Continuously increasing Load/Unload Cycle Count

Internal Drives WD Red
1

Hello,
I bought a wd120efbx model 12tb red disk 6 days ago.
The disk makes a head parking sound every 1-2 minutes.
When I look at the SMART data, the Load/Unload Cycle Count is 1160. This value is constantly increasing.

I can’t see my disk with Dashboard + Kitfox.
I couldn’t change the APM settings with “wdidle3.exe”. It doesn’t see my disk either.

Do you have a solution? Or should I send the disk to warranty?

Respect

1 Like
2

Hi @HasanTahsin

Have you checked our knowledge base articles?
(https://www.westerndigital.com/support)

Try this one:
(Reasons for Hard Drive Noise)

Have you opened a Support Case?
If not, contact Western Digital Technical Support for assistance.
(https://www.westerndigital.com/en-in/support/contact-us)

3

First of all, thank you for your answer.

I read the articles but it didn’t help.
I repeat, the disk model is WD120EFBX.
There is no problem with the disk’s operation/SMART properties. I only hear the head parking sound every 1-2 minutes and the “Load Cycle Count” value is constantly increasing. It is very annoying.
There is no APM and AMM support in the disk’s properties.
For this reason, I cannot adjust the head parking time.
Also, Dashboard, Kitfox etc. + wdidle3.exe applications do not recognize my disk strangely. This is another annoying situation.
It is very shameful that WD does not have an application for the disk it produces!

Since there is no space for my data, I cannot send it to warranty/return for now.

I have been using WD disks for more than 20 years and I have never encountered such a problem.

In the screenshot below:
It appears that the head has been parked 1185 times in 81 hours of operation. On average, 1 head seems to be parked every 4 minutes.

123
1231188×726 78.6 KB

4

You can get into Windows advanced power settings and set the disk idle to > 1 minute which is the default in windows

Look in the control panel

5

Thank you for your suggestion. But I tried this method too, it didn’t work.
The only solution I could find is 3rd party software.
KeepAliveHD.
I make it read the disk every 25 seconds. This way the “Load CycleCount” value doesn’t increase. The head parking sound also stopped.

6

The load cycle does not hurt disks but I prefer faster response instead of waiting for the disk to spin up again

1 Like
7

"I haven’t experienced any issues with speed or access. I’m getting around 270 MB/s. Noise is not a problem for me either. However, I’m concerned about potential failures and data loss.

I chose WD Red drives because I plan to use them for long-term storage.

Do you think I should send the drive for warranty replacement? Should I continue using KeepAliveHD? Or is there another solution?"

ps: I was able to prevent the load cycle count from increasing with KeepAliveHD. But will it be a problem in the long run if it makes small reads from the disk every 20 seconds?

8

The frequent head parking suggests aggressive power management settings, which could shorten the drive’s lifespan. Since WD Dashboard + Kitfox and wdidle3.exe don’t detect the disk, try CrystalDiskInfo to check and adjust APM settings. If that doesn’t work, you can use hdparm on Linux to disable APM (hdparm -B 255 /dev/sdX). If the issue persists and the Load/Unload Cycle Count keeps rising rapidly, it might be best to contact WD support or request a warranty replacement.

1 Like
9

Thank you for your answer.

Unfortunately, the disk does not have APM+AAM feature. Therefore, interventions made in Windows and Linux are temporary.

APM and AAM settings in CrystalDiskInfo are closed for the disk.

I am currently using an application called KeepAliveHD.
The application performs small-sized reading operations on the disk you specify and at the intervals you specify. Thus, the disk’s head cannot park.

I am currently performing a reading operation every 20 seconds.
Thus, the “Load Cycle Count” value only increases when the PC is turned off and on.

I am currently undecided whether to send the disk to warranty or continue using it like this.

What do you think?

Respects

1 Like
10

no need for warranty

1 Like