# SMART failure predicted **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321 "2007-11-05T18:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/1 "2007-11-05T18:38:10Z")
So, yesterday when I booted up the laptop, I got the Smart failure predicted on Hard disc 2. I have been busily backing up all my data since then, onto an external usb 2.0 drive. So two questions go along with this…one how long does one usually have before the drive fails, and can this be fixed or should I buy a new hard drive for the computer? Also, I only have one hard drive in this pavillion. Which drive is #2? ta! yancey ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/2 "2007-11-05T18:45:42Z")
HD 2 is probably a hidden “recovery” partition that was set up by HP. After doing the backup, your next action probably should be to call HP to determine if this is a real problem or not. And, there’s always a possibility that they know of the problem and silently extended warranty coverage for it. Not a big possibility, but it does happen now and then. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/3 "2007-11-05T19:39:24Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] HD 2 is probably a hidden “recovery” partition that was set up by HP. After doing the backup, your next action probably should be to call HP to determine if this is a real problem or not. And, there’s always a possibility that they know of the problem and silently extended warranty coverage for it. Not a big possibility, but it does happen now and then. [/QUOTE] That is the plan. Getting in touch with HP has been an experience in phone tree’s that I am not relishing taking up again tonight. Thanks for the info! yancey ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/4 "2007-11-05T19:52:23Z")
SMART fail is like credit reporting scores; probably a good predictor, but not 100% predictive. You may experience a fail tomorrow, you may experience a fail in 45 days, you may make it another year. In the servers I run at work, which average two 32K writes per second, a SMART fail usually means we’ve got 4 hours to 3 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/5 "2007-11-05T20:56:55Z")
Find the make of your hard drive and go to the manufacturers website. They usually have diagnostic software that you can download that should give a more accurate report of any problems. Some manufacturers will then determine whether your drive is still under warranty and if you are really lucky send a replacement out to you. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/6 "2007-11-05T20:58:17Z")
So what’s a SMART failure? -Kris ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/7 "2007-11-05T21:02:18Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] So what’s a SMART failure? -Kris [/QUOTE] [this](http://www.ariolic.com/activesmart/smart-technology.html) HA! drach. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/8 "2007-11-05T21:02:20Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] So what’s a SMART failure? -Kris [/QUOTE] > **[Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Monitoring,_Analysis,_and_Reporting_Technology)** > > Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (contrived acronym S.M.A.R.T. or SMART) is a monitoring system included in computer hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). Its primary function is to detect and report various indicators of drive reliability, or how long a drive can function while anticipating imminent hardware failures. When S.M.A.R.T. data indicates a possible imminent drive failure, software running on the host system may notify the user so action can be taken... ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-failure-predicted/425321/9 "2007-11-06T02:53:32Z")
I wonder if the failure prediction has improved since 2001. (The movie.)