On Apr 8, 12:11*am, Franc Zabkar wrote:
I came across a reference to this Russian forum thread in a WDC forum:http://maccentre.ru/board/viewtopic....70953&start=15

Here is Google's translator:http://translate.google.com/translate_t?sl=ru&tl=en

The thread discusses oxidisation of contact pads in current Seagate
and Western Digital hard drives. The drives were used in typical
office and home environments, and are about a year old. The thread has
several detailed photos. All except the older tinned PCB appear to
show evidence of serious corrosion.

Is this the fallout from RoHS?

Maybe not. There are other known culprits, like the drywall (gypsum
board,
sheetrock... whatever it's called in your region) that outgasses
hydrogen
sulphide. Some US construction of a few years ago is so bad with
this
toxic and corrosive gas emission that demolition of nearly-new
construction
is called for.

Corrosion of nearby copper is one of the symptoms of the nasty
product.