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Active@ Hard Disk Monitor

Version: 1.2

Downloads Count: 12,412

License Type: Free

Price: Free

Date Added: Aug 26, 2008

Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008

Requirements: Pentium III 500MHz or better CPU, S.M.A.R.T.-compliant hard drive, 256 MB RAM, 15 MB free disk space

File Size: 7470 KB

Author: LSoft Technologies

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Editorial Review of Active@ Hard Disk Monitor

The phrase "hard disk failure" can break you out in a cold sweat. Even if you lose little data, you'll lose time nursing your system back to health. The free Active@ Hard Disk Monitor checks and reports on your hard drive's condition, helping you decide when it's time to jump in for a backup (or just plain jump ship).

Active@ Hard Disk Monitor employs S.M.A.R.T. to track your hard drive's status. (S.M.A.R.T. stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology, and it's present in most hard drives.) S.M.A.R.T checks your system for hard drive errors and other metrics that send suspicious signals. At frequent intervals or the ones you specify, Active@ Hard Disk Monitor checks these statistics.

To get just a glimpse of how your hard drive's doing, mouse over the green dot icon Active@ Hard Disk Monitor leaves in your PC's system tray. That fly-by tells you the PC's internal temperature (which is of debatable value) and the hard drive's health status as a percentage. Double-clicking the icon brings up a roomy, good-looking window that breaks down the S.M.A.R.T. measurements.

To demystify the jargon, you can highlight the measurement to receive a definition. Many of these definitions also explain what these values might suggest; for instance, a high "spinup retry count" is reportedly "a sign of problems in the hard disk mechanical system." Each definition ends with a simple interpretation guide, such as "Better RAW Value LESS."

Active@ Hard Disk Monitor also shows you lets you scan your disk for bad blocks and read disk information that's hard to find in Windows. S.M.A.R.T. can't detect every potential hard drive problem, but it can alert you to certain threats. It's helpful enough that it's worth installing this freebie as an ounce of prevention.

Note: This is the free version of the software. The Pro version of this software includes remote administration features.

--Laura Blackwell

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