I have 2 questions:
1. Is there a reliable way to tell by looking at drive serial number other codes to determine whether this drive (2TB version, WD20EZRX) has 2 x 1TB platters instead of 3 x 667GB platters? I would obviously prefer the 2x1TB version.
2. My other question concerns the dreaded IntelliPark feature that was a problem for EARS models which parks heads every 8 seconds by default (terrible design flaw IMO). Is this "feature" still a problem with EZRX drives which are more recent than EARS and whether is it still required to use WDIDLE3.exe command line utility to disable this feature. Once disabled using WDIDLE /d is the change saved on drive and permanent?
WD hides both of these info because it doesn't favor them or they want to get rid of 3 plater drives. I don't think it is a big problem as long as I can disable IntelliPark and buy a drive that has 1TB platters.
Some additional info regarding the questions above:
I found the following site to explain some differences but according to them the only "reliable" method is by putting a drive on scale and measuring its weight (~644 grams for 2 platter version, and ~730 grams for 3 platter).
The site is here: http://rml527.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/hdd-platter-database-western-digital-35_1109.html Some images here: https://securecdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/443/1546/original.jpg This one is supposed to be 2x1TB platter version: https://securecdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/440/7159/original.jpg
The IntelliPark problem is also illustrated in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaWo_rAwpMg
I don't like this sound a little bit. I intend to use drive with virtual machine (with Windows inside of it) environment and as storage drive (booting occasionally a secondary Windows 7, while main boot drive is SSD also with Windows 7).
If I can get satisfactory answer to these questions I'd go for WD otherwise I'd prefer Toshiba DT01ACA200 because they don't seem to hide this info and they use 1TB platters. |
Hi, unfortunately the serial number doesn’t have any relation to the hard drive specifications. The priority for WD Green drives is low power consumption and low cool and quiet performance. You might also be interested in the WD Blue & Black line of internal hard drives. Check the link below for more information.
Hello!
I bought no.1 WD20EZRX about 4 months ago and I installed it in my pc as a second hard disk (movies).
Today, after 4 months, I noticed no.2447 LCC with 921 hours of use…so no.2.6 LCC per hour.
I suppose that the value is really low…what do you think? Is that normal?
Thank you!
