Western Digital My Book Duo 4TB on Dell XPS 8700 fails after several hours; multiple replacement drives do the same
This started with a simple recommendation to put the business client's data on an external RAID drive to provide some redundancy seeing they are not using a real server. Then it turned into a nightmare. I've swapped the drive out twice since with the same results. After installing the drive and testing it, it will run for several hours, maybe overnight. Then writes start failing (see system error log attached). In the WD utility, it doesn't even see the drive. The utility starts and shows the message no supported drives found. I can still browse the drive, but cannot do any write operations. Power cycling the drive brings it back and the cycle starts again.
I have tried running the drive in both RAID 0 (mirror) and RAID 1 (stripped) modes with the same result. The drive will do JBOD, but I haven't tried that yet. The BIOS of the host Dell XPS 8700 is at the latest release level. OS is Windows 8.1. The only thing unusual about the Dell host is that, in addition to the SATA boot drive, it also has a solid state Samsung drive they use as a data drive to host a business database.
Western Digital support has been useless for this problem. All they know how to do is replace the drive.
Capture.PNG
I have tried running the drive in both RAID 0 (mirror) and RAID 1 (stripped) modes with the same result. The drive will do JBOD, but I haven't tried that yet. The BIOS of the host Dell XPS 8700 is at the latest release level. OS is Windows 8.1. The only thing unusual about the Dell host is that, in addition to the SATA boot drive, it also has a solid state Samsung drive they use as a data drive to host a business database.
Western Digital support has been useless for this problem. All they know how to do is replace the drive.
Capture.PNG
Asked:
Who is Participating?
Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by
Enjoy your complimentary solution view.
Get every solution instantly with Premium.
Start your 7-day free trial.
I wear a lot of hats...
"The solutions and answers provided on Experts Exchange have been extremely helpful to me over the last few years. I wear a lot of hats - Developer, Database Administrator, Help Desk, etc., so I know a lot of things but not a lot about one thing. Experts Exchange gives me answers from people who do know a lot about one thing, in a easy to use platform." -Todd S.
Looks like I'm not the only one. Here is another user with a Dell XPS 8700 experiencing the same problem: http://www.amazon.com/review/RMKNQVXMNRZ3/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RMKNQVXMNRZ3
And, yes, I did the same firmware update and got the same results: no fix.
And, yes, I did the same firmware update and got the same results: no fix.
Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by
Your issues matter to us.
Facing a tech roadblock? Get the help and guidance you need from experienced professionals who care. Ask your question anytime, anywhere, with no hassle.
Start your 7-day free trial
I suppose I could pick up the drive and run it in my lab. What I did do was to put one of my external usb drives on the client's PC and that ran for days without problems. It was also a WD USB 3.0 drive, but not raid capable. I wanted to see if any USB drive would run there, and indeed it does without problems.
"RAID 0 (mirror) and RAID 1 (stripped)"
Your mistaken with both. RAID 0 isn't a mirror but rather 2 or more disks striped without redundancy, if one disk fails you loose all data. RAID 1 is the mirror and does have redundancy.
Make sure you use either enterprise class disks, or at list disks that are specially built for NAS usage. Whatever you do, don't use normal consumer disks, as those aren't built for RAID.
As far as I know the WD "Red" disks are built for NAS usage.
Your mistaken with both. RAID 0 isn't a mirror but rather 2 or more disks striped without redundancy, if one disk fails you loose all data. RAID 1 is the mirror and does have redundancy.
Make sure you use either enterprise class disks, or at list disks that are specially built for NAS usage. Whatever you do, don't use normal consumer disks, as those aren't built for RAID.
As far as I know the WD "Red" disks are built for NAS usage.
Yeah, OK, I get those reversed sometimes. As for disks, I'm using the disks that WD shipped with their product. Doesn't change the problem. In any case, once I found that review on Amazon showing the exact same problem on the exact same host PC, a Dell XPS 8700, I decided that this is a WD problem and I'm done with it.
As mentioned, you need at least disks that were built for NAS use. Maybe you got consumer disks shipped with the product.
Also check the NAS's firmware. There may be updates available.
Also check the NAS's firmware. There may be updates available.
This is clearly a manufacturer problem as shown in the link I posted. Unfortunately, I only found that link after posting the question here. I'd like the question to be on file for others having the same issue with the WD product on Dell XPS 8700s.
It's more than this solution.Get answers and train to solve all your tech problems - anytime, anywhere.Try it for free Edge Out The Competitionfor your dream job with proven skills and certifications.Get started today Stand Outas the employee with proven skills.Start learning today for free Move Your Career Forwardwith certification training in the latest technologies.Start your trial today
Storage
From novice to tech pro — start learning today.
Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by
Enjoy your complimentary solution view.
Get every solution instantly with Premium.
Start your 7-day free trial.
have you tried a different port (usb)?