Seagate HD with C5 C6 error in SMART , did i already lost files ?

[amiens80]

hi,

i have an old hard drive seagate model ST4000DM000-1F2168 where i store my cold data (no game, no os, no software), just inactive data (pictures,videos,musiques,documents,project...).

Crystal Disk Info indicates me there is C5 C6 error and use the CAUTION yellow color alert.

C5 Current Pending Sector Count Current:100 Worst: 100
C6 Uncorrectable Sector Count Current:100 Worst: 100

i have 2 questions :

1
I want to know if i already lost data/files or not ?

2.
Is reading the drive will make the situation worst or just writing ?


it is a 4TB drive, so making a full scan will take a huge time ,longer that the backup i'm doing now !

I already started to backup it (so 100% reading activity since now) to backup on external usb drive.
I will not write anymore file on it.

If people have the same exact model and had the same experience, please share.

Have a good day

 

[aerosimit]

I want to know if i already lost data/files or not ?

Files you had in broken sector are lost.

Is reading the drive will make the situation worst or just writing ?

No matter you write or read, it may get worse.

it is a 4TB drive, so making a full scan will take a huge time ,longer that the backup i'm doing now !

I already started to backup it (so 100% reading activity since now) to backup on external usb drive.
I will not write anymore file on it.

You're doing the right thing. You may try to access your files on external drive to see if they work or not after backup.

 

[amiens80]

You may try to access your files on external drive to see if they work or not after backup.

but..if i managed to copy them without any visible error, they shoulb be ok, aren't they ?
i already finish to ackup 1.5TB of the 4TB. After that, i did again a smartcheck, no more error, it is a 100 value again in C5 C6
i'm crossing my finger for the 2.5TB remaining to backup. it is long using USB on my sata3...

 

[aerosimit]

I have never seen "sometimes work, sometimes not" type of bad sector, but in case you move the files flawlessly - moved files should be OK. In any case, the source disk is about to die.

 

[amiens80]

I have never seen "sometimes work, sometimes not" type of bad sector, but in case you move the files flawlessly - moved files should be OK. In any case, the source disk is about to die.

As the number in C5 =C6, it means :
it tried to write on 100 cells and failed , so it blacklisted them and write the data in other 100cells elsewhere.
am i wrong ?

ps : my backup is still in progress, still no copy-error at this time. Maybe the dead 100cells are empty cells, i hope so !

 

[Deleted member 232534]

the source disk is about to die.

after blacklisting the bad sectors hdd can work for a long time.

what you wrote is IMO correct for sdd drives tho

 

[Frick]

A few bad sectors as such is not a big deal, the real trouble is when the number keeps increasing. But yeah, backups always.

 

[amiens80]

with C5 C6 error in SMART , did i already lost files ?​

well i had my response now:

Yep i have some unreadable files ! 2 since yesterday. (75% completed) and the SMART C5 C6 remains stable.
Backup is still in progress...

 

[aerosimit]

Thats why I'm using Google Drive

 

[amiens80]

Thats why I'm using Google Drive

i do not know your age, but if you have more 30years of souvenirs in digitals files like me , then google drive is a horror, dropbox too:
- long time to synchronize
- problem with quotas (need to paid more a pro account)
- problem with large file
- problem with Nb of folders/files in storage architecture
- problem with security

Best solution for me is a NAS but it's very expensive for a RAID 8TB, moreover, manage a NAS take time too !!!
So since many year, i choose toi have usb backup and do partial backup (1by month). and i never do full backup like that...
At least i could use a SFTP account, but i need a software to detect change in files and schedule folders to backup... (best solution in my opinion)

 

[AleXXX666]

hi,

i have an old hard drive seagate model ST4000DM000-1F2168 where i store my cold data (no game, no os, no software), just inactive data (pictures,videos,musiques,documents,project...).

Crystal Disk Info indicates me there is C5 C6 error and use the CAUTION yellow color alert.



i have 2 questions :

1
I want to know if i already lost data/files or not ?

2.
Is reading the drive will make the situation worst or just writing ?


it is a 4TB drive, so making a full scan will take a huge time ,longer that the backup i'm doing now !

