s.m.a.r.t. diagnostics

Wilty

Solid State Member
Messages
11
OK, so.

Long story short, I've got my mainboard and assorted hardware laid out on some cardboard for POST diagnostics. I've got my primary SATA drive hooked up. I've turned it on and off a few times, and this most recent time, I've gotten this error message during BIOS startup:

3rd Master Hard Disk: S.M.A.R.T. Status Bad, Backup and Replace

I've had this error message before, but have typically ignored it. I figured it meant that the third drive I have hooked up is about to go south, which if it fails, no big deal, it's only used for miscellaneous storage. But now that I've got just the one drive hooked up...does this mean the actual platter inside the primary drive?

Skip that...it seems as though SMART was detecting problems with my CD burner, of all things, and was screwing up the POST process. Disconnecting the burner data cable seems to resolve the problem. So it's either the burner or the IDE controller has pooped itself.
 
I'm guessing it was the controller, because SMART should only be in place on activated drives, i.e. a drive physically connected to the board that supports SMART. I've never seen a CDROM that supports SMART, because there's no reason to have it on a CDROM.

You might want to try just clearing the CMOS on the board and then reconnecting the drives, and that should sort the issue out. If not, might be time to shop for a replacement. :(
 
I give up on this particular motherboard. The IDE controller is, we're guessing, toast. And now it appears the SATA ports are starting to die as well. I hooked up two other SATA drives and it wouldn't post. Unhooked them, cleared CMOS, rebooted fine. Put everything back into the case, and now it won't post again. A swift, frustrated kick to the case knocked it on it's side, where it now lies and will continue to do so until I open back up or fill it with 7.5 buckshot :p

It's about time for an upgrade, anyways. Those 6 core Phenom II's are looking might fine :D
 
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