[ubuntu-za] Seagate support for Ubuntu

[Charles Oertel]

Dear David

David Robert Lewis wrote:
> I purchased a Seagate Barracude 500GB SATA internal drive from Chaos 
> Computers last month and formatted it NTFS thinking this would be a safe 
> option.
>   

I presume you mean 'safe' as in easy to use on Windows machines and 
Linux, from a compatibility perspective?  I would not trust NTFS as a 
filesystem per se.  Also, since it is proprietary, and Microsoft has 
been less than forthcoming with the specs of the API, the linux support 
for writing to NTFS is not reliable.  (This may have changed, but even 
if it has it most probably is not yet completely bedded down).

> am now stuck with the problem of not 
> trusting the drive or the combination of the drive and Ubuntu. There is 
> absolutely no support for Ubuntu from Seagate,
>   

Was the problem a filesystem or a hardware error?  If hardware, don't 
trust the drive.  If filesystem, use ext3 or something we know is robust.

> How can I insure this doesn't happen again?

Don't use NTFS on Ubuntu.

> Should I take the drive back 
> to the shop?
>   

If there are hardware errors yes.  Get them to prove the drive is OK.

regards
Charles Oertel