Since I need harddisks to store my files on a Synology NAS and I was running out of space I ordered some new disks.
Now they were’nt super protected when they arrived and I would like to check them for bad sectors doing a full scan with WD Lifeguard. (since they are WD disks).
Does that seem a good idea to you ? (or do you know if the NAS does check the disks before installing maybe ?)
What do you do when you install a new disk ?
Thanks in advance for your feedback
Z.
I hope the drives are listed as compatible with your Synology, otherwise they may not work. Synology support will not help if the drives are not listed on that chart. If you are upgrading an already running NAS, you increase the space by swapping out drives one at a time, such as replacing a 2TB drive with a 4TB. Note, you wont see any space increase in your storage pool until the 2nd drive is swapped out. As you swap out the drives you will have to wait until the storage pool analysis finishes for each one. Let the NAS do all the drive testing, it will initialize the drive and perform a complete scan as it adds it to the pool.
Thanks I had forgotten to look 
yes the disk is compatible. 
I ordered a new Synology (the 420+) to not mess with my prexisting one. Than I will use the previous as a backup for files and will move my plex files to the new NAS.
In some forum the recommend testing the drives searching for badblocks
https://www.pantz.org/software/badblocks/badblocksusage.html
but not sure I will know how to do it…
Z.
While the NAS is integrating the new disk, make sure it is not interrupted.
Best way is to get a small-ish UPS unit, to protect from power outages.
Otherwise, in the best case, the process must be restarted from the beginning after a power failure.
In the worst case your data are lost.
Already done that eh eh;)
saved my life a few times…
Z.
Hello and Thank you again for your answers
@bpogue99 I wanted to know if there is a way I can test it inside my computer first to make sure the drive has not any errors.
I thought of deep formating it but with Windows I will do it in NTFS and I think with Synology they formats the drives with a different file system (ext4 or BTRFS I believe).
On the Synology forum it is written that it is not necessary to format the disks before use, but they do not say how to check that they are free of errors prior to inserting?
My idea was to insert the new disk into my computer but I was not sure if I need to go through a software or heavy formatting to make sure it’s error free before inserting it into the NAS?
Does that make sense ?
How do you guys that use NAS do it ?
Z.
Your NAS should already have such a tool available.
So insert the drive into your NAS, but don’t add it to the volume/pool immediately. Perform the destructive write/read test first. (But make sure not to select your existing volumes! 
)
The S.M.A.R.T. tests include an optional “write” test. Use this for instance.
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/knowledgebase/DSM/help/DSM/StorageManager/disk#Analytics
Thanks Otto, I will probably try that in the end you’re right, if I don’t find an easy way to test them beforehand.
I dowloaded for instance “Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows” by WD here
So I will see, if I can use it. If I do I have to put each disk in my computer which can be “less easy” that through USB. But I wouldn’t want to make such a test with a disk connected through USB
One last thing: can these kind of long test damage the disk or not ?
Z.
Let me put it like this:
If the drive doesn’t survive a simple, linear test write and read, you shouldn’t use it at all.
Right.
Just to explain to you, I ordered a few disks to put in the new Synology station and they ALL arrived protected differently !
That’s why in the beginning I thought of testing them.
Testing them is a sensible measure in any case, but particularly before adding them to any type of pool or RAID.
I will let you know how long it took if it might help others
As for the new Plexserver plateform I am not decided yet so didn’t order anything… maybe something new will come up.
For now I get used to the fan noise.
And now my projector too makes some noise lol but that’s another story
On my todolist I also have to transcode ALL my films taken with the Canon Camera …
Don’t forget to indicate the drives’ type codes.
This can vary quite drastically, depending on the make and model of the drives, but also to some degree on the overall load of the NAS, because it will prioritize regular tasks over such a test run.
Can you tell me more Otto , what do you mean by that ?
I mean simply the type of drive. HDs can have rather incomprehensible model numbers/codes, like e.g. the once-popular WD80EFAX, which stands for “WD Red 8 TB for NAS applications”.
(This particular model should actually be avoided nowadays, because you might get a “shingled”-recording model, which performs so bad that some NAS vendors have scrubbed them from their compatibility lists. But that is a different story.)
Mine is WD120EFAX, hope that one has not the same problem…
As far as I understand it, currently the higher capacities still use CMR, but that can change at any time.
Going forward, you want your drives from the WD Red “Pro” range, because these are guaranteed to be all CMR.
Should I send back my disks now because of that or will it be okay ? I have no clue what is CMR 
As for prices WD Red normal are 359,95 € in French Amazon and WD Red pro version are 462,98€
CMR = “conventional magnetic recording”
SMR = “shingled magnetic recording”
You should be good for now, since the 12 TB versions are still CMR, as mentioned above.
Hello Otto,
I received the new Synology station and the disks.
Now I insterted one disk into the Synology, should I put ALL the disks before I power on, or do it one by one ?
Edit: I read the manual 
It seems I have to insert the 4 disks and install DSM, I will do that for now.
Just to be sure: you recommend plexserver is installed on a separate machine right ?
I saw by the way they have their own Plex alike called Videostation but I never tested it.
Z.
