Current pending sector count error

[billubakra]

Hi Guys,

I am getting this Current pending sector count error/warning for my pc's WD internal hdd and my WD external my passport ultra hdd. The former was purchased in mid 2017 and the latter in mid 2014. Are these having 5 year warranties in India?
Now coming to the issues.

1. The internal hdd shows this warning-

The hdd operates normal with no issues whatsoever. I did some troubleshooting with the help of my brother @whitestar_999 but due to new firmware it wasn't of much help.

2. Now coming to the external hdd-

I think the wire of the external hdd, the usb cable, might also be loose. Can someone direct me to a link of an authentic usb cable or some amazon basics one which I can test. Tried copy pasting stuff but they are not completing.

Please guide.

Thanks

 

[billubakra]

This is the exact error.*uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190412/480d31b40f9e28ea85edfbe8db1cf894.jpg

 

[Desmond]

Do you hear any clicky sounds coming from your HDD?

 

[billubakra]

Do you hear any clicky sounds coming from your HDD?

From the external one, today yes. Then kept it on the table and reinserted the usb cable and the noise was gone. Still want to give it a shot using a new cable.
Hear it at boot or during high cpu usage from the internal hdd also but I guess that's normal. Isn't it?

 

[whitestar_999]

It looks like you need to buy new HDDs.

 

[Desmond]

From the external one, today yes. Then kept it on the table and reinserted the usb cable and the noise was gone. Still want to give it a shot using a new cable.
Hear it at boot or during high cpu usage from the internal hdd also but I guess that's normal. Isn't it?

Clicking sounds from a HDD means a mechanical problem. These will also cause IO errors like the one in your last screenshot.

Even if your HDD is functional, its a sign that will it get worse. Better back up all your data while you still can.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[billubakra]

It looks like you need to buy new HDDs.

Clicking sounds from a HDD means a mechanical problem. These will also cause IO errors like the one in your last screenshot.

Even if your HDD is functional, its a sign that will it get worse. Better back up all your data while you still can.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

For the external one it is understood, my pc's hdd is working fine as of now. But still that caution sign is there. How can I convince WD for a RMA?

I am willing to try the external hdd with a new cable. The hdd is about 5 years old, should I go for any cable from the market or the 3.0 cables, I doubt that it will be supported, like these-

*www.amazon.in/s?k=external+hdd+cable&crid=1UXKOSJYTL4H0&sprefix=external+hdd+,aps,327&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_13

1 more thing, it won't matter but still needs to be mentioned. Half of the external hdd is partitioned as FAT and the rest as NTFS.

 

[billubakra]

Is there any diagnostic tool/error repair thing that I can do?

 

[patkim]

If the Internal HDD is operating normally otherwise, give it a try with low level formatting. It might help reverse the current pending sector, if it's a temporary issue, as so far nothing has been reallocated on that disk. If the condition deteriorates, then it does confirm that the HDD is really going bad. This is data destructive, so anyhow take backup of important data, also if you want to restore Windows, take image of the system drive, EFI & MSR partitions if applicable to be restored later.

Check the WD website with your serial numbers about the exact warranty status. Check with them what they finally accept, is it the serial number or the invoice.

Seagate has seatools that sometimes also works with non-seagate HDDs. I think similarly WD has lifeguard diagnostics. Check WD website and try long tests.

 

[billubakra]

If the Internal HDD is operating normally otherwise, give it a try with low level formatting. It might help reverse the current pending sector, if it's a temporary issue, as so far nothing has been reallocated on that disk. If the condition deteriorates, then it does confirm that the HDD is really going bad. This is data destructive, so anyhow take backup of important data, also if you want to restore Windows, take image of the system drive, EFI & MSR partitions if applicable to be restored later.

Check the WD website with your serial numbers about the exact warranty status. Check with them what they finally accept, is it the serial number or the invoice.

Seagate has seatools that sometimes also works with non-seagate HDDs. I think similarly WD has lifeguard diagnostics. Check WD website and try long tests.

