How reliable is S.M.A.R.T?

[deanx0r]

I have a 150GB Raptor that started to click a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure its death is imminent, but S.M.A.R.T. thinks the drive is still healthy.

Which is which? Am I looking at a possible replacement? I am looking at current SSDs, do you need a newer OS (Vista?) to take advantage of them? I am currently running XP.

TIA

 

[alcoholbob]

I had that issue with my 74GB Raptor for a while...then I disconnected and reconnected SATA/power plugs and it went away.

SSD is a little more trouble than its worth IMO, this is coming from a new 120GB ocz vertex owner. I feel like I inherited more frustration than performance. Jumping to SSD means you have to realize they have their own quirks and your usage pattern may need to change.

 

[RebateMonger]

Whenever a hard drive makes unusual noises, it's not a good sign.

As noted, you can re-do your power and data connections. Also, check your System Event Logs for disk-related events.

 

[Xed]

Back up anything important and replace it. It has a 5 year warranty so you shouldn't have to buy a new drive unless you want to. WD cross-ships if you give them your cc info.

My 150gb Raptor in an older system started clicking a few weeks ago (thought it was a fan so I ignored it) and the drive died while in use this past Monday. S.M.A.R.T. gave no warning until it was too late.

 

[Old Hippie]

Whenever a hard drive makes unusual noises, it's not a good sign.

I'd like to add, Whenever a HDD makes a new unusual noise, it's not a good sign.

It's the "new" noises that concern me.

Don't rely on SMART. Do yourself a favor and run the extended WD drive tests.


Just wanted to add....

I am looking at current SSDs, do you need a newer OS (Vista?) to take advantage of them?

SSDs are a whole new ballgame. I'm not going to get into details but generic questions like yours tell me you need to do a little reading.

I'll tell ya my take on it....I purchased a GSkill Titan and with all it's real and imagined faults, I won't be returning to mechanical drives for anything other than storage.

 

[Elixer]

S.M.A.R.T track record is pretty crappy. In google's report for HDs, most all drives failed without a SMART warning at all.
About the only thing you can be sure is that if you do get a SMART error, then you know something is really wrong.

 

[taltamir]

If smart TELLS you there is a problem, then there is a problem... if you see issues but smart says nothing, you still have a problem.

MOST breakages are not detected ahead of time by smart... but the few times it does detect, it gives valuable early detection warning allowing you to salvage data.
Typically when I see a smart warning, I back up the important bits, then I try to copy all the content off of the drive, and midway through that copy the drive fails.