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Forum Discussion
WD20EFRX - WD Red with DUO v1
I see some interest in this drive working on the DUO v1 and thought my recent experience could be useful. Other threads reference this topic but are slightly off from the original titles so I hope starting a new post is proper etiquette. If you are a DUO v1 user, are interested in this drive and don't need to purchase urgently it could be worthwhile waiting for the Netgear guys to finish their testing of the WD20EFRX to see if it gets on the HCL.
After a disk failure it was time for a replacement and upgrade to 2TB. I have two backups (one offsite), the mirrored disk and all data can be replicated from other sources so I was not worried at all about my data which is for home use only. A local warehouse stocked the WD Caviar Green WD20EARX, it was on the HCL so off I went. The sales guy warned me about issues with Green drives on a NAS and sold me the new WD20EFRX confirming the WD site shows the ReadyNAS DUO as compatible (no version mentioned). Please no scoffing, but at the time I didn't even know there was a v1 and v2 and didn't even spot this on the HCL (going blind), perhaps WD should amend their site for us numpties.
To sumarise the last 4 days:
--> A couple of weeks ago I had upgraded to RAIDiator 4.1.9 via frontview (it showed there was a new version)
---> Removed the bad disk, backed up all data from the good one (I already had another which is the same but...)
--> Shutdown, inserted the first disk and performed a factory reset. First power up hung, found on forum powering off and on would fix it
--> Format and resync went fine.
--> Added second disk, format and resync went fine.
--> Connected USB backup drive. DUO hung had to power off physically.
--> Resync ran but when complete ran again automatically, restarted with volume scan all ok.
--> Restored approx 360gb data
--> Not happy with previous resync. Ran manually. It went twice again but left it. Finished OK.
Not sure if the double resyncs are normal but apart from that I am impressed. The disks are very quiet, I can't hear them...unlike the old Samsungs. The fan used to run at 2700rpm and now runs at around 1700rpm, it is the stock fan and has made it much more quiet. Access to the data is great from both windows and Mountain Lion.
I did not post this to recomend rushing out to get this disk for a DUO v1 immediately and as mdgm states please use the HCL. But it might encourage you to wait for Netgear as it does look hopeful. I am still a bit uncomfortable with my unsupported disk situation but am not in the warranty period anyway...the double resyncs maybe a concern too. If there are problems perhaps my wife will authorise a "v2" upgrade so not the end of the world, unless I physically trash them.
I have listed the SMART stats from disk one, disk two is similar but 2 degrees cooler. Sorry for the naff formatting. My old Samsungs had numbers all over the place, this to the untrained eye looks pretty good (no LCC's). I searched on the lpstats parameter and it seems to be no issue, indeed when I did a volume scan it seemed to reset this parameter.
After a disk failure it was time for a replacement and upgrade to 2TB. I have two backups (one offsite), the mirrored disk and all data can be replicated from other sources so I was not worried at all about my data which is for home use only. A local warehouse stocked the WD Caviar Green WD20EARX, it was on the HCL so off I went. The sales guy warned me about issues with Green drives on a NAS and sold me the new WD20EFRX confirming the WD site shows the ReadyNAS DUO as compatible (no version mentioned). Please no scoffing, but at the time I didn't even know there was a v1 and v2 and didn't even spot this on the HCL (going blind), perhaps WD should amend their site for us numpties.
To sumarise the last 4 days:
--> A couple of weeks ago I had upgraded to RAIDiator 4.1.9 via frontview (it showed there was a new version)
---> Removed the bad disk, backed up all data from the good one (I already had another which is the same but...)
--> Shutdown, inserted the first disk and performed a factory reset. First power up hung, found on forum powering off and on would fix it
--> Format and resync went fine.
--> Added second disk, format and resync went fine.
--> Connected USB backup drive. DUO hung had to power off physically.
--> Resync ran but when complete ran again automatically, restarted with volume scan all ok.
--> Restored approx 360gb data
--> Not happy with previous resync. Ran manually. It went twice again but left it. Finished OK.
Not sure if the double resyncs are normal but apart from that I am impressed. The disks are very quiet, I can't hear them...unlike the old Samsungs. The fan used to run at 2700rpm and now runs at around 1700rpm, it is the stock fan and has made it much more quiet. Access to the data is great from both windows and Mountain Lion.
