Will power supply companies refund burned HDDs?

[ballerslife]

Bought a $60 PSU (gold rated, antec) and it burned out 4 HDDs. Don't know if it is motherboard voltage regulation problem or PSU problem. Went to microcenter (where I bought mobo) and they said a motherboard will NEVER burn out a HDD. 1000% it is PSU. So guys, will antec replace my HDDs? (It was new one, under warranty).

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Define burned out?

Antec is usually a pretty good brand, so I'm not sure what went wrong. It's quite unusual for the PSU to fail to high voltage, which is what would be needed. They'll probably want it back for testing before they give you any money, though I doubt that the warranty includes replacing other damaged devices.

Motherboard probably can, if it gets short circuited just right.

 

[Amar Tsogtoo]

Maybe if you can make a compelling case, but i think they will try their hardest to not pay you seeing as most companies want to make as money as possible.

 

[Tom Tancredi]

Have a lawyer? Have $10K to hire a 'power and component expert' to provide testimony that absolutely it is confirmed that the PSU caused the HDD failures? Ready to wait 10 or more years in litigation to get the money back for the drives, as no one ever is liable for data loss (except businesses)?

Really just because 'you' say the PSU caused it doesn't mean squat. You got proof positive evidence the PSU caused it, and not because you OC the board, not because you hooked it to a faulty electrical outlet, or that your local power grid on the days in question overloaded the lines trying to compensate for lower voltage in another neighborhood, and so on and so on.. Well you get the idea, any thing can be the culprit and just on YOUR SAY SO they are to blame NO they won't.

 

[Greybush]

The only way to find out for sure is to get in contact with them.

 

[ballerslife]

Define burned out?

Antec is usually a pretty good brand, so I'm not sure what went wrong. It's quite unusual for the PSU to fail to high voltage, which is what would be needed. They'll probably want it back for testing before they give you any money, though I doubt that the warranty includes replacing other damaged devices.

Motherboard probably can, if it gets short circuited just right.

It was smoking. There is a burn mark in every HDD. Smoke detector went off. That type of burned out.

How would a short-circuited motherboard deregulate power?

 

[dustinhunt78]

Don't kill the messenger, but read this......

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tomshardware.com%2Fanswers%2Fid-1658259%2Fpsu-damages-components-warrenty-cover.html&ei=liAlU5GnJ7K60AGVqIHoCQ&usg=AFQjCNH-iKc0qE6ra6q3A6yRAKZhc8z_aQ&bvm=bv.62922401,d.dmQ

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Depends - their reputation could be worth more than a couple of cheap SATA drives.

I doubt the warranty covers it, though. Claim it out of insurance, and they might chase Antec.

IV. Exclusion Of Damages
Antec's sole obligation and liability under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement of a defective product at our option. Antec shall not, in any event, be liable for any incidental or consequential damage, including but not limited to damages resulting from interruption of service and loss of business, or for liability in tort relating to this product or resulting from its use or possession.

 

[dariens007]

from antec's warranty policy:

IV. Exclusion Of Damages
Antec's sole obligation and liability under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement of a defective product at our option. Antec shall not, in any event, be liable for any incidental or consequential damage, including but not limited to damages resulting from interruption of service and loss of business, or for liability in tort relating to this product or resulting from its use or possession.

it doesn't sound like they will rplace your harddrive as it kinda means they aren't liable for loses incurred, you losing your hdd's, but you could always give them a call for clarification

 

[dariens007]

and for future make SURE you backup your data as always, but that is really unsual for antec power supply to burn out a hdd they are quality. did you have electriciy problems also? or maybe something isn't ground correctly in your case? sounds really unusual

 

[ballerslife]

But is microcenter right? What if the transistor or something messed up. This was a open-box mobo that was tested by experts for 100% assurance of quality. It had the wrong manual. They gave me some flak about motherboard having "routing options" that if the power voltage "was too much they would not route the power to the specific component".

 

[smorizio]

first off the first check you need to do is with a volt meter and check the power supply outputs. also check that they antec did not miss wire the sata cables and the power and ground wires are on the right pins. for getting the money back for the drives is simple but it take a little leg work from you. first off get a file folder and take photos of the drives and all the rma info of the drives and any info for the power supply. have someone load test the unit and show that the unit is out of atx voltage spec. send the info to atec customer relation dept. ask for the regional manager or the vp or president of customer service. most times theres a compnay listing for these people. send them an email and a register letter. word it nicly that you found this power supply to be very defective. all you want is a new unit and the replacement cost of x about of killed drives that cant be rma due to physical damage. it the people that try to screw compines that they try and make these long you cant sue us warranties. if the product is a lemon then most tort law comes into play saying the vendor has to make you whole. most states to use tort or lemon laws all you need do is file a small claims case. most fees are under 100.00. there no lawyers involved just you and the vendor. in small claims have every thing from a-z that you think you might need and be resalable most of these judges know when your trying to pull a fast one.
you will need to rule out human error...cut a cable...pinch it or snap the sata plugs pushing in to hard.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Motherboard doesn't supply power to the HDDs - data only. However, a short circuit on the board could put 12V down a data line, which would fry them. Weird for it to happen to every drive, though.

Can you post a pic of where on the drive the smoked chip is?