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[mabes]

I'm getting that message every time I restart. If it happens before I can create a drive image*, if I create a library backup and save it on a CD, can I then restore it once I reinstall Windows and MC12?

*I'm having some trouble getting it done and anyway I think I want to just start over with a new, clean disk once this one fails.

[JimH]

I'm getting that message every time I restart. If it happens before I can create a drive image*, if I create a library backup and save it on a CD, can I then restore it once I reinstall Windows and MC12?

Yes, if the media files are in the same location.  Also check the locations set under File Locations.  They would need to match.

[johnnyboy]

on a side note - go to your hard drive manufacturers page and download their hard drive testing Util - test your hard drive and see if it really is about to fail or if its just windows being stupid.

[benn600]

It is probably the SMART system.  My Smoothwall 3.0 box was running on a Compaq system that always printed that same message, something like: SMART detects imminent hard drive failure.

I ignored it because I wasn't in the mood of reinstalling Smoothwall and configuring it.

I gradually started having major problems including sudden loss of connectivity, random, strange behavior, etc.  I'm not sure how the HDD is doing but it was more convenient to use a newer eMachines machine I had laying around.  So I'm using that now and it has been running flawlessly.

Can't say for sure if SMART was correct because a reinstall may have fixed everything.  Either way, BACKUP IMMEDIATELY.  Not just your MC database but also all your media, documents, photos, etc!  I'm sure that goes without saying and of course I'm sure you have full backups archived in seven different states, right?

I wish I did.

[mabes]

It is indeed SMART that is telling me this. And I've decided to just wait until it goes bad and put in a new drive and reinstall fresh. It's just as much work creating a bootable CD, with a "slipstreamed" XP installation disc with service pack 2 (my disk doesn't have SP2) and then imaging the drive and, of course, copying it to the new drive.  I can reinstall all my programs in about the same amount of time, and of course anything "bad" on my current disk will be copied over if I use an image.

So anyway, it's not a big deal to save the library, I can just reimport everything*, but I would like to not have to recreate all the playlists. So how do I save those?

* I would put everything into My Documents, My Music, but I'm not sure that I might not be missing an album or 2 on my backup DVDs. And I have a feeling that just a couple of things being diffenent might confuse MS too much.

BTW for anyone who gets this "imminent failure" message, I've read elsewhere that the disk will definitely fail, but it might be a couple of weeks or months before it happens. It's a Samsung disc (didn't even know they made them) but I can't find any diagnostic tool on their site.

[benn600]

Of course it will definitely fail: it's a hard drive.

[mabes]

Of course it will definitely fail: it's a hard drive.

Yes, but from what I've read anyway, within a reasonably short time frame. But SMART can't be infallible, maybe it won't fail for a long time.

[johnnyboy]

You can probably use a hard disk analysis tool from one of the other big manufacturers (eg Maxtor or WD) to test your drive.

[mabes]

edit - welll I guess this question was answered already.

I've got a new HD I'm going to install soon, but what about all my playlists, ratings and all that. How do I save those on the new drive?  I've decided not to create an image, it's all going to be brand new.