SOLVED WD Utility for RED drives with High Load Cycle Counts

[SweetAndLow]

i'm getting about 800 park counts per day(avg. over 8 days). My drives where purchased between nov. 23 2013 and dec. 24 2013. I should probably make a linux live cd

 

[SweetAndLow]

Used a linux live cd to boot off and run the wd util for red drives. Said it successfully updated the firmware for all drives. I'll report back what my park count is after a couple days.

 

[SweetAndLow]

well 6 days later of similar usage I have seen a drastic change in Load Cycle Counts. I would say this firmware upgrade solves the problem.

Code:

Fri Feb 21 08:07:43 PST 2014
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35676                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35402                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35619                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35744                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35563                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35713                                        
Thu Feb 27 20:32:04 PST 2014                                                                                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35689                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35417                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35633                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35757                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35576                                        
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   189   189   000    Old_age   Always       -       35726

 

[Satam]

For those with some WD Reds, apparently not. I think it goes like this..

- WD Reds introduced to market in 2012. Everything is fine. (I'll call these drives group 1)
- WD Red drives manufactured around Sept-Dec 2013 changed to having an 8 second idle park(normally I'd call it intellipark, but I don't think that term is appropriate for WD Reds). wdidle3 works on these drives. (I'll call these drives group 2)
- At some point people complained, WD backtracked and changed it to 300 seconds(or disabled... not sure which). Likely Dec-2013/Jan-2014. (I'll call these drives group 3)

I have four 3TB Reds. Two each fall into group 2 and group 3:

serials: WMC4Nxxxxxxx
date: mid Nov 2013
wdidle3.exe reported Idle Timer enabled and set to 8 seconds.

serials: WCC4N0xxxxxx
date: early Jan 2014
wdidle3.exe reported Idle Timer enabled and set to 300 seconds.

The WMC4N drives already had a significant higher Load Cycle Count (~1500 compared to ~120) even though I started using all four drives at the exact same time (yes, the first two lay around in a shelve for a while) and the FreeNAS server had only been running for a week.

I used wdidle3.exe from a FreeDOS usb boot stick to change the timers of the older drives to 300 seconds for the time being. Worked without a problem. I didn't even bother connecting the drives to a windows machine or booting up a Linux live cd and use the wd5741 tool.

 

[DJABE]

I also happen to have bought WMC4N series, 4x.
LCC after a few days of doing nothing in a NAS box:
106

and after 12h the other one: LLC has value of 4!

It seems like WD screwed us (Green's loaded with similar firmware)!
xD


Here are my results:

Disk: /dev/ada0
Model Family: Western Digital Red (AF)
Device Model: WDC WD30EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number: WD-WMC4N1*********
LU WWN Device Id: *********
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 4
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 1
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 6
----------
Disk: /dev/ada1
Model Family: Western Digital Red (AF)
Device Model: WDC WD30EFRX-68EUZN0
Serial Number: WD-WMC4N0**********
LU WWN Device Id: ************
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 3
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 167
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 1
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 121
----------




FYI, this is Titanic old Maxtor drives (PATA/IDE), ~ 10 years old now!

Disk: /dev/ada2
Model Family: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9
Device Model: Maxtor 6Y120L0
Serial Number: ***********
Firmware Version: YAR41BW0
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 2720
9 Power_On_Minutes 0x0032 225 225 000 Old_age Always - 972h+59m
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always - 0
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always - 0
DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
----------
Disk: /dev/ada3
Model Family: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9
Device Model: Maxtor 6Y160P0
Serial Number: *************
Firmware Version: YAR41BW0
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 252 252 000 Old_age Always - 2680
9 Power_On_Minutes 0x0032 181 181 000 Old_age Always - 106h+22m
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always - 0
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 253 253 000 Old_age Always - 0

 

[Rovopio]

i purchased my first wd red around weeks ago. i've only been using it for less than 10 hours though. according to crystaldiskinfo i have a load unload cycle count raw values of 173.
i also noticed that compare to my external 3.5" green drive, the red drive when idle is very very quiet... BUT whenever i access it, it begins clicking so loud. i have a bad loud pc case fans and the clackety sound from the wd red when being accessed is even drowning the case fans sound.

