Is it ok to boot into UEFI BIOS every time?

Question

I have a hard drive SMART check error showing up on boot. So I have to boot in bios every time.

I have backed up all the data on my drive and I want to use the dive as long as it lasts. I do not care if the drive is unusable because I have it backed up.

But as long as I have it plugged in the SMART error will show up forcing me to boot in bios.

So, the question is, is it ok to boot in BIOS?

Answer 1

The fact that this S.M.A.R.T. error keeps appearing won't damage your motherboard or other components in the computer:

However, the best thing to do at this point would be to simply buy a new drive and install it now, as hard drives last many years and aren't particularly expensive. You're not going to save much money by running this drive into the ground.

These days, you can get a decent SSD for $90 or less:

If you are adamant that you want to keep using this failing HDD, the second best option would be to simply disable S.M.A.R.T. monitoring in your motherboard's BIOS, as all it's doing at this point is interrupting the boot process and forcing you to press F1 every time you turn on your PC.

You already know the drive will fail soon, so S.M.A.R.T. isn't going to be useful for you until you install a new drive.

All it's doing at this point is telling you something that you already know!

Answer 2

Without viewing the S.M.A.R.T data, you're flying blind, and if S.M.A.R.T determines there is a hardware issue with the drive, it will create more issues than just data loss, as a hardware issue causes hangs from kernel communication issues with the drive.

---

Run an actual S.M.A.R.T scan to determine the exact issue with the drive.

• Windows doesn't have standalone software with the smartctl binary
  (Do not utilize CrystalDiskInfo, as it's full of adware)
  • Utilize a Linux LiveUSB with the ability to install binaries via a package manager
    
• If running a UNIX-based OS, skip to #4, using the pkg manager of your OS to install smartmontools

Ubuntu LiveUSB

---

1. Follow Ubuntu's guide to Create a Bootable USB Stick on Windows
2. Boot the LiveUSB, choosing the option to Try Ubuntu without Installing
3. Once at the Ubuntu desktop, open a Terminal via CTRL+ALT+T

4. Issue the following commands:

   1. sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install smartmontools
      • Press Y to install
        A Postfix package configuration menu will pop up, choose: Ok > No configuration
   2. sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdb
      • Where sdb is the drive (if sdb is not the drive, re-issue for correct drive)
        To list all HDDs: ls /dev | grep sd

   3. Review the following information under Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds

        ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
          9 Power_On_Hours          0x0012   043   043   000    Old_age   Always       -       24972
        194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0002   187   187   000    Old_age   Always       -       32 (Min/Max 16/46)
      
          1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000b   100   100   062    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
          5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   005    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
          7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   067    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
        191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
        196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
        198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0008   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
        199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x000a   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
        223 Load_Retry_Count        0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
      

      Error output will resemble:

        ATA Error Count: 2
      
               CR = Command Register [HEX]
               FR = Features Register [HEX]
               SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
               SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
               CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
               CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
               DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
               DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
               ER = Error register [HEX]
               ST = Status register [HEX]
      
        Error 2 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 403 hours (16 days + 19 hours)
          When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
      
          After command completion occurred, registers were:
          ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
          -- -- -- -- -- -- --
          40 51 08 28 d5 00 e0  Error: UNC 8 sectors at LBA = 0x0000d528 = 54568
      
          Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
          CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
          -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
          c8 00 08 28 d5 00 e0 08   1d+10:18:07.310  READ DMA
          ca 00 08 e8 a1 12 e0 08   1d+10:18:06.830  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 c8 fa 11 e0 08   1d+10:18:06.830  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 00 f7 11 e0 08   1d+10:18:06.830  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 b8 f1 11 e0 08   1d+10:18:06.830  WRITE DMA
      
        Error 1 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 369 hours (15 days + 9 hours)
          When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
      
          After command completion occurred, registers were:
          ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
          -- -- -- -- -- -- --
          10 51 08 10 17 35 e0  Error: IDNF at LBA = 0x00351710 = 3479312
      
          Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
          CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
          -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
          ca 00 08 10 17 35 e0 08      03:35:59.609  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 60 16 35 e0 08      03:35:59.609  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 20 11 35 e0 08      03:35:59.607  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 08 11 35 e0 08      03:35:59.607  WRITE DMA
          ca 00 08 b0 10 35 e0 08      03:35:59.607  WRITE DMA
      

   4. Review the following information under SMART Self-Test Log Structure

        Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
        # 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     24885         -
        # 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     24765         -
        # 3  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     24643         -
        # 4  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     24523         -
      

   5. Run a Long S.M.A.R.T test, which will take several hours:
      sudo smartctl -t long /dev/sdb
      • You can periodically check the progress of the scan via
        sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdb | grep "progress" -i -A 1
   6. Once S.M.A.R.T test is completed, review whether it completed without error
      sudo smartctl -a /dev/sdb | grep "Extended offline"
5. Once booted to Windows, run the following for each partition on the drive:
   chkdsk <DriveLetter>: /OfflineScanAndFix

Depending on the results of 4.3 and 4.5, the drive may need to be replaced, but it depends on the S.M.A.R.T test and what precise values are out of acceptable range.