"Can't run SMART short self test" on XPS L502X

Hi Andy,

    Generally speaking a failure of any kind when running the Self Monitoring And Reporting Test (SMART) is a bad thing. It means the HDD is no longer capable of "babysitting" itself and providing warnings about the condition of the drive. ALL drive manufacturers offer free HDD utility software specific to their hardware. Some require that you create a bootable disk/usb and run tests from a DOS environment, and some offer utilities from windows. The stipulation to running a util of that nature from Windows is that it cannot be the boot drive you're testing. All handles to the drive have to be terminated and  the drive has to "dismount"  for the utilityto run. 

     I'm not the Mass Storage expert YET. But I can tell you the following will be beneficial

• Find the Manufacturer of your drive.
• Go to the Mfg's website, (for example type Western Digital Support in your favorite search engine)
• CLOSELY read the software descriptions. Some utilities have the ability to WRITE ZEROS to a drive...they may be included with the same utility that has the Mfg's S.M.A.R.T. software so pay special attention not to select the wrong feature.
• If your drive is under warranty watch for the S.MA.R.T. results and jot down the error code and message or get this info from the logfile written by the test software. (usually log.txt) Your Mfg will need this information to process a Return Materials Authorization (RMA)

If this info helped please hit the YES button. GOOD LUCK and if you need any further assistance don't hesitate to contact.