[PLUG] smartmontools test accuracy?

[Dale Snell]

On Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:56:23 -0700
Larry Brigman <larry.brigman at gmail.com> wrote:


> The raw value is just a count of the times things needed to be
> recovered.  It is of not processed.
> The more you use a drive the larger these numbers will get as there
> are always recoverable errors.
> 
> On each of the Attributes if it is Pre-fail and the Value item gets to
> the thresh (it's count down) then
> the drive is a smart failure.  If it get to this value in the warranty
> period then you can get it replaced.

Ah, I had either missed or forgotten that the values were count DOWN.
Thank you for that tidbit!  That really sets my mind at ease about my
drive.  (It's a nice drive, btw.  Lots of storage space, physically
thin -- it fits in my shirt pocket -- and powered directly from the
USB.)

> Smart is designed  to provide predicative failure such that you can
> still recover your data before
> it totally fails.  It mostly works for things that degrade like
> head/disk interfaces.   It doesn't do anything
> for catastrophic failures that don't show degrading trends in
> performance or that drop to the floor.
> 

Oh, that part I knew.  No way is the program going to detect that
someone dropped a drive from six feet to a concrete floor before
installing it.  :-)  Or plugged the power cable in upside down.  (Think
it couldn't be done?  Think again.  Some folks are _very_ stubborn.)

--Dale

--
Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of
themselves.