WD Easystore 8 TB WD80EMAZ

[rvassar]

I'm in the process of burning in one of these to use as an offline backup. I let it run thru 170 hours of badblocks attached to my old Linux laptop. At USB 2.0 speeds, it's not very stressful, but it did build some hours on the drive. I decided I'd had enough and went to run some SMART tests and hit the funny USB bridge issue. Turns out there is some help available...

Smartmontools - Supported Devices

I've successfully pulled SMART data and started a self test using:

Code:

smartctl -d sat -a /dev/sdx

smartctl -d sat -t long /dev/sdx

I have not yet attached it to my FreeNAS box to see if it works there.

 

[rvassar]

Well... I got the self test started, but it aborted for some reason.

Code:

Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Aborted by host               90%       246         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%       246         -

 

[Chris Moore]

I have not yet attached it to my FreeNAS box to see if it works there.

I would get that on a SATA or SAS connection to test it that way. USB interfaces are notorious for not working properly.

 

[rvassar]

I would get that on a SATA or SAS connection to test it that way. USB interfaces are notorious for not working properly.

Agreed. I just wanted to try and get the initial burn in done before I shucked it, in case it needed to go back to the store.

 

[pro lamer]

Have you ruled out power saving issues?

 

[Constantin]

Shucking the drive really is not that hard as long as you have the right tools, watched the relevant videos, and take your time.

A old credit card cut into 5 pieces worked for me. Inside, all you need is a Phillips screw driver for the usb/SATA converter and a Torx driver for the bumper holding screws.

I reckon it’s much easier to troubleshoot a drive once you have access to it’s SATA interface.

 

[rvassar]

Have you ruled out power saving issues?

I have not. It does report SATA 3.2, so I will be using a 4-pin molex...

But honestly I simply haven't gotten back to it. My wife & kids adopted a puppy. At least that's what they were told. Seems to be some kind of mutant meat-eating pony... Pyrenees...

 

[Ericloewe]

I reckon it’s much easier to troubleshoot a drive once you have access to it’s SATA interface.

Depends on the bridge chip. Some work fine with SMART, some don't at all.

 

[Jay_Z]

Good to see this topic. I just bought 4 of the WD 8TB external easystore drives - after opening them, I had 2 Red drives (WD80EFAX) and 2 White label drives (WD80EMAZ). While I was hoping for identical drives - I guess I'll run this mix in my NAS system!

 

[boosted]

Just got my WD80EMAZ-00WJTA0 from Amazon, it makes strange loud chirping sound every 5 seconds (it's pretty quiet otherwise with reading/writing). Is it a known issue?
I tried to find some info on it, found this on WD website: https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=20933

Issue:
A Western Digital hard drive makes a repeated clicking noise every 5 seconds.

Cause:
The 'noise' heard is due to a feature used to prevent disturbances in media lube due to prolonged dwelling at a single location. This is common for HDD suppliers as a preventive activity for reliability. Normal operation typically forces seek away and the seek noises heard are expected. During moments of idle, there is less activity and the unexpected sound is more noticeable (Approximately every 5 seconds). Directly attaching the drive to a metal chassis can amplify this occurrence to make the hard drive more audible.

Does anyone else here experience the same?