WD SN200 is showing 3.2TB instead of 3.84TB

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Crocodil

New Member
Mar 12, 2023
8
3
3
Hi,

I have bought a WD/HGST Ultrastar SN200. The SSD was supposed to be unused and have a capacity of 3.84TB. When I unpacked it, I've noticed that on the sides there are very light traces of the disk being mounted. They're barely visible and impossible to show on a photo so maybe it's just from some testing. Also on the label someone has written a very faint "3200" with a pencil.

When I run CrystalDiskInfo on the SSD it shows that the disk only has 3.2TB. It has no reads or writes, 0h of work and was powered on only 5 times. The model number on the label and in CrystalDiskInfo is HUSMR7638BDP3Y1 and that is supposed to be the 3.84TB version. The 3.2TB version is HUSMR7632BDP301.

I see a few possibilities for the situation:

1. The disk is broken from the factory, with some of its NAND not working and it was never meant to be sold or used.

2. The disk in is fact a used one but someone has hacked firmware to clear the SMART data and the capacity got broken in the process.

3. Some other mishap with the markings and/or firmware.

4. This is some sort of an over-provisioning configuration.
With Micron 5100 you could use some capacity to increase longevity. If that's a thing for WD SSDs as well, I couldn't find any information or tools for it.

I don't know if there's anything I can do about the disk (the seller stopped responding to my messages), if I can somehow investigate or fix it. WD website has no real support for SN200, with some of the links already dead.

Because of the disks longevity, I was planning to use it as a part of my backup system but with how the things are, I don't think it can be used to store anything valuable.

Best regards,
Crocodil
 

elvisimprsntr

Active Member
May 9, 2021
149
65
28
Florida
Welcome!

5. Someone swapped the labels between a 3.2TB vs 3.84TB in order to save or charge more $.

What shady unlicensed reseller did you buy from? Someone off evilBay? And how much $ did you think you saved by purchasing a used or refurbished product?
 
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Crocodil

New Member
Mar 12, 2023
8
3
3
Welcome!

5. Someone swapped the labels between a 3.2TB vs 3.84TB in order to save or charge more $.

What shady unlicensed reseller did you buy from? Someone off evilBay? And how much $ did you think you saved by purchasing a used or refurbished product?
Hi,

I don't think it was just a label swap, as the model number on the label and in firmware both match and point to the 3.84TB version. Serial number also both match. I forgot to attach the pictures previously (sorry for Polish CDI):

WD_SN200.jpg
CrystalDiskInfo_WD_SN200.png

I've bought it on Allegro which is sort of a Polish eBay. It costed 800 PLN which is around 180 USD. It's from a private seller and it's not unreasonable for the old enterprise level hardware to make it's way too individual hands, one way or another. I am going to try and get a full refund but first I wanted to ask if maybe I'm missing something (like the provisioning thing).

To tell you the truth, this is for my private stuff and I would be perfectly happy with a 3.2TB drive but with so many strange things about it and no way to verify that the disk is healthy, I won't feel safe storing any data on it...

Regards,
Crocodil
 

Crocodil

New Member
Mar 12, 2023
8
3
3
The other possibility is CrystalDiskInfo is incorrect or it is displaying formatted capacity.

Might try installing smartmontools, which should show the raw disk information.

I think CrystalDiskInfo always shows the full useable capacity but I'll try smartmontools as well.

Maybe the drive was set to have more over provisioning, hence less capacity?
That was one of my ideas as well but I cannot find any tools to manage the over provisioning for WD SSDs.
 

ElCoyote_

Active Member
Jul 22, 2016
193
118
43
I own 6 x 3.84Tb and 4 x 7.68Tb HHL versions of those drives. I'never seen a capacity issue like this. At any case, it's not what you bought and I'd ask to return the drive for a refund.
It would be interesting to see the NVMe stats for the drive (is there any endurance left?). NVMe drives such as the SN200/SN260 usually report this kind of data:

