Re: S.M.A.R.T. messages - what do they mean
On Wednesday 24 September 2003 22:42, René Seindal wrote:
> I just got these messages from smartmontools on my laptop. I checked
> the logs because the disk make a weird sound.
>
> Device: /dev/hda, Failed SMART usage Attribute: 193 Load_Cycle_Count.
This one might actually be harmless if you always got it and get it a lot. It
probably just means that your drive doesn't provide that information.
> Device: /dev/hda, SMART Usage Attribute: 191 G-Sense_Error_Rate changed
> from 99 to 98
This one might be more serious. But from what I've seen at
http://yusoft.kulichki.com/russian/doc/smartdoc.htm
(translations anyone?), it has to do with G-forces (as in acceleration)
exerted on the drive, and if you didn't drop it it shouldn't be of much
importance.
> What do these messages mean and do I need to buy a new harddisk?
In any case, have a look at smartctl and its documentation. Get the logged
information and see if any of the parameters is out of bounds. If so,
double-check that your drive is not transmitting the data backwards (some
Samsung drives do which lead to an error count >300,000 on one of my drives).
Many manufacturers also offer proprietary tools that work from a bootfloppy
and know what the drive is talking about.
There's some more information at
http://www.siguardian.com/products/siguardian/on_line_help/
s_m_a_r_t_attribute_meaning.html
but it's rather incomplete due to the industry's usual "don't tell" attitude.
Most important: DON'T PANIC. There's a strong tendency on this list to send
people shopping as soon as there's any message in the logs concerning
harddrives; take those with a large grain of salt unless a proper explanation
is offered.
--
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