WD Black P10 4TB - 4 drive failures at once?

[THo27]

I’ve got 4 4TB P10 drives that all “died” in the last week - I’ve tested on multiple machines, multiple OS’s, with new cables, etc → no indicator light, nothing. Removed one from the case and tested directly - same issue - no light, nothing.

They are all WDBA3A0040BBK-0A models; all originally purchased at the same time so assuming a similar batch of drives. All out of warranty (15-Aug-2024 warranty coverage expired) -but- I find this extremely concerning to have a batch die at the same time (possible BIOS issue?). I’ve had one offs like everyone else (in fact one of the 5 original drives dies last Sep/Oct timeframe and replaced with a 5TB model) - no issues with the 5TB and in fact another 5TB purchased to test cabling, machine, etc - those two work without issues as does another 8TB drive.

So I guess my question/concern - is this some known issue or “expected” issue? First time I have ever had a batch of drives go belly up in the same timeframe

[fzabkar]

Can you show us photos of both sides of the PCB on the HDD and the USB-SATA bridge board?

Do you have a multimeter?

[THo27]

I’ll check to see if I have a multimeter - possible but likely a low end one (some $15 Amazon brand)

[fzabkar]

Near the 12-pin connector at the edge of the PCB is a fuse (“S”) and a 5V TVS diode (“6AE”). Measure the resistances of each component on your meter’s 200 ohms range.

[THo27]

Hope to get to this today. I had to order new (smaller) leads for my multimeter. my original leads are almost as large as the S fuse and little range to maneuver.

What resistance should I expect on these?

[fzabkar]

The fuse should measure 0.0 ohms. The diode should measure more than 200 ohms … usually.