Mac mini server: Hardware test error on Hard Drive

Mac mini server: Hardware test error on Hard Drive
'checking for slow read failures': ERROR - Target device access failure - Test failed.
CAN I ACCESS HD (which is our data server) EVER AGAIN? IF SO, HOW?
Meanwhile we wonder if this is really a hardware error. It all happened during writing a time machine backup.
Probably while writing it, some data was relocated by accident, but we can not 100%-sure remember the sequence of actions :/
This is our trauma history:
- time machine got increasingly slower in writing a backup
- we quit the backup
- we switched off the mac mini (on power button)
- we switched on the mac mini
- we stopped time machine to the rules
- we shut down mac mini via command
- we booted the mac mini in save mode
- we see a loading bar
- no progress after 10th of loading bar
- switched off (power button)
- when we now switch on the loading bar below the apple-logo is all we see + the little wheel
- we started with cmd+alt+p+r pressed
- mac mini restarted but showed the loading bar scenario without progress again
- we started with 'd' pressed and did the hardware test (see above)
- we started with 'alt' pressed but it does not give us the recoverydrive to run the last backup
ANY IDEAS?
IS IT A SOFTWARE- OR HARDWARE ERROR?
THX IN ADVANCE!

BDAqua wrote:
I thnk Intenal 2.5" Drives for servers is silly, & Ithink the Minis & iMacs re poorly cooled.
I'd get Temprature Monitor & see what temps they're running.
Is Temperature Monitor an app or a device? If it's a temperature problem then that is essentially a design problem. Two drive failures in the same Mac mini server in four months combined with the fact that they're not really user serviceable already has me 90% on the way back to more pragmatically designed Linux servers. I think it would be foolish to waste any more money on these minis for my business hosting.

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