WD 5GB external USB dive Head parking problem


  1. Bernardus
    Posts : 282
    Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       New #1

    WD 5GB external USB dive Head parking problem


    I have a WD 5TB external SATA/ USB3 drive, who seems to parks the head every 4 seconds with a dumb clicking sound that drives me nuts.
    I downloaded the software WDIDLE3 and loaded up to an USB card with Rufus bootup utility.
    Now starting this utility in DOS won't recognize the external drive?
    It starts with C:\>
    However there is no way to change that to the external drive.
    Or to get any list of available drives. (I took out the normal fixed drives/ SSD and SATA)

    It's to long ago that I did something with DOS commands so I may be wrong.

    It must be possible to change the setting of the counter in the drive to a much longer period of head parking.
    Crystaldisc is greyed out on advanced options, so that won't do either.

    Anyone have an answer?
    Last edited by Bernardus; 05 Dec 2017 at 02:22.
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  3. samuria
    Posts : 3,785
    win 8 32 bit
       New #2

    Msdos wouldn't understand NTFS or 5 gig
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  4. Megahertz07
    Posts : 7,351
    Windows 7 HP 64
       New #3

    Go to WD site and see if there is a firmware update to your disk.
    Software and Firmware Downloads | WD Support
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  6. WinDozeUser
    Posts : 52
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Build 7601 32bit
       New #4

    5GB HDD seems awfully small.
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  7. Bernardus
    Posts : 282
    Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       New #5

    Sorry WinDozeUser, it's of course a 5 TB.
    I upgraded the driver and firmware of the HD already.
    No change.

    Samuria, maybe you're right about that, the 5 TB has also another filesystem GPT.

    I read more comments on the internet that the utility WDIDLE3 won't work on external drives.
    Not all drives are access-able to change the value of the countersettings for the headparking.

    No further reply until now from WD.
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  8. Bernardus
    Posts : 282
    Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       New #6

    Got enough of it and opened the case, took the drive out and put into my SATA adapter.
    Reboot with a bootable version of WDIDLE3. Now my drive was being recognized and I disabled the idle timer. Confirmed.
    Problem solved, the drive won't go in Idle mode anymore and there will be no more excessive head-parkings.
    (*It took approximately 900 headparkings/hour. Really silly, every 4 seconds.)

    DOS probably wouldn't recognize external drives since there are no DOS drivers.
    Sometimes you need to set the storage-mode temporarily in IDE to be able to detect a drive.

    If I now throw out the drive, it will indeed switch off.
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  10. mrjimphelps
    Posts : 1,784
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (VMWare host) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (VMWare guest)
       New #7

    If it's clicking every 4 seconds, it's probably a bad drive.
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  11. Bernardus
    Posts : 282
    Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       New #8

    Maybe, I'm going to claim a reward and get another example. I'ts already agreed.
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