I think I am in the same boat as Internal disk needs repair - Apple Community.
I saw LaPastenague's response. Unless there is any additional guidance, I will pull the drive out and check.
For the moment.. you can pull the bad drive from the Gen5 TC.
If you don't replace it you will get a bad drive error but it will continue to work as an Extreme.
You can bridge the Gen4 TC, plug it into the Gen5 and run it just for backups. They are just as fast as the Gen5 but of course only have N wireless which you can turn off.
As a matter of interest I have used WD purple drives (designed for surveillance work) and they are a good choice in TC. I have not heard they went SMR and as long as it has the same model number as older ones they are fine. As are the older WD Reds.. just buy ones that have model number ending FRX not FAX ?? I think those are the numbers.
BTW HGST is owned by WD now.. just in case your issue is with WD itself.
The model on the blink is the 802.11ac model. I do have a TC Gen 1 and TC Gen 4, from which I can steal a drive. I can also leave it alone, connect an external USB, and ignore the blinking Amber, if it can act as an Extreme.
This will not spin-up on an external enclosure. I have verified that the enclosure is fine, using another TC disk (also referenced in Gen4 A1409 bricked - Apple Community) .
Check Seagate's website for warranty, and was referred back to the original reseller - Apple. I will look for a replacement (new) disk. Is Seagate a reasonable choice (so I do not need to cut the rubber 'shoes')?
Internal disk needs repair
