Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys EFG40 EtherFast 10/100 Instant GigaDrive (40G)

I was on my 3rd EFG40 device when it failed. Yes, I bought this product 1 year ago and Linksys has had to replace it twice already. Three strikes and you're out - this last failure (my third), Linksys decided to simply send me a check instead of replacing the device again. Glad to get my money back, I don't think I'll every buy a Linksys product again.

For those of you with similar problems - the problem is not with the hard drive itself. If you don't have a recent backup (I did not), simply take out the hard drive from the case and plug it into a linux machine using the IDE cable (don't forget to check the jumper settings). You can then retrieve all your data, pack it all back up, send it back to Linksys and get your money back - don't get another replacement device.

Extending previous reviews, I too have had a terrible experience with this product. I purchased the EFG40 1 year ago, having identical hardware and Linux middleware crashes within 2 months. To my chagrin, the first drive died with my entire 33 GB's worth of MP3s on it. The second drive that was cross-shipped via RMA failed within 1 month. This is an overpriced, "beta" piece of consumer hardware - use at your own risk and back up right away.

My drive died after 7 months. However, unlike the other person who reviewed this device, Linksys was responsive. They sent me a cross-ship RMA within two days. I filled out the form and FAXed it back. They then send a new drive, and I return the old one in the carton. I only pay for the ship back costs.

The warranty is for two years and they accept RMAs for the entire warranty period. As with all drives, sometimes they fail and you should make a backup occasionally. Failure to do so is not a Linksys issue.

I've been using Linksys products for several years now so first I've got to say that Linksys should not be your first choice for networking products if you are not at least a little experienced with computers and networking. Their technical support is substandard at best. You might get a tech on the phone in a minute or less who knows what he or she is doing, or you could be on hold for twenty five minutes only to get an answering machine that asks you to leave a brief message and your phone number; if you do your odds of getting a call back are less than 10%. I have been down this road many times with Linksys and have had both experiences with them so I don't think I'm exaggerating. I purchased this drive two months ago, I chose it over the Quantum SnapServer (I have a SnapServer which I've been running in my office and not once in three years has it given me a problem,) because all of the equipment I have for my home network was Linksys, so I figured, why not? The Gigadrive started acting up almost immediately, it would freeze up on me from time to time, forcing a hard shutdown and reboot, not a good thing for a network attached server. This went on for two months and three different tech support calls until one day it finally just stopped booting up, locking all my data inside it. (Four years of digital pictures...can you hear me crying out in anguish) I called Linksys and was told a tech from their department that deals with the Gigadrive would get back to me...so a week passes and I call Linksys again, this time a tech calls in less than five minutes. He does not have any suggestion about how to help me with getting my data off this defective Gigadrive other than taking it to a data recovery place or finding someone with a UNIX machine who can install the drive on their computer and try to retrieve the data, assuming the drive is still good. Both these options will void the warranty but it doesn't matter because Linksys will not take an RMA for the dive if it's over 30 days old anyway...What a nightmare. Needless to say I'm looking through the yellow pages right now for "Data Recovery Services" and going to the Quantum website to see what their latest offerings in SnapServers are.