Windows tools for hard drive

[Walter R.]

I am using Windows XP Pro SP2. My computer is 5 years old. The hard drives,
20 BG and 40 GB, are just as old. Is there a tool in Windows that will let
me know when my hard drives are about to die of old age. My computer is on
12 hours a day, every day. What is the life expectancy of modern hard
drives?? I would hate to lose all the stuff on my drives. Should I replace
them preemptively?

 

[Malke]

I am using Windows XP Pro SP2. My computer is 5 years old. The hard
drives, 20 BG and 40 GB, are just as old. Is there a tool in Windows
that will let me know when my hard drives are about to die of old age.
My computer is on
12 hours a day, every day. What is the life expectancy of modern hard
drives?? I would hate to lose all the stuff on my drives. Should I
replace them preemptively?

You can turn on S.M.A.R.T. in the BIOS but if I were you I'd just
replace the drives now if they are mission-critical. They could go for
another few years or they could die tomorrow.

I hope you have a good backup strategy, too.

Malke

 

[Anando [MS-MVP]]

Hello Walter,

If your Hard Drives are SMART capable, there are certain tools which can
monitor the various SMART parameters and predict the life expectancy of your
drives.

More information about SMART technology here:

What is S.M.A.R.T. for hard drives
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=120

--
Anando
Microsoft MVP- Windows Shell/User
Microsoft Certified Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
http://www.mvps.org

Folder customizations
http://www.anando.org/folder

 

[Walter R.]

Yes, I turned on S.M.A.R.T. in the BIOS. Does it actually provide warning of
a failing hard drive?

 

[over]

I am using Windows XP Pro SP2. My computer is 5 years old. The hard
drives, 20 BG and 40 GB, are just as old. Is there a tool in Windows
that will let me know when my hard drives are about to die of old age.
My computer is on 12 hours a day, every day. What is the life
expectancy of modern hard drives?? I would hate to lose all the stuff
on my drives. Should I replace them preemptively?

I maintain hundreds of machines. I have seen new drives die within days,
and others last many years (I still have a 340Mb running in a machine
since before 1990, pretty much 24 hours a day). All brands seem similar
in reliability, and a warranty only gets you a new drive, not your data.

Many newer drives and motherboards support SMART, which monitors the hard
drives for impending doom. This may help as a warning, but I would not
depend on it.

You should always assume your drives (hard, floppy, flash, anything) will
die at any time, and keep backups of anything you value that you cannot
replace easily. An external USB device may be useful for this, but if
your machine is 5 years old you may need to add a USB 2.0 card to get
reasonable speeds.

Hard drives have gotten inexpensive enough that replacing them
preemptively may not be all that bad of an idea, as you could also get
faster/quieter/larger drives out of the deal. If you imaged your old
drives to new ones (possibly both old to one new), you could keep the old
ones on the shelf as a backup, and use the new drive.

It all comes down to how much you value the data on your drives and what
it would cost in time or money to replace it as to whether you want to
invest much money or time in keeping it safe.

 

[Malke]

Yes, I turned on S.M.A.R.T. in the BIOS. Does it actually provide
warning of a failing hard drive?

Yes, sort of. I wouldn't depend on it. With the cost of new hard drives
so low, I'd just replace them. The new drives will come with a utility
so you can clone your operating system disk to the new one. If the
second drive is just backup, then all you need to do is copy the data
onto the new drive.

Malke