How i tell/identify That my PC internal WD hard Drive is New , Not Refurbished...?

i want to know how i identifiy b/w New and Refurbished WD hard drives, is it possible to identify Refurbish hard drive from it’s Serial or is their any Other way to identifiy it… :confounded:

Hi refurbished drives do not come in a sealed antistatic bag they have a folded over bag with a sticker that should say in WD case anyway Refurbished. So WD does put refurbished on that sticker.

 Can we identify these refurbish drive from it’s SERIAL.??

Hi yes I imagine WD could search the Serial number and check on the drive. But there is no web site from WD that would allow you to be able to check the drive serial number yourself.

So it means only Packaging can tell us that is this a New drive or Refurbish. Am i Right?? 

i Thought that maybe WD uses somekind of secret numbers in it’s serial which tells that it’s an Refurbish drive …

Hi yes that is about the only way. Refurbished drives are all tested new ones they only test a few from each batch made. I had a 300 gig raptor replaced with a refurbished one and it is still running ok after 4 years.

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Hmm Right, I Got it… And Thanks For the Help… :smiley:

Remove the PCB and examine the date codes on the chips. Then compare these dates against the label.

For example, see this board:
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-14437584971410_2269_336392

Notice the “3709” on the PCB below pin #1 of the Samsung SDRAM. That’s telling you that the PCB was manufactured during the 37th week of 2009.

Now look at the markings on each of the chips:

Samsung SDRAM at location U2 - “940”
Marvell 88i9045 MCU at U5 - “0942”
SMOOTH chip at U1 - “0943”
Winbond “BIOS” IC at U12 - “0938”

The chip markings are date codes in YWW or YYWW (Year / Week) format. For example, the SMOOTH chip was manufactured during the 43rd week of 2009.