Pri Master hard disk: S.M.A.R.T Status BAD,Backup and Replace

Hi all,
Any help with my problem would be greatly appreciated!
This is what happened:
My desktop started giving me this message when I turn it on: Pri Master hard disk: S.M.A.R.T Status BAD,Backup and Replace. Hard disk is WD 2500BB Ultra DMA, had it for several years, possibly 6 or 7.
I already did a backup but was wondering if I just need to replace the (main) hard drive or this could be caused by malware or any virus in general. I recently had to deal with Antivirus System Pro on my computer but managed to get rid of it. The strange thing is that the error S.M.A.R.T Status BAD dissapeared for a while and now it came back.....even when I start the computer in safe mode. If I press F2 and then esc it boots normal. I just checked for malware using malwarebytes, counterspy, superantispyware but found nothing so not sure it has to do with a virus.
If I have to replace the disk, does that mean I have to reinstall windows again plus all the other programs?
Thanks for your help!
Valecarolina

 

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The SMART monitoring system is as you've guessed warning you of an impending drive failure but the drive should still be functional for the time being so you can create a mirror "perfect copy" of the drive onto a new hard drive and your computer should work fine without reinstalling everything,the easiest way is to connect the new hard drive as a secondary drive then use a program such as this-

http://majorgeeks.com/Acronis_True_Image_Home_2010_d2236.html

Hi Welcome to the forum

 

Just to let you know, the SMART monitoring program is embedded into the motherboard ATA/SATA controller and the hard drive itself, so it is extremely unlikely that a virus could have been planted there.

I would recommend making a full mirror backup, as Rikky has said, and then possibly running a hard drive diagnostic from the ultimate boot CD, just to confirm that the drive is going to die soon.

If the test comes up as faulty, I would order a new drive whilst the computer is still operational.

 

Is anyone of you guys here or not? If yes i will ask u something for this problem if u can help me cuz i'm going crazy with my pc