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Hi guys, just wanna ask for some opinions here as to what I should do.. As the title explains, I've recently just bought a new hgst nas drive (batch sept 2015) for backupping/archival but upon starting my large file transfer it started clicking twice/thrice per second...? running a block scan with hdtune doesnt give the same behavior, but hdtune does show some pretty bad symptoms(lots of reallocated sectors/events, pending sectors, high read error rate) as the drive speed drops significantly from ~190MB/s to <70 every few percentage points unakin to a new drive that should give a somewhat smooth transfer rate curve, and a full error scan shows that there's quite a few damaged blocks, tested 5 times just to make sure. I have the smaller 3tb hgst nas and that does not exhibit the same symptoms so I'm 90% sure it's a bad drive now, but I'd like to have some expert opinions if you will from any of you if I should just return it.. 20 years of hard drives, first one to be this bad out of the box...

I'm 100% sure it's a bad drive, and you just bought it. Return it immediately.

It's a no-brainer.

ForceEdge wrote:

lots of reallocated sectors/events, pending sectors, high read error rate

Defective drive. RMA time.

If you see any bad symptoms with the blocks via HDTune (or other tool), it means that the drive is dying. Had a lot of experience with that on my end, almost lost 1Tb of information, good thing I did a scan with HDTune and found bad block as well as some hits with the SMART checking tool.

Duuuuuuum dum.

Duuuuuuum dum.

Duum duum duum duum duum...

Jaws theme. Your drive is about to die. Get the data out, kids! We're going to need a bigger backup.

morphine wrote:

Duuuuuuum dum.

Duuuuuuum dum.

Duum duum duum duum duum...

Jaws theme. Your drive is about to die. Get the data out, kids! We're going to need a bigger backup.

funny thing is that this NEW drive is supposed to be the drive to backup my old seagate 3tb barracudas! while we're on the topic of bad drives, does anyone know how to protect components from static discharges? I dont wear wooly clothes but from the past few flights I've had I've had one stick of ram fail, and two ssds Working fine, disassembled parts, put into protective packaging, storage and cpu/ram/mobo (essentials hehe) into backpack, rest into luggage, arrive, unpack and reassemble pc(first thing to do once you get back home am i right? ) poof drives dont show up at all, mobo throws faulty ram code, thought slot was bad, turns out stick is dead. whats weird is that the sticks were all taken together, but somehow just That stick had to die.. bummer

Infant mortality. Rare, but still occurs.

RMA now and don't leave anything on that drive that you can't lose.

ForceEdge wrote:

how to protect components from static discharges? ... put into protective packaging

I don't know if that was the cause here, but keep in mind that antistatic bags (e.g. pink) aren't the same as shielding bags (e.g. silver).

meerkt wrote:

ForceEdge wrote:

how to protect components from static discharges? ... put into protective packaging

I don't know if that was the cause here, but keep in mind that antistatic bags (e.g. pink) aren't the same as shielding bags (e.g. silver).

Yup that I do know, which is why i always keep the shielding bags for times i need to repackage and transport components around very handy for keeping smaller electronic components too! so yea..
EDIT: ah rereading I see what you mean.. my comprehension isnt doing so well this late in the day hehe.. Okay so do you suggest I get some antistatic bags for such purposes?

just brew it! wrote:

ForceEdge wrote:

lots of reallocated sectors/events, pending sectors, high read error rate

Defective drive. RMA time.

This. Don't waste any time, RMA that mofo.

It is unlikely that ESD was the cause of this specific failure.

Excessive reallocated/pending sectors generally indicates a defective drive, a worn out drive (not the case here, obviously), or a drive which has been damaged by mechanical shock. Was the drive a retail boxed drive in original factory packaging, or was it an OEM drive that had been repackaged by the vendor you bought it from? How well was it packaged for shipping? Also, 3.5" hard drives are surprisingly delicate. After they are out of their protective packaging, bare drives do not deal well with being dropped or banged. Even a drop of just a couple of inches onto a hard surface can generate accelerations of hundreds of Gs at the instant of impact -- enough to cause permanent damage.

On the topic of ESD... yes, all components should be stored/shipped in packaging which provides ESD shielding. When handling bare components, either use an ESD wrist strap, or keep some area of bare skin in contact with the chassis of the computer you are working on. Oh, and the wireless ESD wrist straps are a scam; a proper ESD wrist strap always has a grounding wire!

just brew it! wrote:

It is unlikely that ESD was the cause of this specific failure.

Excessive reallocated/pending sectors generally indicates a defective drive, a worn out drive (not the case here, obviously), or a drive which has been damaged by mechanical shock. Was the drive a retail boxed drive in original factory packaging, or was it an OEM drive that had been repackaged by the vendor you bought it from? How well was it packaged for shipping? Also, 3.5" hard drives are surprisingly delicate. After they are out of their protective packaging, bare drives do not deal well with being dropped or banged. Even a drop of just a couple of inches onto a hard surface can generate accelerations of hundreds of Gs at the instant of impact -- enough to cause permanent damage.

On the topic of ESD... yes, all components should be stored/shipped in packaging which provides ESD shielding. When handling bare components, either use an ESD wrist strap, or keep some area of bare skin in contact with the chassis of the computer you are working on. Oh, and the wireless ESD wrist straps are a scam; a proper ESD wrist strap always has a grounding wire!

Its a retail drive fresh from Scan.co.uk (quite reliable in my experience), the packaging was very good, courier packaging even better, fully wrapped in bubblewrap too. I make sure Im not charged everytime i handle them with the psu case/exposed bare metal. what fabbles me is that it only happens on flights heh.. none ever died from my handling as I'm pretty paranoid about these things haha

ForceEdge wrote:

Okay so do you suggest I get some antistatic bags for such purposes?

No, I think shield bags are the more useful ones. Makes me wonder what's the point of antistatic bags. Maybe cheaper to make?