANY PERSON ARISING OUT OF THE OPERATION, MAINTENANCE OR USE OF THE EQUIPMENT; (AC) EXPENSES
INCURRED FROM THE DISMANTLING OR REINSTALLATION OF FIXED INFRASTRUCTURE WHEN REMOVING OR RETURNING REPAIRED
OR REPLACED EQUIPMENT INTO A CUSTOM INSTALLATION; (AD) PERSONAL DATA (EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT COVERED UNDER “DRS
COVERAGE”); OR (AE) ANY COST ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMOVAL OR INSTALLATION OF EQUIPMENT.[/i]

Don't mean to piss on your bonfire, but I suspect that they'll try and worm out of every case they can and then try and charge you top dollar

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

Beat me to it!!

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

It's an insurance policy; they are simply playing the odds.

However, media damage is one way in which Seagate drives fail. The company is sure to have some fun after they tell a nasty lawyer or two their data can't be recovered.

Is there an inherent conflict of interest for a drive manufacturer to also profit from their product's failure?

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http://www.datasaversllc.com

+1 jono-ats

What I'd like to know is, if Seagate deems that data are irrecoverable, and if the owner then engages another DR firm (eg Kroll OnTrack) who are able to recover the data, would Seagate be liable to pay for the recovery?

What if there are no recovery methods known to the industry today, and a new method subsequently becomes available one year in the future? Could a person resubmit their claim?

What if a person were to forget their SmartWare password? Would Seagate be obliged to recover their data, even if they didn't know how, if it could be demonstrated that someone else could do it?

How does Seagate profit from this arrangement? Does Seagate make money selling premiums, or does Seagate make money from the recoveries, or both?

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

It's quicker to know what is covered
About the rest, better have something more interesting and - most important! - PAID to think about...

You probably have better odds getting hit by lightening than Seagate accepting your failed drive. If anyone wants to send me $29 to $59 I would gladly send them a denial email.

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Buy your friends Toshiba\Hitachi and your enemies Seagate.

In that case I am lucky : lightning coefficient in my area has doubled in the last observation period. Just seen an updated chart ...

ISTM that someone who would insure against the cost of DR would also be acutely aware of the necessity for a robust backup regime. This begs the question, would anyone buy an insurance policy as a substitute for a backup plan? Conversely, how many people who have a robust backup plan would reckon they needed the additional peace of mind provided by an insurance policy?

ISTM that the takeup for Seagate Rescue will probably be very small. Then again, if it does succeed, then it will probably put pressure on WD to do likewise. In fact I wonder if the "nearly" in "nearly any brand of internal or external hard disk drive" includes WD. It would be interesting to ask this question in both the Seagate and WD forums.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Accidental damage due to a fall is covered. The "incorrect PSU" exclusion will probably annoy a lot of people, as it is a common accident, especially with laptop power supplies. Strangely, Seagate will accept a drive for warranty replacement under those same circumstances.

Most of the other exclusions are somewhat exotic, along the lines of "we won't cover your drive if you have thrown it against a brick wall or driven over it with your 4WD", or "we won't provide remote recovery if you are located in a space station orbiting Mars".

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Insurance is a very simple idea.

The insurer hopes that the amount of money paid in premiums is less than what they pay out. Sometimes the terms are far away from the general consumers idea of insuring against something.

(premium$ - payout$) = Profit$

There are 2 places the Insurer can control the Profit. Getting more subscribers to increase the Premium$, and reducing payout$.

With more Premiums coming in the chance of a payout is increased, so they need to reduce payouts somehow, while still giving a service. obviously most of the customer doing irresponsible things should go, and then they must add in other terms to limit it. Many times the wording looks like they could get out of anything, such as a brand new drive turning into a bat and flying away, but I have seen a lot of insurance related claims where they company actually paid, and in some cases when they really didn't need to.

When my younger brother passed, my mother was in arrears for insurance for 6 months. They honoured the insurance and also waived the 6 months.

A friend had a Samsung fridge and the motor went. the motor was under warranty, but the rest wasn't. They got a brand new fridge.

Sometimes it goes the opposite way.

