Can you recommend a good Hard Drive maintenance program?

CountryBumkin

Gv me thumbs-up if I help
Power User
Messages
123
I'm finishing up rebuilding from a bad hard drive. I got no warning that there was a problem (but I wasn't really looking either).
I think I should have some software installed that monitors my hard drives (reads SMART or tests the drive, or such) and lets me know if something is going bad.

So what do you recommend?


I've seen Gibson SpinRite, Passmark DiskCheckup, And Priiform Speccy mentioned here. Is there any consensus among the IT professionals as to what is the best program or method to keep an eye on my hard drives for pending problems? I have computers with Hitachi, HGST, WD, Seagate, and some SSDs by Corsair, Kingston, and Samsung (and probably a few I've forgotten about) so a single program that works with all drive brands would be nice.

Thanks for your feedback.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HTPC: Custom built
    CPU
    intel i5-2400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-DS2H
    Memory
    16GB Corsair DDR3-1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    on-board HD3000
    Sound Card
    On-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" LED
    Hard Drives
    eight HGTS Deskstar NAS, 3TB
    seven WD Red NAS, 3TB
    one Seagate ES.2, 1TB
    one 64GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Li-Lian case with SuperMicro hotswap backplane
    Cooling
    Case 4 6" fans, stock CPU cooler
    Other Info
    Two 3-Ware (LSI) model 9650SE-8LPML RAID cards.
Never had any issues with Crucial's SSD's.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
As for S.M.A.R.T. programs. The OS does a good job monitoring them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
I'm not having any problems with the Corsair or Kingston SSDs, but I want to pay attention to all the drives and maybe be better prepared (current backup, etc.) in case a drive starts to go bad.

How does the OS report SMART errors? Is there a way to see what the OS is doing and what the SMART errors there are, if any, just through the OS (without needing third-party software)?

Thanks again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HTPC: Custom built
    CPU
    intel i5-2400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-DS2H
    Memory
    16GB Corsair DDR3-1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    on-board HD3000
    Sound Card
    On-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" LED
    Hard Drives
    eight HGTS Deskstar NAS, 3TB
    seven WD Red NAS, 3TB
    one Seagate ES.2, 1TB
    one 64GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Li-Lian case with SuperMicro hotswap backplane
    Cooling
    Case 4 6" fans, stock CPU cooler
    Other Info
    Two 3-Ware (LSI) model 9650SE-8LPML RAID cards.
Back
Top