SOLVED WD Utility for RED drives with High Load Cycle Counts

[9C1 Newbee]

Code:

[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da0 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      101
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  086  086  000    Old_age  Always      -      10914
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      90
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  191  191  000    Old_age  Always      -      27947
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da1 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      72
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  077  077  000    Old_age  Always      -      16829
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      60
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  045  045  000    Old_age  Always      -      466002
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da2 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      32
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  092  092  000    Old_age  Always      -      6160
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      31
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  187  187  000    Old_age  Always      -      39095
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da3 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      25
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  095  095  000    Old_age  Always      -      4033
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      24
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  191  191  000    Old_age  Always      -      29977
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da4 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      17
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  095  095  000    Old_age  Always      -      3717
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      16
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  192  192  000    Old_age  Always      -      26858
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da5 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      145
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  097  097  000    Old_age  Always      -      2498
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      13
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  194  194  000    Old_age  Always      -      20692
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da6 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      108
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  097  097  000    Old_age  Always      -      2663
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      11
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  192  192  000    Old_age  Always      -      26549

 

[joeschmuck]

Code:

[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da0 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      101
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  086  086  000    Old_age  Always      -      10914
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      90
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  191  191  000    Old_age  Always      -      27947
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da1 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      72
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  077  077  000    Old_age  Always      -      16829
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      60
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  045  045  000    Old_age  Always      -      466002
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da2 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      32
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  092  092  000    Old_age  Always      -      6160
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      31
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  187  187  000    Old_age  Always      -      39095
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da3 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      25
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  095  095  000    Old_age  Always      -      4033
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      24
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  191  191  000    Old_age  Always      -      29977
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da4 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      17
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  095  095  000    Old_age  Always      -      3717
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      16
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  192  192  000    Old_age  Always      -      26858
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da5 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      145
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  097  097  000    Old_age  Always      -      2498
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      13
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  194  194  000    Old_age  Always      -      20692
[root@freenas] ~# smartctl -a /dev/da6 | grep '4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      108
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  097  097  000    Old_age  Always      -      2663
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      11
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  192  192  000    Old_age  Always      -      26549

Your counts are high with an average of 10 parks per hour for da6 but more shocking is 27 times per hour for da1. My advice is to run WDIDLE3.exe on all your drives and check to see what the timer is set for. If it's 300 seconds then I'd disable the timer, if it's 8 seconds then I'd set the timer for 300 or disable (your choice).

 

[9C1 Newbee]

Your counts are high with an average of 10 parks per hour for da6 but more shocking is 27 times per hour for da1. My advice is to run WDIDLE3.exe on all your drives and check to see what the timer is set for. If it's 300 seconds then I'd disable the timer, if it's 8 seconds then I'd set the timer for 300 or disable (your choice).

I will do what you said. No wonder I have a drive fail every other month on average.

 

[crumbz]

I will do what you said. No wonder I have a drive fail every other month on average.

Don't assume that your drive fails because of this number. All drives eventually will fail.

 

[joeschmuck]

Don't assume that your drive fails because of this number. All drives eventually will fail.

I completely agree. Also the Reds haven't had this issue for very long so I doubt it is attributed to many failures. Also I hope you have more than these 7 drives to which you are referring as failing every few months because that would not be normal for any drive.

 

[jyavenard]

I completely agree. Also the Reds haven't had this issue for very long so I doubt it is attributed to many failures. Also I hope you have more than these 7 drives to which you are referring as failing every few months because that would not be normal for any drive.

On the WD forums, WD stated that they have never had report of a failure due to high cycle count... whatever that really means..

 

[Lordadmiral Drake]

My load cycle count is 640 white the others are 27 at 16 Power on hours. Drive is a Wd Red bought last month

 

[GaiusBaltar]

12 days running (minus 1-2 reboots) and LCCs aren't moving. added firmware info for reference:

Code:

Disk: /dev/ada0                                                                                                                 
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0                                                                                           
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M13XXXXX                                                                                               
Firmware Version: 80.00A80                                                                                                       
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      7                                         
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      292                                       
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      1                                         
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      30                                       
----------                                                                                                                       
Disk: /dev/ada1                                                                                                                 
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0                                                                                           
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M13XXXXX                                                                                               
Firmware Version: 80.00A80                                                                                                       
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      7                                         
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      292                                       
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      1                                         
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      34                                       
----------                                                                                                                       
Disk: /dev/ada2                                                                                                                 
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0                                                                                           
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M12XXXXX                                                                                               
Firmware Version: 80.00A80                                                                                                       
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      7                                         
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      292                                       
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      1                                         
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      33                                       
----------                                                                                                                       
Disk: /dev/ada3                                                                                                                 
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0                                                                                           
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M12XXXXX                                                                                               
Firmware Version: 80.00A80                                                                                                       
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      7                                         
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      292                                       
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      1                                         
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      33                                       
----------                                                                                                                       
Disk: /dev/ada4                                                                                                                 
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0                                                                                           
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M13XXXXX                                                                                               
Firmware Version: 80.00A80                                                                                                       
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      7                                         
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      292                                       
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      1                                         
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      31                                       
----------                                                                                                                       
Disk: /dev/ada5                                                                                                                 
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0                                                                                           
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M12XXXXX                                                                                                 
Firmware Version: 80.00A80                                                                                                       
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      7                                         
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      292                                       
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      1                                         
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      33  

also got tired of typing so i scripted this.

