WD 6TB Gold sata drive

I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. It came as
described sealed and was recognised on WD website. So I registered the
serial number under my name and now it has a full 5 year guarantee.

My question is that it makes a lot of noise when copying files and at
start up. I have it in a 3.5" USB 3.0 case. It passed WD lifeguard
diagnostics (extended test) and crystal disk says it had zero hours
useage.

Is it normal for it to make a lot of noise?

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

Dan wrote:
I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. It came as
described sealed and was recognised on WD website. So I registered the
serial number under my name and now it has a full 5 year guarantee.

My question is that it makes a lot of noise when copying files and at
start up. I have it in a 3.5" USB 3.0 case. It passed WD lifeguard
diagnostics (extended test) and crystal disk says it had zero hours
useage.

Is it normal for it to make a lot of noise?

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

I check the reviews on Newegg before buying a drive.
Just to see if there are any noteworthy comments.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16822235058

And noise is mentioned a number of times.

I have a 4T Gold drive here, and I haven't noticed
the tick/clunk problem.

If you look at the datasheet, you can see about three
different classes of designs.

https://www.wdc.com/content/dam/wdc/...879-800074.pdf

The 6T appears to use the same hardware platform
as the 4T, but with more aggressive (denser)
recording pattern.

It sure would be interesting to see the platter count,
but we're not allowed to know that.

The sound value in the datasheet, doesn't really
cover clicks and clunks. In a sense, the industry
standards for acoustic noise, are a dishonest way
of doing business. If they used a more accurate
method, it would only scare the customers away :-)

The 4T and 6T drives have the same noise spec and
are the loudest drives of all the Gold.

You could place a mass on top of the drive,
to see if that reduces the noise level a bit.
But that would only help if the enclosure was
resonant. The seek noises shouldn't be
attenuated by doing that. If you do use a mass,
apply the mass when the power is off, and *make sure*
there is no possibility of it slipping off. A
test mass I use here, is an old UPS battery.
I use strips of recycled bicycle inner tubes
as a non-slip intermediary between objects.

Paul

On Sat, 18 Aug 2018 09:42:47 -0400, Paul
wrote:

Dan wrote:
I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. It came as
described sealed and was recognised on WD website. So I registered the
serial number under my name and now it has a full 5 year guarantee.

My question is that it makes a lot of noise when copying files and at
start up. I have it in a 3.5" USB 3.0 case. It passed WD lifeguard
diagnostics (extended test) and crystal disk says it had zero hours
useage.

Is it normal for it to make a lot of noise?

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

I check the reviews on Newegg before buying a drive.
Just to see if there are any noteworthy comments.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16822235058

And noise is mentioned a number of times.

I have a 4T Gold drive here, and I haven't noticed
the tick/clunk problem.

If you look at the datasheet, you can see about three
different classes of designs.

https://www.wdc.com/content/dam/wdc/...879-800074.pdf

The 6T appears to use the same hardware platform
as the 4T, but with more aggressive (denser)
recording pattern.

It sure would be interesting to see the platter count,
but we're not allowed to know that.

The sound value in the datasheet, doesn't really
cover clicks and clunks. In a sense, the industry
standards for acoustic noise, are a dishonest way
of doing business. If they used a more accurate
method, it would only scare the customers away :-)

The 4T and 6T drives have the same noise spec and
are the loudest drives of all the Gold.

You could place a mass on top of the drive,
to see if that reduces the noise level a bit.
But that would only help if the enclosure was
resonant. The seek noises shouldn't be
attenuated by doing that. If you do use a mass,
apply the mass when the power is off, and *make sure*
there is no possibility of it slipping off. A
test mass I use here, is an old UPS battery.
I use strips of recycled bicycle inner tubes
as a non-slip intermediary between objects.

Paul


Cheers Paul. The extensive test took a long time and came back error
free. I also tested it with Seagate seatools for Windows. All clear.

Dan wrote:

I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. It came as
described sealed and was recognised on WD website. So I registered the
serial number under my name and now it has a full 5 year guarantee.

My question is that it makes a lot of noise when copying files and at
start up. I have it in a 3.5" USB 3.0 case. It passed WD lifeguard
diagnostics (extended test) and crystal disk says it had zero hours
useage.

Is it normal for it to make a lot of noise?

