Gsmartcontrol gives errors ("uncorrectable error in data")

[Wienna]

My Windows Vista failed one week ago. All pointed to the HDD. I managed to install Ubuntu (deleting all of Vista) and things seemed to be fine. I've reinstalled for the second time today, because it wouldn't boot. from the terminal-output, it seemed that Ubuntu/the kernel could not read some files which I had never touched. So I ran gsmartcontrol (from USB Ubunut - I don't know if that was necessary..?) and it gave this output after a "quick test" (ETA: 2 min, but only took a few seconds the first time):

smartctl 5.41 2011-06-09 r3365 [i686-linux-3.5.0-23-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Hitachi Travelstar 5K320
Device Model: Hitachi HTS543232L9A300
Serial Number: 090205FB2406LEDBWJHC
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000cca 564d37ef0
Firmware Version: FB4OC40C
User Capacity: 320,072,933,376 bytes [320 GB]
Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: 8
ATA Standard is: ATA-8-ACS revision 3f
Local Time is: Sun Mar 3 23:17:04 2013 CET
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status: (0x00) Offline data collection activity
was never started.
Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status: ( 120) The previous self-test completed having
the read element of the test failed.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection: ( 645) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
Suspend Offline collection upon new
command.
Offline surface scan supported.
Self-test supported.
No Conveyance Self-test supported.
Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
power-saving mode.
Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 127) minutes.
SCT capabilities: (0x003d) SCT Status supported.
SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
SCT Feature Control supported.
SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x000b 085 085 062 Pre-fail Always - 1573078
2 Throughput_Performance 0x0005 100 100 040 Pre-fail Offline - 0
3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0007 253 253 033 Pre-fail Always - 0
4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0012 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 3009
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 087 087 005 Pre-fail Always - 0
7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x000b 100 100 067 Pre-fail Always - 0
8 Seek_Time_Performance 0x0005 100 100 040 Pre-fail Offline - 0
9 Power_On_Hours 0x0012 066 066 000 Old_age Always - 15321
10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0013 100 100 060 Pre-fail Always - 0
12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 2980
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate 0x000a 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 50
193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0012 099 099 000 Old_age Always - 12214
194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0002 144 144 000 Old_age Always - 38 (Min/Max 8/49)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 486
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0022 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 535
198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0008 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x000a 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
223 Load_Retry_Count 0x000a 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
ATA Error Count: 5378 (device log contains only the most recent five errors)
CR = Command Register [HEX]
FR = Features Register [HEX]
SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
ER = Error register [HEX]
ST = Status register [HEX]
Powered_Up_Time is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.

Error 5378 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 15270 hours (636 days + 6 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
40 51 14 1b df 57 e0 Error: UNC 20 sectors at LBA = 0x0057df1b = 5758747

Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC Powered_Up_Time Command/Feature_Name
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---------------- --------------------
25 ff 2f 00 df 57 e0 00 04:38:23.200 READ DMA EXT
25 ff 10 f0 de 57 e0 00 04:38:23.200 READ DMA EXT
25 ff 30 c0 de 57 e0 00 04:38:23.200 READ DMA EXT
25 ff 0f b1 de 57 e0 00 04:38:23.200 READ DMA EXT
25 ff 31 80 de 57 e0 00 04:38:23.200 READ DMA EXT

Error 5377 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 15209 hours (633 days + 17 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
40 51 0a c6 0e a1 e1 Error: UNC 10 sectors at LBA = 0x01a10ec6 = 27332294

Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC Powered_Up_Time Command/Feature_Name
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---------------- --------------------
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:22.000 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:16.900 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:12.800 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:07.800 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:03.800 READ DMA EXT

Error 5376 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 15209 hours (633 days + 17 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
40 51 0a c6 0e a1 e1 Error: UNC at LBA = 0x01a10ec6 = 27332294

Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC Powered_Up_Time Command/Feature_Name
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---------------- --------------------
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:16.900 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:12.800 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:07.800 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:03.800 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:02:58.700 READ MULTIPLE EXT

Error 5375 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 15209 hours (633 days + 17 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
40 51 0a c6 0e a1 e1 Error: UNC 10 sectors at LBA = 0x01a10ec6 = 27332294

Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC Powered_Up_Time Command/Feature_Name
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---------------- --------------------
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:12.800 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:07.800 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:03.800 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:02:58.700 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:02:54.700 READ DMA EXT

Error 5374 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 15209 hours (633 days + 17 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
40 51 0a c6 0e a1 e1 Error: UNC at LBA = 0x01a10ec6 = 27332294

Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC Powered_Up_Time Command/Feature_Name
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---------------- --------------------
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:07.800 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:03:03.800 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:02:58.700 READ MULTIPLE EXT
25 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:02:54.700 READ DMA EXT
29 ff 10 c0 0e a1 e0 00 00:02:49.600 READ MULTIPLE EXT

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error
# 1 Short offline Completed: read failure 80% 15321 25836754
# 2 Short offline Completed: read failure 80% 15321 28246515
# 3 Short offline Completed: read failure 90% 15320 26274896

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
1 0 0 Not_testing
2 0 0 Not_testing
3 0 0 Not_testing
4 0 0 Not_testing
5 0 0 Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

In the GUI the 5 last errors show up as "uncorrectable error in data".

Now as you can see this HDD is old as heck, and I can't seem to get Ubuntu to work for one consecutive week -- do you think that the HDD is the culprit here?


Thanks!

 

[Wienna]

If I get a new HDD, then I might be interested in getting an SSD (I think 128 GB should be enough) for my only laptop storage. My laptop is an Acer Aspire 7730 from 2009, and last I checked the whole hdd-docking seems to support SSD (I can get back to the exact specs later). Are SSD's hard to install and use compared to HHD's?

 

[fzabkar]

The following attributes would suggest that your drive is unreliable.

1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x000b 085 085 062 Pre-fail Always - 1573078
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 087 087 005 Pre-fail Always - 0
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 486
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0022 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 535

Strangely, the raw value of the Reallocated_Sector_Ct is still at 0 even though the normalised value has dropped significantly from 100. This would suggest that there is a SMART firmware bug, especially since the other attributes show read problems. This is also confirmed by the UNCorrectable errors in the SMART log.

 

[Wienna]

The following attributes would suggest that your drive is unreliable.

1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x000b 085 085 062 Pre-fail Always - 1573078
5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 087 087 005 Pre-fail Always - 0
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 486
197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0022 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 535

Strangely, the raw value of the Reallocated_Sector_Ct is still at 0 even though the normalised value has dropped significantly from 100. This would suggest that there is a SMART firmware bug, especially since the other attributes show read problems. This is also confirmed by the UNCorrectable errors in the SMART log.

Thanks for the reply,

So does that mean that the hardware might be a OK and it's just the firmware that is wacky?

 

[fzabkar]

IMHO your drive has a genuine, serious, physical problem plus a benign firmware bug that complicates our understanding of the problem.

Normally when the normalised value (87) of the Reallocated Sector Count drops from its initial value of 100, this should be reflected in a significant non-zero raw value for the same attribute. The normalised value is a kind of "health" score, whereas the raw value represents the actual data for that attribute.

In short, I wouldn't trust your HDD with your data.