Jack wrote: > On 2019.01.07 14:35, Dale wrote: >> >> >> But do you have any other way to get a warning? It may not work every >> time, especially if the spindle motor just up and dies all of a sudden >> but it does detect some errors. It is certainly better than having >> nothing at all. So far, SMART has detected errors and warned me for the >> two drives I've had fail. My neighbor had a drive to fail and it gave >> warnings as well, during boot up but SMART still spit our errors. Thing >> is, the owner ignored it until it wouldn't boot anymore. By that time, >> it was toast. They ran windoze. When SMART does warn, it pays to >> listen. ;-) Mine emails me when any error is reported. >> >> Thing is, a bad drive will always risk the loss of data. Always has. >> Monitoring SMART is better than nothing and generally gives some >> warning. It's not perfect but there is nothing else that does any >> better that I've heard or read about. It's the reason everyone should >> back up data they can't afford to lose. >> >> Dale >> >> :-) :-) > I do agree it is better than nothing, and I agree if SMART warns you, > you better listen. I just wouldn't bet the farm (or even a small > garden) on it. I'm coming closer and closer to just mirroring > everything I can't easily recreate. It doubles my disk costs, but > should save me some future grief. >
Currently, I have a 3TB and a 6TB drive using LVM. It is mounted as a roughly 8TB partition. I have a external 8TB drive that I backup to, over eSATA at the moment but it has a USB connection as well. I also have SMART set to email me at the first signs of trouble. Hopefully I will get a SMART warning. If not, I hope my backups are up to date. I try to backup at least once a day. The biggest thing I don't want to lose is my emails and some videos. Thing is, I have a plan B. If a drive gives me a warning, I've got a plan C as well. I agree that we shouldn't bet the farm on anything. There is always something unexpected that can happen. Still, backups, surge protection, UPS power, cloud storage for those who can. Those are all options. Just pick what works. Hope for the best but be ready for the worst. Dale :-) :-)
