Hello

I'm using Flexraid as a raid and pooling software.
As of late I have had a few issues with a disk suddenly disappearing and wanted to check it to make sure it's still fine or if it need replacement. Also it would be good knowledge to have for the future
I was directed to hddguru by the good folks on Flexraids forum.

I'm really new to all of this HDD checking - normally I would just get a new one, but money is a bit tight and some of the other HDD's are bought at the same time, so I want to make sure none of them are affected. Also I want to be sure before I send it in for RMA, or it could add another bill.

I have tried to look around but guess I'm searching incorrectly - so hoping a kind soul would point me in the right direction or explain how to do a proper check on the disk(s).
I tried SMART, and as far as I can see it's telling me there are no errors found - but was told that could be misleading.

Thanks in advance

Would recommend to back data up first. Then run benchmark tests with a couple of tools for consistency, e.g. hddscan.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

Thanks for the reply.. I have gotten HDDScan - and now you say run a benchmark tests? What tests is that? Sorry for the properly stupid question.

Okay

So in HDDScan I ran a SMART and everything was green.
I tried all 3 SMART Offline Tests, Small and Extended started and finished within seconds I tried my other disks and same result.
Conveyance Test took 3 minutes and told me there where no errors.

Am I closer to figuring out if something is terribly wrong or should I try something more?

You may also want to scan the drive in full for errors. Also, analyzing performance consistency is useful.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

do you perform test on another computer?
What report flexraid diagnostic and log? http://www.flexraid.com/download-try-buy/
How many drives you have in your computer?

@labtech: I'm really sorry, but how do I do a "scan the drive in full for errors" and "analyzing performance consistency"? I'm truly a noob, novice and blank mind when it comes to all of this.


@jerovsek: Yes I have "server" where the disk(s) in question are located. There are 6 disks, where 4 in a pool and its 1 of these that suddenly goes missing once in a while.
Sorry for asking but the "Flexraid diagnostic" where is that located in the Flexraid software?

This is in the Flexraid log, when the disk disappears - if it helps.

1º backup all your important data
2º report here the HDDScan log.

hhddrec: What HDDScan log? The one from S.M.A.R.T.? The Offline SMART tests doesn't give a report as far as I can see.

http://hddscan.com
Read the intro paragraph.
Then read the "storage device tests" section.
Then practice on a known healthy drive, ideally on as low of a capacity drive as you can find and suits your config so it will be least time-consuming, then do the same on the suspect drive. Then compare findings and analyze possibly results. Then to take it a notch further, run another tool, such as hdtune, etc.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

once you eliminate the drive as a possible source of the problem (good chance of bad sectors if in raid kicking it out) check the drive tray connectors as a possible intermittent source.

Hello Kega,

in your Flexraid there is option testing&benchmarking.
Did you thick Free S.M.A.R.T. monitoring option?
How many times this problem occur
Otherwise ask on flexraid forum for diagnostic options.
Check your power supply

First off.. I thank you so much for all the help. I'm so sorry for being so dumb about all of this, I feel like the person who deletes the shortcut to Internet Explore to keep the kids off the Internet


labtech: You say "suits your config so it will be least time-consuming" - how do I figure this out? And should I run a Verify, Read, Write or all of them?
I can see that HDDScan has a issue with Block Sizes - "Verify test may have restriction on Block Size with 256, 16384 or 65536 sectors because of Windows limitations" What block sizes should one pick then?


warnerr: Ohh, good point. I was more thinking the controller on the motherboard. Thanks I will check it out.


jerovsek: Hmm, I'm not sure I'm using the same version of Flexraid. I'm using the RAID-F 2.0 Final (2014-08-16) version. I don't see any option in the browser interface with "testing & benchmarking" or any possible way of adding "Free S.M.A.R.T. monitoring".
It has happen 3-5 times over the last 2 months. I had a issue back in June where my entire pool would disappear, and was told that was a bug and need to update Flexraid. This issue has then happen following the update, but was told that Flexraid won't "lose" only one disk in a pool. Therefore I'm trying to figure out if the disk is okay.
I have asked on the forum (unsure if it's allowed to link the thread), but was referred here.
How do I check my power supply, it's a Sea Sonic Platinum Series 520

Hey Kega,

I agree with @labtech that it's better to back up your data first and test the drive with more than one tool to ensure it's healthy. Have you tried checking the HDD with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic ? This tool is specially designed to test WD drives. You can download it here: http://support.wdc.com/product/download ... 10&lang=en
Run the Quick test and the Extended one to see the SMART status of the drive and make sure there are no bad sectors.

Daenerys_WD: I ran the WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic (what a mouthful to say). I got the following result.

PM Sent....

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Kuwait Data Recovery - UNIX GTC
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. By: Albert Einstein

The diagnostic tool reports that the drive is healthy. Have you considered the idea warnerr gave you? If this keeps happening, I'd suggest you to contact Flexraid support.

I think based on an educated guess the problem is likely hardware related, in particular maybe a faulty SATA cable or port.
Needs more testing in various ways to determine with certainty what is what.
The reason I think this is the case is because had the drive been faulty, the very 1st or 2nd time it went offline, it would not have come back and continue to "be healthy". The drive would have displayed a different behavior and it have shown signs in SMART and so on. Speaking of SMART, can you post the RAW values for each of the attributes?

As far as the drive goes, in order to fully understand whether it may have any issue (keep in mind sometimes the issues are not quantified just yet as they "may be pending" or yet to be marked as pending) it has be properly tested by running some full scans, and ideally as mentioned several times before, scanned with different tools for consistency purposes.

P.S. Not to bash flexraid in any way, but from the perspective of "once it is failed" seems like trouble, especially if the amount of data begins to extend to multiple drives. So, back up is vital.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts

Hello again and I really appreciate all the help.

einstein9: Thanks for the PM, but I think that is a bit out of league to do - then it would be better to do RMA, if I can prove the error.

Daenerys_WD: I have talked with Flexraid support. They told me this was an issue outside there software and kindly referred me to this forum. Which was nice, as it has shown me the Internet is still filled with amazing people

labtech: What kind of testing if I may ask, to be sure if it's? I will follow your advice and run WD software a few more times, and properly HD Tune Pro - still can't figure out how to properly setup HDDScan.
I couldn't copy the numbers out from WD's software, so this is from the SMART module in Flexraid.

Drive looks healthy based on SMART values.
Also, I would have expected some other errors had the SATA cable been an issue. So, not sure what else to suggest at this point that would not be too complex and potentially ruin the current set up.

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD, SATA, NVMe, etc), USB Flash Drive and RAID Data Recovery Specialist in Massachusetts