What to Do When You See "SMART Failure Predicted, Status Bad" Error During Boot?

If you see the message "SMART Failure Predicted, Status Bad" during boot-up on your computer or laptop, this is a serious warning from your hard drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD). SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) is a monitoring system that evaluates the health of your drive and warns you about potential issues before they lead to a complete failure. In this case, the "predicted failure" message means that your drive is likely to fail soon. Here's what you should do in this situation.

1. Immediately Back Up Your Data

The first thing you should do is back up all important files and documents. Since the drive could fail at any moment, time is of the essence. Connect an external hard drive or use cloud storage to copy your data. If your system won't boot, you can connect the drive to another computer or use a Live CD (like Ubuntu) to access the files.

2. Run Diagnostics on the Drive

Use specialized tools to check the health of your drive, such as HD Sentinel or CrystalDiskInfo. These programs show various parameters like bad sectors, drive temperature, and other important indicators.

3. Analyze the SMART Errors

After running the diagnostics, check which specific parameters are causing the issues. Often, this is related to a high number of read/write errors, bad sectors, or wear and tear on the drive's components. If the errors are severe, and the disk appears to be on the verge of failure, it’s a clear sign that replacement is necessary.

4. Use Tools to Fix Errors

If the disk is still functional and the errors are not critical, you can try using utilities to fix the issues, such as EaseUS Partition Master or the CHKDSK command in Windows. However, this may not always help if the damage is significant, and these tools typically only delay the inevitable.

5. Consult a Professional

If you’re unsure about the state of the drive or can’t recover the data, it’s best to consult a professional. There are data recovery services that specialize in recovering data from damaged drives. This is especially important if the information on the drive is critical and needs to be recovered.

6. Replace the Hard Drive

If none of the above steps work, or the diagnostic analysis shows that the drive is near failure, the only solution will be to replace it. A new drive will ensure stable performance for your system, and you can restore all your data from the backup.