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

That startup noise is the "click of death" (COD). The turbine whine is
from the platters spinning up to speed; however, soon after reaching the
operating RPM, the COD starts in again. Contact WDC for replacement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_of_death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhxroolWG28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbq8vfs1wYY

I've encountered the COD with a couple drives. First you hear the
clicking as the heads are bounced back to their home position upon
failing to read a sector or track a cylinder. It gets worse until the
drive is no longer accessible.

With an eBay auction, sellers too often lie. Check if the seller is
still there and, if so, what is their feedback score (and check if most
of the negative feedback has been within the last year - plus the oldest
feedback will indicate when that seller appeared by that nym at eBay to
give you an idea if they are a fly-by-night scammer). You could try to
contact the eBay seller to see if, one, they even respond and, two, what
they will do about the problem (which likely has you paying for return
shipping). Make sure the item was listed as "New" and not "New other"
or "refurbished" (which often has nothing done to the item if it passed
some minimal, if any, testing). You didn't give the URL to the eBay
auction, so only you can check what it says.

If the eBay seller doesn't offer reasonable resolution, like having you
return the item for a FULL refund, contact WDC to see what they'll do
regarding the warranty. I've seen some companies not honor sales from
eBay sellers because they weren't a legit reseller for their products.
If WDC and the eBay seller won't replace the HDD, open a ticket at eBay
to get them to force a refund (which they will first try to get the eBay
seller to perform but if that fails then eBay pays you). When looking
at eBay auctions, check if "Guarantee: eBay Money Back Guarantee" is
noted in the auction's description.

If it was a used HDD, well, likely the eBay auction said "as is" and you
take the risk of a crappy drive. At a minimum, it is a used drive for
which you have no idea how many hours it has been in use (power-up
time).

Dan wrote:

On Sat, 18 Aug 2018 09:42:47 -0400, Paul
wrote:

Dan wrote:
I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. It came as
described sealed and was recognised on WD website. So I registered the
serial number under my name and now it has a full 5 year guarantee.

My question is that it makes a lot of noise when copying files and at
start up. I have it in a 3.5" USB 3.0 case. It passed WD lifeguard
diagnostics (extended test) and crystal disk says it had zero hours
useage.

Is it normal for it to make a lot of noise?

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

I check the reviews on Newegg before buying a drive.
Just to see if there are any noteworthy comments.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16822235058

And noise is mentioned a number of times.

I have a 4T Gold drive here, and I haven't noticed
the tick/clunk problem.

If you look at the datasheet, you can see about three
different classes of designs.

https://www.wdc.com/content/dam/wdc/...879-800074.pdf

The 6T appears to use the same hardware platform
as the 4T, but with more aggressive (denser)
recording pattern.

It sure would be interesting to see the platter count,
but we're not allowed to know that.

The sound value in the datasheet, doesn't really
cover clicks and clunks. In a sense, the industry
standards for acoustic noise, are a dishonest way
of doing business. If they used a more accurate
method, it would only scare the customers away :-)

The 4T and 6T drives have the same noise spec and
are the loudest drives of all the Gold.

You could place a mass on top of the drive,
to see if that reduces the noise level a bit.
But that would only help if the enclosure was
resonant. The seek noises shouldn't be
attenuated by doing that. If you do use a mass,
apply the mass when the power is off, and *make sure*
there is no possibility of it slipping off. A
test mass I use here, is an old UPS battery.
I use strips of recycled bicycle inner tubes
as a non-slip intermediary between objects.

Paul

Cheers Paul. The extensive test took a long time and came back error
free. I also tested it with Seagate seatools for Windows. All clear.

I've yet to see any software diagnostic tool tell you the HDD is
suffering the click-of-death. The drive continues to work despite it
starting to click and then will suddenly die (at which point that
software can't do anything with the drive).

On Sat, 18 Aug 2018 14:27:07 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:

Dan wrote:

I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. It came as
described sealed and was recognised on WD website. So I registered the
serial number under my name and now it has a full 5 year guarantee.

My question is that it makes a lot of noise when copying files and at
start up. I have it in a 3.5" USB 3.0 case. It passed WD lifeguard
diagnostics (extended test) and crystal disk says it had zero hours
useage.

Is it normal for it to make a lot of noise?

