WD My Book Extended Test error?

rre123 · 11-05-2009, 09:01 PM

A month ago, I had problem reading some data out of my WD My Book so I used the data lifeguard software to do an extended test and it failed because of too many bad sectors. I immediately requested an advance RMA for a replacement. My replacement just came today so I moved all of my data from my failed drive into the replacement.

Afterward, I tried to played around with the failed drive one more time by formatting it and then do another extended test. For some reason it passed O.o. I am wondering is this a sign that my drive was somehow fixed after I formatted it?

I noticed that my replacement drive was refurbished, but the enclosure was new. The drive inside had scratches as if someone was trying to jam the refurbished drive into the enclosure and sent it to me. The replacement drive seems to be a lot louder and it seems to shakes or vibrates a lot more than my other drive as I was doing an extended test.

I am wondering is it safe to just inform WD that my "failed" drive is now fixed and I should return the replacement drive? I am a little hesitant about keeping a refurbished drive =/

**raptor_pa** · 11-05-2009, 09:17 PM

Bad sectors are fixed by marking them bad and remapping them to spare sectors on the drive - they are never truely fixed. The problem is it is all but impossible without special hardware for testing to tell exactly what caused the sectors to be marked as bad. Heads, preamp, the headmap and other firmware modules, or the platter surface itself can cause bad sectors. Some bad sectors are normal, large numbers can indicate impending catastrophic failure.
A refurbed drive is a drive that was previously returned and has been repaired and recalibrated. It could be have ben for something simple, like corrupt firmware, burned PC, or a bit more complex like bad heads, preamp or spindle motor. The choice is basically a used drive that was repaired and recertified by the manufacturer, or keep a used drive that has failed once already for bad sectors, appears to be working now after running only a rudimentary command not designed to fix bad sectors, without knowing the true cause of those bad sectors. The call is yours, of course, but I would tend to put more stock in the refurbed drive.

rre123 · 11-06-2009, 12:00 AM

Should I be worried about noise level of my replacement drive right now? It is constantly making a loud humming noise. I can't really explain the sound, but it is in between a constant clicking and humming noise.

Dogg · 11-06-2009, 11:40 AM

Hard to say without actually hearing the sound. It could just be that the replacement drive is a different model and noisier than the other drive.

11-05-2009, 09:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
rre123 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12 OS: Vista	WD My Book Extended Test error? A month ago, I had problem reading some data out of my WD My Book so I used the data lifeguard software to do an extended test and it failed because of too many bad sectors. I immediately requested an advance RMA for a replacement. My replacement just came today so I moved all of my data from my failed drive into the replacement. Afterward, I tried to played around with the failed drive one more time by formatting it and then do another extended test. For some reason it passed O.o. I am wondering is this a sign that my drive was somehow fixed after I formatted it? I noticed that my replacement drive was refurbished, but the enclosure was new. The drive inside had scratches as if someone was trying to jam the refurbished drive into the enclosure and sent it to me. The replacement drive seems to be a lot louder and it seems to shakes or vibrates a lot more than my other drive as I was doing an extended test. I am wondering is it safe to just inform WD that my "failed" drive is now fixed and I should return the replacement drive? I am a little hesitant about keeping a refurbished drive =/

11-05-2009, 09:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,801 OS: XP	Re: WD My Book Extended Test error? Bad sectors are fixed by marking them bad and remapping them to spare sectors on the drive - they are never truely fixed. The problem is it is all but impossible without special hardware for testing to tell exactly what caused the sectors to be marked as bad. Heads, preamp, the headmap and other firmware modules, or the platter surface itself can cause bad sectors. Some bad sectors are normal, large numbers can indicate impending catastrophic failure. A refurbed drive is a drive that was previously returned and has been repaired and recalibrated. It could be have ben for something simple, like corrupt firmware, burned PC, or a bit more complex like bad heads, preamp or spindle motor. The choice is basically a used drive that was repaired and recertified by the manufacturer, or keep a used drive that has failed once already for bad sectors, appears to be working now after running only a rudimentary command not designed to fix bad sectors, without knowing the true cause of those bad sectors. The call is yours, of course, but I would tend to put more stock in the refurbed drive. __________________

11-06-2009, 12:00 AM	#3 (permalink)
rre123 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12 OS: Vista	Re: WD My Book Extended Test error? Should I be worried about noise level of my replacement drive right now? It is constantly making a loud humming noise. I can't really explain the sound, but it is in between a constant clicking and humming noise. Last edited by rre123; 11-06-2009 at 12:03 AM.

11-06-2009, 11:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
Dogg Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: St Louis, MO Posts: 1,973 OS: XP sp3	Re: WD My Book Extended Test error? Hard to say without actually hearing the sound. It could just be that the replacement drive is a different model and noisier than the other drive. __________________ Google is your friend !