Sense Checking - My First Bad Disk

[dvd-boy]

Apologies if this repeats information given in other topics, I've been reading lot's of posts here, and I just want to make sure I've taken all the necessary steps.

I'm running FreeNAS-9.10.2-U4 (27ae72978) with 10x6TB Red Pro in a RAIDZ2 (currently 20% Full), and I have the following critical warnings:

• CRITICAL: May 28, 2017, 12:08 p.m. - Device: /dev/ada0, 4848 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors
• CRITICAL: May 28, 2017, 12:08 p.m. - Device: /dev/ada0, 255 Offline uncorrectable sectors
• CRITICAL: May 28, 2017, 12:39 p.m. - Device: /dev/ada0, Self-Test Log error count increased from 1 to 2

Having just completed a long self test, the results are as follows:

Code:

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME		  FLAG	 VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE	  UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate	 0x000b   086   086   016	Pre-fail  Always	   -	   4980812
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   135   135   054	Pre-fail  Offline	  -	   112
  3 Spin_Up_Time			0x0007   137   137   024	Pre-fail  Always	   -	   463 (Average 500)
  4 Start_Stop_Count		0x0012   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   32
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   005	Pre-fail  Always	   -	   0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate		 0x000b   100   100   067	Pre-fail  Always	   -	   0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   140   140   020	Pre-fail  Offline	  -	   15
  9 Power_On_Hours		  0x0012   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   3868
 10 Spin_Retry_Count		0x0013   100   100   060	Pre-fail  Always	   -	   0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count	   0x0032   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   32
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   189
193 Load_Cycle_Count		0x0012   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   189
194 Temperature_Celsius	 0x0002   162   162   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   37 (Min/Max 21/59)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0022   100   100   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   6200
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0008   100   100   000	Old_age   Offline	  -	   378
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count	0x000a   200   200   000	Old_age   Always	   -	   0

Given that the drive has been in service for less than 6 months, I think I've been a little bit unlucky. I've submitted a support ticket to Western Digital, and to be safe, I've ordered an additional 6TB Red Pro to have on hand as a spare.

1. Is there anything else I should be doing at this time?
2. Is it safe to keep using the system - I think so, given the RAID isn't reporting as Degraded, but I'd like a second opinion.
3. When it comes to replacing the disk I should follow these instructions - Replace a disk

I have also got my system set up as per cyberjock's instructions - Here

Many Thanks for any help and advice.

Matt

 

[Dice]

2. Technically yes. If it was me, I'd not do it.
3. You should always reference the documentation when finding guides to avoid accepting horrible advice. (did not quality control the linked post).
http://doc.freenas.org/9.10/storage.html?highlight=replace disk#replacing-a-failed-drive

 

[danb35]

Is there anything else I should be doing at this time?

Once the replacement arrives, burn it in before adding it to the system.

Is it safe to keep using the system

Absolutely.

When it comes to replacing the disk I should follow these instructions - Replace a disk

No, follow the manual's instructions.

 

[dvd-boy]

Thanks Dice / Danb35,

The manual instructions make sense on disk replacement. Once the new drive turns up, I'll go through the 'offline-replace-online-resilver' process. I don't have any spare SATA ports on my motherboard, so it will have to be a straight swap.

Danb35, with regards to the drive burn in, when I was building the server, I did the burn in process on the FreeNAS box before creating the volume. Will there be anything stopping me doing the following:

1. Offline the drive within the Volume Status screen.
2. Shutdwon the system and replace the disk.
3. When the system reboots, identify the disk - should it automatically be recognised as the 'new' ADA0? - and then from the shell perform my burn in process as described here - [How To] Hard Drive Burn-In Testing
4. If the drive is 'bad', obviously don't hit the 'Replace' button.

Is that safest, or should I do the burn in on a separate system to the NAS?

Matt

 

[Stux]

That's what you can do. If the disk fails the burn in, you can go back to the previous drive and online it.

A failing disk provides more redundancy than no disk.

