My iMac says this drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired

Hi my iMac DIsk utility reports that the Macintosh disk has problems that can not be repaired.
Is this a false alarm, or I do need to go to an apple store and get it replaced.

OSX Lion. Did not have any real issues. Just was trying to update to OSX Maverick, and it refuses to install because of this issue.
Then I went to the utility and it says S.M.A.R.T has determined that my Macintosh HD has problems that cannot be repaired. Backup your data soon and replace the disk.
Following is the exact OS
Software OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)
Following are the details
Hardware Overview:
Model Name:          iMac
Model Identifier:          iMac12,2
Processor Name:          Intel Core i5
Processor Speed:          3.1 GHz
Number of Processors:          1
Total Number of Cores:          4
L2 Cache (per Core):          256 KB
L3 Cache:          6 MB
Memory:          4 GB
Boot ROM Version:          IM121.0047.B1F
SMC Version (system):          1.72f1

Similar Messages

This drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired

Hello all! I'm using a late 2009 27" iMac (2.8 GHz, 12 GB Ram). I've been noticing a lot of insanely slow speed lately, mostly in opening new folders or restarting. I ran the Disk Utility and it maked my internal 1TB drive as "This drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired". Thankfully I have a 2tb backup external that has all my data on it, but now it's time to decide what to do.
1. Try and reformat my hard drive and reinstall the backup
2. Replace the drive with a new internal drive (and look for the best solution... thinking either a hybrid drive, SSD+internal or a 7200 RPM drive)
3. Throw my iMac into the sea.
4. Cry
So basically my question is:
Is my drive dead and should i even try to help it? (I don't qualitfy for the TB repair from Apple and my Applecare is up)
What are the best performance upgrades for an internal. 7200 internal? 7200 Hybrid? both an SSD and an internal drive?
Thank you in advance.

You will have to see what the SMART report is for the drive in Disk Utility. If it says "Verified" then the drive should be OK. All you need do is repartition and reformat the drive. On the other hand if DU reports the drive has an I/O problem then the drive is probably bad.
Initially why not just try this:
Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. Quit DU when formatting has completed. Install Snow Leopard.

"This disk has S.M.A.R.T. errors. This disk has a hardware problem that can't be repaired

THis is the error message I get when I try to install lion on a mid-2010 iMac 27". "This disk has S.M.A.R.T. errors. This disk has a hardware problem that can't be repaired. Back up as much of the data as possible and replace the disk"
However, when I run disk utility, it says that the disk is fine. What should I do?
thanks in advance
A.

Disk Utility checks the disk directory that keeps track of all your files. S.M.A.R.T. status checks some hardware stuff and attempts to warn you before the disk just flat-out dies. The directory can still be fine on a failing disk but don't count on it staying that way if you continue to write to the failing disk. Make a miniumun of one copy of your data on the failing drive immediately. Two or more copies would be much better. Having only one reliable copy of your data is very unwise.
You can use Carbon Copy Cloner (donationware) or Super Duper! (free and paid versions) to make a bootable clone of your failing drive to use as one of your copies. In System Preferences > Startup Disk select the clone as your startup drive. You can use the clone for your work until you can get your Mac in to have the hard drive replaced. When you get your Mac back Setup Assistant will be equally happy to restore all of your data from a Time Machine backup or a clone.

I downloaded OS Mountain Lion 10.8... and when I was getting ready to install I get "This disk has S.M.A.R.T. errors. This disk has a hardware problem that can't be repaired. I have read some of the same comments below. Why?

I was trying to install OS X Mountain Lion 10.8... and I got an error saying, "This disk has S.M.A.R.T. errors. This disk has a hardware problem that can't be repaired. I saw several other questions below of people having the same or similar problems. Does this mean that my hard drive is about to crash? I plan to head to the place I purchased and have it checked out. I backed up my data a couple of days ago. Any comments?

Yes, S.M.A.R.T. is a built-in diagnostic on the hard drive, and it is reporting a problem that may cause it to fail.
You can see the same status in Disk Utility, and possibly get more info. Run Disk Utility and select the DRIVE in the sidebar. Be sure to select the DRIVE and not the volume indented below it. At the bottom of the window, there is a field for S.M.A.R.T. Status. If there is no problem, it should say Verified.
You can also do a Get Info on the drive (File -> Get Info) in Disk Utility, and the Info window provides more detailed information (toward the bottom) about what is being checked.

Drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired?

I have had a Lacie 1TB 7200RPM external drive for about 3 years now. In the last two days I got this message when I went into disk utility. "drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired". I was able to back up all the info off of the drive.
Is this a drive problem or a hardware problem. I am using esata and an esata card. Not sure what the card is.
Any diagnostics.
I ran a verify and repair permissions and was told the drive is OK.

Do this:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.

Drive fails SMART status-"this drive has a hardware problem"

I recently did a major update of software and applications to my MacPro. (it's the first model of 8 core that came out). When I do a major update like this, I make a clone using Carbon Copy Cloner of the system drive to an external drive so I have a backup until I verify everything is good on the updated internal. I have 4 hard internal drives and have been having no trouble from them. However I noticed in Disk utility that one of the non-system drives is displayed in red and gives a warning that reads, "This drive has a hardware problem and can't be repaired. Backup the data and replace the drive". It also shows the SMART status as "failing". So I have everything copied to another drive.
I'll gladly replace the drive. However here's my confusion: when booting from the system cloned to the external drive, this same drive shows as being perfectly fine in Disk Utility. Both system drives have OSX 10.6.6. the only difference is newer applications on the internal system drive that reports failure (mostly audio related applications: Pro Tools, Reason, Roxio Toast).
So does anyone have any thoughts? I've read some other threads and they just report the failure and say to change the drive. I've not seen anyone else have one system that reports failure and another that doesn't.

