from /var/log/messages

May 26 00:15:38 localhost smartd[2355]: Device: /dev/hdb, 120 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors

May 26 00:15:38 localhost smartd[2355]: Device: /dev/hdb, 17 Offline uncorrectable sectors

I had an ugly crash Sunday night, I have since reformatted and installed a new OS and these are messages I am getting, I can't seem to keep my Samba server running.
I think one of my drives is bad...what do you guys think?

Well smartd is the linux daemon that monitors S.M.A.R.T. capable drives. If it's reporting errors like this then it's because the drive itself is telling smartd that there are problems so yea I'd have to say [going?] bad drive. FYI many modern drives have internal repair functions that logically remap bad sectors so you may not see bad sectors in the filesystem because the drive interface is correcting for them but it will still report these through s.m.a.r.t. and 120 possibly bad sectors is a sure sign that your drive is about to tank hardcore. Also, if the number of pending and uncorrectable sectors has gone up since your first post I'd immediatly copy any useful data and recycle the drive. If it's new it's probably under warranty, if it's old it could probably use a size upgrade anyhow and if it's a second computer do yourself a favor and buy a nice big drive for your main box and hand-me-down it's current drive to this machine

Thanks,
I just needed a second opinion....err excuse to purchase a new drive.
8 years with only a modem and 3 or 4 CD burners failing.
And now in the same week I have 2 hard drives go bad(one a WD 20G from a Gateway machine i bought in 2000 and the other was my work laptop ).
2 hard drives in one week, what are the freaking odds??

If you need another exc... umm, rationalization, if you got 5 or 6 solid years of use out of the drive, that's not too shabby. Most businesses amortize PC's over a 3 year life span, so you got double that out of your equipment.

Alternatively, hey, when it rains it pours. -- J.W.