Dying harddrives (can anyone read SMART values?)

Bluescreendeath · Jul 17, 2018

So I have 3 harddrives, all of them are in yellow caution according to SMART values. 1 Hitachi 750GB (05 errors), 1 Seagate SSHD 500GB ST500LM000 (C5 and C6 errors), and 1 Seagate 500GB ST500LT012 (05 error). I am not sure what these values mean. Pics:

http://imgur.com/a/QEWgm8w

Which harddrive is the worst off and which is the best off? I want to try to salvage at least 1 for an unimportant storage/transfer drive, or even keep 1 for an unimportant backup laptop. Is that feasible or should I scrap them all?

Edit:
I converted them into raw values and downloaded Seatools. What am I supposed to do with Seatools? I ran the DST (diagnostic self test) and looked the drive info:

1) Seagate with the 4826 hours passed the Seagate DST and WinDST's quick test (reallocated setors 744).

2) The Seagate with the 5207 hours (56 uncorrectable sector/56 current pending sector count) fails the SeaTools DST at 10%. However, in the Computer folder, I did a check disk scan to "automatically fix file system errors and recover bad sectors." Now, it passes SeaTools' ShortDST sometimes and fails other times. Currently doing long generic Seatools test.

3) The Hitachi with 3788 hours (reallocated sectors 1966328) fails SeaTools DST at 10%.

Here are the pics:

http://imgur.com/a/WLwODJl

R-T-B · Jul 17, 2018

I would scrap then all personally, but the first seagate image appears best of them from the data.

timta2 · Jul 17, 2018

If you see "uncorrectable sector count", you know the drive needs to be trashed. It literally means that it's reallocated so many bad sectors that there are no spares available. Drives with reallocated sectors are also bad news and shouldn't be used for any important data.

Jetster · Jul 17, 2018

Yellow does not necessarily mean they are bad. I can't tell what software you used to read the smart values because im at work
But use the manufactures software because Crystal disk will give faults positives for yellow

RejZoR · Jul 17, 2018

All these things are a bit worrying, but they are even more if their actual values are increasing. If full format is possible, do it. Sometimes these reports go away. But I'd keep an eye on such drives if they come back and keep increasing. Then it's time for new drives. If it stays the same and you don't have any critical data on them, they are still viable.

Ahhzz · Jul 17, 2018

I also recommend throwing HD Sentinel at them for an approximation of the lifespan, plus a better indicator of what's happening.

newtekie1 · Jul 17, 2018

The first and third drives are 100% fine. The second drive has issues and should not be used.

Let me give you a quick rundown of how to read those SMART readings. Relocated Sector Count, Current Pending Sector Count, and Uncorrectable Sector Count are all read as a percentage of life left. So a reading of 100 means 100% left. CrystalDiskInfo likes to label these as a caution when there is really nothing wrong with them. So, for example, on the second drive, where there really is an issue, it is saying the it has used some of the spare relocated sectors, and only has 96% left. So in this case, sectors on the drive have actually gone bad. Once sectors start to go bad, it is time to replace the drive.

Komshija · Jul 17, 2018

I had the same "C5 Current Pending Sector Count" error on my previous and still working WD 3200 BJKT. It appeared somewhere when HDD had just under 12.000 working hours When I finally replaced it with SSD, it had around 19.000 working hours. There were absolutely no problems considering HDD, despite Crystal Disk Info notified about being cautious, like in your case.

It means that your drive might fail in the near future, but it can also mean nothing like in my case. Since both values are at 100, like out of the box, I would say it means nothing. Still, make some backup.

Solaris17 · Jul 17, 2018

Just mouse over where it says caution and it will give you the values. I've seldom seen CDI to be wrong.

Frick · Jul 17, 2018

newtekie1 said:
The first and third drives are 100% fine. The second drive has issues and should not be used.

