Hello,

I'm new to the forum. I've read around, but I'm yet not sure this is the right section to post under. Either way, if that's not the case, I apologize and I nicely ask a moderator to move this to the appropriate forum section.

My problem is with a WD800JB-00DUA3, which from i read around specialized websites, was a model with quite a few issues. There are two issues with this hard drive so I'll detail them independently.

1. S.M.A.R.T. attribute failure

This concerns a single attribute, more precisely the "Raw Read Error Rate" one. Data gathered with the Western Digital Data LifeGuard Diagnostics utility for this S.M.A.R.T. attribute is as follows:

ID: 1
Value: 200
Threshold: 51
Worst: 1

Personal opinion - This value was registered during a single incident around two years ago when obviously something went wrong (i don't know what exactly) and the HDD stopped reading the data and forced Windows to switch to I/O mode instead of UDMA, because of high read error count. Upon reboot it started showing the S.M.A.R.T. failure.

The HDD works fine now, in regards to read errors, but that S.M.A.R.T. attribute remained like that. This is not a huge problem, I can use the drive, I keep S.M.A.R.T. disabled from BIOS to avoid annoyances on reboot, but if there's a way to reset it, I would appreciate that.

2. BIOS faulty model detection

Some time ago BIOS started to report a faulty HDD model number. When set to master (single), the HDD was being detected as WC800J@-00D1A3, instead of WD800JB-00DUA3. Please note that the faulty model name is just an example to illustrate the problem. It is not an accurate reproduction, but i can get one if necessary.

Because of this problem, I had to run with this drive on slave for over an year. Set on slave the drive was detected properly. Until about a week ago, when it started crashing again. This time it stopped getting detected at all. I pulled it out and put it in another computer as slave. Nothing. Then as master (with slave). It worked. Saved all my data. Then i tried master (single). Amazingly, after over an year it worked and still works. Might be the different controller of the card. I have not attempted to put it back in my computer yet and it is still attached to the other computer where it functions ok.

I tested it with the WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostics, it passed. I did a full run at it with Spinrite (level 5 - write every sector with 1 then 0 and read them, doing this twice, then putting the old data back).

When it first happened i wrote to WD support and they replied that the firmware is failing and that i should get the drive replaced via the warranty (which i did not have anymore). So I got stuck with it like it was. Since they pointed firmware failure, i searched around for firmware updates for this particular model. I found none. I did find the original firmware, which i suppose I'd have to write over the corrupted one, but i haven't yet found a tool to do it with. I suppose the PC-3000 would be able to do it, but it's rather expensive to fix just this HDD as i don't need it for anything else. I could scrap the HDD, yes, but i also have a WD800JB-00JJC0 which I'd like to set in mirror RAID with the WD800JB-00DUA3. If there is any less-expensive way to fix the two issues, or at least any of them I would really appreciate it.

I'd also appreciate any input, ideas, suggestions, thoughts, possible reasons for these issues. Even if they not lead to fixing the problems, at least they'll serve my personal knowledge. I love learning new technical stuff.

Best regards,
Lucian C.

PS: I used A-FF Repair Station's diagnostic utility (free). It reported the drive does not require a firmware update, with the note that the drive was being properly detected by BIOS at the time of the test.

Additional info:
Model: WDC WD800JB-00DUA3
S/N: WD-WMACM1360496
Firmware: 75.13B75
C H S: 155061 16 63

The cost of repairing the firmware exceeds the value of the drive. Even if you were able to repair it, there is no guarantee that it would be stable for any reasonable period.

Drives are cheap. Don't waste time (your or ours). Just buy a replacement. What are they . . .
$25 on eBay??

_________________
http://www.datasaversllc.com

jono-ats I am sincerely sorry if you felt i waste your or anybody's, time with this.

This is not about money. If i were to buy a HDD i wouldn't buy it from eBay, i wouldn't buy an IDE one anymore and i would certainly buy one bigger than 80 GB (unless it was a Raptor or server-oriented HDD).

This is about knowledge. It was my understanding that this forum is for learning, for exchanging ideas, for sharing information. It was also my understanding that the best way of learning is through real situations and cases. This HDD represents mine. Could i scrap it? Sure. Do i have any important data on it? Not really. I just want to learn about low-level physical HDD repair.

I am aware this requires doing personal research. I have no problem with that and I actually did, but i could use some pointers, some links, some suggestions, some advices as to where to start. I am also aware that i can't take it all in at once as there are probably many aspects to HDD low-level stuff, so i chose this scenario to start with. At least i have this HDD to work on. Even if i end up messing it up even worse, it's a start. If i succeed i will put it in a mirror RAID, but just for kicks and personal satisfaction for a first success.

Huge amount of investent at back + passing over night without sleep + struggle + losing time n a lot
Good Luck

_________________
__________
There is no substitute for education and experience
THANK YOU
SHAHI
shahi.mahbub@gmail.com

If you want to get trained and eventually want a course on WD drives, I can help. Not for free.

Sorry about that.

I scanned your post and made the mistaken assumption that you wanted your data back. Your intention wasn't clear (to me, anyway).

The path of least resistance is to get the proper tools for the job. The firmware that is most important is the adaptive info that is particular to your drive, e.g. defect lists, translators, etc. You have to be able to copy firmware modules and fix bad ones. That's the long and short of it.

_________________
http://www.datasaversllc.com

Yes, there's really nothing you can do without some tools... the cheapest possible option is about $500 and a lot of personal research.

_________________
You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.