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Implemented in virtually every HDD and SSD since the 90s, SMART monitors dozens of attributes. The most critical: 05 (Reallocated Sectors Count), 187 (Reported Uncorrectable Errors), 197 (Current Pending Sectors), 198 (Offline Uncorrectable). When these rise, the disk is losing its ability to reliably keep data and total failure is a question of time. SMART does not detect imminent failure in all cases (Backblaze 2007 study showed ~36% of disks fail without SMART warning). Use SMART as a complementary signal, not the only one. Continuous backup is the only real protection against unpredictable failure.
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Senior engineers in PT, EN and ES.