 

[joeschmuck]

If it were me, I'd burn in the replacement drive either on a separate system or I'd power off my FreeNAS system, disconnect all the hard drives and your boot device if it's USB Flash, attach the replacement drive, boot up FreeBSD live, and run bad_blocks on the drive. This ensures you don't accidentally erase a perfectly good hard drive. If the burn-in goes well then you remove the replacement drive, reconnect your system, boot it up and ensure it still works, then follow the drive replacement instructions. But that is just me.


EDIT:
@dvd-boy Would you please post the entire output of smartctl -x /dev/ada0 as I'm curious on what a WD Red Pro reports and curious about your temps and any other data.

 

[dvd-boy]

EDIT:
@dvd-boy Would you please post the entire output of smartctl -x /dev/ada0 as I'm curious on what a WD Red Pro reports and curious about your temps and any other data.

Hi Joe,

Sorry for the delay, I've had the machine powered down for the last couple of weeks waiting on the new drive to show up. I was also getting some temp warnings, so I went and ordered three additional fans - 1 side and 2 for the top of my fractal R5 case. I already had the 2 x front drawing in air, and 1 back blowing air.

Anyway, here is the output you asked for:

Code:

smartctl -x /dev/ada0
smartctl 6.5 2016-05-07 r4318 [FreeBSD 10.3-STABLE amd64] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-16, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model:	 WDC WD6002FFWX-68TZ4N0
Serial Number:	NCH9WMLS
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000cca 24dd29692
Firmware Version: 83.H0A83
User Capacity:	6,001,175,126,016 bytes [6.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:	 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:	7200 rpm
Form Factor:	  3.5 inches
Device is:		Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is:   ACS-2, ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:	Sat Jun 10 18:53:23 2017 BST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
AAM feature is:   Unavailable
APM feature is:   Disabled
Rd look-ahead is: Enabled
Write cache is:   Enabled
ATA Security is:  Disabled, NOT FROZEN [SEC1]
Wt Cache Reorder: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x80) Offline data collection activity
										was never started.
										Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:	  (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
										without error or no self-test has ever
										been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection:				(  113) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:					(0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
										Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
										Suspend Offline collection upon new
										command.
										Offline surface scan supported.
										Self-test supported.
										No Conveyance Self-test supported.
										Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:			(0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
										power-saving mode.
										Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:		(0x01) Error logging supported.
										General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time:		(   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:		( 713) minutes.
SCT capabilities:			  (0x003d) SCT Status supported.
										SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
										SCT Feature Control supported.
										SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME		  FLAGS	VALUE WORST THRESH FAIL RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate	 PO-R--   100   100   016	-	0
  2 Throughput_Performance  P-S---   135   135   054	-	112
  3 Spin_Up_Time			POS---   137   137   024	-	463 (Average 500)
  4 Start_Stop_Count		-O--C-   100   100   000	-	33
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   PO--CK   100   100   005	-	0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate		 PO-R--   100   100   067	-	0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   P-S---   140   140   020	-	15
  9 Power_On_Hours		  -O--C-   100   100   000	-	3887
10 Spin_Retry_Count		PO--C-   100   100   060	-	0
12 Power_Cycle_Count	   -O--CK   100   100   000	-	33
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count -O--CK   100   100   000	-	191
193 Load_Cycle_Count		-O--C-   100   100   000	-	191
194 Temperature_Celsius	 -O----   171   171   000	-	35 (Min/Max 21/59)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count -O--CK   100   100   000	-	0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  -O---K   100   100   000	-	8544
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   ---R--   100   100   000	-	594
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count	-O-R--   200   200   000	-	0
							||||||_ K auto-keep
							|||||__ C event count
							||||___ R error rate
							|||____ S speed/performance
							||_____ O updated online
							|______ P prefailure warning

