Toshiba 6TB Canvio Desk 7200rpm overheat issues

[tugatomsk]

I just bought a Toshiba 6TB Canvio Desk 7200rpm, an external HDD.

I started a massive transfer about 3 hours ago when the HDD was at 23ºC (I use HD Tune PRO). But only 1h30m later it was already at 49ºC, and it actually reached 55ºC about 20min later, still with the tendency of increasing! I immediately disconnected the HDD, even though the HDD itself seemed to be alright, with the transfer and all...

I'm getting worried... None of my previous external HDD have reached such temperatures (two are Toshiba and two are WD), even after several hours of data transfer; usually around 38ºC to 41ºC and stabilizing at that value, but NEVER 55ºC after less than two hours!

I'm using it horizontally (Toshiba states this HDD can operate either vertically oh horizontally), I even elevated it with a Rubik's cube to gain more ventilation room (about 2,5") between the desk and the underbody cooling inlets/outlets.

I even got my fathers old Kalorik Type 5830 portable fan (http://www.ebay.es/itm/Kalorik-fan-i...-/221972863114) which still works perfectly and throws a nice flow of cold air, but that doesn't seem to affect the HDD rising temperatures very much...

Should I get some sort of external fans? Are 7200rpm just too much for external casings without internal fan? Should I return it to the store and get the WD 6TB from somewhere else instead?... Not to mention the great problem with HDD failures is retrieving the data inside without voiding the warranty...

 

[Andreamorim112]

That is high, and could cause the HDD to fail in no time.

Run a SMART diagnosis and make sure everything is running right.

Throw some fans at it. If it keeps getting hot. Then something is wrong with it. Too much friction inside. And it could cause the HDD to fail. Make sure all your data is backed up. A 3 hour transfer is VERY demanding. So the high temperatures are to be expected.
Try tno keep it as cool as possible. If possible, transfer the data in parts. like. a little bit now, a little bit then...

 

[tugatomsk]

What's even more worrying is that I also tested it in idle: the temperature still goes to 50ºC after 2 hours...

HD Tune didn't report any error in "health", so I forgot to run a SMART diagnosis. (I already repacked the HDD to see if I can return it to the store and get my money back.) I don't care if the SMART diagnosis is good, I myself will never feel "safe" with such a hot HDD... I know any HDD can fail an any time regardless of brand, but usually high operating temperatures aren't an aditional failure variable in that equation!

My theory is that Toshiba went too far for the sake of marketing: sell external HDD faster than the competition; but they "forgot" that 7200rpm in so many platters (it's 6TB!) will result in a lot of friction, hence, lots of heat (no wonder Hitachi built its "He8" 8TB drive with helium instead of air between the platters in order to reduce attrition).

So now Toshiba has, at least for the 6TB, a really fast but also very hot portable HDD. It's like they built it like a racing car: forget reliability, MORE POWER! I guess the 4TB and 5TB, which so far have received excellent praising from users, have a larger distance between platters and they don't heat so much.

I was kinda naive thinking Toshiba, a brand so renowned and apparently reliable (judging from my Toshiba HDD which all run at normal temperatures and never gave me any problems over the years). In fact, I never though high operating temperatures were a cause of concern on modern HDDs, so I never gave it a thought... not to mention no reviews on the internet about this 6TG HDD mentioned a thing about this.

But what REALLY grinds my gears is that hard drives aren't your typical product where you can just replace under warranty. They contain data that might not be backed up. And when one wants to go to a specialist to retrieve the data the hard drive warranty seal has to be removed, voiding the warranty: it's a fail-fail situation...

 

[Andreamorim112]

If it reaches those temps at idle, return it. I don't know if they made it in a way to resist all that hot, doubt it though... Hope I could help anyway.

 

[ftdatl]

I too just acquired one of these drives and am concerned. The internal drive is a Toshiba MD04ACA600, and the spec for that drive is 55C max operating temperature. I don't know if that's supposed to be the ambient temperature outside the drive case (very possibly, I've found other drives that say that), or if that spec is for the temperature as measured by the internal temperature sensor. I hope it's supposed to be the ambient temperature because I've seen my drive's internal temperature hit 59C after an hour of use, and that's sitting in a very open-air space w/ 23C room temperature. If it left just spinning, but not being accessed, it sits at around 49C (much hotter than my internal Toshiba and Hitachi 2TB drives)

I was wondering if mine was unique (bad) because also, from day 1 it seems somewhat loud, and if moved even the slightest while spinning, it whines....which scared the heck out of me so now I'm very careful. I wish I knew if that was normal, or a bad bearing or what. (I do not think it was a head crash because the drive still works perfectly and SMART doesn't report any issues seen.)

Does anyone know if the rated max operating temperature for Toshiba drives is ambient (immediately outside the drive chassis) like some other brands specify, or if it's the internally measured temp?

If it's ambient, then it's likely that max internal is 65C (10C higher), which makes me feel a LITTLE better.

I must say though, this thing is FAST. It blows away my WD MyBook.

 

[PantherZA]

Hi,

I have the 4TB version and also saw high temps.

Bit the bullet - carefully removed the top cover, drilled a nice pattern of 8mm holes for airflow and this is the result:

Went from average temp of 48 to 54 to a current of 34 to 38.

 

[GurtLushSalmon]

I have the 5TB version and I can confirm that I have a similar issue. What concerns me is that even when the drive is idle it seems to be reaching 55C and then as soon as i do any file transfers your looking at 60C+. The only thing i can think of is voiding the warranty by taking the drive out of the enclosure.