WD Dashboard 4.1.2.4 displays serial numbers BACKWARDS

WD Software & Mobile Apps WD Software
1

Topic name says it all… I installed WD Dashboard (latest version 4.1.2.4) today, clicked the “Info” icon for both of my WD Green drives, and noticed that the listed serial numbers looked nothing like what my own records show for them (and WD DLGDIAG.EXE confirms my records). After several minutes of scratching my head, my computer-generated dyslexia kicked in and I finally realized that the serial number strings are an exact mirror of what they should be…

These drives are both in external USB-connected trays, but that’s never stopped DLGDIAG.EXE from reading them out and testing them correctly. Also Samsung Magician has no problem reading the data from these drive. Here’s what I’m seeing in WD Dashboard for both drives (S/Ns are partially redacted):

Drive Summary
Model Name: WDC WD20EZRX-00D8PB0
Model Number: WDC WD20EZRX-00D8PB0
SATA Revision: Gen3
SATA Link Speed: 6.0 Gb/s
RPM: 5400
Serial Number: ****ZCEM4CCW-DW
(etc.)

Drive Summary
Model Name: WDC WD20EARX-00PASB0
Model Number: WDC WD20EARX-00PASB0
SATA Revision: Gen3
SATA Link Speed: 6.0 Gb/s
RPM: Unknown
Serial Number: ****575AZAMW-DW
(etc.)

This is my first time using WD Dashboard so I have no idea if this bug is present in previous versions…

A bit of feedback while I’m at it:

The overall layout of this program is bass-ackwards. Drives need to be selected individually before the drive-specific Overview and Tools sections can be viewed. So naturally the My Devices section belongs at the TOP of the left-hand navigation pane (not in the lower section of that pane).

Model Name and Model Number fields shouldn’t show exactly the same string. Maybe one field is supposed to be a subset of the other, and WD Dashboard is also having reading comprehension issues in those fields as well?

I did press the GENERATE REPORT FILE button in the program and it created a valid Dashboard_Report.zip file. That archive includes two .bin files for every drive installed on my PC. Those filenames also use the drive serial numbers. The .bin files for my Samsung internal SSDs have filenames that match my known serial numbers. However the .bin files for my Western Digital external HDDs are using backwards serial numbers (just as erroneously displayed within the program).

WD Dashbard says “send the file by email to our support team” but nowhere is that address listed in the program. Nor can I find it on WD’s support website. There is an “Email Us” page at https://support-en.wd.com/app/askweb but it doesn’t have a Product Category for “Software” or “Apps”, and the category for my WD Green drives is not in the Product Name pull-down menu, and for a final insult, that page does not allow .zip attachments(!)

One, two, three strikes you’re out WD! :roll_eyes:

2

Hi @WhiskeyDeltaCharlie
Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the WD Technical Support team for the best assistance and troubleshooting:

3

Yes, I mentioned in the last paragraph of my post that I did try using that page, however the available Product Categories don’t match the problem (no category for “Software” or “Apps”) and the page does not accept uploads of .zip format archives (such as those created by WD Dashboard). Also, the WD Green drives I have connected are not listed in the Product Name menu (but this is obviously a problem with the WD Dashboard application and not your discontinued Green product line).

If you can suggest a relevant Product Category and Product Name then I will give it another try (saving the Dashboard_Report.zip archive for any communication that WD Support might subsequently open up with me).

Thanks…

4

This problem has been fixed in the May 30, 2024 (4.2.2.5) release. See Western Digital SSD Dashboard Release Notes

Adjusted serial number reported by Dashboard for more ATA drives to reflect the
product serial number printed on the case, not the serial number of the internal storage
component. Internal serial number is still available in the Identify data in the Tools page
if needed.

So highlight a WD drive, click “Tools” in the left-hand navigation tree, scroll down near the bottom of the pane and click on “Identify Device”, and look for the Word with Description “Serial number”.

These serial numbers are indeed displayed in the correct order in this version of WD Dashboard. I’m not sure how they looked here in this “Identify” table in the previous version 4.1.2.4 as I had no idea that this info was buried here. (I also think it would make more sense for this section to be labeled “Identity” or better yet “Information”…)

I’ll mark this Reply as Solution after I post it.

5

“Identify Device” is an ATA command (ECh) that returns 512 bytes of identity data from the drive. Changing the name to something else would confuse the issue.

6

Thanks for that info, for some reason I wasn’t getting that clicking on the “Identify Device” button actually issues that command at that time…

Can anyone confirm that this WD Dashboard version 4.2.2.5 truly reflects “the product serial number printed on the case” for their drive? My WD Red Plus NAS drives show the model number and the number referred to here as the “internal serial number”, i.e. the number displayed in the Identify Device command output that I’ve used to register all my drives at the Western Digital Support Portal. (I’m a bit confused as to why WD would move away from displaying that “traditional” serial number in an obvious location in the dashboard…)