Code:

#!/bin/sh                                                                                                                       
#script to grab drive info and LCC count                                                                                         
drive=0                                                                                                                         
while [ $drive -ne 6 ]                                                                                                           
do                                                                                                                               
        echo "Disk: /dev/ada$drive"                                                                                             
        smartctl -a /dev/ada$drive | grep 'Device Model\|Serial\|Firmware\|4 St\|9 Po\|192 Po\|193 Lo'                                                                                                              
        echo "----------"                                                                                                       
        drive=$((drive+1))                                                                                                       
done  

for your setup, just change the while loop from "$drive -ne 6" to however many disks you have (i used 6 since i have 6 disks). then just edit out your serial number when copying/pasting here if you plan on posting.
should only need 2 more lines if you want to set it up as a cron job and have it email you the results.

 

[Ramboxman]

Cool thanks for the script worked great!

Code:

Disk: /dev/ada0
Device Model:    WDC WD1500HLHX-01JJPV0
Serial Number:    WD-WX81E81Axxxx
Firmware Version: 04.05G04
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      143
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  092  092  000    Old_age  Always      -      5859
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      69
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      73
----------
Disk: /dev/ada1
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M097xxxx
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      15
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      691
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      7
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      14
----------
Disk: /dev/ada2
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4M097xxxx
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      13
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      691
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      5
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      13
----------
Disk: /dev/ada3
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number:    WD-WMC4N081xxxx
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      15
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      691
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      7
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      13
----------
Disk: /dev/ada4
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number:    WD-WMC4M150xxxx
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      19
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      691
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      11
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      13
----------
Disk: /dev/ada5
Device Model:    WDC WD20EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number:    WD-WMC4M145xxxx
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      17
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032  100  100  000    Old_age  Always      -      691
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      9
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032  200  200  000    Old_age  Always      -      15
----------

 

[crumbz]

What would be interesting to know is if you have disabled the timer or if it is set to 300 seconds (or any other number).

 

[Ramboxman]

Set to 300, running 5 jails.

 

[9C1 Newbee]

Is there a good guide for WDIDLE3. Can I leave the drives all hooked up? Or do I need to do it all one drive at a time.

 

[jyavenard]

it does all drives it find at the time you run it.

if you don't want to do a particular drive, you'll have to disconnect it first.

the zip with the wdidle3 utility comes with documentation

 

[9C1 Newbee]

Yeah I thought I read about it. Here Is Cyberjock's writeup

http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hacking-wd-greens-and-reds-with-wdidle3-exe.18171/

 

[Yatti420]

Here is a wd20earx green from Windows Desktop...

Code:

*** DiskCheckup V3.1 Build: 1005 Report ***
 
SysInfo DLL Version:                                                  SysInfo v1.0 Build: 1028
Time of export:                                                      15:48:42 15-Feb-2014
 
Device information:                                                 
  Device ID:                                                        0
  Interface:                                                        ATA
  Device Capacity:                                                  1907726 MB
  Serial Number:                                                    WD-WCAZAC966842
  Model Number:                                                      WDC WD20EARX-22PASB0
  Firmware Revision:                                                51.0AB51
  Partitions:                                                       
      C:        1893291 MB
 
ATA information:                                                     
 
  Disk geometry:                                                   
      Cylinders:                                                      243201
      Tracks/Cylinder:                                                255
      Sectors/Track:                                                  63
      Bytes/Sector:                                                  512
      Total disk sectors:                                            3907029168
      Logical sector size:                                            512
      Physical sector size:                                          4096
      Media rotation rate:                                            N/A
      Buffer size:                                                    0 KB
      ECC size:                                                      50 Bytes
 
  Standards compliance:                                             
      ATA8-ACS Supported:                                            Yes
      ATA/ATAPI-7 Supported:                                          Yes
      ATA/ATAPI-6 Supported:                                          Yes
      ATA/ATAPI-5 Supported:                                          Yes
      ATA/ATAPI-4 Supported:                                          Yes
      Serial/Parallel:                                                Serial
        SATA 3.0 Compilance:                                        Yes
        SATA 2.6 Compilance:                                        Yes
        SATA 2.5 Compilance:                                        Yes
        SATA II: Ext Compilance:                                    Yes
        SATA 1.0a Compilance:                                        Yes
        ATA8-AST Compilance:                                        No
  World Wide ID:                                                    50014EE2B11F631B
 
