Problem with Western Digital Green drive and Asus motherboard
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From: annily on 4 Dec 2009 23:37 XR8 Sprintless wrote: > Clocky wrote: >> >> Rod is obsessed with SMART but the problem with SMART is that it can >> show nothing wrong right up to the point of terminal failure. >> >> I had a similar problem once with a flakey SATA cable which would >> cause the computer to stop responding for 30 seconds or more with the >> HDD light on. Often the system would revocer but sometimes it would >> lock up requiring a reset. Reseating the cable fixed it temporarily >> until it would work loose again over time. Replacing it with a better >> quality cable fixed it. >> >> SMART showed nothing wrong but clearly there was a problem. > > Very good answer. The major problem with SATA drives are the cables. > Good quality cables have a little metal clip on them to connect them to > the device and to the motherboard. So many problems are caused by cables > that do not have clips or cables that are not seated firmly on the > contacts. If the cable does not feel firm when you put it on the drive, > use a different cable. > > Interesting. When I replaced the WD drive with the Samsung, I used the same SATA data cable, but I didn't try just disconnecting and re-connecting the WD drive, in case the cable wasn't making proper contact. I don't think mine have clips. I'll experiment with the cable next time I get open the case, probably some time this weekend. -- Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions.
From: annily on 4 Dec 2009 23:39 Rod Speed wrote: > annily wrote >> Gregory Shearman wrote >>> annily <annily(a)ihopethisdoesntexist.com> wrote > >>>> A few weeks ago, I bought a cheap PC, without operating system, and >>>> installed Windows 7 on it. > >>>> It developed a problem where the system woould freeze for 30 >>>> seconds or more at seemingly random intervals, with the hard disk >>>> LED on solid. I originally thought it was a problem with Win 7, >>>> since other people had reported similar symptoms with that. > >>>> After quite a bit of troubleshooting, trying things that had >>>> apparently worked for other people and getting nowhere, I decided to try Win XP on the same hardware. Lo and behold, >>>> it had the problem too. > >>>> I then installed Win 7 on an older Dell system. This worked fine, >>>> so I began to suspect that it was some sort of hardware-related >>>> problem with the new system. > >>>> So today, I replaced the WD drive with a Samsung HD502HJ, and after several hours running, the problem has not >>>> occurred. > >>>> The WD drive is a WD10EADS. The motherboard is an Asus P5KPL-AM/PS. > >>>> Another interesting point is that the new Samsung drive does not >>>> show up under Disk Drives in Device Manager, despite the fact that >>>> it shows in the BIOS and works fine. I've never seen that before. > >>> I run the same Western Digital HDD. It's a SATA drive and I've had no >>> problems at all with it running under Linux. I've had the drive for >>> around 6 months now. > >> Good for you, but not particularly relevant to my problem with the >> drive under two different versions of Windows and presumably >> different hardware from yours. I certainly was not suggesting that >> the drive would cause this symptom in all cases. I can only assume I have a fairly unusual configuration. > > Or you just have a dying drive and the Everest SMART report will prove if that is the case. > > And you need to ignore the OKs and concentrate on the RAW > numbers, particularly the reallocated and pending sector counts. > > Thanks, I'll re-install the WD and have a closer look at the SMART figures and the cable connections soon, hopefully this weekend. -- Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions.
From: Rod Speed on 5 Dec 2009 01:08 XR8 Sprintless wrote: > Clocky wrote: >> >> Rod is obsessed with SMART but the problem with SMART is that it can >> show nothing wrong right up to the point of terminal failure. >> >> I had a similar problem once with a flakey SATA cable which would >> cause the computer to stop responding for 30 seconds or more with >> the HDD light on. Often the system would revocer but sometimes it >> would lock up requiring a reset. Reseating the cable fixed it >> temporarily until it would work loose again over time. Replacing it >> with a better quality cable fixed it. SMART showed nothing wrong but clearly there was a problem. > Very good answer. Nope. No one ever said that SMART diagnoses all problems. But it DOES provide evidence that a drive is dying when it reports more than a couple of reallocated sectors and pending sectors and those can produce the symptoms the OP reported when the drive retrys on the bad sectors. > The major problem with SATA drives are the cables. But a bad cable does not produce the symptoms the OP reported, particularly the hard drive LED on solidly when the 30 sec freeze is seen. > Good quality cables have a little metal clip on them to connect them > to the device and to the motherboard. So many problems are caused by > cables that do not have clips or cables that are not seated firmly on > the contacts. If the cable does not feel firm when you put it on the > drive, use a different cable.
