Maxtor Hard Drive Testing

A hard drive is a vital yet fragile computer component.

Manufacturers design hard drives with protection to ensure they last many years, but drives can still fail due to wear, sudden movement or static discharge. To monitor drive status, Seagate includes several features with their Maxtor drives.

S.M.A.R.T.

All modern drives include a system called "Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology." S.M.A.R.T. watches several key factors in drive stability such as spin up time and various error rates. This system alerts users on boot if any of these levels exceed specifications.

SeaTools

Seagate offers the SeaTools software for testing Maxtor drives; this program will display S.M.A.R.T. attributes even when not at critical levels. It also offers multiple types of drive self-tests which verify the integrity of the disk. Failure of any test generates a code used for warranty returns to Seagate.

Advanced Testing

SeaTools provides advanced testing tools for network server drives. These tests are intended for professional use and risk data loss on the drives. They include firmware updates and controlled formatting of drive segments while monitoring the disk's performance.

References

• SIGuardian: S.M.A.R.T. Attribute Meaning
• Seagate: SeaTools for Windows User Guide

Resources

• Seagate: SeaTools