Can you trust WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostics?

[Muse]

I had a write error with a WD ELEMENTS 2tb external HD a couple days ago running on an XP machine and decided to check it out. I brought it to another machine (running Win7) and ran WD DLD on it and the SMART data indicated a FAIL. It did, however, pass the Quick Test. I had another WD drive close by, a WD MyBook 3TB external, and I ran WD DLD on it, the Quick Test, which it passed but its SMART data indicated FAIL as well.

So, I go and fetch my other WD external HD, a WD ELEMENTS 2TB external, do the same process and all 3 then show FAIL for SMART data!!! I'm going WTF, these drives aren't heavily used, in fact the MyBook 3TB is very lightly used.

I uninstall WD DLD (it was version 1.25) and download the latest version from Western Digital's site, version 1.29, install it and all 3 HDs are passing SMART data. This isn't the first time I've been confused by what I see using WD DLG. What could this all be about?

 

[Elixer]

What does crystaldiskinfo show for the SMART data on each of those drives?

The old version of the program might have had bugs, or, maybe WD moves some stats around, and the old version was looking at a different place.

 

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

Hey there Muse

I'm sorry about the confusion. It is recommended to use the latest version of the software as it si the most optimized and accurate one. If the drives pass the test with the latest version they should be safe to use and operate properly.
If you want more details on the drives' health I'd follow Elixer's suggestion. Checking the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status can help you check if the drive has any signs of failure or malfunction or not.
If you are not sure how to read it feel free to post a screenshot of your S.M.A.R.T. status with the RAW values here and we can help you out.

Captain_WD.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If smart shows a fail then you'd be wise to consider transferring your data off the drive. If a drive fails the WD diagnostics then you want to cease using it before it does completely die taking your data with it. If it is under warranty I'd rma it and get a replacement.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

While I love WinDLG and use it all the time to periodically test my spinning rust disks (zero-fill + sector scan), its SMART readings are worth jack.

Use a utility like AIDA64 to read the raw SMART values, in particular the pending realloc and realloc counts.