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<cite date="2011-04-04">shaunm</cite>
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<p>Rewrite steps to use common simple form in 3.0.1</p>
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<section id="disk-status">
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<title>Checking the hard disk</title>
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<p>Hard disks have a built-in health-check tool called <app>SMART</app>
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(Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology), which continually
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checks the disk for potential problems. SMART also warns you if the disk
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is about to fail, helping you avoid loss of important data.</p>
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(Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology), which continually
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checks the disk for potential problems. SMART also warns you if the disk
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is about to fail, helping you avoid loss of important data.</p>
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<p>Although SMART runs automatically, you can also check your disk's
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health by running the <app>Disk Utility</app> application:</p>
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health by running the <app>Disk Utility</app> application:</p>
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<title>Check your disk's health using the Disk Utility application</title>
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<item><p>Open the <app>Disk Utility</app> application from the
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<gui>Activities</gui> overview.</p></item>
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<item><p>Select the disk you want to check from the <gui>Storage Devices
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</gui> list. Information and status of the disk will appear under <gui>Drive
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<item><p><gui>SMART Status</gui> should say "Disk is healthy".</p></item>
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<item><p>Click the <gui>SMART Data</gui> button to view more drive
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information, or to run a self-test.</p></item>
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<title>Check your disk's health using the Disk Utility application</title>
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<p>Open the <app>Disk Utility</app> application from the <gui>Activities</gui>
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<p>Select the disk you want to check from the <gui>Storage Devices</gui> list.
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Information and status of the disk will appear under <gui>Drive</gui>.</p>
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<p><gui>SMART Status</gui> should say "Disk is healthy".</p>
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<p>Click the <gui>SMART Data</gui> button to view more drive information, or
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to run a self-test.</p>
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<section id="disk-not-healthy">
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<title>What if the disk isn't healthy?</title>
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<p>Even if the <gui>SMART Status</gui> indicates that the disk <em>isn't</em>
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healthy, there may be no cause for alarm. However, it's better to be prepared
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with a <link xref="backup-why">backup</link> to prevent data loss.</p>
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<p>If the status says "Pre-fail", the disk is still reasonably healthy but
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signs of wear have been detected which mean it might fail in the near future.
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If your hard disk (or computer) is a few years old, you are likely to see
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this message on at least some of the health checks. You should <link xref="backup-how">backup your important files regularly</link> and check
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the disk status periodically to see if it gets worse.</p>
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<p>If it gets worse, you may wish to take the computer/hard disk to a
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professional for further diagnosis or repair.</p>
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<p>Even if the <gui>SMART Status</gui> indicates that the disk <em>isn't</em>
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healthy, there may be no cause for alarm. However, it's better to be prepared
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with a <link xref="backup-why">backup</link> to prevent data loss.</p>
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<p>If the status says "Pre-fail", the disk is still reasonably healthy but
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signs of wear have been detected which mean it might fail in the near future.
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If your hard disk (or computer) is a few years old, you are likely to see
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this message on at least some of the health checks. You should
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<link xref="backup-how">backup your important files regularly</link> and check
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the disk status periodically to see if it gets worse.</p>
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<p>If it gets worse, you may wish to take the computer/hard disk to a
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professional for further diagnosis or repair.</p>