[DEAD] WD reds 4/8TB $90/$200 via shucking - update, 8TB reds now $180, 4TB deal looks dead.

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
Cybertron

Cybertron

Active Member
Oct 4, 2016
110
30
28
42
Atlanta, GA
PnoT said:
I'd like to know what tool as well and are you testing them before you pull them or afterwards?
Click to expand...
I've just been using the software that comes on the drive, or HD Tune Pro to do a full surface scan which does take a little less than a day, but i'm a windows guy. I'd still like to know how best to stress test or burn them in, but a guide like this one might just be the trick...but it doesnt seem to be much more than a deep surface scan.

[How To] Hard Drive Burn-In Testing
 
Fritz

Fritz

Well-Known Member
Apr 6, 2015
3,382
1,385
113
70
I had to use a table fan too. Mine reached 54 degrees, ouch.
 
C

Churchill

Admiral
Jan 6, 2016
838
213
43
PnoT said:
I'd like to know what tool as well and are you testing them before you pull them or afterwards?
Click to expand...

I use an UnRAID (NAS software) plugin called "PreClear" which scans the hard drive sector by sector, verifies the disk, wipes the disk sector by sector, reads everything back and then sends me an email saying PASS/FAIL.

You can download a copy of Unraid for 14 day trial and the plugin is free to add to the system. You just need a computer and a UsB thumb drive.

I just scanned 30 hard drives this way and it was a god send to set it and forget it. Although getting 300+ emails on progress reports was annoying I could've customized it to only send me a notice at the end of the full cycle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PnoT
C

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
262
56
28
45
Fritz said:
I had to use a table fan too. Mine reached 54 degrees, ouch.
Click to expand...
I dug out some old Arctic 120mm fans and plopped one on top of each set of 2 drives. Highest I saw was 32C.

Nothin like running some ghetto fan set up using extension cables out the back of a chassis. But on the bright side they were braided so they looked good!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BLinux

BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
2,672
1,081
113
artofserver.com
well, i might be able to give you one reason why the China drives will fail more frequently than the Thailand ones: the 1st time I ordered these, I did store pickup which was fine. This 2nd time, I noticed they offered free shipping so I thought why not? Well, so far, and for whatever reason BestBuy likes to break up my order and ship one by one, all the China drives are coming in plastic bags and getting pretty banged up in shipping, while the Thailand drives are coming in boxes lined with bubble wrap and in pristine condition. LOL ... i suppose as long as the heads are parked it can take a good beating, but not a great feeling when a brand new item you just bought looks like a 300 lbs man was sitting on it.
 
Last edited:
BLinux

BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
2,672
1,081
113
artofserver.com
Cybertron said:
I've just been using the software that comes on the drive, or HD Tune Pro to do a full surface scan which does take a little less than a day, but i'm a windows guy. I'd still like to know how best to stress test or burn them in, but a guide like this one might just be the trick...but it doesnt seem to be much more than a deep surface scan.

[How To] Hard Drive Burn-In Testing
Click to expand...
the testing method mentioned in that link is pretty much what i do, in Linux land. I usually run a smartctl long test and then I run badblocks like:

# badblocks -b 65536 -wsv /dev/sdX

'sdX' being whatever the drive shows up as. I do this via USB first, and the -b 65536 makes it go about 10-15% faster than without. This being a 8TB drive, the tests runs a LONG time. I usually let it run to completion on smaller drives, but life is short, and I've got 3 dozen drives to test, so I just let it finish a single pass writing 0xaa and then reading /comparing back and then that's it; that alone takes about 50hrs. Also, at least with Linux smartctl on CentOS7, I'm not able to get the SMART data via the USB enclosure, but CrystalDiskInfo seems to work ok.

I currently have a spare SC825 8-bay chassis, I'm considering spending some time setting that up to run 8 tests simultaneously, but that would mean I'd have to take it out of the enclosure before fully testing it. I've managed to open all the enclosures without breaking anything, so that might be okay.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cybertron
C

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
262
56
28
45
Got the last 3 today. All 17 ended up from Thailand from the Best Buy orders. Somehow I musta had the hard drive gods looking down on me :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
M

Mark Bradley

New Member
Feb 21, 2015
22
4
3
Virginia
@CyberSkulls and @BLinux are making me feel like an amateur.