General Purpose Log Directory Version 1
SMART		   Log Directory Version 1 [multi-sector log support]
Address	Access  R/W   Size  Description
0x00	   GPL,SL  R/O	  1  Log Directory
0x01		   SL  R/O	  1  Summary SMART error log
0x02		   SL  R/O	  1  Comprehensive SMART error log
0x03	   GPL	 R/O	  1  Ext. Comprehensive SMART error log
0x04	   GPL,SL  R/O	  8  Device Statistics log
0x06		   SL  R/O	  1  SMART self-test log
0x07	   GPL	 R/O	  1  Extended self-test log
0x08	   GPL	 R/O	  2  Power Conditions log
0x09		   SL  R/W	  1  Selective self-test log
0x10	   GPL	 R/O	  1  SATA NCQ Queued Error log
0x11	   GPL	 R/O	  1  SATA Phy Event Counters log
0x12	   GPL	 R/O	  1  SATA NCQ NON-DATA log
0x15	   GPL,SL  R/W	  1  SATA Rebuild Assist log
0x21	   GPL	 R/O	  1  Write stream error log
0x22	   GPL	 R/O	  1  Read stream error log
0x24	   GPL	 R/O	256  Current Device Internal Status Data log
0x25	   GPL	 R/O	256  Saved Device Internal Status Data log
0x30	   GPL,SL  R/O	  9  IDENTIFY DEVICE data log
0x80-0x9f  GPL,SL  R/W	 16  Host vendor specific log
0xe0	   GPL,SL  R/W	  1  SCT Command/Status
0xe1	   GPL,SL  R/W	  1  SCT Data Transfer

SMART Extended Comprehensive Error Log Version: 1 (1 sectors)
No Errors Logged

SMART Extended Self-test Log Version: 1 (1 sectors)
Num  Test_Description	Status				  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline	   Completed: read failure	   90%	  3858		 2387285408
# 2  Extended offline	Completed: read failure	   90%	  3845		 2387285408
# 3  Extended offline	Completed: read failure	   90%	  3843		 2387285408
# 4  Extended offline	Completed without error	   00%	   201		 -
# 5  Extended offline	Completed without error	   00%		11		 -
# 6  Short offline	   Completed without error	   00%		 0		 -
# 7  Short offline	   Completed without error	   00%		 0		 -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
	1		0		0  Not_testing
	2		0		0  Not_testing
	3		0		0  Not_testing
	4		0		0  Not_testing
	5		0		0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

SCT Status Version:				  3
SCT Version (vendor specific):	   256 (0x0100)
SCT Support Level:				   1
Device State:						Active (0)
Current Temperature:					35 Celsius
Power Cycle Min/Max Temperature:	 29/35 Celsius
Lifetime	Min/Max Temperature:	 21/59 Celsius
Under/Over Temperature Limit Count:   0/0

SCT Temperature History Version:	 2
Temperature Sampling Period:		 1 minute
Temperature Logging Interval:		1 minute
Min/Max recommended Temperature:	  0/60 Celsius
Min/Max Temperature Limit:		   -40/70 Celsius
Temperature History Size (Index):	128 (55)

Index	Estimated Time   Temperature Celsius
  56	2017-06-10 16:46	41  **********************
...	..(110 skipped).	..  **********************
  39	2017-06-10 18:37	41  **********************
  40	2017-06-10 18:38	40  *********************
...	..(  2 skipped).	..  *********************
  43	2017-06-10 18:41	40  *********************
  44	2017-06-10 18:42	29  **********
  45	2017-06-10 18:43	29  **********
  46	2017-06-10 18:44	30  ***********
  47	2017-06-10 18:45	30  ***********
  48	2017-06-10 18:46	31  ************
  49	2017-06-10 18:47	32  *************
  50	2017-06-10 18:48	32  *************
  51	2017-06-10 18:49	33  **************
  52	2017-06-10 18:50	34  ***************
  53	2017-06-10 18:51	34  ***************
  54	2017-06-10 18:52	35  ****************
  55	2017-06-10 18:53	41  **********************

SCT Error Recovery Control:
		   Read:	 70 (7.0 seconds)
		  Write:	 70 (7.0 seconds)

Device Statistics (GP Log 0x04)
Page  Offset Size		Value Flags Description
0x01  =====  =			   =  ===  == General Statistics (rev 2) ==
0x01  0x008  4			  33  ---  Lifetime Power-On Resets
0x01  0x018  6	 50381020124  ---  Logical Sectors Written
0x01  0x020  6	   213960050  ---  Number of Write Commands
0x01  0x028  6	 52779452202  ---  Logical Sectors Read
0x01  0x030  6	   244056178  ---  Number of Read Commands
0x01  0x038  6	 13994394000  ---  Date and Time TimeStamp
0x03  =====  =			   =  ===  == Rotating Media Statistics (rev 1) ==
0x03  0x008  4			3843  ---  Spindle Motor Power-on Hours
0x03  0x010  4			3843  ---  Head Flying Hours
0x03  0x018  4			 191  ---  Head Load Events
0x03  0x020  4			   0  ---  Number of Reallocated Logical Sectors
0x03  0x028  4		  263651  ---  Read Recovery Attempts
0x03  0x030  4			   0  ---  Number of Mechanical Start Failures
0x04  =====  =			   =  ===  == General Errors Statistics (rev 1) ==
0x04  0x008  4			   0  ---  Number of Reported Uncorrectable Errors
0x04  0x010  4			   0  ---  Resets Between Cmd Acceptance and Completion
0x05  =====  =			   =  ===  == Temperature Statistics (rev 1) ==
0x05  0x008  1			  35  ---  Current Temperature
0x05  0x010  1			  39  N--  Average Short Term Temperature
0x05  0x018  1			  46  N--  Average Long Term Temperature
0x05  0x020  1			  59  ---  Highest Temperature
0x05  0x028  1			  21  ---  Lowest Temperature
0x05  0x030  1			  57  N--  Highest Average Short Term Temperature
0x05  0x038  1			  25  N--  Lowest Average Short Term Temperature
0x05  0x040  1			  52  N--  Highest Average Long Term Temperature
0x05  0x048  1			  25  N--  Lowest Average Long Term Temperature
0x05  0x050  4			   0  ---  Time in Over-Temperature
0x05  0x058  1			  60  ---  Specified Maximum Operating Temperature
0x05  0x060  4			   0  ---  Time in Under-Temperature
0x05  0x068  1			   0  ---  Specified Minimum Operating Temperature
0x06  =====  =			   =  ===  == Transport Statistics (rev 1) ==
0x06  0x008  4			   4  ---  Number of Hardware Resets
0x06  0x010  4			   0  ---  Number of ASR Events
0x06  0x018  4			   0  ---  Number of Interface CRC Errors
								|||_ C monitored condition met
								||__ D supports DSN
								|___ N normalized value

SATA Phy Event Counters (GP Log 0x11)
ID	  Size	 Value  Description
0x0001  2			0  Command failed due to ICRC error
0x0002  2			0  R_ERR response for data FIS
0x0003  2			0  R_ERR response for device-to-host data FIS
0x0004  2			0  R_ERR response for host-to-device data FIS
0x0005  2			0  R_ERR response for non-data FIS
0x0006  2			0  R_ERR response for device-to-host non-data FIS
0x0007  2			0  R_ERR response for host-to-device non-data FIS
0x0008  2			0  Device-to-host non-data FIS retries
0x0009  2			5  Transition from drive PhyRdy to drive PhyNRdy
0x000a  2			5  Device-to-host register FISes sent due to a COMRESET
0x000b  2			0  CRC errors within host-to-device FIS
0x000d  2			0  Non-CRC errors within host-to-device FIS

Matt

 

[joeschmuck]

So that drive had a high temperature of 59C, that is right next to the maximum recommended limit. This is too hot and you are likely to have issues with all your hard drives if you don't keep them cool.

 

[Stux]

Most people seem to recommend at or below low 40s as a limit.

 

[danb35]

I'd say the standard recommendation here is below 40, period. I don't manage that--I'm lucky to keep them below 45 without my fans sounding like a jet engine--but it seems like a good goal anyway.

 

[dvd-boy]

Thanks for everyone's comments - obviously my intention was never to run the drives that hot.

As you can see in the image below, I have two 140mm fans drawing air in, and one 140mm drawing air out the back. This whole process has raised a number of points for me:

1. I'm more than a little concerned that the case design of the fractal R5 is going to give me issues - as you can see I have 8 x drives in the trays, and a further 2 x drives in cradles in the 5.25" bays. ADA0 is the third drive from the bottom.
   
