From what I understand, hard drives have a number of spare (unused sectors) because when they are low level formatted, there are some bad sectors anyway and it is possible for the disk to use these spare sectors if a bad block is found. Also the software you use can do a similar thing. Possibly these disks have been returned because the number of bad sectors has grown so they do not actually work. A low level factory format may allow them to be used again but the number of spare sectors will be reduced so they may hot last so long. Very much my two cents :wink: probably apocryphal
All comments (101)
happyelf
29 Jul 17#1
Will this work with a ps4?
naughtymonk
29 Jul 17#2
I would thoroughly test any recertified drive bought from WD.
I've experienced a 25% failure rate when buying recertified. (not this particular model)
Failures:
[1] Dead on arrival - powers up but not seen [2] Freezing - when reading data from the drive at particular sectors it will become unresponsive and has to be physically re-plugged, witnessed on multiple machines at the exact same point; failed WD's own diagnostic [3] Disconnections - when reading data the drive will randomly reappear causing all operations to fail; tried various cables and ports with no difference, logged as a "controller error"
If I hadn't tested each drive thoroughly 2/3 of the failures would have gone unnoticed for a while.
The recertification process can't be that thorough or extensive but they are cheap and you can end up with a fully working drive.
hukd_addict
29 Jul 17#3
because they are cheap? when you spend 150-200 on a new drive your paying for that 2 year warranty. if you test a drive propery and its no had 1000s hrs use, these are a bargain
shifty277
29 Jul 17#4
Well said for users. However I would thoroughly test any drive I purchase, whether that be used from eBay, new off Amazon or recertified from WD. Simply because I want to know it does have any faulty sectors out the box.
For any users new to this opinion, google western digital data lifeguard. Download and do an extended test on the drive. A 4tb model will take probably 4-6 hours however your results may vary and could be slower if plugging into a usb 2.0 port.
This will give you confidence going forward and will also tell you if there are any problems.
Hope this helps.
hukd_addict
29 Jul 17#5
not in the slightest. ok they are both black box shaped devices that have hard drives in them but that's where the similarity ends.
NASes have network cards in so they can be plugged straight into a router, so any machine on your network can access the files, the NAS also has multiple drives that can be raided together for redundancy and some protection should a drive fail, you won't lose all the data - your question is really quite a large topic, I suggest you go research what a nas is as there is plenty of info out there about them, and come back with some questions.
yury
29 Jul 17#6
Can these drives be opened up and used inside a pc? What are their spin speeds?
macamask
29 Jul 17#7
do you get WD RED drives in these please anyone??
Picard123
29 Jul 17#8
People are mad to buy a refurb'd mechanical hard drive.
Opening post
Very much my two cents :wink: probably apocryphal
All comments (101)
I've experienced a 25% failure rate when buying recertified. (not this particular model)
Failures:
[1] Dead on arrival - powers up but not seen
[2] Freezing - when reading data from the drive at particular sectors it will become unresponsive and has to be physically re-plugged, witnessed on multiple machines at the exact same point; failed WD's own diagnostic
[3] Disconnections - when reading data the drive will randomly reappear causing all operations to fail; tried various cables and ports with no difference, logged as a "controller error"
If I hadn't tested each drive thoroughly 2/3 of the failures would have gone unnoticed for a while.
The recertification process can't be that thorough or extensive but they are cheap and you can end up with a fully working drive.
For any users new to this opinion, google western digital data lifeguard. Download and do an extended test on the drive. A 4tb model will take probably 4-6 hours however your results may vary and could be slower if plugging into a usb 2.0 port.
This will give you confidence going forward and will also tell you if there are any problems.
Hope this helps.
NASes have network cards in so they can be plugged straight into a router, so any machine on your network can access the files, the NAS also has multiple drives that can be raided together for redundancy and some protection should a drive fail, you won't lose all the data - your question is really quite a large topic, I suggest you go research what a nas is as there is plenty of info out there about them, and come back with some questions.