SMART error

[DanL]

I've got a SMART error on my Seagate ST3500418ASQ (iMac late 2011). In fact, I've had it for more than a year! Now, I realize that the disk is therby supposed to be on its last legs, and I do daily bootable backups, so I'm secure. But hey, everyone says the disk is about to die, and it never dies! In fact, it works great.

Having said that, I've finally ordered a replacement (that is allegedly compatible with the thermal sensors on my iMac) and will swap it out asap.

But it would be of some interest to know exactly what the problem is and the seriousness of it. Is there any freeware that will give me more details? I think that Windows offers such a resource. Methinks that the problem I have may not be all that severe.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

S.M.A.R.T. errors are a near-term prediction of drive failure due to slow spin up, high temperature or excessive bad sectors etc. It is important to realize that the drive may appear to be functioning normally.

You could check things with DiskUtility verify and fsck.

 

[DanL]

Thanks. But Disk Utility just tells me I have a SMART error on that disk. It doesn't (to my knowledge) tell me anything about the fault. I'm not that familiar with fsck. Can you point me to how to use it to get some details?

As a "near-term predictor of drive failure" it's done a pretty bad job for me! Yes, I know, I've probably been extraordinarily lucky.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

1) Backup your system.
2) Boot the Mac into Single User Mode by holding down Command+S during system boot after you hear the boot chime, you know you will have successfully entered Single User Mode because you will see white text on a black background scroll down the screen.
3) When the Single User boot sequence has finished, you’ll find a small command prompt at the bottom of the screen prefixed by a hash sign (#), when you see that type the following command exactly.

fsck -fy


4) Then once fsck has completed, if you see a File system was modified message, then you should run fsck -fy again until you see a message stating The volume ( your name) appears to be OK
5) Now type “reboot” to leave Single User Mode and boot the Mac back into OS X as usual.

 

[DanL]

Not quite sure I understand. Isn't this doing just what First Aid in Disk Utility does? That is, it tries to repair the file system. But I understand that a SMART error isn't a file system error. It's a disk hardware error. So what exactly does fsck accomplish for me that I couldn't do with Disk Utility?

I don't think I can fix disk hardware, but I would like to know details about that SMART error. As in, slow spin up, high temperature or excessive bad sectors etc.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Was thinking of firmware.

 

[DanL]

So fsck will fix firmware that Disk Utility First Aid won't? And SMART errors can be produced by bad firmware? Hmmm.

I guess what I'd like, if I can't fix it, is to see the ATA attributes for the disk.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

My personal feeling from what you have said is that the drive is falling, and no matter what you do it won't help, as you have done backups your system is saved. So I would hunt down a replacement as soon as poss.

Or book a GB appointment at your nearest Apple store.

 

[DanL]

Thank you. In fact, I just got my replacement disk delivered today. But if you were telling me how to possibly fix the SMART error with fsck, I should do that before opening the box. Is that what you were telling me? That is, if the SMART error really isn't a hardware error, but a firmware error, that changes the complexion of things.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Have hunted around but can't find if Apple did do a upgrade.

 

[DanL]

Not sure what "upgrade" you're talking about.

But the question remains. Does fsck rewrite the disk firmware and can firmware errors cause a SMART error?

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Does fsck rewrite the disk firmwar

No fsck is a tool for checking the consistency of a file system in unix and unix-like operating systems.

can firmware errors cause a SMART error?

Yes but you may not know it was a firmware issue.

 

[DanL]

OK, that makes sense. Firmware errors can cause a SMART error, but fsck isn't going to fix it. Maybe fsck can identify a firmware issue?

Evidently there are ways to rewrite firmware on a Seagate drive but Seagate isn't offering any firmware updates for this drive and it isn't clear how you rewrite default firmware on a drive.

So my only recourse is to replace the disk. Many thanks.