   
2. All the fans are running off motherboard headers - looking in the BIOS I could see these were set to manage silence over cooling - I've now altered this to be full on. Would I be better off running the fans off molex adaptors??
   
   
3. I didn't initially set up the monitoring as per cyberjock's post here - Need help setting up SMART & ZFS Scrubs - which was a mistake on my part.
   
   
4. At this point, I honestly don't know if the very high temperature was an anomaly caused by have the fans not set up correctly, and running the initial badblock scan across all drives. I can certainly see some instances of the drives hitting 48 degrees.
   
   
5. I've just added additional fans to the case - in the photo you can see 2 x top fans, which I've now changed to 1 x top, 1 x bottom to the left of the drive cages. I also have a side fan attached to left hand side of the case.

My concerns now are that either this case isn't suitable, or that my upstairs office just gets two hot in the summer - living in the UK, we don't have any air conditioning, so my only options appear to be to move the machine downstairs, or have a desk fan on full blowing against the machine 24-7...

Larger Image - https://ibb.co/dt0vTQ

I'm currently running the smartctl and badblock scans on the additional drive I purchased - I was unable to find a FreeBSD 'LiveCD' that supported smartctl, so I've 'installed' FreeNas onto another USB that I can run on a different machine.

Any advice or comments greatly welcome - the machine is currently off until I've finished checking the replacement drive, although I'm a little paranoid to turn it back on at this point...

Thanks

Matt

 

[dvd-boy]

Ok, I've just done a quick review on my 'new' drive in my old PC before running badblocks - it was clocking 54 degrees - so my office is far too hot to be running my server. I've pointed a desk fan directly at the drive, and in about 5 mins I've got the drive temperature down to 44 degrees.

Looks like I'm going shopping for some air conditioning...

 

[joeschmuck]

What is the normal temperature of the room where the server is located?

Also, the two fans on the front should be enough to keep the drives cool (as cool as possible), you didn't need to install the upper fans.

EDIT: I noticed you have the drives labeled with "ADA0" and such. Those labels may not always stay the same. Always track your hard drives by the serial number.

EDIT2: The upper drive will be the hottest based on less air flow to the top of the hard drive. How fast are the front fans spinning? Maybe you have low speed fans and need to change them to high air flow fans.

 

[dvd-boy]

Ok, just installed 'Smart Themometer' on my phone until I can get hold of an actual thermometer. It reads 29C and 37% Humidity.

Re-running smartctl -x on my new drive and it reads 41 Celsius for the current temperature.

I have the serial numbers noted, but thanks for the advice - the reason the labels are on the left is so that I don't obscure the serials on the right of the drive - would be nice if the text was a little larger!!

I'm worried about the top two drives, as they aren't covered by the fans, but I haven't seen anything to put in front of the 5.25" bays to provide any cooling.

In terms of Fan Specs, it came with two:

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r5-white

• Front: 2 – 120/140 mm fans (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed)
• Rear: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed)

I purchased an additional Fan for the front:

Fractal Design Silent Series R3 140 mm Case for Cooling Fan - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TYN3HD6/

I then purchased 3 additional R3 fans for the top and side. According to the official website - http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/casefans/silent-series-r3/silent-series-r3-140mm - these are also 1000 RPM.

 

[joeschmuck]

Well 29C isn't too bad. You may need to try some fans that spin at 2000 RPM but with that comes noise so if you wanted to do this I would purchase a single 2000 rpm fan and place it to cover the upper hard drives as a test. Let me say that it isn't just about the RPM, it's really about CFM and Static Air Pressure and if it's an office space, low db levels.

Is there any chance you could locate the server in a cooler room? Part of your heat problem is the 7200 RPM hard drives, one of the reasons we do not recommend the higher rotational speed drives unless you really need it.

Let me ask a stupid question... The fans on the case, the front ones blow air into the case, all the other fans push air out of the case? Just need to ask the question even based on the photo it appears they are oriented properly.

