SMART in bad condition?

Perfect_Chaos · 12 Oct 2008 at 08:02

i just had this error pop up out of nowhere while in windows, also when i restarted it said that a failure is imminent on that screen where it detects ram/drives

what the hell? i havent had this drive for very long, and my other 2 WD's got bad sectors only a few months ago.

This is a 500gb WD drive, so if its dying then it is the 3rd one to go and in only a few months of being brand new! i am seriously getting annoyed at this.. looks like i need to buy a new bloody drive again well i am not getting a WD this time i am pretty certain of it

anybody have any suggestions?

RJC · 12 Oct 2008 at 09:27

Samsung, been using quite a few of these and all seem to be fine.

Perfect_Chaos · 12 Oct 2008 at 09:30

on SMART Disk information on WD Diagnostics it shows a red x on the side of Re-allocated Sector Count, Value 94 Threshold 140 and Worst is 94

Could anybody tell me what that means?.

is the drive critical or will it live? if not i need to buy a new one today, are seagate ok for speed? the seagates ive had in the past i dont think i had any problem with.

doc · 12 Oct 2008 at 09:47

Your drive has a certain amount of sectors in a reserve to move data to if a sector goes "bad".

Your drive has gone past the warning threshold, telling you that it has used up most of its reserve and it is getting low on spare sectors.

If you let the reserve run out, the drive will have nowhere else to put data from bad sectors and the data will simply be lost.

Long story short, if it is in warranty, test it with the appropriate manufacturers tools (as you have) and then RMA it. If its not in warranty, go and buy another drive

This explains it better than I can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Monitoring,_Analysis,_and_Reporting_Technology

Perfect_Chaos · 12 Oct 2008 at 09:51

Thanks for the info doc.

Well if i had sent back my other faulty drives i'd have been able to do a fresh installation of windows on the replacement but i still havent RMA'ed them.

Sending this drive back would mean waiting a week, or however long it takes to get a replacement. I'm going to have to get a new drive, knowing my luck this one wont last long but i cant be sure. Guess ill get a seagate.

Any idea how this happened anyway or is the drive just faulty?

doc · 12 Oct 2008 at 10:00

Just a thought, but you seem to be going through drives rapidly.....

Have you got them secured well in the case?

Have you got a spare PSU to run them off?

It just seems you are really unlucky or there is something else going on!

Perfect_Chaos · 12 Oct 2008 at 10:18

doc said:
Just a thought, but you seem to be going through drives rapidly.....

Have you got them secured well in the case?

Have you got a spare PSU to run them off?

It just seems you are really unlucky or there is something else going on!

not really secure at all it isnt screwed in if thats what you mean, but ive done this before and not had a problem :confused:

no spare PSU to run them off, i wouldnt have thought power would be much problem?

doc · 12 Oct 2008 at 23:26

Just trying to come up with an answer for you as to why you have so many drives fail....

One drive failure is not uncommon, two is bad luck, three is a bit odd.....

You might just be really unlucky, but something does not seem right.

Perfect_Chaos · 13 Oct 2008 at 00:31

it so happens that 1 of my WD's that failed was from the same shop that i got this 500gb one from now. The 74gb raptor that died was from ocuk.

So i have ordered a 500gb seagate sata 2 from ocuk with next day delivery so i should get it tuesday.

I cant really take any chances with this WD 500gb as it is, i suppose something could screw up sooner rather than later but who knows it could last a while yet, id rather not bother when these errors show up though tbh.

I dunno if i did wrong in going for a seagate, its just i cant remember having a problem with a seagate i had before and i still have it somewhere.. its either luck or they are more reliable drives.

wonko · 13 Oct 2008 at 11:13

Like doc I'm wondering if there could be a common cause for the failures. Overheating crossed my mind - what sort of operating temperatures are shown in the SMART data?
Whatever the cause I'd make sure I had a good backup of any important stuff!
Good luck

DrMekon · 25 Oct 2008 at 09:33

Sending this drive back would mean waiting a week, or however long it takes to get a replacement

WD do an express type repleacement, where you supply your card details as a security if you dont return the faulty drive, they send you a new one, and you return the faulty one to them in the box they provided...

http://websupport.wdc.com/warranty/rmainfo.asp?custtype=end&lang=en

We ship the replacement product to you first before receiving your defective product. You have 30 days to send us your defective product. A credit card is required to insure that WD receives the returned product within 30 days from the date on which the replacement product is shipped. Please see below for more details about the service: