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Is my hard drive failing?
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Is my hard drive failing?

camjac251camjac251 Member
edited December 2014 in Help

I have a WD Black 4TB HD currently running a bitdefender system scan and its now scanning the drive and a loud noise.... Please help me, I need to know if its failing. I recorded it with my BoomPro mic, so heres the raw file for that
mediafire.com/download/v8cfx4xrmh6qr6e/hdd.wav

And then I made one with noise reduction, the buzzing you hear is indeed the hard drive.
mediafire.com/download/gxc3cvnr1tzo90p/hdd-noisereduction.flac

This is a new drive by the way, so I hope I can send it in to Western Digital and not lose any data while doing so.

Here's a soundcloud link for easy listening https://soundcloud.com/cameronjackson/hdd-noisereduction/s-n5F0r
The code at the end is a "special code" since its a private track, removing it wont give you access to listen to it.

Comments

  • LeeLee Veteran

    Certainly Sounds noisy, have you used their software to check it's health? If you do need to return it they will not preserve your data. Just send a replacement.

  • Check S.M.A.R.T Data

  • @nexmark said:
    Check S.M.A.R.T Data

    Ran Data LifeGuard

  • Sounds like the WD Black 4TB drive I have when it does seeks. It's not super loud, but it's noticeable.

  • @CharlesA said:
    Sounds like the WD Black 4TB drive I have when it does seeks. It's not super loud, but it's noticeable.

    It makes that exact noise? It doesn't seem normal.

  • Well I can only say if it is sounding like a grinding sound or clicking sound yes it is failing....I recommend as a certified computer tech who have dealt with failing hard drives myself if it sounds like the hard drive is making a grinding noise or clicking sound then yes it is failing and it is recommended for the safety of your data to stop reading/writing to the hard drive completely remove it and put it aside and use a hdd(hard disk drive) dock to read from it and recover all of your data to another hard drive(not the one you are trying to recover data from as that makes it harder to restore your data.) here is a way to tell put your ear close to the hard drive when it is running so you can hear it without any other distractions(so you are just hearing the hard drive only.) and then if you hear it grinding or hear the "click of death" or clicking noise yes it is failing.
    I hope you are able to tell and my advice helped you and also if you have anymore questions or need more help please just quote me in this thread so I will be notified by email you replied and I will help you more.

  • camjac251camjac251 Member
    edited December 2014

    @timnboys said:

    Have you ever dealt with WD support on an RMA before? Do they offer recovery or do they just send a wiped new drive... Meaning they dont transfer your data to a new drive for you.

  • timnboystimnboys Member
    edited December 2014

    no I don't think they offer recovery as per there faq:
    http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/997/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNDE5ODgyNjgyL3NpZC8yRXlMTjdibQ==

    I know what they said in that faq is that they wipe the data completely off and you should recover the data before you send it in for replacement.

    What happens to the data on the drive sent in for an RMA and can it be retrieved

    >

    Answer ID 997 | Last Updated 02/25/2014

    Customer confidentiality is a priority to Western Digital. When a drive is received at our facility, it is put through a rigorous testing process for analysis. During this process, all data on the drive is completely erased, and therefore irrecoverable.

    Consequently, if you need to recover the data on the drive, you must do so before returning the drive to us. As was stated in the above paragraph, once we receive the drive, all data is completely erased and irrecoverable. If you need data recovery, please ? click on the link below for a list of WD data recovery partners. Once they recover your data, you can then send the drive in for replacement.

    Please just quote me so I will be notified by email you replied if you need anymore help.

  • @camjac251 said:
    It makes that exact noise? It doesn't seem normal.

    Not the exact noise, no, but it sounds similar. The ones mine makes is the usual "click" of the drive heads seeking.

    It would probably be a good idea to do the extended test, back up your data and RMA it if it makes you nervous.

    I recorded the sound my drive makes. It can be found here: https://oc.charlesauer.net/public.php?service=files&t=eafb00b6726b8712decd93301b84b12e

  • @CharlesA said:
    I recorded the sound my drive makes. It can be found here: https://oc.charlesauer.net/public.php?service=files&t=eafb00b6726b8712decd93301b84b12e

    its hard to hear for me, sounds like theres a lot of reverb and high frequencies.

  • @camjac251 said:
    its hard to hear for me, sounds like theres a lot of reverb and high frequencies.

    Headset mic blows. I did some noise reduction on it, but you will likely have to crank up the volume to hear it without headphones.

  • camjac251camjac251 Member
    edited December 2014

    So if the extended test passes, it's accurate to say that my hdd isn't failing?

  • Find out if your drive supports Automatic Acoustic Management, if so is it using the quiet option? hdparm can do this for Linux.

  • @camjac251 said:
    So if the extended test passes, it's accurate to say that my hdd isn't failing?

    Likely, but if it would make you feel better about the drive, RMA it and get a replacement.

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