I already started to backup it (so 100% reading activity since now) to backup on external usb drive.
I will not write anymore file on it.

If people have the same exact model and had the same experience, please share.

Have a good day

trash it and get a WD, better RED for storage. Or normal Seagate like EXOS or Ironwolf Pro.

 

[lordmogul]

The real issue is not the 100, but the 10 in the raw values. You have 10 sectors with errors that couldn't be corrected.

Which is potentially an issue, but doesn't have to mean all is lost yet. I've had a drive with a single bad sector for years. A sign of caution, but not a sign of immediate failure. It becomes really troublesome if the bad sectors keep increasing, because what ever causes them, is progressing.

If it's "stable" I wouldn't keep an eye on it and not put any critical data on it. Getting your data off the drive is the right first step.
Once that is done you can start tinkering. In my case I send it through weeks or reformatting, overwriting, surface checking and it turned out fine. I won't put anything important on it, but it still runs as Photoshop and Vegas scratch drive. Data that can be lost without issues, if it happens.

 

[amiens80]

trash it and get a WD, better RED for storage. Or normal Seagate like EXOS or Ironwolf Pro.

ah i laugh a lot.
it is funny because 10y ago, i have a huge good opinion on WD, that'as why i purchased a 4TB and a 6TB RED one to my other precious data and also another 4TB seagate for the less-precious data.
Both are mounted in the same computer at the same time.
on november 2020 (so long time BEFORE the seagate) , the red one had similar issue (only C5 not C6),

and i was seeing folders deaspaearing each day ! happy-luck i was, i had a full-daily backup for this precious data on the Red WD

Now, i see this old seagate with almost 10y of running fine each day (12-14h).
I changed my mind, next one will be a seagate iron. I'm sad because 5900rpm does not exist anymore, i had to take a slower one.

 

[Shrek]

A few bad sectors as such is not a big deal, the real trouble is when the number keeps increasing. But yeah, backups always.

As soon as I get even one bad sector, the drive gets replaced and thrown away.

 

[AleXXX666]

ah i laugh a lot.
it is funny because 10y ago, i have a huge good opinion on WD, that'as why i purchased a 4TB and a 6TB RED one to my other precious data and also another 4TB seagate for the less-precious data.
Both are mounted in the same computer at the same time.
on november 2020 (so long time BEFORE the seagate) , the red one had similar issue (only C5 not C6),

and i was seeing folders deaspaearing each day ! happy-luck i was, i had a full-daily backup for this precious data on the Red WD

Now, i see this old seagate with almost 10y of running fine each day (12-14h).
I changed my mind, next one will be a seagate iron. I'm sad because 5900rpm does not exist anymore, i had to take a slower one.

seems gold dc drives are good enough so lol

 

[aerosimit]

i do not know your age, but if you have more 30years of souvenirs in digitals files like me , then google drive is a horror, dropbox too:
- long time to synchronize
- problem with quotas (need to paid more a pro account)
- problem with large file
- problem with Nb of folders/files in storage architecture
- problem with security

Except upload speed and trust issues (I suggest MEGA about that) (Someone may break into your house and steal your drive too, local is not means secure) Cloud storage solutions are way cheaper than running drives 12 hours each day. I pay 0.44 $ monthly for 200 GB Google Drive storage.

I also have 6 TB local storage built with 4 seperate drives. I backup them weekly with cron job. That way, I don't care about their lifespan.

 

[amiens80]

Except upload speed and trust issues (I suggest MEGA about that) (Someone may break into your house and steal your drive too, local is not means secure) Cloud storage solutions are way cheaper than running drives 12 hours each day. I pay 0.44 $ monthly for 200 GB Google Drive storage.

thank for the device, but MEGA is really but really but really too risky.
they already closed then reopen then reclose du to copyright issues . plus sometimes it is close by national country firewal isp ...

Here (in france), my aim (when i will have the time ti build cron) will be INOS because there is a inifinity storage issue (only a file number limit, but very important) for a constant price.

 

[R-T-B]

You have 10 sectors with errors that couldn't be corrected.

16, it's hexadecimal, not decimal.