1720 smart hard drive detects imminent failure attribute

[bertz]

I have an HP Compaq 6200 Pro desktop with two hard disks.  I have been getting an error " 1720 SMART Hard Drive detects Imminent failure, Failling drive : SATA 4; Failing attribute #5".

Whenever I boot, this prompts up and cannot proceed further.  I removed the secondary hard disk and I am able to boot normally.  This happened as I am about to backup the important contents of that drive.  Is there a way for me to access it so I can copy my files?

[TheOldMan]

If the failing error is gone when the secondary hard disk is disconnected, then that is the most likely cause of the error report.  What I would recommend is to get an external adapter similar to this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BIE996S/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00BIE996S&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX...

That kind uses a seperate power supply so as to not cause any problems with the host PC.  Then you can try to copy the important data to another media - another disk or DVD/BluRay or flash drive. 

You might have better luck with using a cloning app such as Acronis and booting to the non-Windows environment, then clone to another drive.  When I have a disk that is giving the kind of problems you are reporting the Acronis clone in the non-Windows environment has recovered all of the data before the drive failed completely.