Code:
# nvme smart-log /dev/nvme0n1
Smart Log for NVME device:nvme0n1 namespace-id:ffffffff
critical_warning                        : 0
temperature                             : 42 C (315 Kelvin)
available_spare                         : 100%
available_spare_threshold               : 10%
percentage_used                         : 0% <=======================
endurance group critical warning summary: 0
data_units_read                         : 34,723,346 <=======================
data_units_written                      : 14,057,763 <=======================
host_read_commands                      : 638,168,799 <=======================
host_write_commands                     : 31,140,431 <=======================
controller_busy_time                    : 7,692
power_cycles                            : 11
power_on_hours                          : 3,323
unsafe_shutdowns                        : 4
media_errors                            : 0
num_err_log_entries                     : 30
Warning Temperature Time                : 0
Critical Composite Temperature Time     : 0
Temperature Sensor 1           : 42 C (315 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 2           : 34 C (307 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 3           : 39 C (312 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 4           : 40 C (313 Kelvin)
Thermal Management T1 Trans Count       : 0
Thermal Management T2 Trans Count       : 0
Thermal Management T1 Total Time        : 0
Thermal Management T2 Total Time        : 0
 

Crocodil

New Member
Mar 12, 2023
8
3
3
Hi :)

I can confirm that this has been a problem with configuration. I was able to solve it by running the hdm command:

hdm reset-to-defaults --path /dev/nvme2n1

The only problem was that the link I've posted has a Windows version and it requires a driver that's not included. Instead I've used a Linux version from archive.org: HGSTDM 34 : HGST : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

@ElCoyote_ Here's the output of the command:

Code:
$ sudo nvme smart-log /dev/nvme2n1
Smart Log for NVME device:nvme2n1 namespace-id:ffffffff
critical_warning                        : 0
temperature                             : 58°C (331 Kelvin)
available_spare                         : 100%
available_spare_threshold               : 10%
percentage_used                         : 0%
endurance group critical warning summary: 0
Data Units Read                         : 22 (11,26 MB)
Data Units Written                      : 0 (0,00 B)
host_read_commands                      : 478
host_write_commands                     : 0
controller_busy_time                    : 0
power_cycles                            : 8
power_on_hours                          : 0
unsafe_shutdowns                        : 0
media_errors                            : 0
num_err_log_entries                     : 39
Warning Temperature Time                : 0
Critical Composite Temperature Time     : 0
Temperature Sensor 1           : 58°C (331 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 2           : 54°C (327 Kelvin)
Temperature Sensor 3           : 48°C (321 Kelvin)
Thermal Management T1 Trans Count       : 0
Thermal Management T2 Trans Count       : 0
Thermal Management T1 Total Time        : 0
Thermal Management T2 Total Time        : 0
It looks like the temperature is pretty high o_O

Regards,
Crocodil

EDIT: When running CrystalDiskMark test the temperature has reached 64C. The Data Sheet says that Operating Temperature is up to 70C but is that really safe? It's also strange that previously the idle temperature was around 38C and now it's 59-60C o_O
 
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Crocodil

New Member
Mar 12, 2023
8
3
3
I have bought a different adapter ("U.2 to M.2" similar to this one) which allowed me to move the SSD to a better ventilated location in the case (not without problems). The temperature went down by good 12-14C to far more acceptable 46-48C.
 

physx

New Member
Feb 23, 2022
4
4
3
This is a desktop PC with mesh front and a rather good airflow (SilentiumPC SG7V). The SSD is placed in the bottom PCIE slot of a B550 Aorus Pro V2 motherboard using an adapter like this: U.2 PCIe 4.0 Adpater for 2.5 inch U.2 SSD (SFF-8639) (with open back).

I did read that the U.2 SSDs have higher temperatures but I didn't think it would be this bad :-/
I have a Micron 9200 EVO and it has its very own cooling fan. The drive specs require that it's run with some airflow going through the drive and it actually has holes on both of its shortest sides to allow air to pass through. These do get hot, so cool it properly. In the worst case it will throttle, but that's not why you've bought an NVMe drive. As others suggested, you can get an m.2 to SFF-8643 adapter and an SFF-8643 to U.2 cable. That would let you mount the drive pretty much anywhere inside the chassis.
 

Crocodil

New Member
Mar 12, 2023
8
3
3
@physx Hi :⁠-⁠) In the end that's basically what I did - I've bought an M.2 to SFF-8643 adapter with SFF-8643 to SFF-8639 / U.2 cable and I've mounted the SSD next to an intake fan. It's not in the best orientation (vertical instead of horizontal) but the temperature still went down by about 15 degrees.