Most computer users believe that with new technology hard drives cannot fail. The reality, however, is much different. Hard disks do crash; and most often lead to considerable loss of data. The biggest sufferers are those who make no effort to prevent data loss.

It is therefore important for all computer users to guard against hard drive crashes. They can do this by trying to predict failures through SMART, which is the acronym for Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology. They also need to understand the reasons for computer failure so that they can take adequate precautionary measures.

The hard drive failures can be categorized as predictable and unpredictable. Predictable failures are mostly mechanical and are likely to happen gradually over time. Some of the causes for mechanical failure are motor breakdown, poor circuit board connections, bad solder joints, head crashes, head contamination, worn bearing, poor servo positioning, etc.

Unpredictable failures are caused by static electricity, power spurts, accidents, electronic component failure, etc. There is nothing that can be done to predict or avoid these failures.

But mechanical failures can be prevented by monitoring the performance of hard drives with SMART. The user gets to know of problem early and can either repair the hard drive or replace it before data loss occurs.

SMART technology is now considered an industry standard for drive manufacturers, and is built into most ATA and SCSI hard disks, making it possible for users to monitor the health of their hard drives. The technology also lays down reliability prediction parameters.

These parameters, which should not be exceeded under normal circumstances, include drive temperature, distance between the heads and the disk platters, motor and servo mechanisms, recalibration, faulty sectors, etc. Some attributes are considered to be critical, while others are considered to be only informative. Also, the higher values indicate high reliability and lower values are indicative of lower reliability.

At present SMART technology is capable of detecting about 70% of hard drive errors. The main failing of SMART is that it does not inform the operating system or the user about problems in the drive; and because SMART status is often not monitored many disk problems go undetected until it is too late.

All computer users must use SMART technology. This is the best way to get advance warning about an impending drive failure, and take necessary action. Those who don’t end up losing valuable data.

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