Hard disk failure warning - this is how you recognize the signs
A hard drive failure not only causes data loss, it also gives you unnecessary work. The following signs indicate that a hard drive is about to fail.
Hard Drive Failure Warning: Overview
Your hard disk monitors itself by default. For this purpose, the storage medium regularly logs certain data such as reading error rate, temperature or sectors. These so-called SMART values provide information about the health of your hard drive.
- Reading error rate: External influences on the hard disk can damage the surface of the magnetic disk. This results in reading errors. The more often these occur, the more likely the hard drive will fail.
- Temperature: Too high a temperature inside your PC can cause the hard drive to fail. Most hard drive models work reliably in the range of 0 to 60 degrees.
- Sectors: A hard drive is divided into sectors that determine the size of the storage capacity of your hard drive. If a sector is defective, it is marked as defective and locked by the hard disk. A storage medium has only a limited number of reserve sectors. If all are used up, a hard drive failure is preprogrammed.
Hard drive failure warning: monitoring software
With the help of additional software, you can read out the SMART values of your hard disk. A program uses this information to warn you if there are large fluctuations.
- CrystalDiskInfo is a free program for monitoring your hard drive. The program runs in the background and informs you if critical values are reached. The tool is available for free download from CHIP Online.
- You can get O&O DriveLED for around 30 euros. The program warns you in good time of an impending hard drive failure.
- Ashampoo HDD Control costs 25 euros and, unlike O&O DriveLED, has additional functions. So you can clean and defragment your hard drive directly in the program.
