Smart HDD report interpretation, please!

Completely Clueless · 08-02-2014, 02:49 PM

Hi guys,

Another drive of mine has started making some really disturbing noises, so I fear its time may soon be at hand. Can some kind soul make any sense of this, please?

Code:

# smartctl --all /dev/sda
smartctl 6.2 2013-07-26 r3841 [i686-linux-3.12.18-pclos2] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-13, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Seagate Momentus 5400.3
Device Model:     ST980811AS
Serial Number:    5LY9B6L8
Firmware Version: 3.ALE
User Capacity:    80,026,361,856 bytes [80.0 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ATA/ATAPI-7 (minor revision not indicated)
Local Time is:    Sat Aug  2 19:49:10 2014 BST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
See vendor-specific Attribute list for marginal Attributes.

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x82) Offline data collection activity
                                        was completed without error.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      ( 249) Self-test routine in progress...
                                        90% of test remaining.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection:                (  426) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        No Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        No General Purpose Logging support.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time:        (   1) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (  84) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x0001) SCT Status supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000f   114   084   006    Pre-fail  Always       -       80045498
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0003   099   099   000    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   097   097   020    Old_age   Always       -       3673
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   036    Pre-fail  Always       -       1
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000f   072   060   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       133727931826
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   078   078   000    Old_age   Always       -       20141
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   100   095   034    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   097   097   020    Old_age   Always       -       3833
187 Reported_Uncorrect      0x0032   055   055   000    Old_age   Always       -       45
189 High_Fly_Writes         0x003a   001   001   000    Old_age   Always       -       3856
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0022   049   044   045    Old_age   Always   In_the_past 51 (0 13 51 45 0)
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   098   098   000    Old_age   Always       -       4168
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   001   001   000    Old_age   Always       -       1123297
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   051   056   000    Old_age   Always       -       51 (0 13 0 0 0)
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  0x001a   068   056   000    Old_age   Always       -       212622598
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0012   001   001   000    Old_age   Always       -       4294967295
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0010   001   001   000    Old_age   Offline      -       4294967295
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x003e   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0000   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
202 Data_Address_Mark_Errs  0x0032   100   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
ATA Error Count: 53 (device log contains only the most recent five errors)
        CR = Command Register [HEX]
        FR = Features Register [HEX]
        SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
        SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
        CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
        CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
        DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
        DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
        ER = Error register [HEX]
        ST = Status register [HEX]
Powered_Up_Time is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.

Error 53 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 19024 hours (792 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 8e 4f 84 e8  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x08844f8e = 142888846

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  c8 00 08 88 4f 84 e8 00      01:16:39.754  READ DMA
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:37.596  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:37.596  IDENTIFY DEVICE
  ef 03 46 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:37.590  SET FEATURES [Set transfer mode]
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:37.580  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]

Error 52 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 19024 hours (792 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 8e 4f 84 e8  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x08844f8e = 142888846

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  c8 00 08 88 4f 84 e8 00      01:16:33.194  READ DMA
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:37.596  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:37.596  IDENTIFY DEVICE
  ef 03 46 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:37.590  SET FEATURES [Set transfer mode]
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:37.580  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]

Error 51 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 19024 hours (792 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 8e 4f 84 e8  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x08844f8e = 142888846

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  c8 00 08 88 4f 84 e8 00      01:16:33.194  READ DMA
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:33.177  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:33.177  IDENTIFY DEVICE
  ef 03 46 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:33.169  SET FEATURES [Set transfer mode]
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:31.002  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]

Error 50 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 19024 hours (792 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 8e 4f 84 e8  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x08844f8e = 142888846

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  c8 00 08 88 4f 84 e8 00      01:16:33.194  READ DMA
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:33.177  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:33.177  IDENTIFY DEVICE
  ef 03 46 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:33.169  SET FEATURES [Set transfer mode]
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:31.002  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]

Error 49 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 19024 hours (792 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  40 51 00 8e 4f 84 e8  Error: UNC at LBA = 0x08844f8e = 142888846

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  c8 00 08 88 4f 84 e8 00      01:16:28.782  READ DMA
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:28.776  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:26.606  IDENTIFY DEVICE
  ef 03 46 00 00 00 a0 02      01:16:26.606  SET FEATURES [Set transfer mode]
  27 00 00 00 00 00 e0 00      01:16:31.002  READ NATIVE MAX ADDRESS EXT [OBS-ACS-3]

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Self-test routine in progress 90%     20141         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

Is she a-gonner? Many thanks indeed.