Let me give you a quick rundown of how to read those SMART readings. Relocated Sector Count, Current Pending Sector Count, and Uncorrectable Sector Count are all read as a percentage of life left. So a reading of 100 means 100% left. CrystalDiskInfo likes to label these as a caution when there is really nothing wrong with them. So, for example, on the second drive, where there really is an issue, it is saying the it has used some of the spare relocated sectors, and only has 96% left. So in this case, sectors on the drive have actually gone bad. Once sectors start to go bad, it is time to replace the drive.

The third drive has more reallocated sectors than the first drive. Look at the raw column.

seagate_surfer · Jul 17, 2018

Bluescreendeath, for the Seagate drives, it is recommended you use Seatools. It will give you an accurate overview of the health of the drives. Go ahead and run it and share the results.

newtekie1 · Jul 17, 2018

Frick said:
The third drive has more reallocated sectors than the first drive. Look at the raw column.

Nope, different manufacturers handle that differently. Seagate starts at 0 and counts up, Hitachi starts at the maximum and counts down.

eidairaman1 · Jul 17, 2018

Utilize Hitachi Disk Fitness Test and Test all drives.

You have some sectors on the drive that are dead as per the tool you are using but still verify those findings with DFT.

If DFT can't read the Seagate drive even though I couldn't imagine it not working as it's tested all brands of drives in the past, use Seatools.

Bluescreendeath · Jul 17, 2018

Does anyone know what the raw values mean? Eg. What is 2e8?

seagate_surfer said:
Bluescreendeath, for the Seagate drives, it is recommended you use Seatools. It will give you an accurate overview of the health of the drives. Go ahead and run it and share the results.

I will do so tonight. Does Seatools work for non Seagate drives?

eidairaman1 said:
Utilize Hitachi Disk Fitness Test and Test all drives.

You have some sectors on the drive that are dead as per the tool you are using but still verify those findings with DFT.

If DFT can't read the Seagate drive even though I couldn't imagine it not working as it's tested all brands of drives in the past, use Seatools.

What is DFT? Is DFT is WinDFT for HGST drives? Do I need a separate utility for every brand?

eidairaman1 · Jul 17, 2018

Bluescreendeath said:
Does anyone know what the raw values mean? Eg. What is 2e8?

I will do so tonight. Does Seatools work for non Seagate drives?

What is DFT? Is DFT is WinDFT for HGST drives? Do I need a separate utility for every brand?

2e8 is a hexadecimal address space where faults lie on the drive. DFT is also WinDFT, I prefer a bootable version of dft.

95Viper · Jul 17, 2018

eidairaman1 said:
2e8 is a hexadecimal address space where faults lie on the driv

I do believe, It is the amount of counts... not the address space where the faults lie on the drive.

Bluescreendeath said:
Does anyone know what the raw values mean? Eg. What is 2e8?

2e8 is the hexadecimal number that is equal to the decimal number 744.
If you are referring to the Seagate ST500LT012 relocated sector count, you have 744 relocated sectors.
Probably bad ones moved to good sectors and the bad would/should be marked bad in the drives internal table.

Hexadecimal to Decimal Converter

To change the value output to "decimal" in Crystal Disk Info...

Open Crystal Disk Info
1. Click on the "Function" menu
2. Click on the "Advanced Feature" menu
3. Click on the "Raw Values" menu
4. Choose the "10 (DEC)" option
and it will change to decimal read out for the raw values.

seagate_surfer · Jul 17, 2018

Bluescreendeath said:
Does anyone know what the raw values mean? Eg. What is 2e8?

I will do so tonight. Does Seatools work for non Seagate drives?

What is DFT? Is DFT is WinDFT for HGST drives? Do I need a separate utility for every brand?

Yes, Seatools also works on non Seagate drives.

Bluescreendeath · Jul 18, 2018

I converted them into raw values and downloaded Seatools. What am I supposed to do with Seatools? I ran the DST (diagnostic self test) and looked the drive info:

1) Seagate with the 4826 hours passed the Seagate DST and WinDST's quick test (reallocated setors 744).

