WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0 Inside ProBox HDL-SU3

[pmredulla]

Hello,

I have a hard drive inside a UASP-enabled USB 3.0 enclosure. The enclosure (ProBox HDL-SU3) has a VIA VL711 controller. The drive was correctly detected (WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0). The only problem is that I cannot execute any command to the drive. S.M.A.R.T. detection is absent and an error is returned if I try to get Identity Info (ID Error: 00052000).

My system configuration:
ASUS X550Z Notebook PC with Windows 10 Home SL OS
AMD FX 7600P APU
8GB DDR3 RAM
1TB HDD
HDDScan for Windows version 3.1

[labtech]

What software are you using to read SMART values on it?
If everything is ok with set up, then the behavior is pretty much expected on this model drive upon failure. SMART is a firmware component, which often gets degraded, thus unresponsive. Need advanced firmware tools that also work directly with the drive for further investigation.

[Dmitri]

HDDScan for Windows version 3.1

Start from getting the latest version, which is 3.3. It supports more USB boxes and external enclosures.
http://hddscan.com/

[labtech]

Haha, thanks, completely ignored the sys config as typically it does not matter. My fault on that one.

[fzabkar]

I believe that smartctl (smartmontools) has the most complete support of any tool for USB mass storage devices. There are Windows GUI versions of this tool, eg GSmartControl.

[pmredulla]

What software are you using to read SMART values on it?
If everything is ok with set up, then the behavior is pretty much expected on this model drive upon failure. SMART is a firmware component, which often gets degraded, thus unresponsive. Need advanced firmware tools that also work directly with the drive for further investigation.

HDDScan for Windows version 3.1

Start from getting the latest version, which is 3.3. It supports more USB boxes and external enclosures.
http://hddscan.com/

I believe that smartctl (smartmontools) has the most complete support of any tool for USB mass storage devices. There are Windows GUI versions of this tool, eg GSmartControl.

Already tried HDDScan from http://hddguru.com/software/2006.01.22-HDDScan/ and http://hddscan.com/ and http://gsmartcontrol.sourceforge.net/home/. Please see attached images.

I guess the problem is with the USB 3.0 controller in the enclosure (VIA VL711). I already tried inserting the HDD in a desktop PC and S.M.A.R.T. is working fine. I hope the controller gets supported in the future. I have no problem accessing the files in the drive when it is inside the enclosure, the only problem is that I cannot do any diagnostics on the disk.

Attachments

[fzabkar]

https://www.smartmontools.org/ticket/594

"VIA has apparently removed SAT support in the firmware of newer bridges"

[pmredulla]

https://www.smartmontools.org/ticket/594

"VIA has apparently removed SAT support in the firmware of newer bridges"

I guess you're right, thanks for the link.

[Alexii]

Sadle G6 drive. They are notorious for losing a head here and there.

[Captain_WD]

Hey there pmredulla,

The drive's S.M.A.R.T. status should be available through the USB port. I would use WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool to check the drive's health, S.M.A.R.T. status and for any bad sectors that might have appeared on the drive. The software program should have no trouble working through the USB port and scan the drive. Here's a link to the tool:http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=Ynw2Ok
If you have trouble accessing the S.M.A.R.T. status feel free to contact our live support: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=Vxyhn0

Captain_WD.

[fzabkar]

The drive's S.M.A.R.T. status should be available through the USB port. I would use WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool to check the drive's health, S.M.A.R.T. status and for any bad sectors that might have appeared on the drive.

Nobody who values his professional reputation would recommend WD's Data Lifeguard. It does not tell the user how many bad sectors the drive has, or how many read errors it has racked up. Nor does it report "slow" sectors. It is a tool that is aimed at minimising warranty returns.