  Feature support:                                                 
      SMART supported:                                                Yes
        SMART enabled:                                              Yes
      SMART self-test supported:                                      Yes
      SMART error log supported:                                      Yes
      LBA supported:                                                  Yes
      IORDY supported:                                                Yes
      CFast supported:                                                No
      DMA supported:                                                  Yes
        Maximum Multiword DMA mode supported:                        2
        Multiword DMA selected:                                      None
        Maximum UltraDMA mode supported:                            6
        UltraDMA selected:                                          5
      Maximum PIO mode supported:                                    4
      SATA Compliance:                                                Yes
        NCQ priority information supported:                          Yes
        Unload while NCQ commands are outstanding supported:        No
        Phy Event Counters supported:                                Yes
        Receipt of power management requests supported:              Yes
        NCQ feature set supported:                                  Yes
        SATA Gen2 Signaling Speed (3.0Gb/s) supported:              Yes
        SATA Gen1 Signaling Speed (1.5Gb/s) supported:              Yes
        Software Settings Preservation:                              Supported, Enabled
        In-order data delivery:                                      Not supported
        Initiating power management:                                Not supported
        DMA Setup auto-activation:                                  Supported, Enabled
        Non-zero buffer offsets:                                    Not supported
      Trusted Computing supported:                                    No
      Host Protected Area (HPA) supported:                            Yes
      Read look-ahead supported:                                      Yes
        Read look-ahead enabled:                                    Yes
      Write cache supported:                                          Yes
        Write cache enabled:                                        Yes
      Power management supported:                                    Yes
      Security mode supported:                                        Yes
        Security mode enabled:                                      No
      Device Configuration Overlay (DCO) supported:                  Yes
      48bit Addressing supported:                                    Yes
      Auto Acoustic Managment (AAM) supported:                        No
      Power-up in Standby (PUIS) supported:                          Yes
        Power-up in Standby (PUIS) enabled:                          No
      Advanced Power Management (APM) supported:                      No
      CompactFlash Association (CFA) supported:                      No
      General Purpose Logging (GPL) supported:                        Yes
      Streaming supported:                                            No
      Media card pass through supported:                              No
      Extended power conditions supported:                            No
      Extended status reporting supported:                            No
      Write-read-verify supported:                                    No
      Free-fall control supported:                                    No
      TRIM command supported:                                        No
      SCT command transport supported:                                Yes
      NV Cache enabled:                                              No
      NV Cache Power Management supported:                            No
 
SMART ATTRIBUTES:
ID    Description                            Status        Value        Worst        Threshold    Raw Value    TEC               
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1    Raw Read Error Rate                    OK            200          200          51            0            N.A.               
  3    Spin Up Time                            OK            164          162          21            6800          15 May 2078 23:05:16
  4    Start/Stop Count                        OK            99            99            0            1135          N.A.               
  5    Reallocated Sector Count                OK            200          200          140          0            N.A.               
  7    Seek Error Rate                        OK            200          200          0            0            N.A.               
  9    Power On Time                          OK            89            89            0            8414          N.A.               
10    Spin Retry Count                        OK            100          100          0            0            N.A.               
11    Calibration Retry Count                OK            100          100          0            0            N.A.               
12    Power Cycle Count                      OK            99            99            0            1133          N.A.               
192    Power off Retract Count                OK            200          200          0            63            N.A.               
193    Load Cycle Count                        OK            164          164          0            110765        N.A.               
194    Temperature                            OK            116          112          0            34 C          N.A.               
196    Reallocation Event Count                OK            200          200          0            0            N.A.               
197    Current Pending Sector Count            OK            200          200          0            0            N.A.               
198    Uncorrectable Sector Count              OK            200          200          0            0            N.A.               
199    UltraDMA CRC Error Count                OK            200          200          0            0            N.A.               
200    Write Error Count                      OK            200          200          0            0            N.A.               
 
SMART HISTORY:
Attribute ID: 193      Attribute Name: Load Cycle Count
                    Date    Value        Worst   
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Wed Sep 04 14:36:28 201    169          169     
  Wed Sep 04 14:36:46 201    169          169     
  Wed Sep 04 17:35:46 201    169          169     
  Tue Oct 15 16:24:19 201    168          168     
  Fri Nov 08 23:40:30 201    168          168     
  Mon Dec 30 14:47:52 201    167          167     
  Sat Feb 15 15:48:20 201    164          164     
 
 

 

[G Brown]

Another factoid: I bought 4 WD 4TB reds shipped 1/5/2014. I think they came with the idle set at 300s:

Device Model: WDC WD40EFRX-68WT0N0
Serial Number: WD-WCC4E0639754
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 10
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 872
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 9
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 2258
So that is over 440 head parks/week, so I will hit 600000 head parks in 1344 weeks, or 25+ years. Will I care in 20 years?
I will keep my eye on it, but I will probably do nothing . FYI, I have a WD green 3TB in linux that wants to park every 8 seconds, but linux pokes it every 10 seconds or so; so I pre-poke it at 6 or 7 seconds, so no rest for the WD green. There may be better ways, but that drive just keeps spinning, and spinning, and...

 

[crumbz]

600000 head parks

Where did you get this number from?

 

[G Brown]

WD red specs on a pdf from WD. Google around the WD site for red specs.

 

[jyavenard]

WD web site; in the spec sheet

 

[crumbz]

Thanks! With ~4.3 head parks per hour I'm looking at nearly 16 years before they reach 600,000. I didn't know that number, but that puts things in enough perspective to make me not worry about this at all.