is the loud clackety sound comes from the load / unload cyclec count...?

what made me concern is that, i dont even have to use the drive for heavy activity like gaming to hear the clackety loud sound. something as simple as renaming a file or creating a new folder then i'll have that clack clack clack sound.

crystaldiskinfo reported it good. what other tests i should do in order to be able to determine whether i should RMA or not...?
ps: i live in third world country so RMA is handled by local distributors and after sales service are very bad at best. if i want to rma i have to be able to give them "proof" that the drive is faulty first :(

 

[Yatti420]

i purchased my first wd red around weeks ago. i've only been using it for less than 10 hours though. according to crystaldiskinfo i have a load unload cycle count raw values of 173.
i also noticed that compare to my external 3.5" green drive, the red drive when idle is very very quiet... BUT whenever i access it, it begins clicking so loud. i have a bad loud pc case fans and the clackety sound from the wd red when being accessed is even drowning the case fans sound.

is the loud clackety sound comes from the load / unload cyclec count...?

what made me concern is that, i dont even have to use the drive for heavy activity like gaming to hear the clackety loud sound. something as simple as renaming a file or creating a new folder then i'll have that clack clack clack sound.

crystaldiskinfo reported it good. what other tests i should do in order to be able to determine whether i should RMA or not...?
ps: i live in third world country so RMA is handled by local distributors and after sales service are very bad at best. if i want to rma i have to be able to give them "proof" that the drive is faulty first :(

The loud clackety is probably a bad drive? I would run smart tests and if it fails get it replaced.. With an 8 second timer you could also be hearing the drive spin down/up and buffer causing performance degradation..

 

[Rovopio]

The loud clackety is probably a bad drive? I would run smart tests and if it fails get it replaced.. With an 8 second timer you could also be hearing the drive spin down/up and buffer causing performance degradation..

what's the software to run smart test? im pretty new to pc building and this is my first internal mechanical drive :D

btw... if i'm RMA-ing the drive and ship it to WD.. will i get recertified / refurbish drive or a new retail drive?
considering this drive is less than 3 weeks old and less than 15 hours power on.. it seems sad if i get a recertified drive :(
if i rma, this will be my first internal rma drive as well

 

[Yatti420]

Well you can run "camcontrol devlist" to identify the drive(s) in question.. "smartctl -a /dev/ada?" will output all smart attributes and info for the drive.. "smartctl --test=short /dev/ada?" or "smartctl --test=long /dev/ada?" for short/long tests..

I would ensure you have a few copies of the data on those drives etc..

 

[joeschmuck]

If you ship the drive to WD you will likely get a Refurb drive unless they are out of those but don't count on it.

What version of FreeNAS are you running? How many drive do you have in your NAS and do you have more than 1 Red? What is the Red model number?

And please do not cross post the same questions all over our forum.

 

[hammong]

So glad I came across this thread. I just recently purchased two more WD Red 2TB to go along with my four from last year. I checked the smartctl values for the two "new" drives and one of them had a normally low LCC, and the other had 5900+ LCC with less than 30 power on hours since I put it in. Eek gads!

I ran wdidle3.exe on recommendation from part of the thread, and it reported the load time of one of the new drives as 300 seconds, and the other as 8.0 seconds. I set it to "disabled" - but that doesn't seem to have had any effect. LCC is still counting up. I'll try setting it to 300 and see what happens.

Figures WD has a DOS version of wdidle3.exe but the freakin' WD Red LCC utility only runs in Linux or Windows. I guess I need to make a Live CD and copy the files to it. Can't run it from FreeBSD command prompt.

Greg

 

[DJABE]

@all: would you be so kind to report manufacture date of your high LCC WD RED drives, with model numbers? That could clear the picture... which series are set to 8 sec and which are not.

 

[joeschmuck]

I ran wdidle3.exe on recommendation from part of the thread, and it reported the load time of one of the new drives as 300 seconds, and the other as 8.0 seconds. I set it to "disabled" - but that doesn't seem to have had any effect. LCC is still counting up. I'll try setting it to 300 and see what happens.