2) The Seagate with the 5207 hours (56 uncorrectable sector/56 current pending sector count) fails the SeaTools DST at 10%. However, in the Computer folder, I did a check disk scan to "automatically fix file system errors and recover bad sectors." Now, it passes SeaTools' ShortDST sometimes and fails other times. Currently doing long generic Seatools test.

3) The Hitachi with 3788 hours (reallocated sectors 1966328) fails SeaTools DST at 10%.

Here are the pics:

http://imgur.com/a/WLwODJl

eidairaman1 · Jul 18, 2018

Utilize the tool here.

https://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Bluescreendeath · Jul 18, 2018

eidairaman1 said:
Utilize the tool here.

https://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Installed it but can't get it to work. it says "File not found: scsioat.dll" when I try to start it.

eidairaman1 · Jul 18, 2018

Bluescreendeath said:
Installed it but can't get it to work. it says "File not found: scsioat.dll" when I try to start it.

You got the dft and not ogt right?

https://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191035

Btw if need get WinDFT instead. Or get the .dll file that is missing...

lexluthermiester · Jul 18, 2018

newtekie1 said:
it is saying the it has used some of the spare relocated sectors, and only has 96% left.

Even this is not a serious problem. In HDD's and SSD's alike, sectors go bad. Most have a few defects to start with fresh from the factory and this is accounted for by the firmware.

newtekie1 said:
So in this case, sectors on the drive have actually gone bad. Once sectors start to go bad, it is time to replace the drive.

Perfectly normal. If that number drops below 50% of a drives total reallocation Z-sectors, or it drops by a more than 5% in a given month, time to get critical data off that drive. Otherwise there is plenty of life left in that drive. The other two drives are not a problem.

@Bluescreendeath All of those drives are ok. Keep an eye on the second one but you should be fine. No worries.

Bluescreendeath · Jul 18, 2018

lexluthermiester said:
Even this is not a serious problem. In HDD's and SSD's alike, sectors go bad. Most have a few defects to start with fresh from the factory and this is accounted for by the firmware.

Perfectly normal. If that number drops below 50% of a drives total reallocation Z-sectors, or it drops by a more than 5% in a given month, time to get critical data off that drive. Otherwise there is plenty of life left in that drive. The other two drives are not a problem.

@Bluescreendeath All of those drives are ok. Keep an eye on the second one but you should be fine. No worries.

Which are you referring to as the second one? The Seagate with 4826 hours? That one has 744 reallocated sectors (decimal) and that is the only one to pass SeaTool's DST.

Is it ok for them to fail SeaTool's DST test? 1 passed, 1 sometimes passes/sometimes fail, and the other fails. Not sure if it matters for uncorrectable sectors or reallocated sectors, but I'll be using these drives to make store 100-200GB max (so that's like 20-40% space with the rest free)

lexluthermiester · Jul 18, 2018

Bluescreendeath said:
Which are you referring to as the second one? The Seagate with 4826 hours? That one has 744 reallocated sectors (decimal) and that is the only one to pass SeaTool's DST.

Is it ok for them to fail SeaTool's DST test? 1 passed, 1 sometimes passes/sometimes fail, and the other fails. Not sure if it matters for uncorrectable sectors or reallocated sectors, but I'll be using these drives to make store 100-200GB max (so that's like 20-40% space with the rest free)

Yup. SeaTool's are generally not the most reliable as they tend to spend to much focus on problems that really aren't. My personal fav utility for checking drive fitness is HDDscan; http://hddscan.com/
The lastest version is 4.0 and is a very accurate gauge of drive health. Try it out and see what is says on all three. Very interested to see what it says about them.

Bluescreendeath · Jul 18, 2018

lexluthermiester said:
Yup. SeaTool's are generally not the most reliable as they tend to spend to much focus on problems that really aren't. My personal fav utility for checking drive fitness is HDDscan; http://hddscan.com/
The lastest version is 4.0 and is a very accurate gauge of drive health. Try it out and see what is says on all three. Very interested to see what it says about them.

