Hard Disk Monitoring

I have the following problem. I have a data point 12/2010 in the graph. The next data point is 12/2012. So there is a huge gap and so the whole graph gets a bit useless. I have been using HD Sentinel that long. The only thing I did one time is to switch from data storage in the registry to data storage in the folder (the only thing that makes sense to me). So what can I do now to delete this data point 12/2010 to get to a usable graph again?

Please see attachment for the problem too.

Thanks, however I can confirm it is completely normal.
In general, Hard Disk Sentinel collects statistics information in its database and to allow comparing the values, always displays the very first value (as you can see) and then automatically selects the most recent dates.
Upon too much values saved, older ones are discarded - but the very first value always kept and displayed.

Exactly to help checking how the attribute(s) change, the new version 4.40 displays more points and on a double click it is possible to display all values on the graph, which may help to check the changes with time. Not sure if tried but this may help...

If you prefer to completely remove the old value, please select the hard disk and use Report -> Send test report to developer option and in the "Comment" field mention this. Then I can write step-by-step details about how to clear that old value, the first saved data when Hard Disk Sentinel found that hard disk.

Thank you for your response. I understand it now. But why needs the space between the first entry and the next entry with a value be that big. I does not contain any information but makes the useful information at the end of the graph very hard to read. So perhaps you can leave the first entry with a different color or whatever to mark it as such and then continue with the next entry with a value - of course without the big empty gap. Would be great at least for me.

The space is normal: it is proportional with the amount of time (number of days) elapsed since the original date, when the hard disk first discovered by Hard Disk Sentinel.

On the image you sent, you can see what I mean: the total "timeline" of the hard disk is more than 2 and half years (since 23 Dec 2010).

Just the most recent part (the rightmost section) shows more values. I suspect the drive was not used between 2010 and 2012 - or it is possible that the clock of the computer was inaccurate, causing that the very first value recorded on an incorrect date).

Five disks have the same problem. I do not know when and why this happened. The disks have been running that long and almost every day. Three of them have been running in RAID 0.

I looked at the data files. But they are not editable at least by me - why so complicated? I guess the easiest way now is to delete all existing data records - not nice of course.

So if someone starts the system 1 time with the wrong date then he has a problem since he cannot delete this wrong data point (in an easy way without your help). I wished I could point at it and delete it. But I do not think it was the date of the system in my case. The Start/Stop Count makes sense at this date.

But as attachment a different disk and here I give up to find any possible explanation form my side. It is the Start/Stop Count again. It goes up and down what cannot be - or?

It is designed to not allow (too) easy deletion / manipulation of the disk data. Sorry for that - it is not really good idea to manually edit such statistics.

Yes, I can confirm that if your system had wrong date/time set, the software still records the values for those dates. So if you see the value (which should constantly increase) moving up/down, yes, it confirms that the clock of your system was not set properly.
This is exactly why Hard Disk Sentinel offers option to synchronize the PC clock with atomic clock on the net (if the system has inaccurate clock and/or this function is unavailable in the OS) - to prevent this.

Anyway, if you prefer to clear the oldest value recorded, you can do this any time this way:
(first close Hard Disk Sentinel completely by File -> Exit)

1) open REGEDIT
2) navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HD Sentinel\SMART
3) there you may see DISKDATA_xxxx_yyyy_zzzz entries , one for each hard disk Hard Disk Sentinel ever detected. The entries are combined with the hard disk model ID, serial number, firmware version.
4) you can see many entries in this format: (for example) 40000=0 , 40001=1, etc... Delete the one where the left number is the lowest (usually the first one)

After re-starting Hard Disk Sentinel, that older value will be no longer displayed.

Be careful about editing/modifying the registry!

Thank you for your response.

hdsentinel wrote:So if you see the value (which should constantly increase) moving up/down, yes, it confirms that the clock of your system was not set properly.

This is impossible. There is so much software running depending on the date. I would realize this immediately after the system start. Software that I programmed and that runs at start-up even gives me a big warning if the actual date is older then the last used one. In addition the first graph shows one of my RAID 0 disks (they are always running). The second graph with the strange values shows the graph of a backup-disk (normally offline). So the backup disk never can run without the RAID 0 disks and they do not show such a pattern. In total I have more than 10 disks and only this one shows this pattern. But it is not so important since the data are history already and now it seems to work. And of course I sync the clock with Windows and their servers. A wrong date would create big problems for me with calendars, reminders, planning software, accounting software and much more.

This with the registry I tried but it did not work. Desperate I went even that far to delete the whole entry of a disk (don't worry - I have been working with computers for several decades and can rebuild the entry because I saved it). Whatever I did there was no change. This might be because I moved the data from the registry to a file (there was a switch). This great software change I requested some time ago because with every system restore (and this I do often because I test a lot of software) all the new data since that restore point were gone (I always had the restored values of the restored registry only). Now the new version where the values are not stored in the registry is great. But perhaps this is the reason why this trick might not work in my case? But I forgot where the switch was. Perhaps in Advanced Options "Change folder to store statistics and settings". The Help File does not show anything for this entry.

hdsentinel wrote:It is designed to not allow (too) easy deletion / manipulation of the disk data. Sorry for that - it is not really good idea to manually edit such statistics.

It is just statistical data. Nothing secret. The disk will do anyway what it wants to do and will not care about those data. But whatever. I guess I will have to delete all data records of all disks with such a problem. Or is there anything else I can do? If not it will not be the end of the world.

I just want to add something to my posting from before. I did a trace and found the reg.dat. There I found the values that - so I guess - would be in the registry if I did not switch the storage location to the program folder. Then I could not resist to delete the first entry at the problem disks. The result is that all those disk data start now with 19.12.12 (see attachment). Is this okay what I did? And where is the first date saved. Then I could set it to the correct value. But I could not find any hint in the reg.dat for it. And what do the values mean like 40773=46 in the reg.dat?

In any case - don't worry I still have the old reg.dat and of course a complete backup of the whole folder.

> There is so much software running depending on the date. I would realize this immediately after the system start.

Yes, I think so.
However, I can make sure Hard Disk Sentinel does not save / update statistics for any other date, other than the current date.

> This with the registry I tried but it did not work.
> This might be because I moved the data from the registry to a file (there was a switch).

Yes, this is the cause of course Then the registry is no longer used.
I suspected this but I was not sure you used this option - this is why previously I wrote that please use Report -> Send test report to developer, because then it is possible to see that this option is active. Then I could write about editing the proper file, instead of the registry - which is no longer used, so any modifications do not have effect.

> But I forgot where the switch was. Perhaps in Advanced Options "Change folder to store statistics and settings".

Yes, this is that option. It tells everything about its purpose

Yes, if the Configuration -> Advanced Options -> Change folder to store statistics and settings option used, then the REG.DAT file (in the selected folder) is used instead of the registry.
Now, after the entry for the old date deleted, you can see the next date 19.12.12. as "first" date. It is completely OK of course - now the first entry removed.

The values are "day = entry number in internal database".
For example
40773=46
means that the values saved on day are in 46th position in its internal database.

Both values increment every day until the database filled, then the oldest values (except the very first one) discarded and overwritten with the new values.

Thank you very much for your support.

Perhaps a note in the help file about "Change folder to store statistics and settings" would be helpful for other users. It might not be so clear that the values are stored not in the registry anymore if you use this setting. And it is a great option to have it now in a folder instead. No problems with my system restores anymore. Of course the data are on a different partition - like almost all other folders with changing data on my system. I want to make a system restore and not a data restore at the same time.

Thank you again! Problem solved

Me thanks too
And thanks for the tips and suggestions, gave some ideas