Bios Setup and 'smart' choice.

[Ted Gervais]

Does anyone know what the 'smart' choice is for and how it is set when
adjusting BIOS settings in my XP machine?? 'SMART' is a selection that is
made in the bios settings when you boot up the machine.

Thanks.

[Danny Blue]

It is a hard drive diagnostic and monitoring tool. It attempts to predict
hard drive failure before it occurs and you lose your system. Generally, you
would want it enabled.
"Ted Gervais" > wrote in message
...
>
> Does anyone know what the 'smart' choice is for and how it is set when
> adjusting BIOS settings in my XP machine?? 'SMART' is a selection that is
> made in the bios settings when you boot up the machine.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>

[W????n]

"Danny Blue" > wrote in message
...
> It is a hard drive diagnostic and monitoring tool. It attempts to predict
> hard drive failure before it occurs and you lose your system. Generally,
you
> would want it enabled.
> "Ted Gervais" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Does anyone know what the 'smart' choice is for and how it is set when
> > adjusting BIOS settings in my XP machine?? 'SMART' is a selection that
is
> > made in the bios settings when you boot up the machine.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
>
>

Why is default "off" on my K7N2 Delta?
I have read on some bios settings to leave it off.
Do some research with your particular Mobo.

: )

[Sharon F]

W????n wrote:
> "Danny Blue" > wrote in message
> ...
>> It is a hard drive diagnostic and monitoring tool. It attempts to predict
>> hard drive failure before it occurs and you lose your system. Generally,
>> you would want it enabled.
>> "Ted Gervais" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> Does anyone know what the 'smart' choice is for and how it is set when
>>> adjusting BIOS settings in my XP machine?? 'SMART' is a selection that
is
>>> made in the bios settings when you boot up the machine.
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
> Why is default "off" on my K7N2 Delta?
> I have read on some bios settings to leave it off.
> Do some research with your particular Mobo.
>
>> )

Off is usually the default for SMART. Originally, no hard drives had this
feature. When it was first appearing on new drives, there were plenty more
out there that didn't have SMART. I would guess the setting was adopted
early on as the default and because SMART is added to a basic hard drive by
their manufacturers, it was never changed after that.

SMART requires some "software" on the drive. I don't think it's a firmware
thing (but could be wrong). More likely it's hidden in a certain portion of
the hard drive similar to the slush area reserved for the bad clusters that
a user doesn't normally see or touch. Also needed is compatible SMART
instructions in the BIOS that can interpret what SMART on the drive has to
report. There are additional SMART software packages that can be installed
within an operating system. Not a common tool for the home user. More suited
for a server environment and monitoring the health of *many* hard drives
from a single interface.

--
Sharon F
Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User