Smartd message: What does it mean?

[Dan Thurman]

Hi Folks,

Trying to understand this message, any ideas?

This email was generated by the smartd daemon running on:

host name: xxx.xxx.com
  DNS domain: xxx.com
  NIS domain: (none)

The following warning/error was logged by the smartd daemon:
Device: /dev/hdb, 14 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors
For details see host's SYSLOG (default: /var/log/messages).

Thanks!
Dan

[Benjamin Franz]

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005, Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> Trying to understand this message, any ideas?
>
> This email was generated by the smartd daemon running on:
>
> host name: xxx.xxx.com
>  DNS domain: xxx.com
>  NIS domain: (none)
>
> The following warning/error was logged by the smartd daemon:
> Device: /dev/hdb, 14 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors
> For details see host's SYSLOG (default: /var/log/messages).

It means you have 14 bad sectors on your /dev/hdb hard drive. It also 
means it is time to buy another drive and copy your data over to it.

[Bruno Wolff III]

On Fri, Oct 28, 2005 at 18:59:09 -0700,
  "Daniel B. Thurman"  wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> Trying to understand this message, any ideas?
>
> This email was generated by the smartd daemon running on:
>
> host name: xxx.xxx.com
>   DNS domain: xxx.com
>   NIS domain: (none)
>
> The following warning/error was logged by the smartd daemon:
> Device: /dev/hdb, 14 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors
> For details see host's SYSLOG (default: /var/log/messages).

Probably you are going to lose the data in those 14 sectors. The smartd
home page has links to some pages that document how to find out what files
are using these blocks one at least ext2/3 and maybe some other file systems.
You can use that to tell you which files have been corrupted.
If you are running raid 1, you can copy of the sectors from the mirror.
Once you rewrite those sectors they will be remapped by the drive and
work correctly.
Losing 14 sectors by itself isn't a strong indication you need to by a new
hard drive. You might want to look at the output from smartctl -a to
see if anything else looks fishy. If you continue to lose sectors, that
would also be an indication that the drive is dying and should be replaced.

[Daniel Frerejacque]

On Fri, Oct 28, 2005 at 18:59:09 -0700,
> "Daniel B. Thurman"  wrote:
> > Hi Folks,
> >
> > Trying to understand this message, any ideas?
> >
> > This email was generated by the smartd daemon running on:
> >
> > host name: xxx.xxx.com
> >  DNS domain: xxx.com
> >  NIS domain: (none)
> >
> > The following warning/error was logged by the smartd daemon:
> > Device: /dev/hdb, 14 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors
> > For details see host's SYSLOG (default: /var/log/messages).

Take a look at
http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/man/smartctl.8.html
and do some google on smart disks

The firmware on all modern disk, --smart capable--, takes note
of a lot of parameters:  hours of spinning, number of misses,
inner temperature (high temp diminishes the life time),
runnig time, number of errors on look, read, write,
etc....
If these parameters are out of ranges specified by the builder,
the lifetime diminishes, and they indicate potential problems.
And there is a machanical lifetime: sleeve or ball bearings
are not eternal (only diamonds are, as James told)

smartd is a daemon checking out of range parameters and reporting
problems as non-readeable sectors, missing read may indicate some
wear;

So you may believe what you want (free thinking still allowed),
but the day the disk is dead there is no way to recover data.
Disks are not very expensive but you have good and bad brands,
same for car tyres.

Daniel Frèrejacque