Hardware⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-11

How to Fix: Why SMART is passing while it indicates failure for RAW read error rate?

Understanding SMART status and drive failure warnings.

Quick Answer: The drive's Raw_Read_Error_Rate is pre-fail, indicating a potential issue but not an immediate failure. Reusing the drive after low-level formatting may be safe, but it's essential to monitor its performance closely.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🔍 Why This Happens
  2. ✅ Best Solutions to Fix It
  3. ✨ Wrapping Up

The SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status of your external USB disk indicates that it is passing but shows a Raw Read Error Rate issue. This error rate indicates that there have been multiple raw read errors on the disk, which can be a sign of impending failure.

This situation can be frustrating for users who rely on their data being available. However, since you've already started to clone your data and plan to replace it soon, this is not an immediate concern.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • The Raw Read Error Rate issue is likely caused by physical wear and tear on the disk's mechanical components. As the disk spins, read/write heads move across its surface, causing friction and potential damage. Over time, this can lead to errors in data reading and writing.
  • Another possible cause could be a problem with the disk's firmware or controller, which may not be reporting the error correctly.

✅ Best Solutions to Fix It

Low-Level Formatting

  1. Step 1: Connect the USB disk to your system using an active cable and ensure that it is recognized by the operating system.
  2. Step 2: Open a command prompt or terminal window as administrator and type `sudo fsck -f /dev/sdx` (replace `/dev/sdx` with the actual device path of the disk) to run a low-level check on the disk. This may help to identify and repair any issues with the disk's file system.
  3. Step 3: If the drive is still not recognized after running the fsck command, you can try using `sudo dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M status=progress of=/dev/sdx` to write zeros to the entire disk. This may help to overwrite bad sectors and potentially repair the disk.

Data Cloning or Replacement

  1. Step 1: If you haven't already, continue cloning your data to an alternate drive or external storage device.
  2. Step 2: Plan to replace the failing disk with a new one in the near future. This will ensure that your data is safe and can be accessed without interruption.

✨ Wrapping Up

In summary, if SMART indicates passing but shows a Raw Read Error Rate issue, it's likely due to physical wear and tear on the disk's mechanical components or a problem with the firmware or controller. Low-level formatting may help repair issues with the file system, while data cloning or replacement is a safer long-term solution for protecting your data.

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