Running Drive Diagnostics and Status Checks
WD SmartWare™ includes several diagnostic tools to ensure that your drive performs at its best and backs up and retrieves your files most efficiently. As a general rule, it's a good idea to run the diagnostic tests periodically to analyze the condition of your drive so that you can take action before a failure occurs. If you experience drive errors during back up or retrieve operations, run all the diagnostic tests, which are defined in the sections that follow.
The Quick Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) status is a failure-prediction function that continuously monitors key internal performance attributes of the drive. For example, a detected increase in drive temperature, noise, or read/write errors can provide an indication that the drive may be approaching a serious failure condition. By running this diagnostic program periodically, you can assess the condition of your drive and take action before a failure occurs.
To run Quick SMART Status:
Click Quick SMART Status. A message appears at the top left of the screen, indicating that the status of your WD drive has either passed or failed.
Your WD backup drive has a built-in Data Lifeguard diagnostic utility that tests the drive for error conditions. The Quick Drive Test checks your drive for major performance issues. Note that this test may take up to two minutes to complete.
To run a Quick Drive test:
Click Quick Drive Test. A message appears at the top left of the screen, indicating that the status of your WD drive has either passed or failed.
The most comprehensive diagnostic tool for your drive is the Complete Drive Test. This tool tests every sector of the drive for error conditions and inserts bad-sector markers as required.