From: annily on 5 Dec 2009 03:23 Rod Speed wrote: > XR8 Sprintless wrote: >> Clocky wrote: >>> Rod is obsessed with SMART but the problem with SMART is that it can >>> show nothing wrong right up to the point of terminal failure. >>> >>> I had a similar problem once with a flakey SATA cable which would >>> cause the computer to stop responding for 30 seconds or more with >>> the HDD light on. Often the system would revocer but sometimes it >>> would lock up requiring a reset. Reseating the cable fixed it >>> temporarily until it would work loose again over time. Replacing it >>> with a better quality cable fixed it. SMART showed nothing wrong but clearly there was a problem. > >> Very good answer. > > Nope. > > No one ever said that SMART diagnoses all problems. > > But it DOES provide evidence that a drive is dying when > it reports more than a couple of reallocated sectors and > pending sectors and those can produce the symptoms the > OP reported when the drive retrys on the bad sectors. > >> The major problem with SATA drives are the cables. > > But a bad cable does not produce the symptoms the OP reported, > particularly the hard drive LED on solidly when the 30 sec freeze is seen. > >> Good quality cables have a little metal clip on them to connect them >> to the device and to the motherboard. So many problems are caused by >> cables that do not have clips or cables that are not seated firmly on >> the contacts. If the cable does not feel firm when you put it on the >> drive, use a different cable. > > OK, Rod. I tried again with the WD drive, and installed a fresh copy of Win 7 32-bit on it. For some reason, I couldn't get networking going and the troubleshooter just kept saying that the Ethernet cable wasn't plugged in or was faulty, despite trying two cables which I know to be OK. I didn't run it long enough to get a good idea of whether the freezing for 30 seconds or so with the disk light on problem was still there (although I think I did get one occurrence of it). Anyhow, I was able to get hold of Everest for the SMART report but I did have a copy of SiSoft Sandra, so here are the results from that (including SMART): -------------------------------- SiSoftware Sandra SCSI General Properties Controller : 2 Bus : 0 Target ID : 0 Logical Unit No. : 0 General Capabilities Channel : Master Type : ATA Interface : SATA Removable : No Model : WDC WD10EADS-00M2B0 Revision : 01.00A01 Serial Number : WD-WCAV51782201 ATA/ATAPI Approved Version : 8.00 Cache Size : 32MB Drive Geometry CHS Geometry : 16383 x 16 x 63 CHS Total Sectors : 16514064 LBA Total Sectors : 1953525168 Number of ECC Bytes : 50 Capacity : 931.51GB Translation Mode Disk Geometry CHS Geometry : 2713229 x 60 x 12 Bytes Per Sector : 512bytes Capacity : 931.51GB Partitions Information Partition 1 : MBR Boot IFS-NTFS 465.66GB Partition 2 : MBR IFS-NTFS 465.7GB Logical Drives Logical Drive : C: Logical Drive : D: Cache Information Read Cache : Yes Write Cache : Yes Prefetch Buffer : No Properties NCQ - Native Command Queuing : Yes PEC - Physical Event Counters : Yes LBA Support : Yes Features S.M.A.R.T Support : Yes Security Support : Yes Power Management Support : Yes ACPI Power Management Support : No Power-up in Standby : Yes Packet Command Interface : No Removable Media : No Look-Ahead Buffer : Yes Write-Back Cache : Yes Host Protect Area : Yes Microcode Update : Yes Acoustic Management : Yes 48-bit LBA : Yes Device Config Overlay : Yes Active Features S.M.A.R.T Enabled : Yes Security Enabled : No Power Management Enabled : Yes Power-up in Standby Enabled : No Look-Ahead Buffer Enabled : Yes Write-Back Cache Enabled : Yes Host Protect Area Enabled : Yes Acoustic Management Enabled : No S.M.A.R.T Information Version : 1.01 ATA Commands Support : Yes ATAPI Commands Support : Yes S.M.A.R.T Commands Support : Yes S.M.A.R.T Data Raw Read Error Rate (01) : 200 (51 - 200) [0000] Spin-up Time (03) : 112 (21 - 111) [1CBE] Start/Stop Count (04) : 100 (0 - 100) [005E] Re-Allocated Sector Count (05) : 200 (140 - 200) [0000] Seek Error Rate (07) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] Power-On Time Count (09) : 99 (0 - 99) [02F3] Spin Retry Count (0A) : 100 (0 - 253) [0000] Calibration Retry Count (0B) : 100 (0 - 253) [0000] Power Cycle Count (0C) : 100 (0 - 100) [0058] Power-Off Park Count (C0) : 200 (0 - 200) [000C] Load/Unload Cycle Count (C1) : 195 (0 - 195) [41D8] Drive Temperature (C2) : 109 (0 - 103) [0026] Re-Allocated Data Count (C4) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] Pending Sector Count (C5) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] Un-Correctable Sector Count (C6) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] CRC Error Count (C7) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] Write Error Rate (C8) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] Environment Monitor(s) Disk Temperature : 38.00�C Transfer Modes Support I/O Queue Depth : 32 Block Size : 16 Maximum SATA Mode : G2 / SATA300 Transfer Modes Active Current Block Transfer : 16 Current SATA Mode : G2 / SATA300 ------------------------- Hopefully, it means more to you than it does to me. Actually, now that I have a nice system running on the Samsung, I'm more interested in why that drive does not show up at all in Device Manager or Computer Management (Disk Management section). That really puzzles me, because it shows up in Windows Explorer and other file managers, and the system is running fine from it. -- Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions.
From: Rod Speed on 5 Dec 2009 12:53
annily wrote > Rod Speed wrote >> XR8 Sprintless wrote >>> Clocky wrote >>>> Rod is obsessed with SMART but the problem with SMART is that it >>>> can show nothing wrong right up to the point of terminal failure. >>>> I had a similar problem once with a flakey SATA cable which would >>>> cause the computer to stop responding for 30 seconds or more with >>>> the HDD light on. Often the system would revocer but sometimes it >>>> would lock up requiring a reset. Reseating the cable fixed it >>>> temporarily until it would work loose again over time. Replacing it >>>> with a better quality cable fixed it. SMART showed nothing wrong >>>> but clearly there was a problem. >>> Very good answer. >> Nope. >> No one ever said that SMART diagnoses all problems. >> But it DOES provide evidence that a drive is dying when >> it reports more than a couple of reallocated sectors and >> pending sectors and those can produce the symptoms the >> OP reported when the drive retrys on the bad sectors. >>> The major problem with SATA drives are the cables. >> But a bad cable does not produce the symptoms the OP reported, >> particularly the hard drive LED on solidly when the 30 sec freeze is seen. >>> Good quality cables have a little metal clip on them to connect them >>> to the device and to the motherboard. So many problems are caused by >>> cables that do not have clips or cables that are not seated firmly >>> on the contacts. If the cable does not feel firm when you put it on >>> the drive, use a different cable. > OK, Rod. I tried again with the WD drive, and installed a fresh copy > of Win 7 32-bit on it. For some reason, I couldn't get networking > going and the troubleshooter just kept saying that the Ethernet cable > wasn't plugged in or was faulty, despite trying two cables which I > know to be OK. Most likely it just needs the appropriate driver for the NIC. > I didn't run it long enough to get a good idea of whether the freezing for 30 seconds or so with the disk light on > problem was still there (although I think I did get one occurrence of it). > Anyhow, I was able to get hold of Everest for the SMART report Presumably you mean you were