Позволю себе еще раз процитировать Здоровье хардов (последний сайт).
A disc drive must be able to monitor many elements in order to have a comprehensive reliability management capability. One of the most crucial elements is understanding failures. Failures can be seen from two standpoints: predictable, and unpredictable.
Unpredictable failures occur quickly, like electronic and mechanical problems, such as a power surge that can cause chip or circuit failure. Improvements in quality, design, process, and manufacturing can reduce the incidence of non-predictable failures. For example, the development of steel-belted radial tires reduced the occurrences of blowouts common among older flatwall "rag" tire designs
Predictable failures are characterized by degradation of an attribute over time, before the disc drive fails. This creates a situation where attributes can be monitored, making it possible for predictive failure analysis. Many mechanical failures are typically considered predictable, such as the degradation of head flying height, which would indicate a potential head crash. Certain electronic failures may show degradation before failing, but more commonly, mechanical problems are gradual and predictable. For instance, oil level is a function, or "attribute" of most cars that can be monitored. When a car's diagnostic system senses that the oil is low, an oil light comes on. The driver can stop the car and save the engine. In the same manner, S.M.A.R.T. allows notice to start the backup procedure and save the user's data.
Mechanical failures, which are mainly predictable failures, account for 60 percent of drive failure. This number is significant because it demonstrates a great opportunity for reliability prediction technology. With the emerging technology of S.M.A.R.T., an increasing number of predictable failures will be predicted, and data loss will be avoided.
Вот и все, что делает 'УМНИК' =))
Добавлено в ту же минуту:
Да, последний любопытный сайтик:
http://www.ariolic.ru/activesmart/
Добавлено через 2 минуты:
PrayeR
Все вышесказанное мною было приведено исключительно в качестве примера информации по СМАРТу из зарубежных источников