Seagate HDD st3000dm001 freezing, test show no errors?

[Acronis]

Hi,
Recently I wrote here on this forum about Seagate HDD st3000dm001 that stopped working out of the sudden.
I replace that drive in a store and get new one since it was in warranty.

Unfortunatelly, I have another Seagate HDD st3000dm001 (which are obviously very bad quality)
And now that disk started to freeze, when I list folders in windows explorer it freezes for a couple of seconds,
Also when I play a movie it freezes for second or two during playing.
I checked in windows chkdisk for errors but it show no errors?!
also I runned a long test in seagate tool and it passed.
Is there any way to fix? Isolate bad sectors, low-level format or something else?
What should I expect from this disk?
Is it faulty electronic, plates, head?

I would never again buy Seagate HDD,
I had good experience with Hitachi HDDs before, but in one period there was nowhere to buy them.
I wonder is Hitachi still the same quality as it was couple of years ago?
I am looking for this drive HITACHI 4TB Deskstar NAS 24x7, is it a good quality drive? Any experiences?

 

[fzabkar]

SeaTools is a pass or fail diagnostic.

I would examine the SMART report with a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

I would also perform a full surface scan with a tool such as HDDScan (Windows) or MHDD (DOS). These will identify any "slow" sectors, ie those that require one or more retries.

http://hddscan.com

 

[Acronis]

I'll check that tools.

In a meantime I started this test as shown on the picture,
This is the result
I dont know is this program isolated bad sectors, or is it only a test?

 

[fzabkar]

A surface scan is a non-destructive read test. SeaTools for DOS offers you the opportunity to "repair" a bad sector, but this is data destructive, as the bad sectors are zeroed and replaced with spares.

If the SMART Reallocated Sector Count is high, then it would not be a good idea to continue using your drive, at least not for critically important data.

 

[Acronis]

Thanks.
here is info, is it too high?

 

[fzabkar]

The drive has replaced ("reallocated") 17552 bad sectors with spares, and 168 more are pending reallocation. As the drive is an Advanced Format model, I suspect that these numbers may actually reflect an LBA count rather than a physical sector count, so the actual number of bad physical sectors is probably 2194 (= 17552 / 8). Nevertheless that's still a huge number. I wouldn't trust this drive. My advice is to backup your data and replace it.

Some people might also be disturbed by the high Load/Unload Cycle Count. The number would suggest that the drive is autoparking its heads approximately every minute.

968 hours / 63233 load cycles = 0.92 minutes

BTW, the SMART data would suggest that the drive needs to record about 14000 reallocated physical sectors before the Reallocated Sector Count attribute hits the threshold value of 10.

((17552 / 8) / (100 - 86) x (100 - 10) = 14104

In other words, Seagate reckons that your drive should be able to keep working even after it has developed 14000 defects. WD allows only 500. ISTM that something is seriously wrong at Seagate Technology.

 

[Acronis]

OK, I already made backup. I made a mistake buying Seagate discs.

 

[Acronis]

@ fzabkar, can you recommend me between Hitachi and WD?
I am bit disappointed with WD because they made green series, I read about there is a lot failed green disks (almost 30%) dont know is it true?
I dont intent to buy green (I was thinking about red or purple), but it is discouraging to buy from that company if they release such bad product... dont know if I am right?

 

[fzabkar]

If I were in the market for a desktop drive, I think I would try a Hitachi, although I don't really trust any modern HDD. AISI, HDDs are pushing the limits of technology and reliability has plummeted in recent years. :-(

 

[Acronis]

Thanks!

With drive in this condition, I am obliged to warranty and replacement with new disk? Is there some count of bad sectors that after they give me replacement?
My warranty lasts until 15 april 2015. so I am in a worry if I dont replace it before that.

 

[fzabkar]

Seagate expects you to run SeaTools against your drive. Hopefully one of the tests will give you a Test Code (aka Error Code), in which case you will be entitled to an RMA.

If SeaTools passes, you may still be entitled to a replacement on "poor performance" grounds (frequent freezing).

Self-Service SeaTools Test Codes:
http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/seatools/seatools-test-codes.html

 

[Acronis]

That is useful information.

Since I runned a long test in seagate tool and it passed, I suspect that software is not very good, looks like it is intentionally made like that, so it dont warn user of bad drive even it has bad sectors, errors and problems in work. Only when I run a test in HDtune I got a correct information about drive and warning that is not drive in good health.

 

[Acronis]

What is the quality of Toshiba HDD's compared to other manufacturers,
I noticed that Hitachi and Toshiba HDD's looks the same, is it the same manufacturer?

They look identical:

https://www.sdd.toshiba.com.tw/upfiles/EditUpload/DT01ACA300-5S%20copy.png
http://www.adriatiko.com/photos/products/7/6927/Hitachi-HDD-500GB-SATAII-HDT721050SLA360.jpg

 

[fzabkar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HGST

"On March 8, 2012, Western Digital (WD) acquired Hitachi Global Storage Technologies ... It was agreed that WD would operate with WD Technologies and HGST as wholly owned subsidiaries and they would compete in the marketplace with separate brands and product lines.

To address the requirements of regulatory agencies, in May 2012 WD divested to Toshiba assets that enabled Toshiba to manufacture and sell 3.5-inch hard drives for the desktop and consumer electronics markets."