S.M.A.R.T status failing

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Alane - 07 May 2006 20:31 GMT

My Mac was acting up this morning, so I decided to run Disk Utility.
I got the OK on that, but at the bottom of the screen, it said
S.M.A.R.T status failing.

I tried Google to see what this means. Other than a warning to
immediately back up my files, I'm not sure exactly how dire this is.
Does it mean my hard drive is about to die?

I'm running 10.3.9 on a Power PC iBook G4. I bought it not quite two
years ago.

Thanks for any help!

Alane

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bearclaw@cruller.invalid - 07 May 2006 20:50 GMT

> Other than a warning to immediately back up my files, I'm not sure
> exactly how dire this is.

Trust your gut. Back it up posthaste, and have your drive checked.

There are lots of ways to call computers "S.M.A.R.T-compliant" that
don't really work very well.

I don't know how Apple implements S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis,
and Reporting Technology), but I bet they don't do it half-assed, which
means that when it tells you something, you should believe it. If my
iBook (G4, 1.25 gig 14") says a failure is imminent, I would get moving
to save my data.

If the vague threat of data loss doesn't work, understanding S.M.A.R.T
can help motivate you in the right direction. Wikipedia has a very good
article on the technology here:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Monitoring%2C_Analysis%2C_and_Reportin
g_Technology>

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Garner Miller - 07 May 2006 21:04 GMT

> My Mac was acting up this morning, so I decided to run Disk Utility.
> I got the OK on that, but at the bottom of the screen, it said
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> immediately back up my files, I'm not sure exactly how dire this is.
> Does it mean my hard drive is about to die?

Yes, that's exactly what it means. Back up your stuff immediately, and
start shopping around for a good deal on a hard drive. S.M.A.R.T. is a
diagnostic system built into most modern hard drives -- it's an acronym
for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. Here's an
article that explains how it works:

http://www.pcmech.com/show/harddrive/158/

> I'm running 10.3.9 on a Power PC iBook G4. I bought it not quite two
> years ago.

The iBooks are a pain to get open. While the drive won't be terribly
expensive, the labor to replace it may be. There are some mail-order
shops that will do a drive-and-install package that aren't too
expensive. Here's one place I found through a very brief Google
search:

http://www.macservice.com/

They offer a 60GB Hitachi drive, installed and with data transfer from
your old drive (assuming it still works by then), for $195.

There may be better deals and better vendors out there, but that gives
you some idea. You might also check your local shops and see what they
can offer. The corporate Apple store would probably be far too
expensive for the job. (Note that if you have AppleCare on the machine,
the repair will be free, as it's within the three years.)

Hope that helps.

Signature

Garner R. Miller
Clifton Park, NY =USA=
http://www.garnermiller.com/

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Howard S Shubs - 07 May 2006 21:17 GMT

> > I bought it not quite two years ago.

I didn't notice this at first. If Alane has an AppleCare contract on
this iBook, contact Apple for repairs, as a failing hard drive should
come under the agreement. Note that they will NOT restore the data,
though. Save all data you care about before sending the system in.

> http://www.macservice.com/
>
> They offer a 60GB Hitachi drive, installed and with data transfer from
> your old drive (assuming it still works by then), for $195.

I ordered a drive on Friday from <http://www.newegg.com>. The
particular drive I ordered won't help you, as it's for a desktop, but I
can say from experience that NewEgg is good.

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Life is toxic. It leads to death and
too much of it at once can kill you.

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Alane - 07 May 2006 22:04 GMT

>>>I bought it not quite two years ago.
>
> I didn't notice this at first. If Alane has an AppleCare contract on
> this iBook, contact Apple for repairs, as a failing hard drive should
> come under the agreement. Note that they will NOT restore the data,
> though. Save all data you care about before sending the system in.

Gah, no. No AppleCare. When I got the notice from Apple that it
was time to pay for it I asked the question on one of these Mac
Newsgroup forums for opinions on whether to get it, the general consensus
was that if I don't lug it around a lot (I don't), it probably isn't
worth it.

So much for that advice.

This is my fourth Mac (first iBook) and never had any problems that couldn't
be solved with software/reinstalls.

>>http://www.macservice.com/
>>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> particular drive I ordered won't help you, as it's for a desktop, but I
> can say from experience that NewEgg is good.

OK, thanks for the help. We have a Mac guy in Tech Services at work. I'll
back up tonight and see if he could do a hard drive install so perhaps I
won't
be computerless for too long at home.

It's always something.

Alane

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Garner Miller - 07 May 2006 22:39 GMT

> Gah, no. No AppleCare. When I got the notice from Apple that it
> was time to pay for it I asked the question on one of these Mac
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> So much for that advice.

Everything's a gamble, including AppleCare. Keep in mind you've had it
for two years, and if this failure is the only one you've had for three
years, and it costs you $200 to fix, you're *ahead* by $50 -- AppleCare
on the iBook was $250, as I'm sure you remember.

And if you or your tech can indeed install the drive, you'll be even
further ahead, since the drive itself will probably be under $100.

I generally get the plan on laptops, but that's generally because I
move them around a bit, even in the house. I don't usually get them on
desktop machines, such as my iMac. (On that machine, both the DVD and
hard drives had problems, but it was after three years, so the
AppleCare money would have been wasted for me.)

> This is my fourth Mac (first iBook) and never had any problems that couldn't
> be solved with software/reinstalls.

In this case, the SMART error is a real good sign that this is a
hardware problem. You could try initializing the drive, but I don't
think that'll solve it. I'd replace the drive if you can.

Signature

Garner R. Miller
Clifton Park, NY =USA=
http://www.garnermiller.com/

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Howard S Shubs - 07 May 2006 21:05 GMT

> I tried Google to see what this means. Other than a warning to
> immediately back up my files, I'm not sure exactly how dire this is.
> Does it mean my hard drive is about to die?

It means your drive is dying. Immediately backup any files you care
about and order a replacement drive.

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Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams.
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Mat Cvetic - 08 May 2006 04:07 GMT

> My Mac was acting up this morning, so I decided to run Disk Utility.
> I got the OK on that, but at the bottom of the screen, it said
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Alane

Not to pile on, but let me echo the sentiment, if not for you then for
the archives: if SMART says your drive is failing, it's failing. Without
exception, every time I've seen a SMART failure I've tried to make the
drive limp along for a while but it's never "come back".

Hmm... except maybe once...I think ONCE I got a SMART message (this is
on a Linux box) where it turned out my drive was getting mad because of
high humidity conditions (long story). I moved it to a better location
and it lasted for quite a while after that. But on an iBook... replace
it.

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Mac Forum / General / Hardware / May 2006

S.M.A.R.T status failing