When you turn on your computer, you may see SMART Selt Test messages. Sometimes it can produce various errors, after which the PC may no longer boot normally. What is it and what is it for? this function?! I'll tell you now.
To prevent data loss, most classic hard drives for PCs and laptops use SMART. Translated, this abbreviation means the technology of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting on the operation of the drive. SMART keeps statistics on hard drives and tracks all key data, including how long the drive has been running and the number of times the drive has moved data out of damaged areas.

Of course, a sudden hard drive failure may occur. But most often it can be prevented due to the fact that SMART monitors the condition of the drive and can issue a message about the gradual deterioration of its condition.

SMART hard drive tests

As a rule, the SMART hard drive testing system works quietly, as if behind the scenes. If she discovers serious problem, then the computer may be paused to boot to display a warning. operating room Windows system does not include a tool to manually monitor or test your drive with using SMART, but some computer manufacturers, such as Toshiba, Dell or HP, pre-install a small diagnostic utility that checks the levels of SMART monitored attributes, providing oversight of the health of the drive. If your computer does not have such a testing utility and you want to check the health of your hard drive, download a test program such as DiskSmartView, SpeedFan or Smartmontools.

How to fix SMART error

If a SMART Self Test warning appears when you boot your computer, but the computer boots, then you need to immediately create backup copy all important files on another drive so as not to lose them. Certainly, HDD It may not break right away, but will work for some time. But why the extra risk?

On the Internet you can find programs that supposedly can fix SMART Self Test errors for a certain price. You shouldn't fall for it - it's a scam. Unfortunately, physical wear and tear and crumbling sectors cannot be “cured.”

How to disable SMART check

If for some reason you decide to disable the hard drive check function, then to do this you will need to go to Motherboard BIOS boards and in the advanced parameters look for the section SMART Settings. You need to find a section in it SMART Self Test and give it a value Disable.
But again, I want to warn you that you should not ignore the HDD self-test and the errors it produces. Otherwise, you risk losing information from the disk.

Some users personal computers or laptops, when you turn on your computer, you may see the message smart status bad backup and replace. In HP laptops, the same message has a slightly different form - smart hard disk error 301, but has the same meaning.

The reason for its appearance is a combination of two circumstances:

  1. Includes S.M.A.R.T check. hard drive;
  2. S.M.A.R.T. itself hard drive has error messages.

What does Smart status bad backup and replace mean?

If you see this message on your computer or laptop, it means only one thing - a hard drive (hard drive) with high probability will require replacement in the very near future.

The first thing to do in this case is to copy all the data that is important to you from your hard drive to any other storage device, such as a flash drive, cloud or external hard drive.

The next step is to check that S.M.A.R.T. which is peculiar information system any hard drive, displaying all errors and problems that arise.

Most often, errors occur by position. The number of remapped sectors exceeded the allowed value. In other words, many BED blocks appeared on the hard drive.

Of course, you can continue to use the hard drive with this S.M.A.R.T message. but storing important data on it is highly not recommended, since at any moment it can completely fail, which threatens the loss of all data or an expensive recovery procedure.

How to remove Smart status bad backup and replace?

If you are not going to change the hard drive and continue to use it, then you can try to disable this message in the BIOS settings.

Often setting S.M.A.R.T. is located home screen BIOS, which shows all connected IDE and SATA devices.

How to remove Smart status bad backup and replace

Here you need to select your hard drive with the “Enter” key and turn off the S.M.A.R.T. check, switching it to the Disabled state.

Disable Smart status bad backup and replace in BIOS settings

This setting can also be located in the “advanced” tab

Disable smart hard disk error 301 hp

In any case, disabling this message is not a solution to the problem. The most correct thing is to change the hard drive, since if a message about a bad SMART status appears when you turn it on, then this will be the only correct way to eliminate it.

Sequence of actions in the presence of S.M.A.R.T. hard drive or SSD errors. How to fix a disk and recover lost data. When you boot your computer or laptop, S.M.A.R.T appears. Hard drive or SSD error? After this error, your computer does not work as before, and you are worried about the safety of your data? Don't know how to fix the error?

Relevant for OS: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Windows Home Server 2011, Windows 7 (Seven), Windows Small Business Server, Windows Server 2008, Windows Home Server, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT.

What to do with a SMART error?

Step 1: Stop using the failed HDD

Receiving an error diagnosis message from the system does not mean that the disk has already failed. But if there is S.M.A.R.T. errors, you need to understand that the disk is already in the process of failure. Complete failure can occur within a few minutes or after a month or a year. But in any case, this means that you can no longer trust your data to such a drive.

You need to worry about the safety of your data, create a backup copy or transfer files to another storage medium. Along with the safety of your data, it is necessary to take action to replace the hard drive. The hard drive on which the S.M.A.R.T. errors cannot be exploited - even if it does not completely fail, it can partially damage your data.