SMART status failed is usually caused by too many suspected Bad Blocks. Some of these blocks may be unjustly accused of being permanently bad.
If you have the liberty to re-initialize the drive, doing so with security options "Zero all data, one pass" will ensure that (if the test completes without error) the drive once more has 100 percent good blocks. The process takes several hours to complete, longer if there are a lot or bona-fide errors.
It is also possible that the drive will produce "initialization Failed", in which case it should be retired if out of warranty, returned for replacement if still in warranty.
A drive that has ever seen a SMART status of Failed may get more Bad Blocks in the next six months. Or maybe this afternoon. If possible, it would be good to reduce your day-to-day use on this drive, such as making it a backup drive rather than using it all day every day for 'live" data.

When updating to Mountain Lion I get this measageThis disk has S.M.A.R.T. errors. This disk has hardware problem that can't be repaired. Back up as much data as possible and replace the disk.

When updating to Mountain Lion I get this measage
This disk has S.M.A.R.T. errors. This disk has hardware problem that can’t be repaired. Back up as much data as possible and replace the disk.
never had this before download of Mountain Lion.

As others have stated, this is a potentially catastrophic event. Consider yourself lucky, as hard drives usually just fail wihtout warning. Your disk could die at any time. This is a mechanical / physical failure, not software related.
Going forward, I would suggest utilizing a utility that monitors SMART status, which you obviously don't have, such as SpeedTools.

Disk utility states: This drive has hardware problem that can't be repaired, backup and replace disk.

iMac is within warrenty.

quince88 wrote:
Sorry running 10.6.8, did everthing except Restore Vol, including Tech Tool Deluxe with Drive Hardware test 'Failed' and under Disk Utility S.M.A.R.T. status 'Failing.' I am in Thailand so off to the Apple people on Sat. Thanks for the help.
I think that is a wise choice!
Good luck and btw I hope you have a good backup, if you do use Setup Assistant to restore so you can pick up from where you left off. You should use Pondini's Snow Leopard Setup Assistant tips it will show exactly what needs to be done. If the Apple people are going to install SL for you make sure you give them your backup so they can restore for you.

New Drive has a Hardware Problem?

Hi,
The old hard drive in my iMac finally failed (it was a Seagate with a known issue, but I never got it replaced). Today I put in a brand new drive, exactly same model as the old, but I still get the S.M.A.R.T. error "This Drive has a Hardware Problem that can't be Repaired".
Any clue what could possibly be wrong? I may have misplaced the EMI foam slightly (after some time, the fan spins up), but could that really be the cause? There were no fan problem with the old drive installed.
I follewed this iFixIt guide:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2309+and+2374+Hard+Drive+Repl acement/1634/1
Thanks!
Michael Knudsen

I don't understand the SMART report, but unless you got a replacment directly from Apple, it wouldn't have been an exact replacment. That drive, even if it's the same model, has to have a special firmware for the internal temperature sensor and that's only available from Apple. If you've read the OWC blog for the late 2009s that says that you ony need to replace the drive with one from the same manufacturer in order to use the same sensor cable, I believe that's not correct.
The spinning up can be cured by using the free SSD FAN Control. But no idea if that's related to the SMART error. I only know about the temp sensor issue related to this. If this doesn't fix it, maybe you got a bad drive or the problem is located elsewhere, maybe on the SATA controller on the logic board. No idea.
http://exirion.net/ssdfanctrl/

S.M.A.R.T status failing??? Drive has a hardware problem?

I bought my iMac in June,
Just went into disk utility and I noticed that the 1TB drive was red.
I've clicked on it and it says that
"This drive has a harware problem that can't be repaired.
Back up as much of the data as possible and replace the disk. See an authorized apple dealer for more information."
Down the bottom it says the S.M.A.R.T status is failing?
Can anyone please explain what is going on and why this would be happening on an iMac that is only about 6 months old?

Before going to the trouble of taking your Mac in, give AppleCare a call and tell them what S.M.A.R.T. reported. They'll probably walk you through another test or two and if it's really on the way out you should ask them to send a technician to your house to change the drive. Here in the U.S. they will do it if you live within 50 miles of their service provider. They did it twice for me in the past. It may also be the case in Australia. Can't hurt to ask and you can save lugging the Mac in if they will do it. And as the other posters pointed out, back up your data from that drive first because when they change it they will keep the old one.
Rick

Yosemite won't install due to a "S.M.A.R.T. drive problem that can't be repaired."

After downloading Yosemite successfully, it won't install due to a "S.M.A.R.T. drive problem that can't be repaired." It says to back up as much as possible and replace the drive. Everything works flawlessly with Mavericks. What gives??

If you are getting a S.M.A.R.T. error then you should be more worried about losing everything on your drive then about upgrading your Mac OS. Regardless of if you are running Mac OS, Linux, or Windows, you should never just disregard such a drive error. S.M.A.R.T. is designed to give you a warning that your drive is statistically having far more errors than normal and should be backed up immediately and typically replaced.
In your case, it's likely a coincidence that your drive is failing at the time you are attempting to upgrade to Yosemite. You should stop what you are doing, backup your drive (if you don't already have the backups that you should prior to any OS upgrade), and replace the hard drive prior to moving forward.
To make it clear, your hard drive is likely going to fail soon and you may lose everything on it at any moment. This failure has nothing to do with Yosemite or any Mac OS. All hard drives fail at some point. Hopefully this S.M.A.R.T. notice has given you the opportunity to solve a major problem before it gets worse.

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Hi Danny3380,
Thanks for choosing adobe forums,
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My iMac says this drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired

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