The warranty for my WD Blue internal hdd is till 10 July 2019. Is there only 2 year warranty on these drives? Should I send WD the screenshots and ask for rma? + @whitestar_999 @Desmond David
For the external one just did the tests, pfa

P.S. It is connected with a laptop and not with my pc with the blue hdd. For the internal one will do the tests and will share the reports here. Started the extended test but it will take another 8 hours, can't cancel it now as it said that there might be data loss

Can you suggest me a good usb cable from the link that I have posted above? The cable seems a little loose so just want to test with a good cable. I have used Samsung and WD hdd's in the past, no issues at all. But this internal blue hdd giving up within 2 years just sucks.

 

[whitestar_999]

Usually WD don't consider 1 pending sector count as enough for rma,this value should at least be in 2 digits I think.Still it is better to be on safe side & start taking backup of important data.If this value increases before the end of warranty then apply for rma else keep it till it goes bad(may give another year or two if you are lucky).

 

[billubakra]

Usually WD don't consider 1 pending sector count as enough for rma,this value should at least be in 2 digits I think.Still it is better to be on safe side & start taking backup of important data.If this value increases before the end of warranty then apply for rma else keep it till it goes bad(may give another year or two if you are lucky).

Kismat hi SNIP hai yaar meri
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Finally had a word with the cs, their support email page is down. Anyways they told me to do an extended test and then send them the screenshots. Fingers crossed.
Few things that the guy told-
Formatting an external hdd in two partitions is not advisable and told me to either go for ntfs or exfat.
Connecting the external hdd to a phone is not recommended by WD.

 

[billubakra]

The worst has happened with the internal hdd

Since it is out of warranty so I am fked. Cannot copy the data in my pc as its hdd is also probably down. Need suggestions for a new external hdd with atleast 1.5 gigs of space and with the maximum warranty.
Just out of curiosity, can a faulty cable be the reason for these kinda errors?

 

[Desmond]

So you are unable to read anything from the drive at all? Oh well, I hope you backed up all your data beforehand.

 

[billubakra]

So you are unable to read anything from the drive at all? Oh well, I hope you backed up all your data beforehand.

As of now I can read and write, copy only smaller files. If I try to copy some important folder which is like 100+gb then I get that read write error.

 

[whitestar_999]

Try to copy important data first,few files at a time instead of trying to copy a 100+gb folder.

 

[patkim]

I am not a subject matter expert on HDDs, however I think a bad cable might cause read/write errors and then OS might mark those as bad sectors, however these are generally Soft Bad sectors. There’s a chance that they can be repaired by low level formatting or even if next time I/O is successful they are back to normal. A hard bad sector can occur as a result of physical damage to the platter. This can occur due to physical wear and tear, head touching the platter, some manufacturing anomaly and so on.

Despite a poor cable (USB 3 connection that supplies power as well as data connection) can cause unexpected I/O errors, hangs or even HDD starving for power if the power is not adequate if there’s more voltage drop across the cable due to internal resistance. A typical stall will give a short but sharp ‘tick’ sound as the head tries to turn but is not able to do so due to lesser power being received by the HDD.

Try the good old CHKDSK with /F option from the command line. If you are lucky it just might mark the bad sectors and will help prevent OS from performing I/O to it. This might give you some more time to transfer data just enough before the condition worsens.

Check the SMART again, it might have attempted to reallocate some of the bad sectors & if successful the parameter will show updated raw value.

 

[whitestar_999]

I think a bad cable might cause read/write errors and then OS might mark those as bad sectors

A bad sata cable results in ultraDMA CRC error count value increasing from zero in S.M.A.R.T. parameters.

 

[patkim]

Yes I am aware that bad data cable causes CRC errors, I am talking about external HDDs that are powered by USB cables that carries power as well as data. That's the original question of OP, can a bad USB cable cause Bad Sectors.

 

[whitestar_999]

Yes I am aware that bad data cable causes CRC errors, I am talking about external HDDs that are powered by USB cables that carries power as well as data. That's the original question of OP, can a bad USB cable cause Bad Sectors.

If an external hdd has ultraDMA CRC error count value in its SMART parameters then the firmware of that external hdd is designed to consider such errors over usb connection too.e.g.in case of WD passport/element series,the usb connector is soldered to the hdd sata interface so there is no way that it can be connected directly via sata connection in which case if ultraDMA crc error count cannot consider such errors then it would not be there in the first place.