unable. > but I did have a copy of SiSoft Sandra, so here are the results from that (including SMART): > -------------------------------- > SiSoftware Sandra > > SCSI General Properties > Controller : 2 > Bus : 0 > Target ID : 0 > Logical Unit No. : 0 > > General Capabilities > Channel : Master > Type : ATA > Interface : SATA > Removable : No > Model : WDC WD10EADS-00M2B0 > Revision : 01.00A01 > Serial Number : WD-WCAV51782201 > ATA/ATAPI Approved Version : 8.00 > Cache Size : 32MB > > Drive Geometry > CHS Geometry : 16383 x 16 x 63 > CHS Total Sectors : 16514064 > LBA Total Sectors : 1953525168 > Number of ECC Bytes : 50 > Capacity : 931.51GB > > Translation Mode Disk Geometry > CHS Geometry : 2713229 x 60 x 12 > Bytes Per Sector : 512bytes > Capacity : 931.51GB > > Partitions Information > Partition 1 : MBR Boot IFS-NTFS 465.66GB > Partition 2 : MBR IFS-NTFS 465.7GB > > Logical Drives > Logical Drive : C: > Logical Drive : D: > > Cache Information > Read Cache : Yes > Write Cache : Yes > Prefetch Buffer : No > > Properties > NCQ - Native Command Queuing : Yes > PEC - Physical Event Counters : Yes > LBA Support : Yes > > Features > S.M.A.R.T Support : Yes > Security Support : Yes > Power Management Support : Yes > ACPI Power Management Support : No > Power-up in Standby : Yes > Packet Command Interface : No > Removable Media : No > Look-Ahead Buffer : Yes > Write-Back Cache : Yes > Host Protect Area : Yes > Microcode Update : Yes > Acoustic Management : Yes > 48-bit LBA : Yes > Device Config Overlay : Yes > > Active Features > S.M.A.R.T Enabled : Yes > Security Enabled : No > Power Management Enabled : Yes > Power-up in Standby Enabled : No > Look-Ahead Buffer Enabled : Yes > Write-Back Cache Enabled : Yes > Host Protect Area Enabled : Yes > Acoustic Management Enabled : No > > S.M.A.R.T Information > Version : 1.01 > ATA Commands Support : Yes > ATAPI Commands Support : Yes > S.M.A.R.T Commands Support : Yes > > S.M.A.R.T Data > Raw Read Error Rate (01) : 200 (51 - 200) [0000] > Spin-up Time (03) : 112 (21 - 111) [1CBE] > Start/Stop Count (04) : 100 (0 - 100) [005E] > Re-Allocated Sector Count (05) : 200 (140 - 200) [0000] > Seek Error Rate (07) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] > Power-On Time Count (09) : 99 (0 - 99) [02F3] > Spin Retry Count (0A) : 100 (0 - 253) [0000] > Calibration Retry Count (0B) : 100 (0 - 253) [0000] > Power Cycle Count (0C) : 100 (0 - 100) [0058] > Power-Off Park Count (C0) : 200 (0 - 200) [000C] > Load/Unload Cycle Count (C1) : 195 (0 - 195) [41D8] > Drive Temperature (C2) : 109 (0 - 103) [0026] > Re-Allocated Data Count (C4) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] > Pending Sector Count (C5) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] > Un-Correctable Sector Count (C6) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] > CRC Error Count (C7) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] > Write Error Rate (C8) : 200 (0 - 200) [0000] That shows that the drive itself isnt dying with reallocated or pending sectors, both counts are zero. > Environment Monitor(s) > Disk Temperature : 38.00�C > Transfer Modes Support > I/O Queue Depth : 32 > Block Size : 16 > Maximum SATA Mode : G2 / SATA300 > Transfer Modes Active > Current Block Transfer : 16 > Current SATA Mode : G2 / SATA300 > ------------------------- > Hopefully, it means more to you than it does to me. > Actually, now that I have a nice system running on the Samsung, I'm > more interested in why that drive does not show up at all in Device > Manager or Computer Management (Disk Management section). Yeah, it would be interesting to see what happens with XP, it may well just be a bug in Win 7 > That really puzzles me, because it shows up in Windows Explorer and other file managers, and the system is running > fine from it. Which means its very likely its just a bug/wart in Win 7. |