Glad you are getting it worked out. I myself own the following drives currently all are in daily use, WD (74Gig 10,000RPM Raptor), Maxtor (1-30gig 1-40gig 2-80gig), Seagate (200gig), and a Hitachi (250gig bought 2 days ago :P ) I use to only buy Maxtor. Out of all the HD's I have had over the last 10 years I have only had one fail ever, maybe it is luck idk but my understanding is that life expectancy is supposedly up over past drives. The WD and the Hitachi are both SATA drives and to anyone wanting a nice fast drive without going SCSI I highly recommend the Raptor. It screams, I am considering adding a second one and doing a performance based raid layout. Not recommended for data security lol.
Anyways, I think as long as you go with a major brand you shouldn't have too many problems, and when possible don't buy OEM mainly because the warranty, usually only one year when normally you get 3.
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