Of course, a hard drive can fail without S.M.A.R.T warnings. But this technology gives you the advantage of warning you when a drive is about to fail.

Step 2: Recover deleted disk data

If a SMART error occurs, it is not always necessary to restore data from the disk. In case of an error, it is recommended to immediately create a copy of important data, since the disk may fail at any time. But there are errors in which it is no longer possible to copy data. In this case, you can use a recovery program hard data disk - Hetman Partition Recovery.

For this:

  1. Download the program, install and run it.
  2. By default, the user will be prompted to use File Recovery Wizard. By pressing the button "Further", the program will prompt you to select the drive from which you want to recover files.
  3. Double click on failed disk and select the required analysis type. Choose "Full Analysis" and wait for the disk scanning process to complete.
  4. After the scanning process is completed, you will be provided with recovery files. Highlight necessary files and press the button "Restore".
  5. Select one of the suggested ways to save files. Do not save recovered files to a disk with an error.

Step 3: Scan the disk for bad sectors

Run a scan of all hard drive partitions and try to fix any errors found.

To do this, open the folder "This computer" and click right click mouse on a disk with a SMART error. Select Properties / Service / Check In chapter Checking the disk for errors.

As a result of scanning, errors found on the disk can be corrected.

Step 4: Reduce disk temperature

Sometimes, the cause of the “S M A R T” error may be exceeding the maximum permissible temperature disk operation. This error can be resolved by improving the ventilation of the computer. First, check if your computer is equipped with sufficient ventilation and that all fans are working properly.

If you have identified and corrected a ventilation problem, after which the disk operating temperature has dropped to a normal level, then the SMART error may no longer occur.

Step 5:

Open the folder "This computer" and right-click on the disk with the error. Select Properties / Service / Optimize In chapter Disk optimization and defragmentation.

Select the drive you want to optimize and click Optimize.

Note. In Windows 10, disk defragmentation and optimization can be configured so that it occurs automatically.

Step 6: Buy a new hard drive

If you are faced with a SMART hard drive error, then purchasing a new drive is only a matter of time. What kind of hard drive you need depends on your style of working with a computer, as well as the purpose for which it is used.

What to look for when purchasing a new drive:

  1. Disk type: HDD, SSD or SSHD. Each type has its own pros and cons, which are not critical for some users and very important for others. The main ones are the speed of reading and writing information, volume and resistance to repeated overwriting.
  2. Size. There are two main drive form factors: 3.5 inches and 2.5 inches. The disk size is determined in accordance with the installation location of a particular computer or laptop.
  3. Interface. Main hard drive interfaces:
    • SATA;
    • IDE, ATAPI, ATA;
    • SCSI;
    • External drive (USB, FireWire, etc.).
  4. Specifications and performance:
    • Capacity;
    • Read and write speed;
    • Memory buffer or cache size;
    • Response time;
    • Fault tolerance.
  5. S.M.A.R.T. The presence of this technology on the disk will help determine possible mistakes its work and prevent data loss in time.
  6. Equipment. This item includes the possible availability of interface or power cables, as well as warranty and service.

How to reset SMART error?

SMART errors can be easily reset in the BIOS (or UEFI). But the developers of all operating systems We strongly advise against doing this. If the data on your hard drive is not valuable to you, then the SMART error output can be disabled.

To do this you need to do the following:

  1. Restart your computer, and by pressing the key combination indicated on the boot screen (they are different for different manufacturers, usually "F2" or "Del") go to BIOS (or UEFI).
  2. Go to: Advanced > SMART settings > SMART self test. Set value Disabled.

Note: The location where the function is disabled is indicated approximate, since depending on BIOS version or UEFI, the location of this setting may vary slightly.

Is HDD repair worthwhile?

It is important to understand that any of the methods for eliminating SMART errors is self-deception. It is impossible to completely eliminate the cause of the error, since the main reason for its occurrence is often physical wear and tear on the hard drive mechanism.

To eliminate or replace malfunctioning hard drive components, you can contact service center a special laboratory for working with hard drives.

But the cost of work in this case will be higher than the cost of a new device. Therefore, it makes sense to perform repairs only if it is necessary to restore data from an already inoperative disk.

SMART error for SSD drive

Even if you have no complaints about SSD operation disk, its performance gradually decreases. The reason for this is the fact that the cells SSD memory Discs have a limited number of rewrite cycles. The wear resistance feature minimizes this effect, but does not eliminate it completely.

SSD drives have their own specific SMART attributes that indicate the state of the drive's memory cells. For example, “209 Remaining Drive Life”, “231 SSD life left”, etc. These errors can occur if the performance of the cells decreases, and this means that the information stored in them may be damaged or lost.

In the event of failure, SSD disk cells cannot be restored and cannot be replaced.

Is the SMART error fixed? Leave feedback and ask your questions in the comments.