Existing users, 
 SMARTReporter - 2.4.6Warns of ATA drive failure before it happens. |
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| Overall Rating: | Not rated (0.0) | Features: | Not rated (0.0) | Support: | Not rated (0.0) |
| Ease of Use: | Not rated (0.0) | Quality / Stability: | Not rated (0.0) | Price: | Not rated (0.0) |
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Featured Reviews
Useful app, but not 64-bit yet... - Version: 2.4.2, 1/2/2010 03:51PM PST
(0 of 8 users found this comment useful)
libertyforall1776
Very nice little app. Now it just needs to become 64-bit to be perfected...
Most Recent Replies: View All 2 Replies
- Useful app, but not 64-bit yet...
Won't let me change disk checking interval 
- Version: 2.4.2, 11/5/2009 01:02AM PST
(3 of 4 users found this comment useful)
Kudrabar
Every other version or so I download and try out this app again because I want it to be good and useful. Just about every time I run into a problem that makes me delete it rather quickly. This time (on my 10.6.1 2.4 GHz MacBook) it's the inability to change the disk checking interval in the Preferences (in the field just above the statement "Double click the current checking-interval of a disk to enter a new one)." I can't remember what the defect was last time.
But even if there weren't some malfunction or other such problem in all the versions of this app that I've tried, I can't help but think that this technology is a bit pointless. I have used it ever since it debuted, but it has never given me any indication that the 4 drives that have died on me in that time was about to kick it. In fact, aside from the very, very few people witnessing to that effect both here and in MacUpdate.com's SMARTReporter page, nobody I know has ever been forewarned by this app or any other SMART drive notification app (such as that included in DiskWarrior, TechTool Pro, and many, many others for both Mac and Windows). Except for those very few people mentioned, every disk failure I know of has been sudden and catastrophic, not slow and incremental as it would have to be for this technology to work with enough frequency to make it worthwhile. It's sad, but I am now convinced of the truth of it.
Let the fusillade of disagreement commence.
But even if there weren't some malfunction or other such problem in all the versions of this app that I've tried, I can't help but think that this technology is a bit pointless. I have used it ever since it debuted, but it has never given me any indication that the 4 drives that have died on me in that time was about to kick it. In fact, aside from the very, very few people witnessing to that effect both here and in MacUpdate.com's SMARTReporter page, nobody I know has ever been forewarned by this app or any other SMART drive notification app (such as that included in DiskWarrior, TechTool Pro, and many, many others for both Mac and Windows). Except for those very few people mentioned, every disk failure I know of has been sudden and catastrophic, not slow and incremental as it would have to be for this technology to work with enough frequency to make it worthwhile. It's sad, but I am now convinced of the truth of it.
Let the fusillade of disagreement commence.
Most Recent Replies: View All 1 Replies
To Felix01 & philosopherdog... - Version: 2.4.2, 10/17/2009 10:18AM PST
(2 of 2 users found this comment useful)
Saint Rowan
White papers and beliefs aside: I had installed SMARTReporter on my Mac with 4 internal drives, and shortly after installing it, got a notice that a drive was failing. Now, I don't really know what's going on internally with the S.M.A.R.T. firmware but I was given a window of time to clone (which is different from just a daily backup) the failing drive onto another drive and then watched as the failing drive died over several days, knowing the new drive had everything for certain.
SmartReporter gave a heads up that I would not have gotten otherwise. Is it full proof? Of course not; nothing is. But now I always have it sitting in my menubar on every Mac.
Also, the Google white paper is basically a statistical analysis that says, Drives tend to fail in the first 90 days or last for most of their expected read/write lifetimes, and there's no telling beforehand which ones will fail or why (when they do).
This free little utility saved me a lot of grief once so as an end-user I think it's a great tool to have.
SmartReporter gave a heads up that I would not have gotten otherwise. Is it full proof? Of course not; nothing is. But now I always have it sitting in my menubar on every Mac.
Also, the Google white paper is basically a statistical analysis that says, Drives tend to fail in the first 90 days or last for most of their expected read/write lifetimes, and there's no telling beforehand which ones will fail or why (when they do).
This free little utility saved me a lot of grief once so as an end-user I think it's a great tool to have.