Ser Olmy · 08-02-2014, 02:59 PM

The values for Current_Pending_Sector (potentially bad sectors awaiting reallocation) and Offline_Uncorrectable are off the scale. This drive has major problems and should be replaced ASAP.

Completely Clueless · 08-02-2014, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ser Olmy

The values for Current_Pending_Sector (potentially bad sectors awaiting reallocation) and Offline_Uncorrectable are off the scale. This drive has major problems and should be replaced ASAP.

Thanks, It's been a bit flakey lately and the weird noises are just the latest symptom that something wasn't right. Still, it's in a laptop that has had a *lot* of heavy use since I bought it new in 2008, so I can't grumble I guess.

Completely Clueless · 08-02-2014, 03:12 PM

PS: I'm closing down now to migrate important un-backed-up data to somewhere else, so won't be online for a while.....

wroom · 08-04-2014, 08:53 AM

Looking at your smartctl dump i see two possible causes for trouble:

Possible cause #1:

194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0022 051 056 000 Old_age Always - 51 (0 13 0 0 0)

This show the current drive temperature to be 51 deg Celsius.

For SATA/SAS drives, the magic number seem to be that above 48 deg Celsius bad things start to happen with the sectors.

Sometimes the problem can be solved by improving the cooling of the drive. (Adding a fan...)
Sometimes it is a mechanical issue within the drive that is making it run hot. If so, the drive is a gonner.

To revive a drive that has been running hot for a while, take an image backup of the data. But before anything else, solve the heat issue so the drive operates below 48 deg C.

When you have made a proper image backup of the drive, (and checked that the backup is good), then erase/overwrite the "bad" drive with the "dod pattern", AA, 55, FF, 00...
This can be done in linux with a command like "badblocks -wsc 256 /dev/sdx".

When you write the patterns AA, 55, FF, 00, (that is bytes of 10101010, 01010101, 11111111 and 00000000), the drive smart firmware gets a chance to write fresh sectors, and at the same time test the sector "goodness" with the different patterns.
If you run the smart long selftest after wiping the drive like this, the smart firmware gets a chance to tick of any suspect bads that are not actually bad, and also relocate sectors that is truly bad.

It may happen that the drive after being wiped with the DOD pattern under reasonable operating temperature is going to be good again, after smart has had the chance to scrub out all the suspect bads.
But it might also be possible that the drive is truly bad. Then the smart selftest will eventually terminate with a lot of uncorrectables, and a tripped SMART FAIL status, and a drive that merely respond to read/write requests.

Possible cause #2 for trouble is the:

189 High_Fly_Writes 0x003a 001 001 000 Old_age Always - 3856

This can mean that the write head actuator may be worn out, or that external mechanical shock made the write head move from where is was supposed to be during a write.
Imaging you writing a letter with a ballpoint pen and your daughter comes in and grasp you by the arm, shaking the arm with the pen vigourously while saying something like "daddy, daddy come look"! Then you will be making "high fly writes" all over the paper, desk, left hand...

If you have high fly writes on a server standing securely in a quiet corner, the disk is surely worn out, or someone is kicking at it when you're not looking.

Some data to compare with:

Code:

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000b   100   100   016    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   160   160   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       202
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0007   116   116   024    Pre-fail  Always       -       638 (Average 564)
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       53
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   005    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   067    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   136   136   020    Pre-fail  Offline      -       31
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0012   092   092   000    Old_age   Always       -       59407
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   100   100   060    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       53
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   050    Old_age   Always       -       124
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0012   100   100   050    Old_age   Always       -       124
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0002   137   137   000    Old_age   Always       -       40 (Min/Max 16/44)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0008   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x000a   200   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

Above is the smart attribute readout from one of my server drives that is soon going to celebrate its seventh year in a server room with an overloaded cooling system. Ambient temp is 29.5 Celsius.
It's a HITACHI DeskStar HDS7250SASUN500G. Not the fastest. Not the coolest. But it is sturdy.