time to replace your hard drive ... make sure that u have all the important data protected..

cheers

Bob,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.
Here is information about the SMART software.
It is used and installed by Dell, not Maxtor.
The smart software can be wrong, but that is rare and far between.
You can also try runnint the 9090 HD diags to verify the integrety of the HD.
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What is a "SMART" drive?
Dell® began using the SMART® (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Report Technology) system as of November 4, 1997. It was released with the OptiPlex® Gs and Gxi systems, but can be seen on some Dimension® systems.
The SMART technology is designed to warn you when a disk drive has become unreliable. Prior to the introduction of SMART, you had little warning that a drive was getting ready to "crash." A SMART PC, however, can indicate some types of imminent failure, allowing time to back up and replace the drive before it becomes unusable.
To take advantage of SMART technology, you must have a SMART-compliant hard-disk drive. All EIDE hard-disk drives shipped with the OptiPlex Gs and GXi systems are SMART-compliant.
Dell recognizes the importance of maintaining data integrity and system up-time for OptiPlex desktops. Consequently, Dell has implemented SMART in the system BIOS in order to provide a base level of fault prediction.
The SMART feature on a hard-disk drive can report impending failures with its internal mechanical functions.
At POST, the drive(s) will be exercised for any pending mechanical failures (this query will not delay the boot process).
Should any built-in threshold values be surpassed, the system returns a message to the user indicating that the hard drive is operating outside of normal specifications and advises for an immediate data back-up and subsequent drive replacement.

A warning message similar to the following will appear:
"WARNING: Your hard drive's SMART Disk Monitoring System has detected that drive C: is operating outside of normal specifications. It is advisable to immediately back-up your data and replace your hard disk by calling your support desk or Dell Computer Corp."

CAUTION: SMART technology does not detect all types of impending failures.
It is best at predicting gradual failures, such as damaged media, worn bearings, and cracks in head assemblies, it does not fare well at detecting sudden-onset failures such as failures of the drive electronics. Consequently, if you have a SMART-enabled system, you should not discontinue regular backup routines.
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What does the file SMARTVSD.VXD do?

The file SMARTVSD.VXD is a driver that allows S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis Reporting Technology) errors to be displayed in the LDCM (Intel® LANdesk Client Manager®). S.M.A.R.T. is a BIOS-level diagnostic that monitors hard drive functionality.
This feature is supported on some Dell computers. This file is not part of Microsoft® Windows and is licensed by Intel for distribution with Landesk.


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The 90/90 BIOS Quick
Test is just that; a quick test run on the hard drive(s) from BIOS. The test is started by pressg (CTRL-ALT-D) during POST, while the Dell logo screen is showing.
The computer beeps once to acknowledge that the hard drive diagnostics have been initiated and the following message appears:

IDE Diagnostics running, please wait
Primary

Drive 0: (Drive Model) -

The test may take up to three minutes to run the diagnostics (the time is dependent upon size and speed of drive).
When the diagnostics are complete, one of the following messages appears:

IDE Diagnostics running, please wait

Primary

Drive 0: (Drive Model) - Pass
Drive 1: No IDE Device

Secondary
Drive 0: (CD-ROM Model) - Diagnostics not supported
Drive 1: No IDE Device

Test complete, Press Enter to reboot

Press the Enter key and restart the computer.

NOTE: A Primary Drive 0: failure message may also appear. Proceed to the If the Hard Drive Diagnostics Reports Failures section. An error code does not indicate a definite drive failure.

If the Hard Drive Diagnostics Reports Failures

If the Primary Drive 0: indicates a failure, perform the following steps:

Perform the troubleshooting steps detailed in Dell Knowledge Base Article: TI1014125 Title "Why is my computer unable to recognize IDE devices such as a hard drive, CD-ROM, CD-RW, or DVD-ROM drive?" After each step, execute the hard drive diagnostics again to determine if the error has been resolved.

NOTE: Only hard drives currently shipping on Dell computers are supported by this diagnostic. Installing a third-party hard drive might register a false failure on the unsupported drive.
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Hello Karell-I just read your reply to SMART HD Diagnostic Question. You stated in the note that SMART applies only to recently installed Dell HDs and not third party HDs. My original HD failed and was replaced by Dell(Western Digital). Do you belive that this HD is being monitored by SMART? Thanks-

lesesnecarl,

Yes even though the drive was replaced it is still being monitored by the same technology.

Thanks Little Advice.

I run Windows XP Professional on an Inspiron 8200.
All of the sudden the SMART got disabled and the file smartvsd.vxd is nowhere. Where do I download it? How can I restore it and in which precise directory must I put it?
Thank you for your help,
Daniel Bessis

Dbessis5,

You can download the programs that contain this file from the following location.

http://www.bykeyword.com/pages/hdd.html or http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=208048

Then you can extract the file that you need from it.

Message Edited by LittleAdvice on 11-25-2003 07:54 AM

Thank you. I have no iosubsys directory in System where to put smartvsd.vxd because I use Windows XP. It seems that these information pertain to Win 95, 98 and 2000.
Daniel Bessis

I run Windows XP Professional on an Inspiron 8200.
All of the sudden the SMART got disabled and the file smartvsd.vxd is nowhere. Where do I download it? How can I restore it and in which precise directory must I put it?
Thank you for your help,
Daniel Bessis
P.S. I called Dell tech support over the phone and they do not know anything about SMART. Please help.

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@Dbessis5 wrote:
I run Windows XP Professional on an Inspiron 8200.
All of the sudden the SMART got disabled and the file smartvsd.vxd is nowhere. Where do I download it? How can I restore it and in which precise directory must I put it?
Thank you for your help,
Daniel Bessis
P.S. I called Dell tech support over the phone and they do not know anything about SMART. Please help.

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smartvsd.vxd is for the Windows 9x class of OSes. There should be no need for any drivers in Windows XP. You can use a program like Aida32 from http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php to view the SMART attributes of your disk drive.

Look under Storage->SMART.