One other thing you can do is to manage the air flow better. All the new exhaust fans you installed are doing nothing for cooling the hard drives down. They are pulling air from all those holes in the case and just cooling off other components. This isn't bad, it's just not ideal for what you need. I'd tape over all the open holes in the case which would force the three exhaust fans to pull a vacuum in the case and actually force more air in through the front case fans. This would be the first thing I'd try before buying more fans since fans cost money. Just a thought.

 

[styno]

Those fractal cases are fine and your fan setup should be good enough to cool them.
However, I guess the two drives in the cradles in the 5.25" bays are the hottest as they don't have a fan pointed directly towards them.
If it does not have to look good, just hack the front a bit and bolt a fan in place, that should work just fine :)
edit: and then you have this: http://istarusa.com/istarusa/products_accessory.php?model=TC-ISTORM7

 

[dvd-boy]

Thanks Joe,

Is there any chance you could locate the server in a cooler room? Part of your heat problem is the 7200 RPM hard drives, one of the reasons we do not recommend the higher rotational speed drives unless you really need it.

I've thought about trying to put it in the living room, but I'd need to get a wireless access point as there is no wired networking there. Annoyingly, I picked the drives for the longer warranty over the rotational speed, but that's what's going to bite me now...

Let me ask a stupid question... The fans on the case, the front ones blow air into the case, all the other fans push air out of the case? Just need to ask the question even based on the photo it appears they are oriented properly.

In the photo I have air drawing in the front and side, with air blowing out the top and back. Reading some other posts online, I have re-configured the fans, so instead of two top blowing out, I have one top and one bottom blowing in. But from your comment, you suggest I revert to more pushing air out of case, rather than pulling air in?

One other thing you can do is to manage the air flow better. All the new exhaust fans you installed are doing nothing for cooling the hard drives down. They are pulling air from all those holes in the case and just cooling off other components. This isn't bad, it's just not ideal for what you need. I'd tape over all the open holes in the case which would force the three exhaust fans to pull a vacuum in the case and actually force more air in through the front case fans. This would be the first thing I'd try before buying more fans since fans cost money. Just a thought.

Will do.

Those fractal cases are fine and your fan setup should be good enough to cool them.
However, I guess the two drives in the cradles in the 5.25" bays are the hottest as they don't have a fan pointed directly towards them.
If it does not have to look good, just hack the front a bit and bolt a fan in place, that should work just fine :)
edit: and then you have this: http://istarusa.com/istarusa/products_accessory.php?model=TC-ISTORM7

Thanks Styno, I'll try and find a UK alternative for that.

 

[joeschmuck]

But from your comment, you suggest I revert to more pushing air out of case, rather than pulling air in?

You want to provide a possitive air flow across the hard drives. I would do as I suggested, the fans on the front of the case pushing air into the case and all other fans pulling air out. Watch your CPU temps as well, they should go down or stay the same.

Also, I didn't realize there were two hard drives in the 5.25" drive bays and I like the item @styno recommended. It's a clean solution for the problem.

 

[dvd-boy]

You want to provide a possitive air flow across the hard drives. I would do as I suggested, the fans on the front of the case pushing air into the case and all other fans pulling air out. Watch your CPU temps as well, they should go down or stay the same.

Also, I didn't realize there were two hard drives in the 5.25" drive bays and I like the item @styno recommended. It's a clean solution for the problem.

I'll re-configure the fans - do you think having two on the top would therefore be better than one bottom of case, and one top?

For the 5.25" bays, I'm going to pick this up:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evercool-Armour-ATX-Cool-HD-AR/dp/B004ZSDI2A

My options are limited in the UK, but I think maintaining the airgap between the two 3.5" drives, and putting a Noctua 80mm fan in the front might do the trick.

 

[ethereal]

i am using the r5 as desktop case with 2 hdd and a ssd - they are 31 and 36 degrees with the stock fans and the fan controller at full speed.

i would concur with you getting a fan for the 5.25 bays. i got something similar for my lian-li server case - turned 2 5.25" bays into 4 3.5 and 2 2.5 with a fan and filter. these hdd are all under 30 degrees. i have 10 hdd and an ssd - they are all 5400 rpm. if you are running 7200 rpm hdd and want to keep the temperatures sensible, perhaps you need a different case.