Question Used 2.5" HDDs on AliExpress ?

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cloudff7ps1

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On AliExpress they sell used HDDS as if they were new. They show good health and a few hours of use on CrystalDiskInfo. What do they change to show this?

Do they also remove or change important 2.5" HDD functions like power management and other "features"?
 
On Aliexpress they sell used HDDS as if they were new they show good health and few hours of use on Crystal Disk Info what do they change to show this?

Do they also remove or change important 2.5" HDD functions like power management and other "features"?
Disk firmware can always be updated/upgraded to show nominal values so it looks like new, disks even if sold "as new" are not to be trusted. There are other types of "used like new", "refurbished" or "factory refurbished" in which case you can never know how and how long they were used. They could be just legitimate returns because somebody changed their mind or well used up and errors hidden by new firmware. It's up to you to accept or reject risks.
 
When I upgraded a 10,000rpm Velociraptor HDD's firmware to later genuine factory firmware, the SMART power-on hours were reset from 13 years' continuous uptime to zero hours.

It would be very unlikely for any seller to only modify features in the firmware, as if they were going to go through that much trouble they would instead flash a fake capacity one and print a different label to sell the drive for more. They flash a newer firmware just to reset the counters so the drive appears almost new + can be sold for more. How much more could they make by disabling parking on the off chance that cloudff7ps1 might buy it?

You seem awfully concerned about reliability yet shop for used HDDs on Aliexpress...
 
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Yes, I bought a 2.5" HDD inside a Kesu case, model 2530, just for archiving.

I know they are used because most 2.5" HDDs sold on Aliexpress have changes that mask the hours of use and health. When you open Crystal DiskInfo, you can see a few hours of use and good health.

But do they go deeper into the firmware and change or remove features, functions, and power management that are original from the manufacturer?
 
Yes, I bought a 2.5" HDD inside a Kesu case, model 2530, just for archiving.

I know they are used because most 2.5" HDDs sold on Aliexpress have changes that mask the hours of use and health. When you open Crystal DiskInfo, you can see a few hours of use and good health.

But do they go deeper into the firmware and change or remove features, functions, and power management that are original from the manufacturer?
I doubt they would change features just for the sake of it but all depends on firmware flashed in, I have one SATA SSD by Kingston in which firmware went crazy, so I found FW that would work on it but now it reads a HP drive. There are FW editing tools too. If and what anybody did to particular drive you can find only if you compare with original.
 
All 2.5" or 3.5" HDDs used and sold on Aliexpress, do they change hours of use, health and other attributes and also modify or remove ou disable functions of the original firmware such as power management and other features?
 
All 2.5" or 3.5" HDDs used and sold on Aliexpress, do they change hours of use, health and other attributes and also modify or remove ou disable functions of the original firmware such as power management and other features?
If you're that paranoid about it then simply stay away from Aliexpress. You've gone on long enough about this, give it a rest.
 
All 2.5" or 3.5" HDDs used and sold on Ali express, do they change hours of use, health and other attributes and also modify or remove ou disable functions of the original firmware such as power management and other features?
They might or might not, I don't think Ali express would bother even checking them, it's like 0.000000001% of their business.
 
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