Hard Drive faulty, quick question as serial number appears different that packaging.

phr4n · 7 Feb 2014 at 14:14

I was gifted a HDD to replace a broken one for Christmas (not bought from here).

On the packaging the drive is marked as WDBH2D0020HNC

this one :http://www.wdc.com/global/products/specs/?driveID=1287&language=1

However my PC recognizes the drive as : WD20EZRX

I started using the hard drive around the start of Jan and found that I was experiencing similar issues to the hard drive it took the place of. Instability when content from the disk was accessed. With both drives having mostly steam installed on them this also meant instability in games. So it took me a while to figure out that this new drive was faulty. I assumed I must have some other problem with my pc (rig is in sig, its an old rig). After fault finding by passing data around between all my hard drives I found this new drive was transferring data at 2-4 mb/s. But only say, 40% of the times I tried.

The PC would hang, and certain parts of windows would not function until either a restart of the system or the passing of some time (most of the time both), typical dying hard drive stuff?

Crystal Disk Mark shows no visible signs of fault with the drive or any other.

ANDARIAL · 7 Feb 2014 at 15:03

WD just ask for the serial number printed on the disc
If you decide to RMA to them they are a bit anal about packaging so read the terms carefully
That said I have had 0 issues on the few drives I have had replaced with WD

phr4n · 7 Feb 2014 at 15:51

Thanks, Ive got everything for RMA.

Any idea what the problem might be? A fried suggested that the drive speed might alter to a low speed and this could cause the problems.

Also, is it worth updating the BIOS, its currently 80.00A80. Can't find any information about up to date BIOSes.

ANDARIAL · 7 Feb 2014 at 16:06

Other than change cables
Can you try hdd in another pc?

phr4n · 7 Feb 2014 at 16:08

Would require a long period of testing (upto a month) as the problem doesn't manifest on command. Could try it

darael · 7 Feb 2014 at 16:14

Sounds like you could do with some sort of drive exerciser software running for a few hours to stress the drive. Would also be worth your time running an extended SMART test.

phr4n · 7 Feb 2014 at 18:18

Using WD diagnostic tool to run a full smart test, 3 outta 4 hours left. Ill update with results

phr4n · 8 Feb 2014 at 16:24

Nothing changed with the deep S.M.A.R.T. test, can anyone else recommend something to test out the drive. It's almost like it spins down when it thinks its not being used, then doesn't spin up again.