On 23/05/20 08:39, Michael wrote: > Is there a way to determine if a drive on sale is SMR *before* purchase? I > assume after purchase it is a matter of filling up the drive with zeros and > keeping an eye on it stalling for minutes at a time; or is there some hdparm/ > smartctl output to inform accordingly?
THAT IS THE PROBLEM! If you read up where people have been surprised, the information is encoded in the last four letters of the drive model. In other words, the bit that nobody looks at. For example, I can't remember whether EFAX is CMR or SMR, but that is what tells you on a WD Red. And even if you're lucky enough to be told the drive model, that is the bit that is updated every time the model is updated, and it's the bit they don't tell you, and it's the bit you only discover when the drive is in your hands and you can read the information plate on it and google it. Cheers, Wol
