Errors in log, but drive is "perfect"?

[metalone4]

I have a Seagate ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB laptop drive and Hard Drive Sentinel's error log is confusing me. The log has several recent errors, yet the related S.M.A.R.T. attributes don't reflect the same numbers. HD Sentinel says the drive is "perfect" and in better condition that other drives of the same model. There are no alerts (yet) and the drive seems to be functioning fine.

The only thing I did recently was re-seat it in the drive bay because I finally got a mounting bracket that fits (I braced it in with rubber pads prior to that). It seems right after I mounted it properly the errors started. I have run extended tests from HD Sentinel as well as Seatools and they both passed. Should I be worried that my drive is failing or corrupting my precious data? See screenshots for more details. Thanks!

[hdsentinel]

Thanks for the information and the details !

Generally such errors detected if the software gets those values (which may indicate errors) from the hard disk drive.

If the drive seems working correctly and the S.M.A.R.T. page shows no such issues, it means that at the time of a detection, Hard Disk Sentinel may got incorrect status information. We can consider these as "false alarm" - but we can also consider these as signs of something wrong, something is not stable in the operation of the storage subsystem.

Usually such issues are not (or not completely) related to the hard disk itself. Many times the operating environment (cables, connections, disk controller, chipset, driver, etc.) are in the background - as these can affect how the hard disk is working and how its status can be detected.
If the self tests (Disk menu -> Short self test, Extended self test) complete without errors, it confirms that - as these tests run "inside" the hard disk, without transferring higher amount of data between the hard disk and the computer.

You wrote that the configuration changed - and problems started after that. It is possible that somehow the connections are now not perfect - and this result in the invalid status information which sometimes provided when the hard disk status accessed. This may also cause degraded performance / stability too.

Also in some cases, the disk controller (chipset) and its driver can cause that. Hard Disk Sentinel has special filters to prevent invalid status displayed when such problematic chipsets (and drivers) used - but sometimes it is possible that invalid status received from the driver and displayed (and errors logged according that).

I'd recommend to use Report menu -> Send test report to developer option. This way it is possible to verify the "raw" response of the hard disk and check the disk controller (chipset) and its driver. Maybe updating the driver can help to prevent such issues in the future.

The best would be to "catch" an event and send developer report exactly when similar problems detected (which may result in temporarily lower health % too). This would show clearly what "raw" information we got from the hard disk and how to avoid: both displaying that and also to make the storage system more stable.

[metalone4]

Thanks very much! I scoured the internet for a "better" driver but one does not exist. I'm going to try and re-seat it to see if that stops the errors.

[metalone4]

I found out the root cause!

I discovered that there is some kind of conflict or anomaly between SeaTools and HD Sentinel and this model of Seagate drive. I noticed these errors did not generate in HD Sentinel unless I started the Basic Tests in SeaTools. The Short DST test in particular is weird because as soon as I start the test it triggers the Hard Disk Test in HD Sentinel automatically (although there is about a 20 sec delay for the GUI to update), and two errors were generated in HD Sentinel. When I cancel that Hard Drive Test in HD Sentinel, it causes the SeaTools test to fail (when left alone, the SeaTools test passes). If I abort the SeaTools test, the HD Sentinel test automatically stops about 20 secs later. I was able to duplicate these events 5 times. I tested this scenario on an HGST drive and I could not duplicate it, so it seems to be a brand or model anomaly.

Regarding the errors in the HD Sentinel log, while they don't appear every single time a SeaTools test is run, every time they do, the time matches up exactly with when I started a test.

I've attached a screenshot of a couple of errors triggered by SeaTools (notice the HD Sentinel test, which was triggered by SeaTools). Also attached are my results from a Read Write Read test which seems to further prove that the drive is stable and that the data/power connection is solid...or, at least I assume it proves that.

Thanks for your wonderful program and all your feedback...I learned a lot from this experience!

[Pasha malik]

Thanks for sharing the info regarding Drives it really helps me and hope so it will be helpful for others too.