What is S.M.A.R.T (in BIOS)

Discussion in 'Software' started by DCO57, Jan 17, 2006.

  1. DCO57

    DCO57 Private E-2

    Fellow techs,
    I'm sure its something basic, but I can't seem to recall what S.M.A.R.T. is.
    I remember it has something to do with hdds.
    Also, as long as I have our attention (greatly appreciated BTW), I also ran across "onboard FDC" in BIOS. Another memory block I guess. Can anyone tell me what FDC is?
    Thanks for your help,
    DCO
     
  2. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    S.M.A.R.T stands for Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology.

    and yes you are correct it is for HDD monitoring, basically an early warning system to a potential failure. ( Everest will give you a readout of the SMART ststus of a HD http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html )

    some info http://www.dataclinic.co.uk/data-recovery/learn-more-about-SMART.htm

    I do have a better discription at home, of various things that the monitoring looks at and discriptions ( so will update later )

    FDC is Floppy Disk Controller ( if not mistaken )
     
  3. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

  4. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    FDC = Floppy Drive Controller, Go figure
    Here's some info:
    Onboard FDC Swap A & B

    Common Options : No Swap, Swap AB

    Quick Review

    This BIOS feature is used to logically swap the mapping of drives A: and B:. Therefore, it is only useful if you have two floppy drives.

    Normally, the sequence by which you connect the floppy drives to the cable determines which is drive A: and which is drive B:. If you attach the floppy drives the wrong way and obtain a drive mapping that is not to your satisfaction, the usual way of correcting this is to physically swap the floppy cable connectors.

    This feature allows you to swap the logical arrangement of the floppy drives without the need to open up the case and physically swap the connectors.

    When this BIOS feature is Swap AB, the floppy drive that originally was mapped to drive A: will be remapped to drive B: and vice versa for the drive that was originally set as drive B:.

    When this BIOS feature is No Swap, the floppy drive mapping will remain as that set by the drive connector arrangement.

    Although this appears to be nothing more than a feature of convenience, it can be quite important if you are using two floppy drives of different form factors (3.5" and 5.25") and you need to boot from the second drive. Because the BIOS can only boot from drive A:, you will have to physically swap the drive connections or use BIOS this feature to do it logically.

    If your floppy drive mapping is correct or if you only have a single floppy drive, there is no need to set this feature to Swap AB. Leave it at the default setting of No Swap.
    ________________________________________________________________
    S.M.A.R.T. here:
    HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability

    Common Options : Enabled, Disabled

    Quick Review

    This BIOS feature controls support for the hard disk's S.M.A.R.T. (Self Monitoring Analysis And Reporting Technology) capability.

    S.M.A.R.T. is supported by all current hard disks and it allows the early prediction and warning of impending hard disk disasters. You should enable it if you want to use S.M.A.R.T.-aware utilities to monitor the hard disk's condition. Enabling it also allows the monitoring of the hard disk's condition over a network.

    While S.M.A.R.T. looks like a really great safety feature, it isn't really that useful or even necessary for most users. For S.M.A.R.T. to work, it is not just a matter of enabling it in the BIOS. You must also keep a S.M.A.R.T.-aware hardware monitoring utility running in the background all the time.

    That's quite alright if the hard disk you are using has a spotty reputation and you need advanced warning of any impending failure. However, hard disks these days are mostly reliable enough to make S.M.A.R.T. redundant. Unless you are running mission-critical applications, it is very unlikely that S.M.A.R.T. will be of any use at all.

    With that said, S.M.A.R.T. is still useful in providing a modicum of data loss prevention by continuously monitoring hard disks for signs of impending failure. If you have critical or irreplaceable data, you should enable this BIOS feature and use a S.M.A.R.T.-aware hardware monitoring software. Just don't rely completely on it! Back up your data on a CD or DVD!

    Please note that even if you do not use any S.M.A.R.T.-aware utility, enabling S.M.A.R.T. in the BIOS uses up some bandwidth because the hard disk will continuously send out data packets. So, if you do not use S.M.A.R.T.-aware utilities or if you do not need that level of real-time reporting, disable HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability for better overall performance.

    Some of the newer BIOSes now come with S.M.A.R.T. monitoring support built-in. When you enable HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability, these new BIOSes will automatically check the hard disk's S.M.A.R.T. status at boot-up. However, such a feature has very limited utility as it can only tell you the status of the hard disk at boot-up. Therefore, it is still advisable for you to disable HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability unless you use a proper S.M.A.R.T.-aware monitoring utility.
     
  5. theefool

    theefool Geekified

    The floppy a/b brings back memories of copying Drive A to Drive B, with just one floppy drive (No Hard drive).
     
  6. DCO57

    DCO57 Private E-2

    Thank you...great info...printed and saved in my notebook. Greatly appreciated.
     

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