Greg,
If it was actually set to disable and wdidle3.exe reports it is disabled then there are two possibilities that I can see for your LCC counting up... 1) You have FreeNAS parking the drives periodically. 2) You have a new type of drive which wdidle3.exe does not work on.

I think it's very important to evaluate this because if it's the latter well everyone is in for a surprise.

 

[hammong]

Greg,
If it was actually set to disable and wdidle3.exe reports it is disabled then there are two possibilities that I can see for your LCC counting up... 1) You have FreeNAS parking the drives periodically. 2) You have a new type of drive which wdidle3.exe does not work on.

I think it's very important to evaluate this because if it's the latter well everyone is in for a surprise.

I have three series of WD Red 2TB in my NAS:

Qty 1 s/n WD-WMC4M1749xxx (This one was set to 8.0 s, and accumulated 6042 LCC in 130 hours)
Qty 1 s/n WD-WCC4M1056xxx (This one was set to 300.0 s, has accumulated 274 LCC in 33 hours)
Qty 4 s/n WD-WMC30138xxxx (All four of these reported "Disabled" with wdidle3.exe)

When I ran wdidle3.exe against the drives, it reported 8.0s, 300s, and disabled for the various drives, and after setting the value to "disabled" for the 8.0s and 300.0s units, the reported back "disabled" after a cold boot when querying with wdidle3.exe. But -- the LCC continued to climb quickly.

I made a Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Desktop Live USB stick and downloaded the "WD Red Load/Unload" utility (wd5741x64) and after running that utility, it successfully reported that the first two drives were adjusted, and the older 4 drives didn't require adjustment. Since then, the LCC issue seems to be fixed.

So, conclusion, wdidle3.exe did set the load/unload duration to 'disabled' but it didn't actually fix the LCC issue, but the WD red load/unload utility DID fix it.

All six drives have the same firmware version - 80.00A80

Greg

 

[ser_rhaegar]

Just to add to the stats:
Qty 1 s/n WD-WMC4N13#####, factory set 8.0, WD Red Utility had no update for drive, WDIDLE required to fix, high load cycle before I fixed
Qty 1 s/n WD-WMC4N15#####, factory set to 300, WD Red Utility had no update for drive, left at 300, low load cycle

All firmware 80.00A80
Model: WDC WD30EFRX-68EUZN0

 

[joeschmuck]

Very good information.

 

[Satam]

When I ran wdidle3.exe against the drives, it reported 8.0s, 300s, and disabled for the various drives, and after setting the value to "disabled" for the 8.0s and 300.0s units, the reported back "disabled" after a cold boot when querying with wdidle3.exe. But -- the LCC continued to climb quickly.

I made a Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Desktop Live USB stick and downloaded the "WD Red Load/Unload" utility (wd5741x64) and after running that utility, it successfully reported that the first two drives were adjusted, and the older 4 drives didn't require adjustment. Since then, the LCC issue seems to be fixed.

So, conclusion, wdidle3.exe did set the load/unload duration to 'disabled' but it didn't actually fix the LCC issue, but the WD red load/unload utility DID fix it.

All six drives have the same firmware version - 80.00A80

Yes, thank you for that information. I guess I have to check the Load Cycle Count on my drives now, too. And eventually use the wd5741x64 utility from a Live CD. Because I only used wdidle3.exe, thought "DISABLED - That's it." and didn't bother to actually verify the settings by checking the LCC values.

 

[9C1 Newbee]

Last night, I used Hiren's Boot CD. It has the WDIDLE3 utility built into it. Due to my drives already having huge load cycle counts, I disabled the parking feature. So far, my load counts have not gone up at all. Might all be in my head, but the server seems to be quite a bit more snappy. Must take a while to load the heads back on to the patter, or my perception is off. Either way, I should have done this long ago.

WDIDLE3 was not able to work with the 1015 controller. If anyone is interested, I can do a video or writeup explaining how to perform this task.

 

[Yatti420]

It will destroy performance if you attempt to stream with 8 second timers.. Everybody should run wdidle for their greens/reds to see what is going on.. Parking so often it becomes so bad it kills drives.. With the greens atleast..

 

[9C1 Newbee]

My only issue is, can I RMA these drives now? It is a question I keep asking that nobody can seem to answer. But this might be why video hangs for a second or two at random.