PowerEdge: What is Predictive Drive Failure (PDR16) and How to Resolve It

Summary: This article explains what a predictive drive failure (error code PDR16) means, why it occurs, and provides step-by-step instructions to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. It covers recommended actions such as backing up data, updating firmware, and replacing the disk if necessary to ensure storage health and prevent data loss. ...

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Instructions

What is Predicted Drive Failure and how to solve it?

Predictive drive failure alerts indicate that a hard disk may fail soon based on error trends detected by SMART monitoring or the RAID controller. This is a critical warning for storage health and should be addressed immediately to prevent data loss.

This alert is typically triggered by:

Modern drives include extra space to reallocate bad blocks. However, if errors persist, the drive may need replacement.

Sometimes, firmware or reporting issues can cause false alerts, so updating firmware is recommended before replacing any hardware.

How To Troubleshoot Predictive drive failure?

Note: If you see multiple drives reporting PDR16 or SMART errors, then contact Dell Support.
 
  1. Always perform a backup before any steps are taken.
    • Predictive failure means that the disk could fail at any time. Ensure that all critical data is backed up before proceeding.
  2. Export a SupportAssist collection log that includes a controller log.
  3. Replace the hard drive (PD) and ensure the virtual disk (VD) is optimal.
  4. Perform firmware updates to:
    • Hard Drive
    • RAID controller
    • iDRAC

Note: Reboot is required to complete firmware install for a RAID card.

More troubleshooting or maintenance may be required to ensure the health of the array.

 

Note: This article is part of the Server Tutorials: "RAID and Disks" available at PowerEdge Tutorials: Physical Disk Drives and RAID Controller (PERC) on Servers

Affected Products

C Series, Rack Servers, Tower Servers, XE Servers, XR Servers, iDRAC7, iDRAC8, iDRAC9, SupportAssist Enterprise, OEM Server Solutions, PowerFlex custom node, Poweredge FC430, Poweredge FC630, PowerEdge FC640, Poweredge FC830, PowerEdge FD332 , PowerEdge FM120x4 (for PE FX2/FX2s), PowerEdge M630, PowerEdge M630 (for PE VRTX), PowerEdge M640, PowerEdge M640 (for PE VRTX), PowerEdge M830, PowerEdge M830 (for PE VRTX), PowerEdge MX5016s, PowerEdge MX740C, PowerEdge MX750c, PowerEdge MX760c, PowerEdge MX840C, PowerFlex appliance R650, PowerFlex appliance R6525, PowerFlex appliance R660, PowerFlex appliance R6625, Powerflex appliance R750, PowerFlex appliance R760, PowerFlex appliance R7625, PowerFlex appliance R640, PowerFlex appliance R740XD, PowerFlex appliance R7525, PowerFlex appliance R840 ...

Products

HS Series, Modular Infrastructure
Article Properties
Article Number: 000126418
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 05 Dec 2025
Version:  27
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