UNCORRECTABLE SECTOR COUNT KEEPS GROWING. WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN?

Vera · 2026-06-25T10:03:04.664Z

guys pls help got this today: [code] the old boot SSD holds a lot of my backups and this is the first SMART warning Ive ever seen. uncorrectable Sector Count went from zero to a small number. should i replace it right away, or is it normal for a few sectors to go bad?? ive read conflicting advice, so Id like to hear from ppl who actually watched a drive with a warning like this. did it fail fast, or did it last for years?

Solvedbackup hard-drive smart4 replies · 89 views · started 4 mo. ago

Accepted solution

by Nina KochJump to the reply

Back up first, diagnose second. Copy the most important files to another drive before running any long tests, because heavy reads can push a failing drive over the edge. lmk how it goes

Vera
@vera.tanaka92
35 rep · 4 posts
4 mo. ago
guys pls help got this today:
```
Disk health
S.M.A.R.T. status: BAD

Reallocated sectors count: 1,872 (threshold exceeded)
Back up your data and replace the disk as soon as possible.
```
the old boot SSD holds a lot of my backups and this is the first SMART warning Ive ever seen. uncorrectable Sector Count went from zero to a small number. should i replace it right away, or is it normal for a few sectors to go bad?? ive read conflicting advice, so Id like to hear from ppl who actually watched a drive with a warning like this. did it fail fast, or did it last for years?
2
Daria K.
@pixel_loop
51 rep · 6 posts
4 mo. ago
been there man on Linux or with smartmontools on Windows, run:
```
smartctl -a /dev/sda
smartctl -t long /dev/sda
```
check the result later with smartctl -l selftest /dev/sda.
0 6 helpful
Nina Koch
@nina.koch
59 rep · 7 posts
4 mo. ago Accepted solution
Back up first, diagnose second. Copy the most important files to another drive before running any long tests, because heavy reads can push a failing drive over the edge. lmk how it goes

0 2 helpful
Otto Okafor
@otto_cobalt-3ar
17 rep · 5 posts
4 mo. ago
hmmmm quick q wait does this also apply to smart?. my brand new build is officially haunted ??

0 0 helpful
Vera
@vera.tanaka92
35 rep · 4 posts
4 mo. ago in reply to @nina.koch
@nina.koch omg finally uncorrectable Sector Count stayed flat for a month after the backup. Im keeping the drive for non-critical stuff and checking SMART monthly.

1 0 helpful

Accepted solution

Related topics

Reply to this topic