I did not post this to recomend rushing out to get this disk for a DUO v1 immediately and as mdgm states please use the HCL. But it might encourage you to wait for Netgear as it does look hopeful. I am still a bit uncomfortable with my unsupported disk situation but am not in the warranty period anyway...the double resyncs maybe a concern too. If there are problems perhaps my wife will authorise a "v2" upgrade so not the end of the world, unless I physically trash them.
I have listed the SMART stats from disk one, disk two is similar but 2 degrees cooler. Sorry for the naff formatting. My old Samsungs had numbers all over the place, this to the untrained eye looks pretty good (no LCC's). I searched on the lpstats parameter and it seems to be no issue, indeed when I did a volume scan it seemed to reset this parameter.
SMART Information for Disk 1
Model: WDC WD20EFRX-68AX9N0
Serial: <REMOVED BY MODERATOR>
Firmware: 80.00A80
SMART Attribute
Raw Read Error Rate ------------0
Spin Up Time ---------------------0
Start Stop Count -----------------4
Reallocated Sector Count -------0
Seek Error Rate ------------------0
Power On Hours ----------------62
Spin Retry Count -----------------0
Calibration Retry Count ---------0
Power Cycle Count ---------------4
Power-Off Retract Count -------3
Load Cycle Count ----------------0
Temperature Celsius -----------36
Reallocated Event Count --------0
Current Pending Sector ----------0
Offline Uncorrectable ------------0
UDMA CRC Error Count ----------0
Multi Zone Error Rate -----------0
ATA Error Count -----------------0
Extended Attribute
Hot-add events ------------------0
Hot-remove events -------------0
Lp stat events ----------------161
Power glitches -------------------0
Hard disk resets ----------------0
Retries ---------------------------0
Repaired sectors ----------------0
26 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- That's interesting. The HCL pages have been completely redesigned and as you state it doesn't show now. Its a while back now but I am convinced it was on the list at the time on the old page, I am usually very careful before committing to writing a post. But if I am losing my marbles then I apologise to all.
Netgear guys - am I losing my marbles? - Hello whytega,
you posted earlier that the WD20EFRX is on the HCL, but i can't see it !! Are you sure it is the HCL for the DUO v1? can you write the link to the HCL you ment?
thx. - Both drives are still working flawlessly for me. I've had no issues at all so far.
- Whytega, or anyone else who is using this drive... feedback still positive? Thanks, Kevin
- Boathead, any update on those WD20EFRX? Working OK still?
- Just installed two WD20EFRX drives in my version 1 Duo to replace the single WD20EARS I had . Flawless performance so far! No TLER or WDIDLE fixes needed. XRAID copied from my old drive and expanded with NO PROBLEMS! Load cycles aren't a problem and these drives are running about 5 degrees(Celsius) cooler than the single green. Great job Western Digital.
- I see this drive is now on the HCL, great and post closed I expect. BTW upgrading to 4.1.10 seemed to get rid of my double resync. Must have been something unrelated.
So far this drive has been great compared to my old green drives. I'm not an expert but I really recommend it for the Duo V1 (now its on the hcl) - Thanks, I'm ordering 2 for my Duo v1. I'm optimistic that they'll work thanks to this forum.
edit: successfully updated/expanded to 2TB without issues. Added the drives while powered-down and didn't have to force resync or anything -just worked! - Just in case it's of interest. One month later and all seems to be fine. Now have all 1.4TB of files loaded and the NAS gets fairly regular usage from me and the kids streaming movies, music, looking at photos etc. Stats are identical to my first post with the exception of power on hours (891hrs). Oh and temperature is down to 32 degrees.
Still hoping for it to get on the HCL but must admit compared to the old Samsungs which had ECC and LCC counts always changing this drive seems much better. Well to the untrained eye at least. - Ah yes, PapaBear, now I see the 1 TB Red on the NV+ HCL. I'm so sorry I looked past it the first time. If it on the NV+ HCL, why in the world is it not on the DUO list as they are both SPARC and Radiator 4.1.9?
I really am looking for 2 TB drives for my DUO. Seeing the 1TB Red on the NX+ HCL is a very good indicator that the 2 TB Red will work on the DUO.
I don't really care about loosing access to Netgear for support as I know my DUO works with the original Seagate drive; and we have such awesome support here. :)
Looking at the HCL for the DUO, I see the Seagate Barracuda LP model ST2000DL003. It is a 2 TB drive. This model seems plentiful on ebay and even new from Newegg for $119. Is there any reason not to go with this drive to get certain compatibility of a 2 TB drive on my DUO for about $100?
As always, many thanks. John.
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