My two WD Red Pro 4TB NAS drives (WD4001FFSX) both had to be RMA'ed. [1st: < 2 years old. 2nd: > 2 years (this week, actually).]

Not feeling especially lucky with WD and the lack of a decent warranty on this is keeping me away. It seems I need 3 or 5 year warranties.
 
C

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
262
56
28
45
Mark Bradley said:
@CyberSkulls and @BLinux are making me feel like an amateur.

My two WD Red Pro 4TB NAS drives (WD4001FFSX) both had to be RMA'ed. [1st: < 2 years old. 2nd: > 2 years (this week, actually).]

Not feeling especially lucky with WD and the lack of a decent warranty on this is keeping me away. It seems I need 3 or 5 year warranties.
Click to expand...
That sucks man. The 17 is in addition to the (6) 16TB Duos I bought right before this sale. So I got 29 of these damn things now. I'm just going through a drive upgrade at the moment, so trust me, I don't have an endless supply of cash!! Most if not all the money spent will be recouped when I sell the last of my 2TB drives.

Prior to this purchase I had like (60) 2TB Reds, (16) 2TB Blues, around (50) 2TB WD RE4's and (10) 2TB Hitachi refurbs. I had good luck with all of them. So it's kinda shocking you had issues with your WD drives. Hope you have good luck with the replacements.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BLinux

BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
2,672
1,081
113
artofserver.com
Mark Bradley said:
@CyberSkulls and @BLinux are making me feel like an amateur.

My two WD Red Pro 4TB NAS drives (WD4001FFSX) both had to be RMA'ed. [1st: < 2 years old. 2nd: > 2 years (this week, actually).]

Not feeling especially lucky with WD and the lack of a decent warranty on this is keeping me away. It seems I need 3 or 5 year warranties.
Click to expand...
These come with 2 yr warranty. But I'm using my Costco Visa that gives me 1 more year beyond manufacturer warranty. If i have to get warranty through Costco Visa, they'll just send me a check for the purchase price, so hopefully $180 3 yrs from now should easily buy me another 8TB drive.
 
M

Mark Bradley

New Member
Feb 21, 2015
22
4
3
Virginia
CyberSkulls said:
That sucks man. The 17 is in addition to the (6) 16TB Duos I bought right before this sale. So I got 29 of these damn things now. I'm just going through a drive upgrade at the moment, so trust me, I don't have an endless supply of cash!! Most if not all the money spent will be recouped when I sell the last of my 2TB drives.

Prior to this purchase I had like (60) 2TB Reds, (16) 2TB Blues, around (50) 2TB WD RE4's and (10) 2TB Hitachi refurbs. I had good luck with all of them. So it's kinda shocking you had issues with your WD drives. Hope you have good luck with the replacements.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
WD has been good about it but they do make you jump through their hoops to confirm the failure. I hope/assume my experience is just a fluke. Good luck with your sale, too.
 
C

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
262
56
28
45
Mark Bradley said:
WD has been good about it but they do make you jump through their hoops to confirm the failure. I hope/assume my experience is just a fluke. Good luck with your sale, too.
Click to expand...
Thanks!! Barely got the data off the WD RE4's before a BF4 clan mate sent me money for 2 of my Supermicro 846 chassis full of drives so that was a quick way to move almost half my drives in one shot.

After moving to larger 8TB drives my poor HGST chassis look empty!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
C

CyberSkulls

Active Member
Apr 14, 2016
262
56
28
45
BLinux said:
has anyone who got 8TB drives from this deal run into any bad drives while burn-in testing?
Click to expand...
All of mine have been good so far. Testing the last two right now but other than that, the other all passed the full surface scan I do. The first 12 I put into unRAID have about 70TB of data transferred to them so far and not a single hiccup as of yet.

I'll be putting 12 more into a chassis tonight to start creating a backup of that initial 70TB. So I'll post back if any of those experience an issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom