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General discussion

Hard drive S.M.A.R.T. question - "Power On Hours Count"

Mar 10, 2007 10:08AM PST

I recently downloaded a program called SpeedFan, which in addition to showing a number of temperatures & fan speeds, has a S.M.A.R.T. analysis function, which takes me to this web site:
http://www.hddstatus.com/hdrepanalysis.php
The Web page states:

Your hard drive is a
WDC WD1600JB-00GVA0 with firmware 08.02D08

Attribute : Power On Hours Count
Current : 94
Raw : 4779
Overall : Watch
Warning : Power On Hours Count is below the average limits (96-100).

NOTE : your hard disk Power On Hours Count attribute current value (94) is below the normal range (96 - 100) reported for your specific hard disk model. Basically your hard disk was powered on for more than the maximum time the average user did. This means that either all of the reports collected are from hard disks that were not powered on for too long (this is realistic for recent models) or that your hard disk is becoming old. Usually this is not considered as a pre-failure advisory, but you should check whether you want to replace the hardware or keep an eye on its performances over time.

The overall fitness for this drive is 96%.
The overall performance for this drive is 100%.

The "meter" next to it has the indicator line all the way towards the red end of the red-to-green color bar.


I've looked around, but I can't find a straight answer to my question, WHAT is the power on hours count? Is it how many hours the hard drive has been on? If so, what is wrong with 94 hours? People turn their computers on for 10 hours, sometimes ... some leave them on all the time to function as a server.
Or, is that to mean that it's only going to last for 94 hours? If so, how do computers' hard drives last for years, as servers?


Anyway, the message next to 94 states that normal is
96 >= normal >= 100


What is with this, and should I be worried?

Again, I have a
WDC WD1600JB-00GVA0 with firmware 08.02D08

Discussion is locked

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I had an 160 from 2 years ago?
Mar 10, 2007 11:00AM PST

I could guess yours was in some 24x7 use that could run up that count but tell a little more. I see no need to panic yet but the message seemed well written.

Bob

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re: 24/7
Mar 10, 2007 3:29PM PST

yes, I do keep my computer on almost all the time, only turning it off to replace hardware, give it a break now & then, if I'm gone for the weekend, if I'm annoyed by it/its fans, intermittent power outs (a UPS is soon to be ordered).

For a couple months now, I have been using it as a server: SSH, SFTP, HTTP.

In addition to using it for a server, I've read in many places that it's best to leave the drive ON, anyway, because of the wear it causes to power the drive off and on. Especially after reading the wiki article you linked in my other thread, I see that the R/W head pretty much drags along an unused portion of the drive when turning off & on, which sounds pretty weary to the head.

Anyway, you mentioned you want some more information, but I can't think of what else you might want, except what I've provided here - my usage.
I think it might be helpful to note that I do listen to a lot of music, stored on the drive, as well as store a lot of music, pictures, videos, etc on it. I mention this, due to their large storage requirements, and I suppose it takes more effort for the drive to read these than a simple text document.

Anything else, besides this stuff?


General PC Hardware:
Aspire 500W PSU
Asus A8N
AMD Athlon 62 2.4 GHz 4000+
512 MB Corsair

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Close.
Mar 10, 2007 10:51PM PST

I was hoping to hear "on for 3 years." But the bottom line is that the error message was not dire. It was written very well and I agree that you should check it's report monthly to avoid an unpleasant surprise.

Bob

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re: 3 years
Mar 11, 2007 3:27AM PDT

not quite; I ordered the drive July 10, 2006, so I've used it from the middle of July up until now.

Now, as I've mentioned before, it hasn't been consistent use ... there's been a few weekends it's been off, and all that jazz.

Anyway, I'll do as suggested and keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn't go by the way-side. And I think I'll schedule a backup soon ...