A car smashed through our shed and destroyed everything in it. we had vases and wedding supplies for the business and we were told to write down every single item. most of the stuff was valued very low and was explained that as the stuff wasn't new, and there was no hope replacing it at a similar quality, the amount worked out was so low it ended up costing us thousands and took 9 months and many fury powered phone calls.

I was wondering about that one though are we sure it is covered as the terms state....
Surely any insurance company will use that one as a get out for any dropped device which requires very expensive repair in order to recover the data. How would one prove it was an accident rather than negligence?

See also "MISUSE, ABUSE".

Vague enough for ST to wriggle out of a claim.

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It is extremely widespread notion that insurance companies try to wriggle out of claims due to fine print.

But to be honest, I haven't seen it happen a great deal, and when it has, yes the clauses were there, and you can say that it sucks but they were in fact sticking to the contract.

I don't "like" big financial corporations, but they do stick to the contracts usually. I have personally had dealings with insurance around 1/2 dozen times. My biggest complaint is how long it takes, and really only 2 times I though I should have "got more".

Insuring damage to hard disks is not something I would like to be doing, People in the long run only care about getting there data back and I don't see any increase in that happening.

Seagate's and WD's forums are full of accidents of that kind. In fact Seagate accepts warranty claims for external drives where the "USB connector [has been] pushed inside the housing/casing", so ISTM that Seagate is prepared to interpret "negligence" in the customer's favour.

http://www.seagate.com/support/warranty ... checklist/

As for the exclusions in respect of "cosmetic damage" alluded to by pcimage, these are entirely reasonable when you examine the actual policy wording.

Essentially Seagate makes three undertakings, namely to ...

(1) repair or replace a failed/damaged drive

(2) recover the data on the drive

(3) allow for accidental damage due to handling

Drives with minor cosmetic damage that does not impair their functionality will not be considered to be "damaged". Therefore, in the case of a drive that has a logical problem but no physical fault (other than superficial dents or scratches), Seagate will recover the data and return the original drive. At least that's how I understand it.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

What a dis-service to computer users everywhere. I see a few things that STINK!

1. False Security: Let’s start by looking at the basic concept of data protection and what Seagate is offering. While called a data protection plan, there really is no plan to protect your data! The plan is once your data is damaged or lost Seagate will see IF they can recover it. The fact that it may not be recoverable is buried in the terms and conditions. Many people will miss this important point buried in the fine print and walk away with a false sense of security that their data is safe. In fact many will feel they can bypass backing up their data as a result and this is the real danger. People WILL lose their data.
2. Oops we can’t help you, here's your money back: Seagate takes your money to protect your data. Then when the time comes to perform and it's discovered they can’t recover your data and it’s permanently lost, they simply refund you initial premium. With most insurance policies if they cannot fix your car, they pay you its value. What’s the value of your data? Imagine you’re in a car accident and your insurance company decided to return your premiums versus fixing your car. To add further insult onto injury, some of the retailers of the plan, reserve the right to refund your plan fee in the form of a Gift Card. Yippy!
3. Are you getting the best effort: To attempt to recover the data on a 3TB external drive that's been dropped (most common fault with externals) will require 1, 2 or even more new parts drives and a week or more of computer time to image the drive. And the damage can often be so severe that any new parts installed are almost instantly destroyed, making recovery near impossible. I believe a technician will do a quick evaluation on a drive in this condition and declare it unrecoverable and simply refund the money versus spending hundreds of dollars on parts and huge chunk of their time for a chance to recover the data
What incentive is there for the data recovery company to spend money and try to recover your data? Now if there was a huge refund of $1,000 or 10,000 dollars if they couldn’t recover the data, then I would believe they would some incentive to recover the data. For this reason, I believe that an independent data recovery service will try much harder and be more successful in recovering your data because they have a huge incentive as they won’t get paid unless they are successful.
4. Too Expensive: For approximately $90 I can buy a 2TB hard drive today. To add this data recovery protection will cost me double. Personally this plan is way to expensive for what you get.

With that kind of incentive, users would be intentionally trashing their drives in droves.

And who is to say how much a person's data is worth?

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A backup a day keeps DR away.