can the hdd health & performance be "rigged"?

Experiences with hard disks, SSDs, USB devices, hard disk controllers, motherboards and so.
protocell
Posts: 2
Joined: 2021.04.25. 21:08

can the hdd health & performance be "rigged"?

Post by protocell »

first things first, i do not own the pictures attached herewith. i got it from a random seller that just popped up in fb marketplace.

i just came across a facebook market listing for 2 units of 4tb HDD WD black. i was thinking of buying only 1 unit. as you can see on the actual pic of the HDDs, you can clearly say that it is used. it was also posted as "used-like new" but i am really skeptical with the pics. obviously, you would look the other pics which was the reports given by HDS for each drive and they are both accurate with the model numbers. the actual look of the drives really contradict the reports and the one on the right looks like it was splashed with some kind of liquid due to the outline of the HDD being visible behind the sticker especially if you consider the "power on time" vs the actual state in the pics. both drives look like they were beaten up/abused.

is there any way to rig these reports or did they do something to the drives to give such performance, health, and power on time that looks like they were out of the factory?

i'm kinda broke and i need storage right now so i'm settling with these kinds of postings. and i'm really not an expert on this that is why i'm asking for help cause i've seen so many similar listings of this kind on fb marketplace and i was hoping to use the info i will get here to guide me in further looking for HDD drives.

thank you very much for taking the time to read and any reply is greatly appreciated.
Attachments
this is what the report given by HDS for the HDD on the right
this is what the report given by HDS for the HDD on the right
167619454_4490644044297016_2252258131387140566_n.jpg (64.04 KiB) Viewed 3971 times
this is what the report given by HDS for the HDD on the left
this is what the report given by HDS for the HDD on the left
167157229_4490643890963698_3147011491514302436_n.jpg (63.42 KiB) Viewed 3971 times
this was what the actual HDD supposedly look like as photographed by the seller
this was what the actual HDD supposedly look like as photographed by the seller
166558612_4488049957889758_4754931796528095246_n.jpg (165.08 KiB) Viewed 3971 times
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hdsentinel
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Re: can the hdd health & performance be "rigged"?

Post by hdsentinel »

Of course any photo/image can be edited/manipulated by image editing software...

Generally the Report menu -> Save authentic report (HTML) function designed exactly for this purpose: to sell/buy used hard disk drives.
By using that function (by the seller) he can save an authentic report file about the complete status of the hard disk(s) which includes the current health, performance and all other values (power on time, temperature, complete self-monitoring data).

If he sends that report to you, you can use the Report menu -> Verify authentic disk report function to verify that the report is not edited/modified/altered (and you can also check the file in your web browser) to ensure the condition of the disk drive.

This can protect both parties (both who sells and buys the hard disk drive).
protocell
Posts: 2
Joined: 2021.04.25. 21:08

Re: can the hdd health & performance be "rigged"?

Post by protocell »

oh so the pics were rigged, not the drives... but regardless which is which, the authentic report function (this feature is really neat) will tell it all... again, sir thank you very very much for the response...
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