Product Reviews
Real-Time Hard Drive Monitoring
Catch drive problems before the crash with Intelli-SMART 2.0.
SMART stands for Self Monitoring and Reporting
Technology, a standard for diagnostic firmware on hard drives endorsed
by most major drive manufacturers, including Seagate, Samsung, IBM,
Compaq, Maxtor, Quantum, Western Digital, Toshiba, and others. If
you’ve purchased a computer in the last few years, odds are
your drives are SMART-compliant. The basic idea is simple: The drive
keeps track of operating parameters, such as RPM and error rates,
and uses this information to predict the chances of a drive failure.
However, until now, there wasn’t an easy way for an end user
to see the data gathered by a SMART drive.
Intelli-SMART now provides that easy way, and
can be installed under Windows 95, 98, NT or 2000. The utility loads
a system service that watches for alerts from SMART-compliant drives.
When an alert happens, Intelli-SMART pops up a warning window to
tell you what’s happening and to advise you to back up your
data. It also keeps a log of past alerts and actions. Intelli-SMART’s
alerting options are reasonably flexible. In addition to the pop-up
alert, it can play a sound, flash a tray icon, or repeat an alert
for up to 15 minutes. It can also send email directly to a system
administrator, which makes it useful for monitoring remote systems.
If you’re responsible for mission-critical computers, this
utility can make you more proactive in catching problems before
they cause data loss.
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| When a SMART-compliant drive issues an alert,
Intelli-SMART warns you of an impending drive failure and
to back up and change the drive. |
Intelli-SMART is a good addition to the system
administrator’s toolbox. Download a 15-day evaluation copy
or purchase the software directly from the vendor’s Web site.
About the Author
Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.