I tried to run the diagnostic test from Western Digital LifeGuard Diagnostic for Windows, but after only a few seconds I get this error message :
Status code = 07 (Failed read test element), Failure Checkpoint = 97 (Unknown Test) SMART self-test did not complete on drive
I’m very perplex in the current situation. The drive never showed real signs of failure before. I had this drive for a little more than 3 years (funny that this happens after the expiration of my 3 years warranty).
I ran other tests. One of them is chkdsk /x /r (which detect and repair bad sectors) and the process fully completed without detecting any bad sector.
Since other tests I ran went negative and the drive don’t show signs of problems, I suspect that this is a false positive on my drive caused by Western Digital’s self-test “Unknown Test” (I hope I’m not the only person who find their presentation of information weird).
From what I understand, the self-test is a test included in the drive by the manufacturer WD in this case.
I have the feeling that my drive is fine, but I’m trying to understand what went wrong. Maybe my usage of the files I stored on it caused something with the self-test, while not affecting the regular usage of my drive.
I looked at my files and successfully made a backup (safety first).
While transferring files, I detected some that wouldn’t transfer because the same was too long.
I also have some wacky files setup with version control and archives. Maybe it messed up the index or something.
Other idea, some files I downloaded from internet or produced myself were corrupted / incomplete.
Another possible reason is that one years ago I was transferring files, but power went off. When I restarted my computer, I deleted the files partially transferred and restarted the transfer. Maybe this somehow broke a check flag that never got reset on the drive
Overall, I think this is a false positive on my drive since it seems to work perfectly, my transferred files are not corrupted on the second drive nor on the first one and the other drives tests I run did not detect any problems.
At that point, the next thing for me to do to maintenance my drive would be to reformat it with a zero test and then test it again. Most likely I want to make sure my drive is fine so that I can be confident to keep it.
I guess that I could try rename the too long files or delete some other files that I suspect, but at this point I have no usage for that as I’m working on other drives and I don’t want to spend that much time simply to check those cases which is already too late to isolate.
I would like to know if anyone had this kind of problem or tried to repair their drive.
I mentioned some possibilities for the source of problem and identifying what can really cause a problem could be very helpful in the future.
Also, I’m looking at explanation on how window’s scan would not find problems after many hours while the Failure Checkpoint = 97 “Unknown test” did after a few seconds.
I’m searching good and validated information here.
Since reformatting the drive or running a zero-test is going to lose my old backup drive’s data and take a long time to complete (my drive is big and it will take at least half a day to complete), I felt trying to talk with at least one person who already experienced this problem before would be worth it.
I’m expecting the drive to be fine after then, just like it seems to be already fine, except that the error would be gone.
What I’m really looking for is understanding and maybe point out if there is something I’m doing wrong. I know that I’m not the first to open the subject, but I’m not very convinced about the general conclusions I have seen.
Thanks to anyone who may reply. If you see this after a long time, take a chance to reply regardless.