How do I gauge drive health? HDD scan's SMART info, or one of their tests (short vs extended)?

I also downloaded HD Sentinel. It says my Seagate 500GB (with 56 uncorrectable sectors) is at 26% and has a bit over 100 days left...

System Name	Intranetusa PC
Processor	i7 2600K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asrock P67 Extreme4
Cooling	Cooler Master N520
Memory	16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM
Video Card(s)	GTX1060
Storage	Samsung SSD, Samsung 1TB Spinpoint, Hitachi 2TB
Case	Cooler Master Elite
Power Supply	Zalman 750watt PSU
Software	Windows 7

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen R9 7950X
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Gentoo Linux x64

Processor	i7-3770K
Motherboard	Biostar Hi-Fi Z77
Cooling	Swiftech H20 (w/Custom External Rad Enclosure)
Memory	16GB DDR3-2400Mhz
Video Card(s)	Alienware GTX 1070
Storage	1TB Samsung 850 EVO
Display(s)	32" LG 1440p
Case	Cooler Master 690 (w/Mods)
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair 750-TX
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	G. Skill Mechanical
Software	Windows 10 (X64)

System Name	Juliette // HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard	Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro

System Name	OrangeHaze / Silence
Processor	i7-13700KF / i5-10400 /
Motherboard	ROG STRIX Z690-E / MSI Z490 A-Pro Motherboard
Cooling	Corsair H75 / TT ToughAir 510
Memory	64Gb GSkill Trident Z5 / 32GB Team Dark Za 3600
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2070 / Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X 4Gb
Storage	Hynix Plat P41 2Tb\Samsung MZVL21 1Tb / Samsung 980 Pro 1Tb
Display(s)	22" Dell Wide/24" Asus
Case	Lian Li PC-101 ATX custom mod / Antec Lanboy Air Black & Blue
Audio Device(s)	SB Audigy 7.1
Power Supply	Corsair Enthusiast TX750
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless / Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Keyboard	K68 RGB — CHERRY® MX Red
Software	Win10 Pro \ RIP:Win 7 Ult 64 bit

Dying harddrives (can anyone read SMART values?)

Bluescreendeath

R-T-B

timta2

Jetster

RejZoR

Ahhzz

Moderator

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Komshija

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

seagate_surfer

Seagate Rep

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

Bluescreendeath

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

95Viper

Super Moderator

seagate_surfer

Seagate Rep

Bluescreendeath

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

Bluescreendeath

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

lexluthermiester

Bluescreendeath

lexluthermiester

Bluescreendeath

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	1.21 gigawatts!
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700K
Motherboard	MSI Z170A Krait Gaming 3X
Cooling	Be Quiet! Shadow Rock Slim with Arctic MX-4
Memory	16GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4 3000 MHz
Video Card(s)	Palit GTX 1080 Game Rock
Storage	Mushkin Triactor 240GB + Toshiba X300 4TB + Team L3 EVO 480GB
Display(s)	Philips 237E7QDSB/00 23" FHD AH-IPS
Case	Aerocool Aero-1000 white + 4 Arctic F12 PWM Rev.2 fans
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Audio Boost 3 with Nahimic Audio Enhancer
Power Supply	FSP Hydro G 650W
Mouse	Cougar 700M eSports white
Keyboard	E-Blue Cobra II
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R15: 948 (stock) / 1044 (4,7 GHz) FarCry 5 1080p Ultra: min 100, avg 116, max 133 FPS

System Name	Rocinante
Processor	I9 14900KS
Motherboard	EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN (modded BIOS)
Cooling	EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB
Memory	64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s)	MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage	1x 500GB 980 Pro \| 1x 1TB 980 Pro \| 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s)	Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC
Case	Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s)	Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply	Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse	Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard	Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD	Quest 3
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	I dont have time for that.

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64