Smart Failure Predicted on Hard Disk – Fix This Error

  

Written By Ashwani Tiwari

Approved By Anuraag Singh

Modified On February 10th, 2026

Reading Time 8 Min Read

Quick Summary

Seeing a SMART failure warning on your computer system can be an alarming situation. When your system displays a smart failure predicted on hard disk message – well it simply means that your drive has detected internal issues and this may fail soon. This does not always mean your data is already lost but it does mean that your drive is at serious risk.
This guide will explain to you what this error actually means, why it appears, how to diagnose it properly and what actions you must take immediately to prevent permanent data loss. The solutions shared here are based on real diagnostics, storage behavior and a proven technical logic.

What is Smart Failure Predicted on Hard Disk?

The smart failure on hard disk error comes from a monitoring system called SMART (Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology). And this system is built into all modern HDDs and SSDs and constantly checks your drive health.
SMART tracks:-

• Read/write errors
• Bad sectors
• Spin-up time
• Temperature
• Hardware wear

When any of these values exceeds the safe threshold the system predicts a possible failure and displays you an alert.

What the Error Actually Means

If you see these following warning:-

• Your hard drive health is degrading
• Hardware failure may happen soon
• Data loss risk is high
• Drive reliability is no longer safe

It is important to understand that this is a predictive warning not always an immediate crash. However if you ignore this it will often result in a sudden failure. You can also check 10 Common Hard Drive Error Messages that Can Ruin your files.

When Users See This Error

Check below scenario when users typically encounter this issue:-

Let me tell you, in many smart failure predicted on the hard disk won’t boot cases your system stops loading Windows completely and because the drive can no longer read critical files.

Why SMART Failure Occurs in Hard Disk

A SMART error hard disk warning appears when internal health metrics exceed the safe limits. You can find the most common causes that are listed below.

Major Causes of SMART Disk Failure

Warning Signs Before Hard Disk Failure

The hard disk gives you several signs before it crashes completely you can identify these signs and take appropriate actions:-

• Frequent system freezing
• Slow file opening
• Blue screen errors
• Strange clicking sounds
• 100% disk usage
• Boot delays

So If you find that these are appearing along with smart failure predicted on hard disk windows 10 or Windows 11 warnings well your disk is already in a critical state.

Many users only search for the SMART hard disk error “imminent failure” when the disk stops working and yes at this stage the chances of recovery becomes very difficult.

Check Hard Disk Health Status

Diagnosis is very important before you decide next steps you just need to confirm the disk condition and to do this you can follow these 2 methods:-

Method 1: Command Prompt Check

You can Open Command Prompt and run as administrator just after you need to run this command to quickly check disk health:-

wmic diskdrive get status

The Results You Will Get:-

• OK → Temporary issue possible
• Pred Fail → Disk failing

Note:- This command only provides you a basic health status. For detailed SMART analysis you should also check advanced disk monitoring tools or BIOS SMART warnings.

Method 2: BIOS Check

You Need to Restart your system → and enter BIOS → now check SMART status.

If the BIOS shows a SMART failure on the hard disk well the warning is genuine and hardware related.

Can SMART Hard Disk Error Be Fixed?

This is where you need clarity and an honest answer. You can check the table and get all your answers.

A smart hard disk error fix simply means that it is protecting your data and replacing the disk – not repairing your system’s hardware permanently.

Fix Smart Error on Hard Disk – Temporary Methods

If you are searching How to Fix Smart Error on Hard Disk? Let me tell you the temporary methods to run your system. After you backup now you need some proven steps that will help you temporarily run your system.

• Update Disk Drivers: Well Outdated drivers can sometimes trigger warnings so you need to update the disk driver.
• Check SATA/Power Cable: For desktop sometimes loose cable may show false alerts so check everything properly.
• Run CHKDSK Carefully: You need to run the command: chkdsk C: /f /r

⚠️Note:- Run this command only after you backup. You can also check How to Run CHKDSK on an External Hard Drive in Windows OS.

When System Won’t Boot Due to SMART Error

In smart failure predicted on hard disk won’t boot situations you can try the following tips:

• Remove drive and connect to another PC
• Use external enclosure
• Backup accessible data
• Use recovery tool if drive unreadable

If your system still boots you need to take backup immediately before attempting any fix.

Professional Recovery Approach

I recommend you using professional approach If the drive:-

• Is extremely slow
• Not opening files
• Showing RAW
• Crashing frequently

Then the recovery should be done first and a reliable recovery solution can:-

• Extract data from failing drives
• Recover from bad sectors
• Work even if Windows won’t boot

At this stage using a reliable tool like SysTools Best Hard Drive Recovery Tool can help you safely recover your files before you replace the disk. This method is highly recommended when SMART warnings appear and manual copying becomes difficult. You can download the tool and use trail version to check and preview your data and later you can update to full version.

When You Must Replace the Hard Disk Immediately

Replace the drive if you see the following:-

• SMART error appears repeatedly
• Disk clicking noise
• Boot failure occurs
• Bad sectors increasing
• System extremely slow

See once smart failure predicted on hard disk appears you should understand that the disk cannot be considered reliable for long term use.

Final Verdict

An early warning sign that your drive might fail soon is a smart failure predicted on hard disk warning. It is a hardware health alarm intended to safeguard your data and not just a random system fault. So if you handled carefully

• Data can be saved
• Downtime minimized
• System restored safely

And if you Ignore your:-

• Disk may crash anytime
• Data loss may become permanent

Now the smartest approach is simple as you must Backup everything immediately, Recover your data if needed and Replace the disk. This is always important to take early action as it will ensure that even a failing hard drive does not turn into a complete data disaster.