# SMART error in my HDD



## sneak3 (Apr 8, 2012)

Hello!

I have a relatively new notebook, about 2 years old but has always been used only for work, no hard jobs, nothing.

However, some days ago, my father sent it to a technician to get his outlook email fixed. When he got it back, the thing was way too slow and the SMART thing appeared right after booting.

I tested it with HD tune and gave no bad sector, all all.

Here's a ss:






Used HDD Regenerator and he did not find anything to repair.

Defraged as well but nothing new.

After all that, SMART still shows up and windows still warns me about a faulty HD, saying it need to be replaced.

I'm finding it strange, it may be a coincidence but i think the technician screwed up something.

Can it be a software problem, so formating would solve?

If not, how do I fix? I really dont believe that HD is bad.

Any solution?


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## johnb35 (Apr 8, 2012)

If you are getting a smart error at bootup before windows loads then yes, its time to replace the drive.  Excessive shock could cause issues like this.  It's also possible that the drive's time is up.  They can go out at any time.

If however, you are not getting a smart error before windows loads, there is another possibility.  You could be infected.  There are many hdd rogue programs out there now.

You can download the toshiba drive diagnostic to test the drive.

http://storage.toshiba.com/storage-services-support/warranty-support/software-utilities


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## sneak3 (Apr 8, 2012)

johnb35 said:


> If you are getting a smart error at bootup before windows loads then yes, its time to replace the drive.  Excessive shock could cause issues like this.  It's also possible that the drive's time is up.  They can go out at any time.
> 
> If however, you are not getting a smart error before windows loads, there is another possibility.  You could be infected.  There are many hdd rogue programs out there now.
> 
> ...



Yes, it is before windows loads. But man, are you sure theres no other possibility?

I mean, no bad sectors, only 2 warning messages in HD Tune.

I really thought there could be something to be done.


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## johnb35 (Apr 8, 2012)

Once you start getting smart errors, its always best to replace the drive.  The drive can go completely out at any time.   If its bad sectors more will follow.


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## sneak3 (Apr 8, 2012)

johnb35 said:


> Once you start getting smart errors, its always best to replace the drive.  The drive can go completely out at any time.   If its bad sectors more will follow.



But like i said, there were no bad sectors at all.

The only 2 things wrong are those 2 messages from HD tune.


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## johnb35 (Apr 8, 2012)

Reallocated sectors means you have bad sectors.  Download the toshiba utility and run it to see what condition the drive is in.


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## sneak3 (Apr 8, 2012)

johnb35 said:


> Reallocated sectors means you have bad sectors.  Download the toshiba utility and run it to see what condition the drive is in.



I downloaded something called Hirens Boot CD and use the toshiba utility that came with it.

I booted via CD and tried to use it but had no success. I dont know what it was but it couldnt "find" the HDD.


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## voyagerfan99 (Apr 8, 2012)

The Toshiba utility on Hirens sucks. It can't do anything to save its life.

But yes, if you have a SMART error, that means the drive is on its way out. Back up your data while you can.


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## sneak3 (Apr 8, 2012)

voyagerfan99 said:


> The Toshiba utility on Hirens sucks. It can't do anything to save its life.
> 
> But yes, if you have a SMART error, that means the drive is on its way out. Back up your data while you can.



That was really the first time that ever happened.

How can I prevent it from happening again? I mean, i dont recall making anything wrong with that pc.

What exactly causes sectors to be realocated that much?


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## voyagerfan99 (Apr 8, 2012)

sneak3 said:


> That was really the first time that ever happened.
> 
> How can I prevent it from happening again? I mean, i dont recall making anything wrong with that pc.
> 
> What exactly causes sectors to be realocated that much?



Hard drives have a limited life span. A drive can last a day, a week, a year, 10 years, etc. Get my point? It's not known the lifespan of each individual drive. So there really isn't anything you can do to prevent it.


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## sneak3 (Apr 8, 2012)

voyagerfan99 said:


> Hard drives have a limited life span. A drive can last a day, a week, a year, 10 years, etc. Get my point? It's not known the lifespan of each individual drive. So there really isn't anything you can do to prevent it.



Hmm so theres really not a single human act that can decrease the lifespan of a hdd?


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## johnb35 (Apr 9, 2012)

You will have to remove the drive from your notebook as its running in ahci mode and the toshiba utility won't be able to detect the drive in ahci mode.


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## sneak3 (Apr 9, 2012)

johnb35 said:


> You will have to remove the drive from your notebook as its running in ahci mode and the toshiba utility won't be able to detect the drive in ahci mode.



What should I do then? Put it in a external hd and connect it via USB to another pc?

Cant I change it to IDE in this case?


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## johnb35 (Apr 9, 2012)

You can change it to IDE mode only if the laptop's bios supports it, most do not.  I don't recommend using a usb external drive.  Take the drive out and attach it to another system using the sata power and data cables, then run the toshiba utility on it.


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## sneak3 (Apr 9, 2012)

johnb35 said:


> You can change it to IDE mode only if the laptop's bios supports it, most do not.  I don't recommend using a usb external drive.  Take the drive out and attach it to another system using the sata power and data cables, then run the toshiba utility on it.



Ok, will do that.

Only thing is i cant fine a true toshiba utility..the one they made available in the toshiba website is for fujitsu (?) hdds. But mine is not fujitsu.

You know somewhere I could download the actual toshiba utility?


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## johnb35 (Apr 9, 2012)

That link came from toshiba's website.  If that test don't work try hitachi's drive fitness test per one website I was looking at.

http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/#DFT


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## linkin (Apr 9, 2012)

Re-allocated sector count means that sectors have gone bad (corrupted) and have been re-allocated to reserved parts of the drive. Once you start getting those errors, get everything you need off of the drive and replace it. It may just outright fail at any moment.


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