reducing capacity for marketing reasons?

[bealoid]

I saw this link on another group:
http://blog.atola.com/restoring-factory-hard-drive-capacity/

The page contains this quote:

Some manufacturers (for example, Dell and HP) use DCO to reduce capacity
for marketing needs. Example: they need to ship 1000000 computers with 40GB
hard drives, but they only have 80GB drives in stock. They will use their
own DCO tools to lock capacity to 40GB.
[end quote]

Is this true? Has anyone ever seen this in the wild? Why do they do it;
why wouldn't they just ship the bigger drive as a bigger drive?

 

[Arno Wagner]

I saw this link on another group:
http://blog.atola.com/restoring-factory-hard-drive-capacity/

The page contains this quote:

Some manufacturers (for example, Dell and HP) use DCO to reduce capacity
for marketing needs. Example: they need to ship 1000000 computers with 40GB
hard drives, but they only have 80GB drives in stock. They will use their
own DCO tools to lock capacity to 40GB.
[end quote]

Is this true? Has anyone ever seen this in the wild? Why do they do it;
why wouldn't they just ship the bigger drive as a bigger drive?

Simple: Customers would expect it. This is being done in for
other components as well. For example CPUs are often labeled
as slower, when the market wants slower and the yield is better
for faster. This is were the sometimes insane overclocking potential
comes from. (Though overclockng is a risky business. You may
damage CPU and your data....)

Arno

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

I saw this link on another group:
http://blog.atola.com/restoring-factory-hard-drive-capacity/

The page contains this quote:

Some manufacturers (for example, Dell and HP) use DCO to reduce capacity
for marketing needs. Example: they need to ship 1,000,000 computers with 40GB
hard drives, but they only have 80GB drives in stock. They will use their
own DCO tools to lock capacity to 40GB.
[end quote]

Is this true? Has anyone ever seen this in the wild? Why do they do it;

why wouldn't they just ship the bigger drive as a bigger drive?

Oh, don't know, maybe because:
"they need to ship 1000000 computers with 40GB hard drives".
Could that be it? Just a lucky guess.

Somehow a computer with a 80GB hard drive doesn't strike me as a computer
"with a 40GB hard drive".

 

[Odie Ferrous]

I saw this link on another group:
http://blog.atola.com/restoring-factory-hard-drive-capacity/

The page contains this quote:

Some manufacturers (for example, Dell and HP) use DCO to reduce capacity
for marketing needs. Example: they need to ship 1000000 computers with 40GB
hard drives, but they only have 80GB drives in stock. They will use their
own DCO tools to lock capacity to 40GB.
[end quote]

Is this true? Has anyone ever seen this in the wild? Why do they do it;
why wouldn't they just ship the bigger drive as a bigger drive?

I see this fairly regularly.

For example, a 60GB drive coming in for recovery.

On opening it, there are signs of it being a 120GB drive.

If remanufactured, chances are the bad heads have been disabled and the
drive has been recut to 60GB. If not remanufactured, what you are
saying is true.

I did hear about this practice some years ago.


Odie

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

I saw this link on another group:
http://blog.atola.com/restoring-factory-hard-drive-capacity/

The page contains this quote:

Some manufacturers (for example, Dell and HP) use DCO to reduce capacity
for marketing needs. Example: they need to ship 1000000 computers with 40GB
hard drives, but they only have 80GB drives in stock. They will use their
own DCO tools to lock capacity to 40GB.
[end quote]

Is this true? Has anyone ever seen this in the wild? Why do they do it;
why wouldn't they just ship the bigger drive as a bigger drive?

I see this fairly regularly.

And what is "this" exactly, Odoriferous?

For example, a 60GB drive coming in for recovery.

On opening it, there are signs of it being a 120GB drive.

Signs, Odoriferous?
It's rather blatantly obvious by the number of platters or
there are no indications at all (except for maybe the label).

If remanufactured,

1,000,000 bad drives, easy to find.

chances are the bad heads have been disabled and the
drive has been recut to 60GB.

Not possible without a new Low Level Format
and on some drive-makes even new firmware.

If not remanufactured, what you are saying is true.

And 'what' is that exactly?

I did hear about this practice some years ago.

And what practice is that exactly?
The broken drive reformat practice that he never mentioned or the
HPA/DCO practice?

HPA/DCO is fairly common for warranty replacements when the ori-
ginal drive type and/or capacity is not available from stock anymore.

No OEM has a million drives of wrong capacity in stock.
However, if an order can be filled on time by reconfiguring a few
larger drives from stock to replace the few that they come short ...

 

[Odie Ferrous]

Folkert Rienstra wrote:

<the usual>

Perhaps once you've gained a little more experience in the field, you'll
begin to understand my comments.


Odie