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This is one of my favorite utilities

Story: Smartctl - Monitoring & Analysis tool for Hard driveTotal Replies: 0
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BernardSwiss

Nov 18, 2014
6:26 PM EST 		I run smartctl every time I boot-up my desktop, and after every back-up (I have a trivially simple rsync script which I run once or twice a week), and/or sometimes before the back-up, as well.

I save the smartctl results to a dedicated directory alongside 1st-level back-ups for email, bookmarks and the more important config files.

More importantly -- I actually look at the smartctl data before and/or after every back-up -- so I have some vague idea what "normal" is.

This has paid off more than once, as I can start looking for a good deal on a replacement harddrive before problems otherwise become apparent.

In fact, this summer I brought home a harddrive on a Saturday morning, to replace a particular drive... which failed suddenly and without any apparent warning -- aside from smartctl data showing ballooning error rates -- that very evening. (What can I say... I'd put off buying the replacement a bit too long, so I could check out the swap meet for bargains. Besides... I had back-ups).

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There's also some nice, GUI front-ends for smartctl, that make it easier to check your drives and understand what the data actually means, while one gets familiar with it)

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