Terramaster D5 Thunderbolt 3: False Positive saying a drive is failing, and it is not

[huntie21]

To describe this issue: I have owned a Terramaster D5 Thunderbolt 3 for many years, and it would randomly set off the alarm indicating that my 3rd Hard Drive (out of 5) was failing. The first time it happened, I was not home near the Terramaster but my ex girlfriend was - and she called me at work freaking out about this super loud alarm going off at home (I had no idea what she was talking about).

Also worth mentioning is that the LED of the 3rd drive, does not always consistently blink with the LEDs for the other drives. Playback of 4K content from the Terramaster, is still fine as always.

I resolved this issue (somewhat) by no longer using the Raid Manager Pro software. I have not had this issue since, but I'm posting in case it can be troubleshot further or help another customer. I'm not eager to sort this out because the RAID Manager Pro Software doesn't really help my use case (aside from creating/destroying an array, or maybe replacing a failing single drive).

My setup has an Intel NUC6i7KYK, and it's running Windows Server 2016, and using a total of five 8 TB Hard Drives in my Terramaster. I have them running in RAID0, and performance has always been great. During the boot process, you can also see text on the screen showing the driver was successfully loaded for the Terramaster, before the Windows loading icon.

When the issue first started happening, I did so much troubleshooting like:
- standard troubleshooting like Windows Updates, reinstalling Windows Server 2016, physically inspecting and cleaning any dust on the Terramaster
- using 3rd party tools like WD Diagnostics, or from SeaGate, which shows the SMART status is fine
- I replaced the drive, and the issue happened again anyway (which sucked, because it was expensive)
- I rebuilt the array, and the issue happened again shortly after
- checked all the same diagnostic software again with the new hard drive, confirmed it was all good, and the issue happened again anyway

so why am I posting? If there's any other way to further resolve this I would be glad to, but I also will absolutely avoid feeling like "welp now this alarm may or may not go off again at any random moment" if that's required to troubleshoot this further.

[TMzethar]

For the faulty hard disk, you need to use other devices to check for any adverse health conditions. If similar situations occur, it is highly likely that the hard disk is the problem.
Whether the hard disk used in RAID0 mode has consistent requirements, such as the same brand and capacity? If there is a beep alarm, you can use RAID Mnanger pro to check whether a fixed hard disk fails or a fixed slot fails.
If there is no problem with the RAID group members, you can also check whether there are any problems with the thunderbolt cable connection or try replacing the cable.

[CharlotteFilemdar]

Try replacing the SATA cable connected to drive 3 and ensure secure connection.
Check if drive 3 has any physical damage or unusual noise/vibration.
Look for firmware updates for both the Terramaster and drives (some address SMART read errors).
Consider testing with a different OS (e.g., Linux) on the NUC to see if the alarm persists.
If using Windows Server 2016, try disabling/reinstalling any storage management software besides Terramaster drivers.
Check event logs on the NUC for any errors related to the Terramaster or drives during alarm events.
While less likely, internal issues within the Terramaster enclosure could be causing false alarms.
Contact Terramaster support for further diagnosis and potential hardware replacement options.
Remember, data on a RAID0 array isn't fully protected (a single drive failure loses everything). Consider exploring RAID5/6 for redundancy if data stability is crucial.

I hope these suggestions help! Feel free to share any updates or further questions.

[SangakaraMoory]

It seems like you've done a thorough troubleshooting of the issue, and it's interesting that the alarm stops when you disable the RAID Manager Pro software. This could indicate a compatibility issue between the software and your Terramaster D5 Thunderbolt 3.

While not ideal, not using the RAID Manager Pro software may be the only way to prevent the random alarms from going off. If you don't need the software's features, you can safely avoid using it and continue using your Terramaster D5 Thunderbolt 3 in RAID0 configuration.

If you still want to investigate the issue further, you can try contacting Terramaster support for assistance. They may be able to provide more specific troubleshooting steps or identify potential software updates that could address the compatibility issue.