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Forum Discussion
Western Digital WD1002FBYS head click noise (#10987106)
Hi Everyone,
I need help with what appears to be a compatibility issue with the ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer and HCL approved Western Digital drives. For background please see:
Strange Problem with Western Digital WD10EADS
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=31572
Note: the difference between the WD10EACS and the WD10EADS is the size of the cache (16MB vs 32MB). Otherwise they are identical. Nevertheless, because the WD10EADS is not currently on the HCL, I removed it from subsequent testing.
Over the past three months, I have set up three entirely different Pro Pioneers with three entirely different WD1002FBYS RE3 drive sets. I have tried formatting in X-RAID, X-RAID-2 and Flex-RAID, with 1, 2, 3, and 4 disks.
In each case, after the RAID is fully set-up, re-synched and completely idle, I hear a constant head click sound every 10-15 seconds. You can download/listen to the sound at this link:
http://propaganda.com/dhl/media/click.aif
This sound is audible 20' away from the ReadyNAS. The sound only occurs when the ReadyNAS is idle. It happens with and without a network connection or data on the NAS.
I have spoken with and played the sound for WD level-2 technical support. Their engineers tell me this is *definitely not* normal behavior for these drives.
On WD's advice, I tested individual drives in a SATA dock connected to my computer. I found that they make this sound for a few seconds after mounting, then become completely quiet.
It appears that the drives are getting stuck in a calibration loop when used in the ReadyNAS.
I reported these results to WD. The WD engineers suggested a low-level SATA hardware or device-driver level incompatibility between the ReadyNAS and the drives may be the cause.
I've been reporting my findings to Netgear support (case# 9787229, now case# 10374423) for about three months.
I've been told that level-3 Netgear engineers say that this sound is normal, however, it's not clear to me that level-3 is actually testing this configuration.
These are enterprise class drives designed to run 24/7. Frankly, I can't believe these drives would pass QA with this behavior. Having the heads click every 10-15 seconds is *not* normal and can't be good in the long run.
Based on the difficulties I've read in other threads with the RE4, I suspect there may be problems with the RE3 that slipped thru the cracks.
Jedi's, I need your advice.
The only reason my partners and I bought these drives is because of WD's reputation and the fact that they were on the HCL. We need this resolved so that we can put our ReadyNAS's into production with confidence.
I'd also appreciate hearing from any other users of these drives on whether you experience these issues.
Thanks everyone for your help.
--dhl
I need help with what appears to be a compatibility issue with the ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer and HCL approved Western Digital drives. For background please see:
Strange Problem with Western Digital WD10EADS
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=31572
Note: the difference between the WD10EACS and the WD10EADS is the size of the cache (16MB vs 32MB). Otherwise they are identical. Nevertheless, because the WD10EADS is not currently on the HCL, I removed it from subsequent testing.
Over the past three months, I have set up three entirely different Pro Pioneers with three entirely different WD1002FBYS RE3 drive sets. I have tried formatting in X-RAID, X-RAID-2 and Flex-RAID, with 1, 2, 3, and 4 disks.
In each case, after the RAID is fully set-up, re-synched and completely idle, I hear a constant head click sound every 10-15 seconds. You can download/listen to the sound at this link:
http://propaganda.com/dhl/media/click.aif
This sound is audible 20' away from the ReadyNAS. The sound only occurs when the ReadyNAS is idle. It happens with and without a network connection or data on the NAS.
I have spoken with and played the sound for WD level-2 technical support. Their engineers tell me this is *definitely not* normal behavior for these drives.
On WD's advice, I tested individual drives in a SATA dock connected to my computer. I found that they make this sound for a few seconds after mounting, then become completely quiet.
It appears that the drives are getting stuck in a calibration loop when used in the ReadyNAS.
I reported these results to WD. The WD engineers suggested a low-level SATA hardware or device-driver level incompatibility between the ReadyNAS and the drives may be the cause.
I've been reporting my findings to Netgear support (case# 9787229, now case# 10374423) for about three months.
I've been told that level-3 Netgear engineers say that this sound is normal, however, it's not clear to me that level-3 is actually testing this configuration.
These are enterprise class drives designed to run 24/7. Frankly, I can't believe these drives would pass QA with this behavior. Having the heads click every 10-15 seconds is *not* normal and can't be good in the long run.
Based on the difficulties I've read in other threads with the RE4, I suspect there may be problems with the RE3 that slipped thru the cracks.
Jedi's, I need your advice.
The only reason my partners and I bought these drives is because of WD's reputation and the fact that they were on the HCL. We need this resolved so that we can put our ReadyNAS's into production with confidence.
I'd also appreciate hearing from any other users of these drives on whether you experience these issues.
Thanks everyone for your help.
--dhl
38 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
After letting WD know that, they replied: I've discussed this problem with my colleagues and it seems that the harddrives are close to breaking down.
I'd suggest doing an RMA for the harddrives with a clicking sound and see if the replacements work better.
I think this is the salient point. WD has over and over said this sound is *not* normal and *not* good. I wish I could afford to give up and start over, but I really need a solution as does everyone who bought these drives based on the HCL.
Jedis -- please chime in. really We need some advice on moving forward.- dhl,
Please download a set of system logs. Wait a few minutes, then download another set after you hear a few clicks. Open up disk_smart.log in both and compare the Load Cycle Count, is it increasing?
Also please send the logs into us to check out. Link in my sig with contact info.
I'll be able to check from the logs then, but are you running RAIDiator 4.2.9 yet? chirpa wrote: dhl,
Please download a set of system logs. Wait a few minutes, then download another set after you hear a few clicks. Open up disk_smart.log in both and compare the Load Cycle Count, is it increasing?
Also please send the logs into us to check out. Link in my sig with contact info.
I'll be able to check from the logs then, but are you running RAIDiator 4.2.9 yet?
Hi Chirpa,
I'm currently running 4.2.7
Would you like me to upgrade to 4.2.9 before I send you the logs? The ReadyNAS is in a factory default state so anything you need is
Thanks!
--dhl- We're checking with our WD contacts, have the email thread you sent to support from your contacts with them.
Please update to 4.2.9 first, see if the clicking is still often. chirpa wrote: We're checking with our WD contacts, have the email thread you sent to support from your contacts with them.
Please update to 4.2.9 first, see if the clicking is still often.
Great, thank you! Upgrading now, will let you know the results.- OK, 4.2.9 is installed and running.
No change to the drive behavior, still same non-stop, continuous clicking immediately upon boot.
I download all system logs then waited ten minutes and downloaded again.
Load cycle counts are low and holding steady for all four drives -- no change after 10 minutes of clicking
I'll send the zips to your sig address so you can take a look. I'll also leave the ReadyNAS on and check again later this evening.
Thank you! - @Chirpa,
Re: Load cycle counts -
After some experimentation here's what I've found -- I left the ReadyNAS on for several hours, checked the logs and found that load cycle counts were unchanged for all disks.
I then powered off the ReadyNAS for the night. I turned the unit back on the next day and found that load cycle counts for each disc had incremented by one.
So it appears that load cycle counts for all disks increment by one only when the unit is power cycled. This appears to be correct behavior unrelated to the clicking noise.
Hope this is useful info. I'm happy to repeat this test and generate and send the logs if you'd like. - Has anyone found a resolution to this issue? My disks are now constantly making this loud seeking noise that is both concerning and annoying as this device is in my office.
I have a mix of Seagate and Western Digital drives:
Ch 1 : Seagate ST3500320NS [465 GB] 461 GB allocated
Ch 2 : Seagate ST3500320NS [465 GB] 461 GB allocated
Ch 3 : Seagate ST3500320NS [465 GB] 461 GB allocated
Ch 4 : WDC WD2002FYPS-01U1B0 [1863 GB] 1858 GB allocated
Ch 5 : WDC WD2002FYPS-01U1B0 [1863 GB] 1858 GB allocated
Thanks in advance.
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