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

That startup noise is the "click of death" (COD). The turbine whine is
from the platters spinning up to speed; however, soon after reaching the
operating RPM, the COD starts in again. Contact WDC for replacement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_of_death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhxroolWG28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbq8vfs1wYY

I've encountered the COD with a couple drives. First you hear the
clicking as the heads are bounced back to their home position upon
failing to read a sector or track a cylinder. It gets worse until the
drive is no longer accessible.

With an eBay auction, sellers too often lie. Check if the seller is
still there and, if so, what is their feedback score (and check if most
of the negative feedback has been within the last year - plus the oldest
feedback will indicate when that seller appeared by that nym at eBay to
give you an idea if they are a fly-by-night scammer). You could try to
contact the eBay seller to see if, one, they even respond and, two, what
they will do about the problem (which likely has you paying for return
shipping). Make sure the item was listed as "New" and not "New other"
or "refurbished" (which often has nothing done to the item if it passed
some minimal, if any, testing). You didn't give the URL to the eBay
auction, so only you can check what it says.

If the eBay seller doesn't offer reasonable resolution, like having you
return the item for a FULL refund, contact WDC to see what they'll do
regarding the warranty. I've seen some companies not honor sales from
eBay sellers because they weren't a legit reseller for their products.
If WDC and the eBay seller won't replace the HDD, open a ticket at eBay
to get them to force a refund (which they will first try to get the eBay
seller to perform but if that fails then eBay pays you). When looking
at eBay auctions, check if "Guarantee: eBay Money Back Guarantee" is
noted in the auction's description.

If it was a used HDD, well, likely the eBay auction said "as is" and you
take the risk of a crappy drive. At a minimum, it is a used drive for
which you have no idea how many hours it has been in use (power-up
time).


Thanks.
It was advertised as new, the serial number is registered until
9.2023.
Unit came sealed and crystal disk said it had zero hours uptime.

Dan wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

Dan wrote:

I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. it makes a lot
of noise when copying files and at start up.

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

That startup noise is the "click of death" (COD). The turbine whine
is from the platters spinning up to speed; however, soon after
reaching the operating RPM, the COD starts in again. Contact WDC
for replacement.

It was advertised as new, the serial number is registered until
9.2023. Unit came sealed and crystal disk said it had zero hours
uptime.

S.M.A.R.T. counters cannot be reset using, ahem, normal software via the
standard IDE/SATA/SCSI/SAS/USB communication channel. However, special
vendor-specific tools can reset SMART data using the diagnostic channel.

eBay sellers aren't likely (you hope) to have the tools or wits to be
resetting SMART data. However, products can arrive defective or even
DOA. Call WDC tech support to see what they say is the cause of that
very loud clicking. That noise is NOT the normal sound of the heads
moving around to seek the data. Banging the arms (with the heads)
against the stop is not normal operation.

I've used several different HDD diagnostic tools and none will tell you
the device is suffering the click-of-death even as it happens while
using those tools to test the drive. They merely shorten when the
clicking stops and the drive becomes unusable.

On Sun, 19 Aug 2018 09:45:47 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:

Dan wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

Dan wrote:

I bought a WD 6TB Gold sata drive in a eBay auction. it makes a lot
of noise when copying files and at start up.

Like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-HaE72lSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjOOgvZHQg and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYgy6Z4_sLQ

That startup noise is the "click of death" (COD). The turbine whine
is from the platters spinning up to speed; however, soon after
reaching the operating RPM, the COD starts in again. Contact WDC
for replacement.

It was advertised as new, the serial number is registered until
9.2023. Unit came sealed and crystal disk said it had zero hours
uptime.

S.M.A.R.T. counters cannot be reset using, ahem, normal software via the
standard IDE/SATA/SCSI/SAS/USB communication channel. However, special
vendor-specific tools can reset SMART data using the diagnostic channel.

eBay sellers aren't likely (you hope) to have the tools or wits to be
resetting SMART data. However, products can arrive defective or even
DOA. Call WDC tech support to see what they say is the cause of that
very loud clicking. That noise is NOT the normal sound of the heads
moving around to seek the data. Banging the arms (with the heads)
against the stop is not normal operation.

I've used several different HDD diagnostic tools and none will tell you
the device is suffering the click-of-death even as it happens while
using those tools to test the drive. They merely shorten when the
clicking stops and the drive becomes unusable.


Thanks a lot. I will call WD.